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Il proscritto (The Proscribed Man) is an 1842 opera by Saverio Mercadante to a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano based on the 1839 play Le proscrit by Frédéric Soulié. The premiere took place at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples on January 4, 1842.
It was revived by Opera Rara 28 June 2022 at the Barbican Hall. [1]
Il proscritto concerns a lost love and political treachery in Scotland during the rule of Oliver Cromwell in the middle of the 17th century. Before the opera begins, Malvina Douglas was married to Giorgio Argyll (a supporter of the Royalist cause); but he was caught up in a shipwreck and was believed dead. Malvina’s mother, Anna, and Anna’s son by an earlier marriage, Guglielmo Ruthven (a supporter of Cromwell), then encourage her to marry Arturo Murray (also a Cromwellian). The opera opens on the day of Malvina and Arturo’s planned wedding. [1]
2022 - Carlo Rizzi, conductor; Alessandro Fisher (tenor), Elizabeth DeShong (mezzo-soprano), Ivan Ayon-Rivas (tenor), Irene Roberts (mezzo-soprano), Goderdzi Janelidze (bass), Ramón Vargas (tenor), Irene Robertss (mezzo-soprano), Niall Anderson (bass), Sally Matthews (soprano), Susana Gaspar (soprano); Britten Sinfonia, Opera Rara Chorus. Opera Rara, Catalogue Number: ORC62
Giovanni Pacini was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The family was of Tuscan origin, living in Catania when the composer was born.
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with drama and production arts. The school has students from over seventy countries. It was ranked first in both the Guardian’s 2022 League Table for Music and the Complete University Guide's 2023 Arts, Drama and Music league table. It is also ranked the sixth university in the world for performing arts in the 2022 QS World University Rankings.
Giuseppe Felice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.
The German Fach system is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is used worldwide, but primarily in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries and by repertory opera houses.
Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don White, Opera Rara's recordings are internationally distributed by Warner Classics. In September 2019, Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi succeeded Sir Mark Elder as Artistic Director.
Nelly Miricioiu is a Romanian-born British operatic soprano singing a large repertoire ranging from bel canto to verismo.
Marco Lazzara is an Italian countertenor who sings a wide-ranging repertoire from baroque composers to those of the 20th century and has performed in a number of notable premieres and revivals of rarely performed operas. He has recorded widely on the Bongiovanni, Ricordi, Nuova Era, Forlane, Opera Rara and Dynamic labels.
Lawrence Brownlee is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire. Describing his voice, Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera, said: "There are other singers that sing this repertory very well, but I don't think anyone else has quite as beautiful a sound and as rounded a tone," and praise his "incredible top notes", adding about his high F (F5) in "Credeasi, misera": "With him it's not a scream, it's a beautiful sound." Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato adds: "He is always in service of the music. His natural instrument is just incredibly beautiful. The word 'honey' comes to mind. He also has technical prowess and agility."
Paul Brough is a retired English music teacher, church musician, choirmaster and orchestral conductor. His final appointments were as a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music (2004-2022), and Director of Music at both St Mary's, Bourne Street (2015-2022) and Keble College, Oxford (2020-2022).
Domenico Reina was a Swiss bel canto tenor, notable for creating roles in the operas of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Saverio Mercadante, and other Italian composers.
Eugenia Tadolini was an Italian operatic soprano. Admired for the beauty of her voice and stage presence, she was one of Donizetti's favourite singers. During her career she created over 20 leading roles, including the title roles in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix and Maria di Rohan and Verdi's Alzira. She was born in Forlì and studied music there and in Bologna before making her debut in Florence in 1828. She sang in all of Italy's leading opera houses, as well as in Paris, Vienna, and London before retiring from the stage in 1852. She spent her remaining years first in Naples, where she had been the Teatro San Carlo's reigning prima donna for many years, and then in Paris, where she died of typhoid fever at the age of 63. From 1827 to 1834, she was married to the Italian composer and singing teacher, Giovanni Tadolini.
Marco Arati was an Italian operatic bass active during the 1840s through the 1880s. Although he occasionally appeared at other opera houses in Italy, he was primarily committed to the Teatro di San Carlo where he sang roles for more than four decades. Even though he was one of the preeminent singers of his day, there is little known about his life.
Giovanni Battista Verger was an Italian operatic tenor and impresario. He particularly excelled in the operas of Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti.
Fabio Campana was an Italian composer, opera director, conductor, and singing teacher who composed eight operas which premiered between 1838 and 1869. He was born in Livorno, the city where his first two operas premiered, but in the early 1850s he settled in London. There he opened a famous singing school, conducted concerts, and continued his reputation as a prolific and popular composer of art songs and concert arias. His last opera, Esmeralda, premiered in Saint Petersburg in 1869, followed by London performances in 1870 with Adelina Patti in the title role. Campana died in London at the age of 63. Although his operas are no longer performed, his art songs can be heard on several modern recordings.
Adelaide Borghi-Mamo was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international career from the 1840s through the 1880s. She was married to tenor Michele Mamo and their daughter, soprano Erminia Borghi-Mamo, also had a successful singing career.
Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE is a British baritone and composer.
Maria Teresa Rebecca Brambilla better known as Marietta Brambilla was an Italian contralto who sang leading roles in the opera houses of Europe from 1827 until her retirement from the stage in 1848. She is best known today for having created the roles of Maffio Orsini in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia and Pierotto in his Linda di Chamounix, but she also created several other roles in lesser-known works. She was the elder sister of the opera singers Teresa and Giuseppina Brambilla and the aunt of Teresina Brambilla who was also an opera singer.
Malvina di Scozia is a dramma tragico in three acts by Giovanni Pacini. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto.
Michael Spyres is an American operatic tenor. He is particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire, especially the works of Rossini, and heroic roles in French grand opera.
Carlo re d'Allemagna is a three-act dramma per musica by Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti to a libretto by Giuseppe Papis, after Francesco Silvani, premiered at the Teatro San Bartolomeo of Naples on 26 or 30 January 1716. This is the composer's 79th opera out of 114 composed.