# Saverio Mercadante



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Saverio Mercadante so who is this fellow? KUSC fm noted he wrote like 50 operas. is he not a interesting composer?? here is the piece the station played. also can one recommend one of his more popular operas?


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

I don't know any of his operas, but I enjoy his flute concertos.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Mercadante was a major opera composer back in the 19th century, but he was mostly forgotten in the 20th.

Recently, his work has received more attention. I have been able even to attend a couple of his operas in the theater, and there are recordings of a few others.

Arguably, his biggest success was "Il giuramento", and it's a good place to start if you are interested. My personal favorite is a later piece, "Virginia", recorded nicely by Opera Rara.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

> My personal favorite is a later piece, "Virginia", recorded nicely by Opera Rara.


And I just received this one: Mercadante: I Briganti on Naxos
World Première Recording

​*Mercadante: I Briganti*

World Première Recording

Bruno Praticò, Vittorio Prato (bass), Maxim Mironov, Jesús Ayllón (tenor), Petya Ivanova (soprano), Rosita Fiocco (mezzo-soprano), Atanas Mladenov (baritone)

Camerata Bach Choir, Poznań & Virtuosi Brunensis, Antonino Fogliani


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

An underrated composer, if ever there was one. He was probably the most important composer in Italy between Donizetti and Verdi.

Inspired by Meyerbeer's _Huguenots_, he wrote a series of "reform operas":



> I have continued the revolution begun with Il giuramento: varied the forms, banished trivial cabalettas, exiled [Rossinian] crescendos, short tessitura, fewer repeats, some novelty in the cadences, care with the dramatic part, orchestra rich without covering the singing, no long solos in the ensembles, which force the other parts to be cold to the detriment of the action; little bass drum and still less brass band.


He influenced Verdi; he has Verdi's sense of drama and is arguably a more polished musician but lacks V's emotional directness and tunefulness.



> EDIT: A more polished musician... There's still a large Classical influence in Rossini's operas, and, to a lesser degree, those of Donizetti and Bellini. Sextets / septets / octets, &c, with the voice treated as an virtuoso instrument.
> 
> Mercadante *expands *the form in some of his operas; his harmonies and orchestration are more adventurous, and his numbers can be astonishingly long. (Listen to the pieces from _Orazi e Curiazi_ below!)
> 
> ...


*MUSIC*
_Orazi e Curiazi_ is monumental. Here are two frescoes from the opera: the oath scene: 



and the Act I finale: 




_Virginia_, as Schigolch points out, is a good 'un. It's another Roman one, about the father who kills his daughter to save her honour. It has an exciting trio: 




_Il bravo_, _Elena da Feltre_, _La vestale_ and _Emma d'Antiochia_ are also strong.

Most of Mercadante's operas are on YouTube (including radio broadcasts). Kirill's channel on YouTube (formerly known as LindoroRossini) has a lot of highlights, including:
_La vestale_ - Octet 'Quanto mi cinge': 



_Il reggente_ - Highlights : 



_Elena da Feltre_ - Act II finale: 



_Il bravo_ - Act I finale: 



_Il bravo_ - Act II finale: 




The sextet from _Gabriella di Vergy_ is also good: 




*READ MORE*

Stefan Zucker (Bel Canto Society) has an article on Mercadante, comparing him to Verdi: https://www.belcantosociety.org/saverio-mercadante/

The late Tom Kaufman has a good overview of Mercadante, with detailed reviews of recordings: http://www.oocities.org/vienna/8917/Mercadante.html. (His site is excellent for more info on Italian bel canto composers.)

Another intro here: http://guides.lib.fsu.edu/c.php?g=353115&p=2383505

Anyone with access to academic journals might like to read these:
https://academic.oup.com/oq/article-abstract/13/3/41/1540731/Mercadante-and-Verdi?redirectedFrom=PDF
https://www.jstor.org/stable/729743?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/730591.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

There are various recordings on YouTube, but you might want to start with two CDs published by Opera Rara:

_Mercadante Rediscovered_








http://www.opera-rara.com/mercadante-rediscovered.html

_Paventa Insano_








Ensembles from Mercadante and Pacini's operas
http://www.opera-rara.com/paventa-insano-pacini-and-mercadante.html


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

SimonTemplar said:


> There are various recordings on YouTube, but you might want to start with two CDs published by Opera Rara:
> 
> _Mercadante Rediscovered_
> 
> ...


yes i will thanks!


