Respighi Semirama

[Alan Howe]

I have just discovered the existence of the opera Semirama by Respighi. Excerpts sound mouthwatering...

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Ottorino-Respighi-Semirama/hnum/6456706

Does anyone know this opera?

[Mark Thomas]

Respighi actually wrote quite a few operas. I have one, La Fiamma, on an old Hungaroton set. It is sumptuousy orchestrated and pretty much sticks to the verismo school in its storytelling with plenty of action and some vibrant opportunities for its main soloists. It's also, for me at least, utterly unmemorable. There are plenty of melodies, of course, but none of them have stuck in my mind after listening quite a few times over the years. I have no idea how good a guide this opera from his mature years is to the much earlier Semirama.

[Marcus]

Hello Alan,
The first Rossini music purchased by me in the late 50's was the Semiramide overture. (RIAS.Fricsay). I then discovered the "Barber",the only Rossini opera I have heard,  and ever since, I have enjoyed Rossini's sparkling music. I then graduated to von Suppe & Strauss waltzes, before embarking on some serious romantic composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler & Bruckner etc.
Groves (5th Ed.) lists 39 operas & four pasticcios. (sounds like something you buy at the deli.)
Too much music to listen to !
Marcus.

[JimL]

Um, Marcus?  That's Respighi.  Not Rossini.  Respighi.  Different guy.  Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome, Ancient Airs & Dances, etc.  God, I sound like Jane Curtin talking to Emily Litella!

[Marcus]

Thanks again JimL. I did transgress a little, but  I think I know the difference between the two composers.
The trouble is, with my poor eyesight, I saw Semirama, then off on a tangent so to speak. Please forgive - I'll stay off the whisky, and you continue talking to Emily Litella. By the way, my hearing is perfect !
Marcus.

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Ooops, must have been dozing since Feb 1 and have only just noticed Alan's question.

There's (to my mind) a most mouth-watering recording of the complete opera, with Eva Marton, and conducted by Gardelli on Hungaroton HCD31197-98. It was reviewed in The Gramophone in July 1993. I remember enjoying it very much, though confess it hasn't been pulled off the shelves for a few years. (That's not a comment on the opera; more a comment on the finitude of precious time and my wayward ways!)

Peter

[eschiss1]

Tangentially- was just reading this this afternoon in The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music, and since this thread reminds me -
Semiramide, opera in 2 acts by Rossini to lib. by G. Rossi after Voltaire's Semiramis (1748)... also subject of about 40 other operas, incl. those by Porpora, Vivaldi, Hasse, Paisiello, Salieri, Meyerbeer, and Respighi. With exception of Respighi's, all were settings of text by Metastasio. - Michael Kennedy
(of Respighi's operas, have heard only part of Belfagor, I think, myself, so otherwise unhelpful I fear. Not the most-set of libretti, but 40 isn't half-bad, either.)

[M. Henriksen]

I know this is an older topic not being discussed in a while, but Mr. Howe had a question and I here's my contribution.
to answer it.

During the last months I've purchased the recorded operas by Respighi, among them the above mentioned "Semirama" released by Hungaroton in 1992.
So this evening, I finally found the time to listen through the whole work (I guess I suffer from the same fate as many others on this forum: too much music, too little time!).

It is fair to say that all of the composer's operas are quite unsung, and "Semirama" is no exception.
Set to a libretto by the Italian poet Alessandro Cerè and premiered in Bologna in 1910, this is the composer's second opera.
The story, concerning Queen Semirama (in this case the clearly insane Queen Semirama) and her love affairs, is as expected. Intrigues, murder, kidnapping, making out with her own son etc.
The opera has 3 Acts and an overall duration of approximately 2h 20 min.

The work is clearly inspired by Richard Strauss, but the introduction to Act 1 reminds me more of Franz Schreker's sound-world. And particularly this introduction and the following aria between Queen Semirama and her maid Susiana are in my opinion one of the stronger parts of the entire opera.
After listening to the complete opera, I must agree a bit with on the verdict of "La Fiamma" by Mark Thomas (see earlier post). Brilliant orchestration and a substantial use of the orchestra, challenging parts for the singers,  but honestly not very memorable. There are some glimpses of good tunes here and there, but no sections of "Semirama" tempted me into repeated listening during my first encounter with the work. A thing I've experienced earlier with the music of Respighi..
But all credit to conductor Gardelli and his forces. The recording impressed me, the sound quality was also very good. I can only hope that the rest of Hungaroton's Respighi-operas have the same stamp of quality.
I'm now moving on to "La bella dormente nel bosco" (Marco Polo - recording) which is considered to be one of Respighi's better works for the stage, totally different from "Semirama" though.

Morten

[eschiss1]

I've heard some of his opera Belfagor (there's also, I think, a Belfagor overture, but it's a related concert overture, not the overture to the opera. Yes, Respighi.) I only heard it once and don't remember its themes, so it's "unremembered" but perhaps not unmemorable. I do remember liking what I heard.
Eric

[M. Henriksen]

The Hungaroton "Belfagor" is lined up beside the stereo, so when I have the time..

I will surely return to "Semirama" by the way. Repeated listening are usually to the benefit of both music and listener!

Morten

[Pengelli]

Actually,Respighi arranged some Rossini into a very enjoyable ballet,so there is a connection between the two composers,besides their nationality. 'La Boutique Fantasque',(The Magic Toyshop) is,of course,the most famous one. It seems to have gone out of a fashion a little,of late,sadly.
Anyway,back to his opera's,(Respighi's,I mean!)............

[eschiss1]

Actually,Respighi arranged some Rossini into a very enjoyable ballet,so there is a connection between the two composers,besides their nationality. 'La Boutique Fantasque',(The Magic Toyshop) is,of course,the most famous one. It seems to have gone out of a fashion a little,of late,sadly.
Anyway,back to his opera's,(Respighi's,I mean!)............

There's also "Rossiniana" (1925, P148), which I heard (on a TV classical station) a year or so back, I think.  (Recorded at least once, on Chandos. Ends with an interesting Tarantella!)
Erm. Right then!