Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Your reviewer had high hopes for this release. The story of Moses in Egypt is a favourite and surely a great composer such as Rossini could make something of it. Perhaps the story is too well known or in the early years of the 19th century it was not the done thing to use a sacred story as entertainment but the composer does not really engage with the text. Instead, he uses a fictional sub-plot of a romance between Pharaoh's son Osiride (Filippo Adami) and a Hebrew girl Elcia (Akie Amou) to allow him to stay on the safe operatic ground of boy meets girl in a conflict between love and duty. It is pleasant enough although I cannot imagine that "Mose In Egitto" will replace "La Cenerentola" or "Il Barbiere Di Siviglia" in the operatic repertoire. One can praise the vocal performances of the eight soloists and the super-budget Naxos price keeps this release affordable. On the negative side, this is a live recording from the 2006 Rossini in Wildbad Festival and there are points at which a studio producer might have stopped the tape and asked for another go. There were not enough glitches to spoil the performance but too many to ignore. My main problem is that I know the Biblical material well but was soon depending on the CD scene synopsis to try and keep track of what was happening as Rossini went his own way. An excellent buy for Rossini collectors, an interesting recording for opera lovers but one that is of little interest to Bible readers.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.