A remarkable Ermione reviewed

Just re-listened to the marvellous new recording of Rossini’s rarely-performed opera Ermione on the Opera Rara label. I can’t understand why it’s not performed more often (well, I can in a practical sense, because it makes fairly extreme demands of its singers).

The recording brought back memories of Glyndebourne’s superb mid-1990s production, in which I saw the brilliant young tenor Paul Nilon – who also appears in this set, now a mature and compelling artist. You can see that Graham Vick Glyndebourne staging on a Warner DVD (featuring Anna Caterina Antonacci, Bruce Ford and Diana Montague), but this new Opera Rara set fits the bill for a modern, good-sound audio version.

Here’s a sneak peek at Richard Osborne’s review, a version of which appears in the December issue of Gramophone.