Rossini’s Inganno Felice at La Fenice

It is always a pleasure to return to La Fenice, for me the most beautiful opera house in the world. The one-act early opera by Rossini, L’inganno felice, was a welcome departure from the conventional repertory. Although subtitled “farsa per musica“. its comic elements remain subordinate to the romantic melodrama. Pity that the director Bepi Morassi sought to extract as much physical humour as possible from the less serious passages. Nor was it clear what purpose was served by the First World War setting. But these qualifications apart, the short evening proved to be a musical delight. Rossini’s lithe, inventive score was superbly conducted by Stefano Montanari and the young singers all gave pleasure. Notwithstanding a weak lower register and a flawed climax to her big aria, Marina Bucciarelli offered an alert and satisfying Isabella, Giorgio Misseri had exactly the right voice for the leading tenor role, and there was good support from the three baritones, Omar Montanari, Filippo Fontana and Marco Filippo Romani.  Another lesser known Rossini gem.