We continue with another except from "Maometto", this time the Act Two duet of the would-be lovers.
Maometto II, one of the greatest and most complex structurally of all of Rossini's serious operas, was the penultimate opera written for the Neapolitan stage by Rossini, and well beyond the grasp of the Naples audiences, as it wasn't a hit, on the scale of, say, the much more traditional "Eduardo" or "Ricciardo": the orchestrations are rich and complex, already looking forward to the Wagnerian scale of "Guillaume"; the forms - all original, dramatical and, even more, ideally suited to each situation; thematic unity holds the opera together through long stretches and disparate pieces (there are only eleven numbers that occupy three hours of music). Not only are the emotional stakes of the individual characters high, but the settings are rich and exotic, the vocal display full of splendor, and the music appealing. "Maometto" proved to be a valuable work to Rossini, for he rewrote it twice into simpler, yet highly successful operas.
To be honest, "Maometto" is best represented by the central terzettone for Anna, her father and Calbo. The number, not only original but also incredibly long (28 minutes of continuous music), will be posted, after I will upload the second finale in the framework of this compilation.
Maometto united three singers of the "Quintet": Galli, Colbran and Nozzari who plays the father of Colbran's character.
Anna's and Maometto's duet is actually the more traditional of all eleven numbers that form "Maometto": it is just a reprisal of the classical "moderato - andante - allegro" succession but Rossini uses the traditional form to build up a very intense encounter of the warrior and his love. The moderato begins as Maometto's heart is touched by the sight of Anna's tears (well, he did try to make her betray her own homeland, he imprisoned her father and suitor and threaten her in the preceding recitative more than one time); in a lengthy arioso that forms a chief part of the andante Anna starts contemplating death, Maometto, entering only at the end, is slowly understanding that Anna's protests actually are just a way of hiding her true feelings to the commander. Finally, a brilliant allegro section brings both to the edge: Anna turns down Maometto's offer and says that she would prefer a grave to his love; while Maometto becomes furious with what he sees as Anna's betrayal of his emotions. A musically enjoyable, if not exactly noteworthy, scene, all in all.
Here we have the beautiful singing of Samuel Ramey and June Anderson.
