In order to circumvent the ban on operatic performances during Lent in Naples,
Donizetti designated Il diluvio universale as an azione tragico-sacra, but for all intents and purposes, it is an opera, albeit one on a religious topic. Based on the Biblical story of Noah and the flood, it includes a side plot concerning the conflict of the wife of the Chief Satrap, torn between faith in God and devotion to her idol-worshipping husband. The 1830 premiere was something of a fiasco because of glaring errors in the performance of the music and the failure of the stage machinery to produce the requisite flood on cue. In spite of those malfunctions, critics were favorable to the music, but the opera received only three productions in the nineteenth century.
The opera's obscurity is not entirely difficult to understand, even though it has many of the attributes of
Donizetti's better-known operas -- show-stoppingly flashy arias, ensembles of considerable musical and dramatic complexity, and a fine sense of dramatic pacing. Jeremy Commons, in his excellent essay in the sumptuously produced booklet accompanying the CD, speculates that at this early point in his career,
Donizetti didn't have the compositional resources to adequately convey the gravity and monumentality of the story, and that the plot lacked the kind of vulnerable and melancholy heroine who triggered the composer's most inspired work. Although it may never emerge as one of
Donizetti's masterpieces, the opera has many moments of lyric beauty and dramatic urgency and would be of strong interest to fans of bel canto.
The Opera Rara recording makes a strong case for the work.
Giuliano Carella leads the
London Philharmonic and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir in a vigorous and spirited performance. There are no weak links among the soloists, but soprano
Majella Cullagh, mezzo
Manuela Custer, bass
Mirco Palazzi, and especially tenor Colin Lee sing with agility, full tone, and dramatic intensity.