Livietta e Tracollo

Celebrated in his day primarily as a composer of heavy opera seria, the tragically short-lived Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's (1710-1736) real legacy lies in his comic intermezzos—short humorous sketches performed during intervals between the acts of his full-scale operas (their popularity led to the emergence of opera buffa as a separate form). Livietta e Tracollo offers a sprightly mounting of skits Pergolesi composed as an adjunct to his now-forgotten Adriano in Siria in 1734. In the first part, intended for the intermission between Acts 1 and 2, Tracollo (bass Werner Van Mechelen)—disguised as a pregnant woman to escape the law—is accosted by Livietta (soprano Nancy Argenta), who is wearing the garb of a French peasant in order to trap him. In the second, meant to be performed between Acts 2 and 3, Tracollo, now masquerading as a mad astrologer, woos Livietta, who pretends to be dying. While the situations are obviously farcical, Pergolesi's music falls pleasantly on the ear, and is nicely performed in this 1998 mounting—featuring attractive sets and costumes—at an unspecified Belgian venue. The original-instrument La Petite Bande delivers a scintillating reading of the orchestral score under Sigiswald Kuijken, while Argenta and Van Mechelen sing well (though the latter strains for the lowest notes) and appropriately mug their way through the nonsense. Presented with LPCM stereo sound, this solid staging is recommended. (F. Swietek)