"Duet from 'Nina'"

And now to an Opera who's DVD cover makes it look like the love-child of hollywood director Tim Burton and little known composer Giovanni Paisiello; Nina.

The sentimental comedy that is Nina, is not very well known at all, in fact, according to the web, it barely exists at all. The only synopsis I can find is a vague one, but gives a bit of background to this wonderful duet.

So apparently I'm not that far off with the crazy Nina/Tim Burton description...as apparently Nina is a patient in a 'sanatorium', losing her reasoning due to her father's disapproval of Lindoro, her first choice for a husband. Though all is not lost, as Lindoro returns, and adopts the role of a friend when Nina doesn't recognise him. Through a series of hints, Nina slowly starts to realise who he is, and it ends happily ever after as they rejoice in their rediscovered love.

So this duet comes at the end of all this, when Lindoro has returned, and Nina is slowly coming to her realisation. Or she's already realised...I'm not entirely sure. There are several things that could be interpreted in both circumstances, so I'll give both sides. For example, there is a brilliant section, where both orchestration and vocal line, gallop ahead of the tempo set previously. This could indicate either a wave of realisation on Nina's part, that Lindoro is standing right in front of her. Or, considering the fact she's focused on removing his waistcoat, could be post-realisation excitement for who knows what...

When I first heard the music, I was immediately struck that it was a mix between Rossini Mozart-like orchestra accompaniment. There's something about the sweet, melodic line in some of the passages that so reminds me of phrases from La Clemenza, whereas the increasinly rhythmic focus as the piece goes on, makes me think of most Rossini compositions. There's also a violin phrase that comes inbetween vocal phrases that just has Rossini written all over it. Though this is just my ears, which may be a little uncultured...take a listen yourself to make up your own, probably more accurate, mind :)

It's interesting that Cecilia Bartoli is singing this role, written for a Soprano, even though she does have an impressive range. It's quite difficult to tell whether this is a wise choice or not, without any available comparisons, however, I enjoy the quality of her singing, which is so strongly based on the use of breath in rhythmic sections. Her face scares me slightly though; it's one of the most intense singing faces I've ever seen! I'm 100% sure that 97 year old, slightly blind Edna in the back row of the Met would be able to see every single one of her facial expressions. And that's no bad thing, she certainly tells the story! Jonas Kauffman on the other hand, is so relaxed in everway; vocal production and acting. That baritone quality of his tenor range really sets him apart from other tenors of his generation; creating a richness that you usually expect from the 'villian' and not the 'prince charming'.

I'm very excited that this is available on DVD...I may have to check it out on amazon.com - I'm becoming they're most valuable customer...