Presto Recording of the Week
23rd September 2022

Krassimira Stoyanova (Fleana), Arsen Soghomonyan (Radu), Stephen Gaertner (Tamar), Lukasz Golinski (The Old Man), Opera Rara Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Rizzi

Based on a poem written in 1827 by Alexander Pushkin, Zingari is a tale of passion, jealousy and crime in a Gypsy camp on the banks of the Danube.

This one-act opera was a huge success immediately after its creation in London in 1912 and had an incredibly long run, both in London and the United States. Marking Leoncavallo’s return to the verismo style of Pagliacci, Opera Rara’s version of Zingari showcases rich, colourful orchestral music with powerful choral moments and seductive arias.

The great Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova brings life to the beautiful temptress Fleana, who encourages and later rejects the passionate advances of aristocrat Radu, powerfully sung by tenor Arsen Soghomonyan. The American baritone Stephen Gaertner completes the fatal love triangle as Tamar, the brooding Gypsy poet.

"The spirit of 'Già nella notte' from Otello hovers over the glorious wedding-night duet which closes the first ‘episode’ of the opera, and its rapt twilit magic is beautifully captured by Krassimira Stoyanova and Arsen Soghomonyan...But the chief glory of this set is the orchestral playing, with superb solo work from the principal flute and the ‘viola pomposa’ who joins Fleana and Tamar in their love-duet; it all augurs brilliantly for Rizzi’s future with the label." - Katherine Cooper, Presto Music, 23rd September 2022.