Koukourgi

Even the most ardent fan of composer Luigi Cherubini won't have heard this comic opera, and with good reason: Cherubini began work on Koukourgi around 1791 but never completed it, leaving the opera without an overture or a third-act finale. In this 2010 world premiere from Austria's Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Heiko Cullmann has fashioned a performing edition from surviving materials, adding the overture to Ifigenia in Aulide (1788) as a curtain-raiser and reworking a conclusion Cherubini wrote for a 1789 Paris performance of Paisiello's La Molinara. The result is a sprightly concoction set in a Chinese court under assault from Tartar marauders, where the princess Zulma is loved by the brave orphan Amazan but wooed by Koukourgi, the cowardly son of a general. Although the French libretto—which could allude to contemporary events in the ongoing French Revolution (a fact that might explain why it was never finished)—is undistinguished, Cherubini's music is unfailingly gracious for both voices and orchestra. The spoken German dialogue (including much narration by Koukourgi)—written for the Austrian audience—kind of clashes with the sung French text; but it's good enough to show off the work's amiable qualities. And while the set is modest, the costumes are ornate and colorful. The Kärntner Sinfonieorchester plays well for Peter Marschik, and the soloists—Çigdem Soyarslan as Zulma, Johannes Chum as Amazan, and Daniel Prohaska as Koukourgi—along with the chorus are solid. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo, this agreeable introduction to a pleasant 18th-century rarity is recommended. (F. Swietek)