Umberto Giordano (1867-1948) is only a well-known name among opera lovers thanks to 'Andrea Chenier' and 'Fedora'; operas of which several CD recordings are available, but which are rarely performed on stage. Giordano belonged to the 'new generation' of Italian opera composers vigorously pushed by the music publisher Sonzogno. As early as 1888, Giordano, then still a student at the Naples Conservatory,
… had entered a competition organized by this firm - 'Cavalleria rusticana' was the winning entry at the time. Although Giordano was unsuccessful, the jury was pleased with his work and the firm has been closely monitoring his progress ever since. After a few years, the first successes followed with the above operas, after which Sonzogno, who did not want to extinguish the flame under the artistic, but especially also commercial success, came with a new libretto that Giordano should set the tone - the publication rights were of course exclusive to Sonzogno. The result was the opera 'Siberia' recorded here. The plot, loosely based on Dostoevsky's 'Memories from the House of the Dead', revolves around Stephana, a courtesan who, among others, can count a prince, Alexis, among her clientele. When this Stephana's admirer, Vassili, meets he challenges him to a duel. Vassili injures Alexis and is banished to Siberia. Stephana joins him out of remorse and emotion for his sincere love, but her pimp has followed them and puts Stephana to shame with the other exiles. Finally she tries to flee, but she is mortally wounded and dies in the arms of Vassili. What is remarkable about this opera is that the last act is almost as long as the two previous acts together. Siberia was quite successful at the time. Sonzogno arranged a performance in Paris, and on that occasion Massenet, Fauré and Saint-Saëns, among others, commented positively on this piece. The plot may be one reason why the work fell into oblivion in the twentieth century - a 'romantic' opera about Siberia has something unsavory to it because of the memory of the gulags. Musically this work is not inferior to Giordano's more successful operas and thus opera fans will undoubtedly enjoy this recording of soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) What is remarkable about this opera is that the last act is almost as long as both previous acts together. Siberia was quite successful at the time. Sonzogno arranged a performance in Paris, and on that occasion Massenet, Fauré and Saint-Saëns, among others, were positive about this piece. The plot may be one reason why the work fell into oblivion in the twentieth century - a 'romantic' opera about Siberia has something unsavory to it because of the memory of the gulags. Musically this work is not inferior to Giordano's more successful operas and thus opera fans will undoubtedly enjoy this recording of soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) What is remarkable about this opera is that the last act is almost as long as the two previous acts together. Siberia was quite successful at the time. Sonzogno arranged a performance in Paris, and on that occasion Massenet, Fauré and Saint-Saëns, among others, were positive about this piece. The plot is perhaps one reason why the work fell into oblivion in the twentieth century - a 'romantic' opera about Siberia has something unsavory to it because of the memory of the gulags. Musically this work is not inferior to Giordano's more successful operas and thus opera fans will undoubtedly enjoy this recording of soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) Sonzogno arranged a performance in Paris, and on that occasion Massenet, Fauré and Saint-Saëns, among others, were positive about this piece. The plot is perhaps one reason why the work fell into oblivion in the twentieth century - a 'romantic' opera about Siberia has something unsavory to it because of the memory of the gulags. Musically this work is not inferior to Giordano's more successful operas and thus opera fans will undoubtedly enjoy this recording of soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) Sonzogno arranged a performance in Paris, and on that occasion Massenet, Fauré and Saint-Saëns, among others, commented positively on this piece. The plot is perhaps one reason why the work fell into oblivion in the twentieth century - a 'romantic' opera about Siberia has something unsavory to it because of the memory of the gulags. Musically this work is not inferior to Giordano's more successful operas and thus opera fans will undoubtedly enjoy this recording of soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) The plot is perhaps one reason why the work fell into oblivion in the twentieth century - a 'romantic' opera about Siberia has something unsavory to it because of the memory of the gulags. Musically this work is not inferior to Giordano's more successful operas and thus opera fans will undoubtedly enjoy this recording of soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) The plot is perhaps one reason why the work fell into oblivion in the twentieth century - a 'romantic' opera about Siberia has something unsavory to it because of the memory of the gulags. Musically this work is not inferior to Giordano's more successful operas and thus opera fans will undoubtedly enjoy this recording of soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG) Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by Manlio Benzi. (JvG)more