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

viewing on you tube and found this....guess this Saverio is really underated...check the views

I normanni a Parigi: Act IV Scene 4: Ul tuo sangue a me recasti! (Berta, All, Ordamante)
Barry Banks - Topic 
Barry Banks - Topic
Subscribe8
published 2015
8 views <------------------------------------


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

ldiat said:


> viewing on you tube and found this....guess this Saverio is really underated...check the views
> 
> I normanni a Parigi: Act IV Scene 4: Ul tuo sangue a me recasti! (Berta, All, Ordamante)
> Barry Banks - Topic
> ...


And you've stumbled onto one of the juicier secrets of YouTube.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

ldiat said:


> viewing on you tube and found this....guess this Saverio is really underated...check the views
> 
> I normanni a Parigi: Act IV Scene 4: Ul tuo sangue a me recasti! (Berta, All, Ordamante)
> Barry Banks - Topic
> ...


Strange taste on you tube, unknown is unloved.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Strange taste on you tube, unknown is unloved.


I'm not talking about the track itself; I'm talking about its provenance. For some reason, YouTube has entire albums available; not just pirate copies, but, like Spotify or iTunes, what seem to be albums published by the major labels. I presume advertising revenue goes back to the companies. Each video that goes up on YouTube is compared to copyrighted tracks, so infringements may be banned or only viewable in some countries. I can see more videos here in Australia than you can in the Netherlands. I'd still encourage buying albums.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> I'm not talking about the track itself; I'm talking about its provenance. For some reason, YouTube has entire albums available; not just pirate copies, but, like Spotify or iTunes, what seem to be albums published by the major labels. I presume advertising revenue goes back to the companies. Each video that goes up on YouTube is compared to copyrighted tracks, so infringements may be banned or only viewable in some countries. I can see more videos here in Australia than you can in the Netherlands. I'd still encourage buying albums.


That's my ( almost)greatest hobby.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I recently heard Muti's live recording of Mercadante's " I Due Figaro " (the two Figaros ) , which I borrowed from my local library , and found it quite enjoyable , if very Rossinian . I could have mistaken it for one of Rossini's least known operas if I hadn't known the name of the composer . 
The plot features some of the same characters in Le Nozze Di Figaro , and deals with later events in the life of the Almavivas, with one character passing himself of as Figaro . The plot is very complicated, but everything works out in the end . 
I'd definitely like to hear more of Mercadante's operas .


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

superhorn said:


> I recently heard Muti's live recording of Mercadante's " I Due Figaro " (the two Figaros ) , which I borrowed from my local library , and found it quite enjoyable , if very Rossinian . I could have mistaken it for one of Rossini's least known operas if I hadn't known the name of the composer .
> The plot features some of the same characters in Le Nozze Di Figaro , and deals with later events in the life of the Almavivas, with one character passing himself of as Figaro . The plot is very complicated, but everything works out in the end .
> I'd definitely like to hear more of Mercadante's operas .


Thanks for that tip I was still doubting, but now it's bargain hunt....


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Actually, I was present in the theater at the performance in Madrid (the recent one with Muti, not the one back in 1835 ).

Again, at that time Mercadante was considered as accomplished a composer as Rossini, Donizetti or Bellini. He received the commission for an opera that will be a kind of another chapter in the Figaro/Almaviva storyline, and he completed in 1826 (though due to problems with censorship it was premiered nine years later). Nine years, looking from now, it doesn't look that much, but the audience was by when more interested in Romantic melodramma that in an opera buffa like "I due Figaro", so it was not a success.

The music is based indeed on Rossini, and also a kind of 'spanish' flavour in the melodies. Muti did a great job with the orchestra, though the voices were not really the best ones (with the exception of Eleonora Buratto). Like in 1835, it was not a great success.


