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Mayr: Demetrio, Re Di Siria / Agudin, Opera Obliqua Stand De Moutier, Wielki Poznan Theater

Mayr / Opera Choir Of Teatr Wielki / Agudin
Release Date: 07/31/2012 
Label:  Oehms   Catalog #: 958   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Giovanni Simone Mayr
Performer:  Piotr Friebe,  Bénédicte Tauran,  Amaya Dominguez,  Lisandro Abadie,   ... 
Conductor:  Facundo Agudin
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Wielki Theatre Orchestra,  Wielki Theatre Chorus,  Opera Obliqua Stand De Moutier
Number of Discs: 1 
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Notes and Editorial Reviews



MAYR Demetrio, Re di Siria • Facundo Agudin, cond; Amaya Dominguez (Alceste/Demetrio); Bénédicte Tauran (Cleonice); Piotr Friebe (Olinto); Elizabeth Bailey (Barsene); Lisandro Abadie (Fenicio); Matteo Mezzaro (Mitrane); Jura SO; Opera Read more Ch of Teatr Wielki, Poznan • OEHMS OC 958 (2 CDs: 155:35) Live: Moutier 2011


There’s been a mini renaissance of the music of Simon Mayr in the last several years, particularly his operas. The German-born composer was a contemporary of Beethoven and Rossini and composed more than 70 operas, as well as much other music. After studying in Italy, Mayr settled in Bergamo where he became first a teacher and later a confidante and councilor to the young Donizetti. Many of his operas were first performed at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.


The opera given here, Demetrio, Re di Siria , was Mayr’s last, staged in 1823 in Turin. It is based on a heavily revised version of a libretto by Pietro Metastasio written nearly 100 years earlier for the composer Hasse. Mayr’s commission for the Carnival season in Turin was for the purpose of honoring a petty prince who had recently returned to power. Demetrio tells the story of the return to the throne in ancient Siria of its rightful heir through the benevolence of the current ruler, Cleonice. Though the story was probably outmoded and old-fashioned for the times Mayr’s music was quite up to date, already reflecting some influences of Rossini and the other Italian bel canto composers. The Oehms label has issued several other Mayr works and along with Naxos and Bongiovanni has spearheaded the Mayr revival in recordings. This CD set was recorded at the Moutier Festival (Switzerland) in 2011.


It is difficult to form an overall impression of Mayr’s music, of which I have heard very little. The overture is cleverly written and strongly reminiscent of Rossini, but Cleonice’s showpiece aria sounds much like Mozart, to its credit. It turns out the overture was borrowed from another opera, Atalia, so Mayr must have considered it one of his better pieces. Most of the principal singers are required to provide some fioratura and sing cabalettas, so it is clear we are well into the bel canto era. The orchestra plays pretty well, except for an annoying piccolo or high flute that is very shrill. There is a nice extended passage for solo violin before and during Cleonice’s aria that is played beautifully. French soprano Bénédicte Tauran as Cleonice is by far the best of a very mixed singing cast. She sings with beauty and agility and surprisingly is one of the very few who can manage Mayr’s coloratura runs and roulades with any sure mastery. Spanish mezzo Amaya Dominguez encounters some difficulty with the pants role of Demetrio. She sings much better on her YouTube clips, perhaps she was having an off night. The less said about Polish tenor Piotr Friebe the better, he is not good here, and overparted for his role. The smaller roles are sung adequately though some of their music has been cut. Everything is well recorded and the sound is good except for some distracting stage noises. I commend Oehms for helping resurrect these little known operas but it is a great shame they don’t provide a libretto of any kind, or even a good synopsis. To add to the confusion the characters singing on each track are not consistently identified. That aside, the Oehms set is in all likelihood the only way we will ever hear this opera, and there is some entertaining and enjoyable music here.


FANFARE: Bill White
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Works on This Recording

1. Demetrio by Giovanni Simone Mayr
Performer:  Piotr Friebe (Tenor), Bénédicte Tauran (Soprano), Amaya Dominguez (Mezzo Soprano),
Lisandro Abadie (Baritone), Elizabethq Bailey (Soprano), Matteo Mezzaro (Tenor)
Conductor:  Facundo Agudin
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Wielki Theatre Orchestra,  Wielki Theatre Chorus,  Opera Obliqua Stand De Moutier

Sound Samples

Demetrio: Sinfonia
Demetrio: Act I: Introduzione
Demetrio: Act I: Subito dopo l'introduzione
Demetrio: Act I: Duetto
Demetrio: Act I: Dopo il Duetto
Demetrio: Act I: Coro
Demetrio: Act I: Dopo il Coro
Demetrio: Act I: Sortia di Alceste
Demetrio: Act I: Dopo la sortia di Alceste
Demetrio: Act I: Quartetto
Demetrio: Act I: Dopo il Quartetto
Demetrio: Act I: Aria: (Barsene)
Demetrio: Act I: Recitativo e Cavatina: (Cleonice)
Demetrio: Act I: Dopo la Cavatina: (Cleonice)
Demetrio: Act I: Finale
Demetrio: Act II: Introduzione
Demetrio: Act II: Dopo l'Introduzione
Demetrio: Act II: Duetto: (Alceste, Olinto)
Demetrio: Act II: Dopo l'Aria di Mitrane
Demetrio: Act II: Duetto: (Cleonice, Alceste)
Demetrio: Act II: Dopo il Duetto di Cleonice ed Alceste
Demetrio: Act II: Aria (Alceste)
Demetrio: Act II: Dopo l'Aria di Alceste
Demetrio: Act II: Aria (Olinto)
Demetrio: Act II: Dopo l'Aria di Olinto
Demetrio: Act II: Coro
Demetrio: Act II: Aria di Cleonice e Finale

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