Coronation of Charles X of France by François Gérard, circa 1827
Was it ever Rossini’s real intention? To perform it and then throw it away?
Rossini considered his opera Il viaggio a Reims an occasional piece, created for the coronation of Charles the X in 1825. The opera was first performed in Paris, with Giuditta Pasta as Corinna. It was a great success, but the composer pulled the plug after only three performances.
He reused much of the music in Le Comte Ory, the rest disappeared into various drawers in different countries (how appropriate, don’t you think?) and was only recovered in the late 1970s.
CLAUDIO ABBADO:
Pesaro 1984
The first “modern” performance of Il viaggio took place in Pesaro, in 1984. Claudio Abbado conducted an absolute star-studded cast, which had been brought together just for this occasion… In alphabetical order: Francisco Araiza, Lella Cuberli, Enzo Dara, Cecilia Gasdia, Eduardo Gimenez, William Matteuzzi, Leo Nucci, Ruggero Raimondi, Samuel Ramey, Katia
Ricciarelli and Lucia Valentini Terrani.
Youtube also offers the entire recording from Pesaro – on screen! – :
And Berlin 1992
Eight years later, Abbado conducted the opera in Berlin with mostly the same singers. Both performances were recorded live and both are very good. Personally, I prefer Cheryl Studer (Madama Cortese) on Sony (53336) to Katia Ricciarelli (DG 4777435), but that is entirely personal.
Encore from Berlin 1992
BARCELONA 2003
A visually arresting performance of Il viaggio was recorded at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2003 (Arthouse Musik 107 135). The action is set in a spa resort at the beginning of the 20th century, and the guests in bathing suits are being pampered by a variety of masseurs, nurses and beauticians. Everyone wears clothes with their country’s colours and the director has Corinna, dressed in an EU flag, solve every problem between them. Obvious? Definitely, but also very entertaining.
It’s just a shame that the singing is not that great. Apart from veteran Enzo Dara (Il Barone di Trombonok) and Josep Bros (Belfiore), the cast is mediocre, with the low point being the totally miscast Maria Bayo (Madama Cortese) and Simón Orfila (Lord Sydney). The latter looks very attractive in his swimming costume, but barely manages to sing a clean note.
https://www.operaonvideo.com/il-viaggio-a-reims-barcelona-2003-bayo-cantarero-bros-orfila-dara/
PARIS 2005
Valery Gergiev is not easily associated with Rossini’s music. Yet it was he who conducted a highly spectacular Il viaggio at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 2005, presenting young Russian singers to international audiences.
The orchestra sits at the back of the stage, forming, together with the conductor, a part of the
dazzling show which really takes place everywhere, even among (and with) the audience. Props and colourful costumes also play an important role, and there is even a real horse.
The singers are mostly young and, apart from Daniil Shtoda (Count Libenskof), unknown. It is clear that they still have a lot to learn, including proper pronunciation, but their performance is really very nice (Opus Arte OA 0967 D).
Below is an excerpt:
Antwerp:
Herinneringen aan een zeer geslaagde Il Viaggio a Reims in Antwerpen
Basia con fuoco 