Despite initial claims of being a "flop," "Ermione" was not quickly withdrawn due to bad reception, but rather because it premiered shortly before the end of the season, limiting its performances.
Composer's Artistic Vision
"Ermione" is primarily an opera about the calamitous side of love, where Amor (the god of love) is omnipresent as a force causing suffering, torment, hatred, and irrationality.
Performer Biography
Antonino Fogliani, the conductor, was appointed music director at Rossini in Wildbad in 2011 and has conducted in major opera houses internationally.
Composition History
Rossini committed to writing "Ermione" for the 1819 Carnival season in Naples, but due to various circumstances, its premiere was delayed until March 27, 1819.
Compositional Technique
The opera's libretto, based on Racine's "Andromaque," exaggerates the characters' excesses and reduces their motivations to raw feelings, which Rossini set with demanding vocal parts and unusual structural devices.
Recording & Production
This recording of "Ermione" was made in July 2022 at the Trinkhalle, Bad Wildbad, Germany, during the Rossini in Wildbad festival.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Rossini himself fostered the myth that "Ermione" was "All recitative and declamation" and his "little Guillaume Tell in Italian," which would not see the light of day until after his death.
