ERMANNO WOLF-FERRARI: SLY José Carreras – Sly Sherrill Milnes – Earl of Westmoreland Isabelle Kabatu – Dolly Chorus and Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona David Gimenez – conductor Koch Schwann 3-6449-2 2CDs, £££ TPT: 114'01

Best known in this country for his one-act opera Il Segreto di Susanna (1909), the Venetian Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948) is a composer ripe for rediscovery. He wrote thirteen operas in all, the most successful of which are those which are comic in tone, such as the example above and the two Goldoni-based works Le Donne Curiose (1903) and I Quattro Rusteghi (1906); here his music combines light-footed eighteenth-century idioms with more Romantic elements – particularly in the orchestration. Sly comes from much later in his career (1927); the libretto is a queasily-melodramatic reworking of the 'Induction' from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew by Puccini's sometime collaborator Giovacchino Forzano.

The first Act is set in the Falcon Tavern in London of 1603. We are introduced to various secondary characters as well as the Earl of Westmoreland and his beloved Dolly, who is slumming it among the ordinary people out of boredom with life at Court. A vigorous picture of pub life is created with a particularly important role being assigned to the male chorus. It is a surprise to encounter within the vocal-orchestral texture substantial references to traditional British tunes such as the shanty "Donkey Riding", "All through the Night" and, if you please, "The Floral Dance". The company has been anticipating the arrival of the poet Christopher Sly and eventually he appears, very drunk. He is terrified when Snare the policeman enters to arrest him for debt. That danger over, Sly sings a song about a bear and its mate, and generally longs for a life of love and security before passing out in a stupor. This gives the Earl an idea for a practical joke: he has his servants take Sly to Westmoreland Castle, gives orders that he should be dressed in lavish attire, and ,when he wakes up, that he is to be treated like royalty. Despite warnings that this jape may end badly, Sly is carried off.

The opera is unified by various recurring motifs, for example the Bear song – a not very memorable 6/8 lumber – and a pattern which rises a second and then a fourth is heard at the end of Act 1. The rather anonymous dramatic music contrasts with picturesque scene setting, which is much more Wolf-Ferrari's forte; for example the entrance of exotically-dressed servants in Act 2 signals some perky janissary music from the orchestra. The final act is, however, powerfully written: after an almost unaccompanied introduction for three male servants, Sly begins his affecting soliloquy. The music achieves an intimacy through chamber music scoring, subtly mirroring the turbulent emotions in the man. Here at last is real lyrical breadth in the vocal line – something that has perhaps been missing earlier on.

This is a recording of a live performance from Barcelona. It takes a little time to get used to the rather boxed-in sound of the orchestra but the voices ring through truly. Isabelle Kabatu sings the part of Dolly with great sensitivity, her tone being warmed by a generous vibrato. Sherrill Milnes, as the Earl, delivers his part with authority but his upper register is no longer as full-blooded as it used to be. José Carreras as Sly convincingly conveys this character's torment in a great dramatic and vocal performance. The chorus is focused in tone and confident in some pretty tricky writing. David Gimenez conducts an excellent orchestra and keeps the music action moving along briskly.

Alisdair Jamieson