ERMANNO WOLF-FERARRI (1876-1948): I quatro rusteghi.

Description: The vitality and expressive range of this 1906 opera, the second of five Goldoni adaptations by the composer, allied with inventive music and ingenious orchestration, make this Wolf-Ferrari’s masterpiece in the eyes of many scholars; in “Opera Grove”, John C.G. Waterhouse calls it “one of the liveliest Italian operas since Falstaff”. Since all but one of the CDs versions of this floating around online are historical live recordings, this new one may be just the ticket for collectors of this composer. 2 CDs. Libretto and translation available online. European Opera Centre, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Vasily Petrenko.