Composer: Pietro Mascagni
Performer: Salome Jicia, Charles Castronovo, Teresa Iervolino, Massimo Cavalletti
Orchestra: Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Dynamic
Catalogue: CDS7960
Release: 2023
Size: 1.51 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Mascagni: L’amico Fritz (Live)
CD 01
01. Preludietto
Act I
02. Ma questa è una pazzia!
03. Son pochi fiori
04. Orsù, vieni tra noi
05. Chi mai sarà?
06. Laceri, miseri
07. Viva lo zingaro!
08. Son gli orfanelli
Act II
09. Ah, le belle ciliegie!
10. Bel cavalier, che vai per la foresta
11. Suzel, buondì
12. Tutto tace
13. Oh! Chi è che giunge?
14. Faceasi vecchio Abramo
15. Come va?
16. Quale strano turbamento
17. Fritz, noi partiamo, addio!
CD 02
01. Intermezzo
Act III
02. Tutto ho tentato
03. Mio caro Fritz! Ti volli salutare
04. O pallida, che un giorno mi guardasti
05. O amore, o bella luce del core
06. L’amico Fritz fantastica d’amore!
07. Non mi resta che il pianto
08. Suzel! – Signor!
09. Ah! Ditela per me
10. Amici, ho vinto
Building on the success of Cavalleria rusticana, Pietro Mascagni’s commedia lirica L’amico Fritz was given seven encores and thirty-five curtain calls at its premiere in Rome in 1891. Considered by critics to be one of Mascagni’s best operas, the story is that of a love triangle involving the wealthy Fritz Kobus and Suzel, daughter of one of his tenants, who together sing the famous ‘Cherry Duet’ in Act II. Returning to the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence for the first time since 1941, this production was acclaimed for its superb cast and astonishingly effective modern setting. Building on the success of Cavalleria rusticana, Pietro Mascagni’s commedia lirica L’amico Fritz was given seven encores and thirty-five curtain calls at its premiere in Rome in 1891. Considered by critics to be one of Mascagni’s best operas, the story is that of a love triangle involving the wealthy Fritz Kobus and Suzel, daughter of one of his tenants, who together sing the famous ‘Cherry Duet’ in Act II. Returning to the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence for the first time since 1941, this production was acclaimed for its superb cast and astonishingly effective modern setting.
Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana was almost a one-hit wonder for the composer, but its immediate successor, L’Amico Fritz, is still performed in Italy from time to time. It was well recorded in 1968 with Luciano Pavarotti in the lead role, but recordings aren’t common, and this live item from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is to be welcomed. Mascagni sought to make a U-turn from the grim Cavalleria Rusticana with this breezy romantic comedy, originally set in Alsace; it doesn’t suffer much from being transferred to the U.S. in this production, and CD buyers get a nice taste of the visuals in the booklet, with female lead Suzel in fashionable denim overalls. (The gypsy references perhaps make less sense, but opera is all about suspension of disbelief.) Nobody in the cast is a Pavarotti, but Salome Jicia is a believable and passionate Suzel, and there are no clinkers, either. Perhaps the strongest one in the company is conductor Riccardo Frizza, leading the Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; he keeps everything moving along and has a feel for the comic rhythms of the music. This opera has a contemporary flavor of the sort that would attract younger audiences to the art form, and this recording shows the way it might be done.