The Cast
AGORANTE - Bruce Ford
ZORAIDE
- Nelly Miricioiu
RICCIARDO
- William Matteuzzi
IRCANO - Alastair Miles
ZOMIRA - Della Jones
ERNESTO - Paul Nilon
FATIMA - Carol Smith
ELMIRA - Alice Coote
(PMF Scholar)
ZAMORRE
- Toby Spence
(PMF Scholar)
Academy of St Martin
in the Fields
CONDUCTOR
- David Parry
BBC Music Magazine
'... musically it is delightful vintage Rossini'
Opera Quarterly
'American tenor Bruce Ford consistently justifies his formidable international reputation in a portrayal that brought his major career breakthrough when he sang this work in Pesaro in 1990. His opening scena is my nomination as the most magnificent recorded display of vocal prowess by a tenor in a
bel canto opera in at least twenty years...'
Gramophone
'Agorante's character, as it is purveyed to us by the libretto and through Rossini's music, is that of a reluctant tyrant. This is immediately established in Agorante's remarkable cavatina "Minacci pur" and proceeds to colour not only the role itself but the mood of the entire opera. Bruce Ford, it should be said at once, sings the part magnificently. It was he who recreated it on stage in Pesaro in 1990, alongside the present Ricciardo, William Matteuzzi. Not only is Ford's singing exemplary, his pacing of the role is masterly, allowing him to dig beneath the surface of the character and reveal the 'more in sorrow than in anger' aspect of Agorante's temper. Matteuzzi is also perfectly cast in the florid, bright-toned role of Ricciardo.
The rest of the casting is meticulous. Nelly Miricioiu, who has a hint of Callas in her tones, makes a plausible and affecting Zoraide, Alastair Miles is superb in the Commendatore-like role of her father Ircano, and Paul Nilon makes a strong impression in the role of Ricciardo's lieutenant Ernesto. It was also a stroke of genius to cast Della Jones as the defiant wife Zomira. This is a role that needs working at.'
