Alfano Il Dottor Antonio

[Alan Howe]

Sounds rather attractive in a Zandonai/Montemezzi sort of way:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/il-dottor-antonio/hnum/7868080

[Alan Howe]

Calling Adriano! Do you know this opera by Alfano at all?

[BerlinExpat]

Il dottor Antonio is Alfano's last opera, the first performance being in 1949. Its sound world is more advanced than Resurrezione and more akin the the more modern sounding Zandonai operas. IMHO I wouldn't place it near Montemezzi. It's definitely not romantic sounding and although I've had the recording for many years it's not one I have found inviting to return to, as I have with Resurrezione and La leggenda di Sakùntala. Listening to extracts again I feel the opera falls more into the avant-garde category of L'ombra di Don Giovanni although Konrad Dryden maintains the opera "combines pleasing lyricism while retaining a relatively modern style approaching Cyrano ."
I hope that helps, Alan.

[Alan Howe]

I have the opera in the well-sung, if rather elderly-sounding recording now reissued on Line Music. To me it sounds like his earlier music, but I need to listen to the whole thing to come to a firm conclusion. I like what I've heard so far, though.

Thanks for your post - very helpful.

[adriano]

Sorry for this late reply, Alan. I stumbled over this work's old recording once in the late 1970s, whilst consulting the Rome RAI archive on Respighi matters. They played it for me and I rather liked it, but I can't remember anymore exactly why. I can only remember how happy I was to listen to one of my favourite italian tenors: Giacinto Prandelli (who also recorded Respighi's "La Fiamma" and Zandonai's "Francesca da Rimini" for the RAI).

[Alan Howe]

Yes: Prandelli was a fine and largely unsung tenor. I think I remember my parents having records featuring him dating back to the 50s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacinto_Prandelli

[alberto]

BTW Giacinto Prandelli was the first Peter Grimes on stage in Italy (La Scala , 1947, cond. Tullio Serafin).

[Alan Howe]

That's a very interesting role for an Italian tenor.

[eschiss1]

... anymoreso than an Italian-language one would be for a British tenor? Not following.

[Alan Howe]

Well, consider Prandelli's repertoire as an Italian tenor of his time. Wikipedia has this:

He excelled in Italian and French lyric roles, such as; Edgardo, Duca di Mantua, Alfredo, Enzo, Rodolfo, Pinkerton, Cavaradossi, des Grieux, Werther, Gounod's and Boito's Faust, etc. He also sang in many contemporary works by Alfano, Wolf-Ferrari, Menotti, Respighi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacinto_Prandelli

In other words, this is hardly the repertoire of a singer associated with the role of Peter Grimes - which has been sung almost exclusively by English-speakers, not by Italians. By the way, Prandelli sang the role in Italian, not English.

Would Pavarotti have attempted such a feat? Indeed, has any other Italian tenor attempted the role?

[Alan Howe]

In fact, I have discovered that Argentinian tenor, José Cura, has sung the role - in rather mangled English, apparently:
http://operawire.com/theater-bonn-review-2016-17-peter-grimes-jose-cura-shifts-the-blame-on-main-character-concocting-an-engrossing-production/

However, Cura is at the end of his career and hardly to be compared with Prandelli.

[Alan Howe]

And with that, back to the Alfano...