Luck has a lot to do with legacy in music, and Carolina Uccelli didn’t have much of it.
That’s why you may not recognize the name of this Italian composer, who was born in Florence in 1810 and died there in 1858. She was a promising talent, encouraged by Rossini, and had a first opera, “Saul,” under her belt by the time she was 20.
Then came her second opera, “Anna di Resburgo,” in 1835. It had the misfortune of premiering in Naples a month after Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Both featured a strong-willed soprano, and took place in the countryside of Scotland. But “Lucia” was a masterpiece written by a composer at the height of his powers, while “Anna” was the work of a beginner, not to mention a woman. (Few sophomore outings become classics; there’s a reason you almost never hear Wagner’s “Das Liebesverbot.”)
“Anna” was given just two performances before closing. Uccelli went on to write songs and tour with her daughter, Emma. She didn’t, however, compose another opera. The score for “Saul” was lost, and “Anna” went on to languish in a Neapolitan library.
That is, until it was picked up by Will Crutchfield, the invaluable bel canto specialist and founder of Teatro Nuovo, which at Montclair State University on Saturday gave the first known performance of “Anna di Resburgo” since 1835. Crutchfield tracked down the score, transcribed its 600 pages of chicken scratches and programmed it for his company, which is giving the opera a fantastic concert showing in repertory with Bellini’s more-famous “I Capuleti e i Montecchi.”
“Anna” travels to the Rose Theater in Manhattan on Wednesday. If you’re an opera lover, get a ticket. So rare is it to see this art form’s lost history return to life with such care and expertise. Most important is the revelation that Uccelli never deserved to be overlooked; she may have been a beginner, but she was good.
To get a full sense of her skill, it helps to attend Teatro Nuovo’s “pre-opera serenade” of eight songs by Uccelli, followed by a passionate lecture by Crutchfield that introduces the plot and ingenuity of “Anna di Resburgo.” The songs reflect an expansive palette: the florid lyricism and arpeggiated accompaniment of bel canto style in “Frena le belle lagrime”; finely woven melodies mixed with lightheartedness in the duet “I rematori”; breathless effervescence in the drinking song “Orgia” and “Il menestrello.”
Crutchfield’s primer helps, though hearing about the plot of “Anna” makes it sound more complicated than it really is. Gaetano Rossi’s libretto, previously set by Meyerbeer, is heavy on back story but spreads it out smoothly. Uccelli revised the text, streamlining it while expanding the roles of two minor but crucial characters.
To keep things simple, “Anna” is a story about the fallout of a murder. One lord was killed by his friend, who framed the victim’s son and confessed his crime on his deathbed, but only to his own son. The accused flees, while his wife leaves their child, now orphaned, with another household and disguises herself as a peasant to stay close by.
That all happens before the action of the opera, which unfolds at a breakneck pace. The murderer’s son, Norcesto (the mighty yet warm baritone Ricardo José Rivera), is tormented by the truth while also rousing the community to find the framed fugitive, Edemondo. At the same time, the orphan’s caretakers, Olfredo (the tenor Lucas Levy) and his daughter, Etelia (the soprano Elisse Albian), believe that the child could be Edemondo’s son, and that the peasant woman is Anna (the wonderful, agile soprano Chelsea Lehnea). Things come to a head when Edemondo (Santiago Ballerini, who blossomed over the course of the performance) returns and is promptly captured and sentenced to death, only to be rescued by Norcesto’s confession, making a tragic opera joyous.
Uccelli tells this story with the architecture of a typical Italian opera of her time. There are no surprises in how the first act develops, or how arias unfold. But every so often, there is a jolt in the harmony (in his lecture, Crutchfield called it spiciness) or a twist on tradition, like a patter aria used to terrifying rather than comic effect. Her ideas, while not always successful, are consistently interesting.
It’s clear that Uccelli had a masterly understanding of the voice. She also had a budding but brilliant ear for orchestration, brought to life by Teatro Nuovo’s period instrumentalists, with the violinist Elisa Citterio leading the players from her stand, alongside Lucy Tucker Yates as maestro al cembalo.
Teatro Nuovo, it should be said, is a humble outfit; as if it were 1835 again, “Anna di Resburgo” is getting only two performances. But, Crutchfield said in an email, a new edition of the score will be published, most likely next year. Uccelli’s music is worthy of a second shot at legacy, and this revival, two centuries later, has given her that. Finally, a bit of good luck.
Anna di Resburgo
This production travels to the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Manhattan, on Wednesday; teatronuovo.org.
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