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Notes
The conductor Ulf Schirmer has a special knack for the light Muse – as his regular operetta performances with the Munich Radio Orchestra, many of them documented on cpo, have shown over the years. Munich was also the site of the 1906 premiere of Die vier Grobiane / I quatro rusteghi by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, a work answering to the description of a modern comic opera and displaying this composer’s typical combination of marvelously chatty parlando and charming melodicism. There are two sides to the conflict fueling the plot: four curmudgeonly husbands who believe that they can and should exercise absolute rule over their wives and children and female characters who engage in intrigues. The action of the opera is set in Venice and elaborates a source text by Carlo Goldoni (1760). The composer scores his points with a tone of considerable lightness, a small orchestral ensemble entrusted with the presentation of a famous intermezzo, and spirited melodies in part based on folk songs. The wealth of ideas developed in his harmonic scheme remaining within tonal limits is also surprising.
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Reviews
“--- it’s a pleasure to report that Die vier Grobiane could hardly be better served than it is here. The cast is strong, with enough tonal variety to help us tell the characters apart. Christine Buffle triumphs in Felice’s breathless, high-lying ‘patter’ number, and the young lovers (Christina Landshamer and Markus Francke) are ideally fresh. Zoryana Kushpler’s sonorous contralto makes hay as Lunardo’s young9ish) new wife; Margarita’s exhanges with her stepdaughter have a subtly competitive edge that means they scratch a little deeper than the rest of this genial score. Ulf Schirmer’s operatic releases from CPO are always worth hearing, and this – his second Wolf-Ferrari project for the company, following Die neugierigen Frauen a decade ago – adds another jewel to his crown. Such a dainty confection needs everything to fall into place, and Schirmer’s impeccable timing, added to his care for vocal and instrumental balance, manages the trick to perfection. Given demonstration-quality recording, minimal audience noise, good notes, and even a full libretto and translation, here is a set to cherish, of an unassuming but gracious entertainment.”
Christopher Weber - Opera – June 2020
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