Opera Rara ORC 15	Italian Opera Rarities LO7714-15
Maria Tudor	Nelly Miricioiu	Penelope Walker
Clotilde Talbot	Mary Plazas	Marilyn Hill Smith
Riccardo Fenimoore	Bruce Ford	Keith Lewis
Ernesto Malcolm	José Fardilha	Christopher Blades
Gualtiero Churchill	Alastair Miles	Assen Vassilev
Conductor	David Parry	David Parry

Like Saffo, Maria, Regina d'lnghilterra contains many individual pieces of great beauty, especially the closing arias for the two protagonists, Mary Tudor and Riccardo Fenimoore. The latter's prison scene is particularly effective in all of its movements: a melancholy prelude, an elegiac andante sung with great feeling and a striking cabaletta. It is superior to many prison scenes by better known composers. The final scene for the Queen is just as beautiful. Pacini first sets the mood and builds tension with a heart-rending funeral march, then provides a striking duettino for the two ladies, and, finally a very effective aria finale for the prima donna. This particular scene can be regarded as equivalent in beuty and interest to comparable scenes in many similar bel canto works. Other highlights, earlier in the opera, include a beautiful off-stage barcarole for the tenor, followed by a confrontational duet between him and the baritone, and a rousing duettino for the two "basses".

The plot is strikingly similar to that of Roberto Devereux, although many of the details differ. And, of course, it is placed in a later reign.

The performance is wonderful, due to one of the finest casts so far assembled by Opera Rara. Nelly Miriciou is just about perfect for the title role, which she sings with deep feeling and almost reckless abandon. Bruce Ford, of course, has long been recognized as one of the finest tenors for bel canto opera, while both Mary Plazas and Jose Fardilha strike me as being highly promising new voices we are likely to hear much more of.

I have the pleasure of having Mr. Fogel's permission to reproduce a review of his, which was originally posted on rec.music.opera of Aug. 2, 1998:

Opera Rara's new recording of Giovanni Pacini's "Maria Regina d'Inghilterra" is a winner on all counts. First the opera itself -- after three complete hearings (and a few more samplings of favorite spots) I feel comfortable saying that this opera does not have to take second place to much of Donizetti's work. It is a bel canto vehicle with strong soprano and baritone roles (a bit less of a tenor part), and the melodic inspiration is strong. The music is dynamic, varied, and rhythmically alive as well. If you enjoy Donizetti and Bellini, this is worth seeking out (Opera Rara ORC 15). So often in an out-of-the-way opera we have to put up with a third-rate performance. That is not the case here. Nelly Miricioiu is at her very best, singing with abandon and style. At times she sounds like a Callas imitator, but not slavishly or stupidly so. There are few moments where she pushes the voice out of tune -- but they are always due to the excitement and flair with which she is singing -- and one doesn't mind them. This is a deeply committed performance, the kind that Leyla Gencer used to give, and that we had hoped for from Elena Suliotis (before she went down in flames). Baritone Jose Fardilha is also quite wonderful -- ringing tone, elegant phrasing, and generous sense of line and phrase. Bruce Ford continues to impress me as one of the best of today's lyric tenors for this kind of repertoire -- and David Parry conducts with abandon and intensity. There are moments when I wish he could lean into a long phrase the way Serafin or Gavazzeni could at their best, but he still does a commendable job in keeping the opera moving. Opera Rara supplies a thick booklet with libretto and a very long, informative essay about the opera -- a model production.

Henry Fogel

This recording has also received enthusiastic comments from all my friends who heard it, as well as equally enthusiastic reviews. It is an even bigger improvement than their Rosmonda d'Inghilterra was over the earlier pirated Italian Opera Rarities version, and is, in my judgment, the "bel canto" recording of choice for 1998.

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