Brother act

The Jesi foundation continues its tireless quest of making Pergolesi operas available on video. It’s been mentioned before but Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was considered an important transitional composer. Before his premature death at the age of 26 he had already moved away from the formal structures of the baroque opera seria and into the lighthearted romantic capers of opera buffa. Mozart and Rossini owe much to Pergolesi.

Lo frate ‘nnamorato was composed in 1732 but has many of the features of opera buffa that would later become standard—saucy maids, mistaken identity, rather convoluted love triangles, and of course, an “all’s well that ends well” finale. The singers on this DVD are fine without really being spectacular. Elena Belfiore is a standout as Ascanio, the object of the three ladies’ affections. Patrizia Biccirè‘s Nena was another excellent casting choice, as was Rosa Bove (Cardella).

The Jesi production updates the scene to 1950’s Italy. Unlike the other Pergolesi productions this one is on the fancy side—there are sets, there are costumes. There’s however no real attempt to actually dramatize the story beyond the most bare-bones buffa schtick. Perhaps the best characters are Vanella and Cardella, the two maids. Their snide commentary recalls the humorous, down-to-earth maids that Mozart created in Despina and Susanna.

The Pergolesi style takes some time to adjust to—although he still uses the A-B-A aria di capo format, gone are the spectacular vocal fireworks that Handel built into his operas. There’s more of an emphasis on ensemble singing, and a lighthearted musical style that fits the silly romantic capers of the story. But (and I’ll get in hot water here), I don’t think Pergolesi was a melodic genius. I’ve now reviewed three of his operas and while there are certainly moments of great beauty and charm in all of them, they don’t sustain a three hour running time. Interest tends to sag towards the end of the opera.

As it happens this is not the only version of Lo frate ‘nnamorato available on DVD. There is a 1989 performance from La Scala with Muti conducting that I have not yet viewed, but there are plenty of excerpts of that production available on YouTube.