Nino Rota (1911-1979) was famous as a composer of film scores (including several Fellini classics and The Godfather), but this double-bill of two one-act operas demonstrates that his skill extended beyond the screen. Both are set at hotels and employ romantic melodies in the style of Puccini to tell very odd stories with a farcical tone that often seems out of sync with the music. I due timidi (1950) centers on a young man and woman who are both so shy that they cannot reveal their love for one another. An accident leads to both winding up with other partners—he with the mature lady who runs the hotel, she with a doctor called in to treat her. The second, La notte di un nevrastenico (1959) is about an insomniac who is so desperate for quiet that he pays for three rooms—his own and adjacent ones on either side. Trying to make some extra cash, the manager rents out the other rooms a second time—one to a soldier who drops his shoe on the floor while undressing, and the other to a couple who make love very loudly. Naturally, the noise wakes the sleeping man, who is infuriated at the disturbance and makes his anger clear to everyone. The performances, filmed at Italy’s 2017 Reate Festival, are decent rather than exceptional, but Gabriele Bonolis coaxes solid playing from the orchestra, and the singers handle Rota’s often demanding vocal lines quite comfortably. Also featuring pleasing sets and costumes, this is a minor but amiable production that would appeal to anyone wanting to explore the byways of 20th-century Italian opera. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)
Nino Rota: La notte di un nevrastenico / I due timidi
(2017) 105 min. In Italian w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.99; Blu-ray: $39.99. Dynamic (dist. by Naxos of America). Volume 34, Issue 5
Nino Rota: La notte di un nevrastenico / I due timidi
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