The sound is good and the balance between pit and stage is well judged. The orchestra play well and the secco recitatives are swift and lively. In the first duet Fanie Antonelou stands out with her excellent voice, beautiful, steady and expressive. Baritone Gianpiero Ruggeri as Don Parmenione is also good, and the soprano Elizaveta Martirosyan more than that. She has a silvery timbre…Her cavatina…is a beautiful piece and it is beautifully executed. This is singing of the utmost accomplishment.

Count Alberto is sung with lyrical elegance by the Icelandic tenor Garðar Thór Cortes.

The present production…is first-class, adding up, perhaps, to more than the sum of its parts…Garoar Thór Cortes…sings well and with reasonable style…he has the flexibility for the rolling triplets of his cabaletta, and he fearlessly hurls out bright, ringy high notes.

Elizaveta Martirosyan, as…Berenice, has a pleasing, soft-grained lyric timbre…Gianpiero Ruggeri’s compact, resonant baritone makes for a strongly profiled Don Parmenione…Joan Ribalta sings Don Eusebio in clear, articulate tones…All the soloists inflect the recitatives alertly…

Gianpiero Ruggeri gives a good performance as the Don, and the lyric Icelandic tenor Garðar Thór Cortes is a fine Count. Elizaveta Martirosyan has a bright soprano voice that is right for the role of Bernice, and the rest of the cast are all quite competent. Antonino Fogliani conducts briskly as he should, and the sound is excellent.

Any Rossini lover should have a recording of this opera. This recording is good… © 2013 Fanfare Read complete review

…as is clear from these discs and recent performances it is an inventive and enjoyable work. I have found listening to this performance an exhilarating experience.