Vaccai: La sposa di Messina - world premiere recording

"Vaccaj is an attractive, if not particularly original, melodist. But his dramatic sense is exceptional, and the opera has an implacable momentum that makes it compelling...Wakako Ono's Beatrice sounds suitably alluring, but the star is Jessica Pratt as Isabella, fearsomely impressive in a big role bel canto divas should, by rights, have been queuing to sing for decades."
-The Guardian April 2012

The operas of Nicola Vaccaj, renowned as a vocal teacher and still known today for his Metodo di Canto, employ a similar bel canto style to that of his rival Bellini. Based on a tragedy by Friedrich Schiller, the powerfully dramatic plot of La sposa di Messina deals with the inescapable and, in this case, destructive nature of destiny. Vaccaj's own 1839 première was dogged by bad luck, and the subject proved too controversial for Venetian audiences despite its numerous superb set pieces. After one complete and one partial performance, it was not staged again until the 2009 revival heard on this live recording.