Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868)

A fantastic, relatively obscure Rossini. Invigorating enough on stage but mostly delectable as a listening piece. Armida is the only female role, and a fiendish coloratura one at that, but leaving much of the heavy lifting to the men, including the seven(!) tenor roles. The tenor trio(!!) in the final act is smashing, as is the ballet music. It's the high male voice writing that really gets me.

If you're one of those people who doesn't enjoy reading musical notes on a page, I'd recommend checking out the Renee Fleming/Gregory Kunde recording from the early 1990s. Early in Fleming's career, this is a live recording, but captures the musical sublimity of this piece well.

Merged review:

A fantastic, relatively obscure Rossini. Invigorating enough on stage but mostly delectable as a listening piece. Armida is the only female role, and a fiendish coloratura one at that, but leaving much of the heavy lifting to the men, including the seven(!) tenor roles. The tenor trio(!!) in the final act is smashing, as is the ballet music. It's the high male voice writing that really gets me.

If you're one of those people who doesn't enjoy reading musical notes on a page, I'd recommend checking out the Renee Fleming/Gregory Kunde recording from the early 1990s. Early in Fleming's career, this is a live recording, but captures the musical sublimity of this piece well.… (meer)