La Campana Sommersa

While Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) is best known for his orchestral works, he also composed several pieces for the stage, although none are now regularly performed. That makes this 2016 mounting of his 1927 fairy-tale opera The Sunken Bell from the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari an unusual and welcome event, since it boasts attractive music presented within an impressive production. The story revolves around a bell-maker named Enrico, whose latest creation is submerged in a lake by a prankish faun. Moved by his grief, beautiful water spirit Rautendelein enters the real world to console Enrico, who in turn falls in love with her, leaves his wife Magda, and repairs to the forest to build a pagan temple. Only when he hears of Magda’s suicide does he return home, and on his own deathbed he prays to kiss Rautendelein one more time. Based on a play by Gerhart Hauptmann, the plot recalls Dvořák’s better-known Rusalka, while the score combines the richness of Richard Strauss with the voluptuous orchestration that Respighi learned from his mentor Rimsky-Korsakov (there are no immediately memorable tunes, but the level of craftsmanship is consistently high). The Cagliari company does this rarity proud, with veteran Donato Renzetti eliciting sensual and vigorous playing from the orchestra. The soloists—led by Angelo Villari (Enrico) and Valentina Farcas (Rautendelein)—might not have world-class voices, but they deliver committed performances, and the sets and elaborate costumes hew to the old-fashioned fairyland specifics of the story (video projections are also effectively employed). Presented in DTS 5.1 and PCM stereo, this most worthwhile unearthing of a neglected opera is highly recommended. (F. Swietek)