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## Eramire156 (Sep 28, 2017)

Just stumbled upon this thread, the Wexford Opera Festival will present Mercadante's *I'll Bravo* in its 2018 season. In the past Wexford has produced: Elisa et Claudio, 1988 / Elena da Feltre, 1997 / Il giuramento, 2002 / La vestale, 2004 / Virginia, 2010. There is usually a broadcast of the opening night.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Maybe I can revive this thread  really enjoying Virginia this afternoon. I think I’ll have to listen to i Briganti next


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

Probably we should also mention somewhere the set of _Il Giuramento_ on Orfeo .









Indeed if someone were to ask me, "I want one and only one Mercadante opera recording--which should I get?", I really think that would be my choice. _Il Giuramento_ was one of Mercadante's two most widely admired operas (the other being _Il Bravo_), and this recording has a cast a couple of notches stronger than any other Mercadante opera set on the market: the Vienna State Opera live in 1979 with Mara Zampieri, Agnes Baltsa, Placido Domingo, and Robert Kerns (all appropriately cast) conducted by Gerd Albrecht, in a good-quality stereo broadcast from Austrian Radio. Libretto isn't supplied, but a 19th century Italian-English libretto in befitting period style can be downloaded from Google Books.

In saying the above, I don't mean to denigrate the excellent recordings done by Opera Rara etc, as well as Muti's delightful Hispanico-Rossinian _I due Figaro_ already discussed in this thread. They may not feature the best voices in the world, but they're all sensibly & appropriately cast and give a very pleasant impression of the quality of Mercadante's work.

Then there's _Francesca da Rimini_ (composed 1830s, first performed 2016), available on DVD with a cast of similar standard. (Libretto by Romani in characteristically limpid, graceful Italian verse. But one needs to put all thought of Dante out of one's mind when watching it, just as one needs to put all thought of George Crabbe's Peter Grimes out of one's mind when watching Britten's opera. In both cases, one needs to say "This is a different story about different people who just happen to have the same names.") Am I being too provocative if I suggest that it might possibly be the finest new opera of the 21st century so far??? Well balanced, informative review here.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Eramire156 said:


> Just stumbled upon this thread, the Wexford Opera Festival will present Mercadante's *I'll Bravo* in its 2018 season. In the past Wexford has produced: Elisa et Claudio, 1988 / Elena da Feltre, 1997 / Il giuramento, 2002 / La vestale, 2004 / Virginia, 2010. There is usually a broadcast of the opening night.


And Il Bravo is online...


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

:angel:


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

It's hard to find a full list of commercially issued Mercadante opera recordings, so I've tried to compile at least a rough mud map of the territory. I've OMITTED (a) highlights recordings and (b) gray market or black market releases. (In the latter category, note that 1970-1971 centenary broadcasts of 3 operas unlisted below--_Elisa e Claudio,_ _Le due illustre rivali,_ and _Il reggente_--are widely available in low-quality transfers.)

An asterisk means that I think most listeners with an interest in Mercadante would find the asterisked set a safe purchase.

*EARLY OPERAS*

*Didone abbandonata (libretto by Metastasio, 1823)*
2018 (live, Innsbruck). DVD: Naxos 2110630 (with English subtitles); Blu-ray: Naxos NBD0095V (with English subtitles). Viktorija Miškūnaitė, Katrin Wundsam, cond. Alessandro De Marchi, dir. Jürgen Flimm.

*Caritea, regina di Spagna (libretto by Paolo Pola, 1826)*
1995 (live, Martina Franca). CD: Nuova Era 7258/60 (with Italian-English libretto). Nana Gordaze, Jacek Laszczkowski, Sonia Lee, cond. Giuliano Carella.

*I due Figaro (libretto by Romani, 1826)* 
*2011 (live, Ravenna). CD: Ducale DUC 045-047 (with Italian-English libretto). Mario Cassi, Eleonora Buratto, Annalisa Stroppa, Antonio Poli, Asude Karayavuz, Rosa Feola, cond. Riccardo Muti.

*Don Chisciotte alle nozze di Gamaccio (libretto by Stefano Ferrero, 1830)*
2007 (live, Wildbad). CD: Naxos 8660312-13 (Italian-only libretto can be downloaded from the Naxos website). Ugo Guagliardo, Domenico Colaianni, Laura Catrani, cond. Antonino Fogliani.

