Wolf-Ferrari Jewels of the Madonna

[Alan Howe]

Wow! A verismo opera I'd never heard before! OK, the performance of Wolf-Ferrari's Jewels of the Madonna recorded in London in 1976 and now available on the Bella Voce label may not be in the highest of fi (it sounds as if it was transferred from rather swishy LPs), but what a marvellous work! Even some Tosca-like bells are heard in the early stages, so I was hooked. Great stuff indeed - and well worth a punt at bargain price.

Does anybody else know this unsung opera?

[JimL]

I always thought it to be the best known Wolf-Ferrari opera, right after Secret of Suzanna.

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

I always thought it to be the best known Wolf-Ferrari opera, right after Secret of Suzanna.

It was, but I don't believe it's done hardly at all these days.  One doesn't get much Wolf-Ferrari - I saw Sly here in Washington, at the end of Carrerras's career, and last year Wolf Trap did Le donne curiose, which I managed to miss.

I've heard it - I don't remember who's on the recording offhand (I believe it's an Opera d'Oro release from some years back).  My impression was that the first act was the best, with a really fine finale, and that it went a little downhill after that.  That being said, I'm about due for a revisit - I frequently find my mind is changed upon a second hearing.  (Has to do with mood, I suspect.)

Now to find the time, once I finish up with all my more recent purchases...

[Alan Howe]

I always thought it to be the best known Wolf-Ferrari opera, right after Secret of Suzanna.

Maybe, but there's never been a commercial recording of it...

[JimL]

What, never?  I seem to recall that the old World Book Encyclopedia mentioned it in its article on opera.  Of course, it also mentioned Massenet's Jongleur de Notre Dame...

[Alan Howe]

If one had been issued, I'd have bought it years ago...

[JimL]

See reply #2.

[Alan Howe]

See reply #2.

Not very helpful, Jim. There is no entry for this opera in Opera d'Oro's catalogue and in any case that label specialises in releases of live performances, of extremely variable quality - i.e. non-commercial recordings. The only recording currently available is on the Bella Voce label (which is similar to Opera d'Oro) and features a live performance given in London in 1976 - obviously an unofficial release of some sort. So, I repeat: as far as I know, there has never been a commercial recording of the opera...

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

I'll check when I get home - I don't think my recording is from London (though it's live, I know that much), but I could be wrong.

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

And apparently I am.  It's 1976, Erede, from London, released on the Bella Voce label.  (Which begs the question: where on EARTH did I pick it up?)

Sorry for raising your hopes. 

[Alan Howe]

No problem. I hadn't been able to find mention of any other recording, so I'd have been surprised...

[BerlinExpat]

I've had the BellaVoce CDs of The Jewels of the Madonna since 2002 but I can't remember where I bought it. I think it's screaming to be staged, but opera house managers obviously see it differently. Maybe it's simply expensive!?
I saw Sly some years ago in Schwerin and have two recordings: on Koch-Schwann 3-6449-2 in Italian with Isabelle Kabatu, Josè Carreras and Sherril Milnes; on Acantha 43 501 in German with Hans-Dieter Bader, Deborah Polaski and Klaus-Michael Reeh. Not to be missed is Das Himmelskleid on Marco Polo 8.223261-3 with the Hagen forces. There's an excellent La vedova scaltra from Montpellier on Accord 476 2675 and I Quatro Rusteghi on Agorá AG 083.2.
Unfortuantely, it seems as if all European opera houses are ignoring Wolf-Ferrari at the moment. Cenerentola has seen the light of days a few times in Germany in recent years but always in a version for children!

[Alan Howe]

I think it's screaming to be staged...

I entirely agree. Let's hope that someone somewhere has the courage to put it on...

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

At least in the States (where programming is sadly far more conservative than I would wish it...though I do see some glimmers of hope), I suspect it's because companies don't want to take a chance on semi-obscure verismo.  Puccini?  Fine.  Giordano?  Fine, if it's Chenier or possibly Fedora (with the right cast).  Cav and Pag?  Fine.  Adriana Lecouvreur?  Possibly, if you have a marquee name.  Otherwise?  Forget it.  It's rare to see slightly more unusual verismo rep around.  That being said (and I hate do to this to you  ):

http://www.grattacielo.org/gioielli1.htm
They did Gioielli in 2010.

Otherwise, picking my brain, I seem to recall a recent run of L'arlesiana in Florida, and there was that Le donne curiose at Wolf Trap last summer.  And the Met's doing Francesca da Rimini next season.  But that's it, on these shores, as far as I know (and I've likely missed something).  Whether or not it will change in the near future I cannot say.

(OK, OK...I'll climb down off the soapbox now...)

[Alan Howe]

That being said (and I hate do to this to you  ):

http://www.grattacielo.org/gioielli1.htm
They did Gioielli in 2010.

Yes, I'd encountered references to that performance in New York in 2010 - wonder if a recording was made of it?