Composer: Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performer: Ermonela Jaho, Stephen Gaertner, Riccardo Massi, Patricia Bardon, David Stout
Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Maurizio Benini
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Opera Rara
Catalogue: ORC55
Release: 2016
Size: 1.21 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Zazà
CD 01
Act 1
01. Introduzione
02. “Brava! Brava!” (Bussy, Courtois, Floriana, Duclou)
03. “Stasera sono in voce!” (Courtois, Floriana, Duclou)
04. “Salute, ragazzi” (Zaza, Cascart, Bussy, Duclou)
05. “Buona sera, mia Zazà!” (Zaza, Cascart)
06. “Lo sai tu che vuol dire un uom che fugge” (Zaza)
07. “Tu sei buona” (Zaza, Cascart)
08. “Augusto, buona sera!” (Zaza, Anaide, Natalia, Duclou, Enrico)
09. “Ah! Ah! Ahi, la, la!” (Zaza, Milio, Cascart, Bussy, Courtois, Duclou)
10. “Ebben, Zazà?” (Zaza, Milio, Cascart, Bussy, Courtois, Duclou)
11. “Un uomo sol restavaci” (Zaza, Cascart, Bussy, Floriana)
12. “Dufresne, contarvene voglio una bella” (Milio, Bussy)
13. “È un riso gentile” (Milio)
14. “Allor tutto va bene!” (Milio, Bussy, Courtois)
15. “Non so capir perché se m’ami tu” (Zaza, Cascart)
16. “Ma bravi! Che delizia!” (Zaza, Cascart, Bussy, Courtois)
17. “Signore, entrate” (Zaza, Milio)
18. “Ripetiamo … ma prima vo’ cambiar veste” (Zaza, Milio)
19. “Vi duole?” (Zaza, Milio)
20. “Su Zazà!” (Zaza, Cascart, Bussy)
21. “A te, Cascart” (Zaza, Milio, Cascart, Duclou)
Act 2
22. “tu parti per questo gran viaggio? ” (Zaza, Milio)
23. “Zazà, Zazà, non ti attristare” (Zaza, Milio)
24. “Or tempo e baci per guadagnare” (Zaza, Milio)
25. “Fa presto, Natalia!” (Zaza, Natalia)
26. “Ecco gli stivaletti, signora” (Zaza, Anaide, Natalia)
27. “Zazà!” (Zaza, Anaide, Natalia)
28. “Ehm! Ehm!” (Cascart, Anaide)
29. “Ah, ah, ah! Che quadretto!” (Zaza, Anaide)
30. “Cascart, mio camerata” (Zaza, Cascart)
31. “Buona Zazà” (Zaza, Cascart)
32. “A Parigi una sera” (Zaza, Cascart, Anaide)
CD 02
Act 3
01. “Ah! Perche soletta sei laggiù?” (Anaide)
02. “O mio piccolo tavolo” (Milio)
03. “Ecomi pronta, Milio” (Milio, Un Tavernier)
04. “Lei dunque è la signora Dunoyer?” (Zaza, Un Tavernier)
05. “Qual turbamento!” (Zaza, Natalia)
06. “Signora, buona signora” (Zaza, Natalia)
07. “Signorina, vi abbiamo spaurita?” (Zaza, Toto, Natalia)
08. “Mamma usciva di casa” (Zaza, Toto)
09. “È nita!” (Zaza, Toto)
10. “È mammà” (Zaza, Toto, Natalia)
Act 4
11. “Così, nessuna nuova?” (Anaide, Courtois)
12. “Figliuola mia!” (Zaza, Cascart, Anaide)
13. “Zazà, piccola zingara” (Zaza, Cascart)
14. “Che? … Non vorresti farlo?” (Zaza, Cascart)
15. “Per buona sorte tutto è a suo posto” (Zaza, Milio, Natalia)
16. “Che notizie mi porti da Parigi?” (Zaza, Milio)
17. “Ebbene si, so tutto!” (Zaza, Milio)
18. “Zazà, tu mi rimproveri” (Zaza, Milio)
19. “Questo delitto hai compiuto?” (Zaza, Milio)
20. “Ed ora io mi domando” (Milio)
21. “Basta! Ritorna pur nella tua dimora” (Zaza, Milio)
22. “Che ho fatto?” (Zaza)
Zazà is Opera Rara’s first recording venture into the musical world of Leoncavallo and the operatic tradition of verismo. Maurizio Benini leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Ermonela Jaho in her recording debut as the eponymous Zazà. Jaho is joined by Riccardo Massis as her lover Milio; Stephen Gaertner as her onstage partner and former lover Cascart and Patricia Bardon as her mother Anaide.
Written in 1900 for the Teatro Liricio di Milano and conducted at its première by Toscanini, Zazà was Leoncavallo’s most popular opera after Pagliacci. In the 20 years following its première, Zazà received over 50 new productions in opera houses around the world. Opera Rara’s revival of Zazà is based on Leoncavallo’s own 1919 revision of his score which has been carefully researched by Maurizio Benini.
The Opera Rara label devotes itself to just what the name says, not only recording rare operas, but also mounting them in well-financed productions. They’ve excavated works that promise to reshape the operatic repertory some, and so it may be with this work by Ruggero Leoncavallo, which he preferred to the ubiquitous I Pagliacci. It offers a pure verismo story, featuring the titular character, a French music-hall singer who gets involved in a doomed affair with a married Parisian businessman. There is an extra level of verismo involved: Leoncavallo himself worked in music halls as a young man, and the opera rolls along at a good clip in the first act with plenty of colorful atmosphere and music. Leoncavallo wrote the libretto himself. Zazà was a success at first, but has rarely been staged since the 1920s, probably because it makes substantial demands on its lead soprano both dramatically and technically. The good news here is that soprano Ermonela Jaho succeeds on both counts. Her voice is a powerhouse, but her real accomplishment is that you care about Zazà as she meets her lover’s child, realizes what he is, and resolves to break the cycle she has experienced in her own life. Her supporting cast is strong; you can sample the ensemble “Su Zazà” for a taste of the energy that attracted audiences in previous live performances of this production. Opera Rara offers a clean studio recording here, which is all to the good. Recommended even to those who think they’ve heard enough verismo opera.