*TRANSITIONAL OPERAS*

*Francesca da Rimini (libretto by Romani, 1831)*
*2016 (live, Martina Franca). CD: Dynamic CDS 775303; DVD: Dynamic 37753 (with English subtitles); Blu-ray: Dyamic 57753 (with English subtitles). Leonor Bonilla, Aya Wakizono, Merto Süngü, Antonio Di Matteo, cond. Fabio Luisi, dir. Pier Luigi Pizzi.

*Emma d'Antiochia (libretto by Romani, 1834)*
*2003 (studio, London). CD: Opera Rara ORC 26 (with Italian-English libretto). Nelly Miricioiu, Roberto Servile, Bruce Ford, Maria Costanza Nocentini, cond. David Parry.

*I briganti (libretto by Crescini, 1836)* 
*2012 (live, Wildbad). CD: Naxos 8.660343-44 (Italian-only libretto can be downloaded from the Naxos website). Petya Ivanova, Maxim Mironov, Vittorio Prato, cond. Antonino Fogliani.

*REFORM OPERAS*

*Il giuramento (libretto by Rossi, 1837) *
1975 (live, Paris). CD: Rodolphe RPC 32417-32418 (without libretto). Michele Molese, Benedetta Pecchioli, Teresa Zylis-Gara, Lajos Miller, cond. Maurizio Arena. Slightly abridged.
**1979 (live, Vienna). CD: Orfeo C 680 062 I (without libretto). Plácido Domingo, Agnes Baltsa, Mara Zampieri, Robert Kerns, cond. Gerd Albrecht. Slightly abridged.
*1993 (live, Nantes). CD: Nuova Era 7179/80 (with Italian-French libretto). Giuseppe Morino, Martine Olmeda, Giovanna De Liso, Marc Barrard, cond. Giuliano Carella. Complete.

*Elena da Feltre (libretto by Cammarano, 1839)*
*1997 (live, Wexford). CD: Marco Polo 8.225064-65 (with Italian-English libretto). Monica Colonna, Nicola Ulvieri, Cesare Catani, cond. Maurzio Benini.

*Il bravo (libretto by Rossi, 1839)*
1976 (live, Rome). CD: Fonit Cetra Italia CDC 94 (with Italian libretto). William Johns, Miwako Matsumoto, Maria Parazzini, Paolo Washington, cond. Gabriele Ferro.
*1990 (live, Martina Franca). CD: Nuova Era 6971/73 (with Italian-English libretto). Dino Di Domenico, Janet Perry, Adelisa Tabaidon, Sergio Bertocchi, cond. Bruno Aprea.

*La vestale (libretto by Cammarano, 1840)*
*1987 (live, Split). CD: Bongiovanni GB 2065/66-2 (with Italian-English libretto). Dunja Vejzovic, Paola Romanò, Gianfranco Cecchele, cond. Vjekoslav Sutej. The star is for the work itself and the leading singers (especially the two mezzos); some of the other performers are undistinguished.
2004 (live, Wexford). CD: Marco Polo 8.225310-11 (Italian-only libretto can be read on the Naxos website). Doriana Milazzo, Agata Bienkowska, Dante Alcalá, cond. Paolo Arrivabene.

*LATER OPERAS*

*Orazi e Curiazi (libretto by Cammarano, 1846)* 
*1993 (studio, London). CD: Opera Rara ORC 12 (with Italian-English libretto).Nelly Miricioiou, Anthony Michaels-Moore, Marcus Jerome, cond. David Parry.

*Virginia (libretto by Cammarano, 1850)*
*2008 (studio, London). CD: Opera Rara ORC 39 (with Italian-English libretto). Susan Patterson, Andrew Foster-Williams, Paul Charles Clarke, cond. Maurizio Bernini.

*Pelagio (libretto by Marco D'Arienzo, 1857)*
2008 (live, Martina Franca). CD: Dynamic CDS636/1-2 (Italian-English libretto can be downloaded from the Dynamic website). Costantino Finucci (Pelagio), Clara Polito (Bianca), Danio Formaggia, cond. Mariano Rivas.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

gvn said:


> It's hard to find a full list of commercially issued Mercadante opera recordings, so I've tried to compile at least a rough mud map of the territory. I've OMITTED (a) highlights recordings and (b) gray market or black market releases. (In the latter category, note that 1970-1971 centenary broadcasts of 3 operas unlisted below--_Elisa e Claudio,_ _Le due illustre rivali,_ and _Il reggente_--are widely available in low-quality transfers.)
> 
> An asterisk means that I think most listeners with an interest in Mercadante would find the asterisked set a safe purchase.


