Francesca da Rimini - Opera Holland Park, 7 August 2010
Overcooked and under-inspired, Zandonai's opera itself isn't exactly a lost masterpiece, but there's enough in the Wagneresque orchestration and frantic melodrama to make it worth staging. The Met clearly think so too; they're putting it on in 2012.
Even with the reduced orchestration of Opera Holland Park, Philip Thomas made a compelling case for taking the score seriously. Nevertheless the rambling libretto, forgettable melodies and a curious dramatic structure that sidelines major plot points work against it.
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