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ROSSINI: IL SIGNOR BRUSCHINO
 Soloists: Dario Giorgele, Elena Rossi, Alessandro Codeluppi, Maurizio Leoni. I Virtuosi Italiani Conductor: Claudio Desderi 
Naxos 
***

Rossini wrote a number of one-act comic operas (commonly referred to as farse) for Venice between 1810 and 1813. The highly inventive and sharply observed Il Signor Bruschino was the last and one of the most successful of these and has always had its admirers since. This studio recording, made in Ferrara in 2002, has as its conductor Claudio Desderi, who himself sang the name part in another recording of this work some ten years ago. Despite his intimate knowledge of the work, he adopts safe conducting speeds which take away somewhat from its hilarious comic potential. The singers are adequate rather than memorable, while the overall sound is fine. It may not be the best version around but it is a bargain at the price of a single Naxos disc.

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