Rossini: William Tell – CD review

Antonio Pappano and his Academia di Santa Cecilia forces scored a notable success with Rossini's vast libertarian opera at this year's Proms. They recorded it live in Rome last autumn, albeit with a slightly different cast: most significantly, Tell was played by Gerald Finley, rather than by Michele Pertusi who took the role in London. Finley's performances marked the start of his gravitation towards a heavier repertoire, which culminated in his recent Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger at Glyndebourne. Tell lies slightly higher than Sachs, and there are a couple of moments towards the start when Finley sounds pushed in his upper registers. But he soon settles into a noble account of the role, sung with great warmth of tone and fastidious subtlety. His Gesler, in this instance, is the weak Carlo Cigni, but as in London, John Osborn is a spectacular Arnold, opposite Malin Byström's grippingly intense Mathilde. You can't fault either Pappano's conducting or the choral work, which is sensational in the extreme. The applause is included, however, and you might find yourself irritated by the man who shouts 'bravo' ahead of everyone else as the music dies away.