Thanks for taking the time and trouble to compile this list - extremely useful!

Caritea, regina di Spagna: This is a rather long-winded Rossini imitation. There are some attractive pieces (a terzetto in the introduzione; the tenor duet; the contralto and tenor duet), but a lot of the score sounds like empty vocal display. Doesn't help that the cast isn't top-drawer.

Emma d'Antiochia: I haven't heard this for a while, but I remember some splendid ensembles and unusual orchestration. I should drag it out again.

Il giuramento: The plot is conventional bel canto fare: a complicated romantic quadrangle, jealousy, love, hatred, revenge, and multiple murder. But it doesn't sound conventional. A thoughtful response to the French grand opéras of Meyerbeer and Halévy, with their extended scenes, rich harmonies and orchestration, and propulsive dramatic movement. I prefer the Albrecht recording (even though abridged) to the French production; Domingo was apparently called in at the last moment, learnt the part in three days, and sounds completely at home. That's talent!
The article accompanying the Carella production is written by one Dr. Evil. Diabolical mastermind takes time off from plotting world domination to listen to bel canto opera in his volcano lair.

Orazi e Curiazi: This is magnificent. The drama grips; the orchestration and harmonies are unusual for Italian opera of the time; and Mercadante composes monumental frescoes: the oath scene, the Act I finale, the harrowing ending.

Virginia: Another great one, from memory. I remember a superb trio at the end of Act I (although the tenor could be less reedy), and a tenor aria of unusual cut.

Pelagio: The Martina Franca recording leaves a lot to be desired; the tenor and chorus struggle. But there are some splendid things in the score, particularly the father/daughter duet in Act II.


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

I think those comments sum up very neatly the characteristics of the recordings in question. In fact this:


Meyerbeer Smith said:


> The plot is conventional bel canto fare: a complicated romantic quadrangle, jealousy, love, hatred, revenge, and multiple murder. But it doesn't sound conventional.


seems to me a good description of just about all Mercadante's 1830s plots! I used to be exasperated with them. It bothered me that they were all so overcomplicated & implausible. Then one day I was reading a Raymond Chandler novel, and I realized that the situation is exactly the same there. The actual plot is hopelessly complicated, almost unintelligibly obscure, and (when scrutinized in the cold light of day) either wildly implausible or quite impossible. But that's part of what gives the thing its special atmosphere. With a simpler, more lucid plot, it wouldn't have the effect it does. Chandler, like Mercadante, is portraying a world in which everything happens crookedly, in confused crosscurrents in dark, obscure corners, and you're not entirely sure what has happened and what hasn't.

Verdi does something similar in _Foscari_ and _Boccanegra_. He picked up a lot from Mercadante, and he seems to me most Mercadantean of all in those two dark, brooding, overcomplicated works. (Did some critic apply to _Boccanegra_ Shakespeare's line about "the dark backward and abysm of time," or did I just imagine that? At any rate it's the feeling I get from _Boccanegra_, and from Mercadante too.)


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

Meyerbeer Smith said:


> Orazi e Curiazi: This is magnificent. The drama grips; the orchestration and harmonies are unusual for Italian opera of the time; and Mercadante composes monumental frescoes: the oath scene, the Act I finale, the harrowing ending.
> 
> Virginia: Another great one, from memory. I remember a superb trio at the end of Act I (although the tenor could be less reedy), and a tenor aria of unusual cut.


It's interesting to observe how very positively everyone responds to these two operas nowadays (see also the comments from others earlier in this thread). Julian Budden, in a fascinating article (richly packed with thought), even calls _Orazi_ "the work in which Mercadante is most himself." At any rate they strike me as the most diversely colorful Mercadante operas I've encountered, the most imaginatively composed, the ones with the most mingled light & shade. (I don't intend this as a value judgment, merely as an attempt to describe their distinctive character.) Someone should have another attempt at _Pelagio_. In a recording of comparable standard, it might seem to have comparable merits!


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