Stradivarius' series La voce contemporanea in Italia is a comprehensive survey of new vocal music from Italy, where opera, it seems, is "king" and perhaps always will be. The artist on all volumes of the series, of which this is the fourth, is
Duo Alterno, consisting of soprano Tiziana Scandaletti and pianist Riccardo Piacentini. Scandaletti is a very gifted new music soprano; she is not a high-priced diva known for singing works of living composers, but a singer who is especially well-versed in avant-garde techniques; more like
Cathy Berberian,
Jan de Gaetani, Esperanza Abad, and other new music sopranos of a bygone generation. Piacentini -- when you can hear him -- appears to be as expert inside the piano and in handling external sound sources as he is at the keyboard. On the Riccardo Piacentini work An Mozart (2008), they are joined by the
Penderecki String Quartet.
Before getting to the highlights of the program, it should be mentioned that recording quality of this disc is a major drawback to enjoying it. Although recorded in a proper studio, it's miked like a university recital; there are simply not enough mikes in the piano, and even Scandaletti seems to be drifting off the mike here and there. The string quartet as an ensemble is almost inaudible; one hears only single instruments poking in and out of the texture. It's a pity, as this is a very strong program that seems to have the legacy of opera at its heart. Although the text of
Sylvano Bussotti's Lachrimae (1976) is not included, it comes off like a twelve tone vampire intermezzo, with wicked laughter and a high sense of campy drama. Marcello Abbado -- the elder brother of famed conductor
Claudio Abbado -- is represented by Vocalizzo sopra "Ma se mi toccano dov'è il mio debole" dal Barbiere di Siviglia (1997), and the familiar Rossini aria is transformed into erotic moaning with atmospherics courtesy of Piacentini's dexterous handling of the piano strings. The pièce de resistance, however, is Scandaletti's solo take on
Cathy Berberian's Stripsody (1966),
Berberian's only composition and a tour de force for an operatic soprano looking to stretch out; Scandaletti performs it with considerable enthusiasm and it's a great deal of fun.
By virtue of just a few more microphones, Stradivarius' La voce contemporanea in Italia, Vol. 4, would have been a whole lot better. However, opera fans have had to deal with sound far poorer than this in their listening, and if it's opera's lunatic fringe one is interested in, this should prove highly satisfying.