Giovanna d'Arco

The seventh release in the Tutto Verdi series from Parma's Teatro Regio, compiling all of Verdi's operas, offers another rarity—a mounting of the composer's 1845 opera about Joan of Arc (here, Giovanna), which turns the martyr's life into a romance in which she's torn between her divinely inspired duty and her worldly love for France's King Carlo (Charles VII), whose throne she saves from the English. The third major character in the plot is Giacomo, Giovanna's father, who accuses his own daughter of witchcraft but saves her from execution when he hears her at prayer, allowing her to lead the French army to their final victory, although she is mortally wounded in the process. Historically, this is nonsense, of course, but Verdi's score is lovely, effective, and well conducted by Bruno Bartoletti, who draws both vigorous and sensitive playing from the company orchestra. Shining in the major roles are Svetla Vassileva (Giovanna), who exhibits a strong soprano, and Evan Bowers (Carlo), a ringing tenor. The sole drawback is veteran Renato Bruson's rather wobbly vocalism as Giacomo. Gabriele Lavia's production—featuring period sets and costumes—is highly traditional, and while the staging is a bit static at times, overall this is pleasant to the eye. Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray version) and PCM stereo, the sole extra here is a brief introduction to the opera. Both for those collecting the entire set and those wanting to fill a lacuna in their Verdi collections, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)