Les grandes ouvertures d'opéras

Description

Rossini's Overtures have flourished on record, with great orchestras enhancing the inventive material but forgetting that they are primarily curtain raisers. This is how Marc Andrae and his Italian soloists, a small ensemble that could fit in the modest pits of theaters in far-off provinces, present them. Some may find that their wings are clipped a bit, lacking grand sound in the tutti, but the clarion call of Turco in Italia, the delightful imagination of La Scala di seta and its transparencies, and the oddities of Il Signor Bruschino are captured with spirit, and while one may not experience intoxication, there are indeed many surprises. However, this is not enough, when transitioning to the seria, to make the change: Tancredi marks the limit of such an endeavor, but one will appreciate the lively gesture and happy musicality of this lovely disc throughout the eight other overtures. (Jean-Charles Hoffelé)