Search - Donizetti, Elkins, Oliver :: Ne M'Oubliez Pas

The unfinished opera-comique

Brett Farrell | Cape May, NJ USA | 09/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of those treasures I've owned but never listened to and I do now regret it. "Ne m'ouliez pas" would no doubt have been a masterpiece had Donizetti ever finished it. The five songs that were written are spectacular especailly tracks 2 and 4. All the music for this unfinished treasure makes you wish Donizetti had lived long enough to come back to this project and finish it. As it is, it is believed that the contract expired and interest wanned. This is a shame but if his health hadn't failed or La fille du regiment had been initially succesful perhaps we would have this most french of Donizetti's pieces in total today.

Every aira and ballade is just stunning but track 2 and 4 should have lived on somehow. Track 4 being the most stunning of all. It reminds me of a tenor aria in Bizet's 'Les Pêcheurs de Perles' and is just hauntingly beautiful.

The rest of the CD is filled with highlights from other oepra's of Donizetti, all of which can be attained in compelte form from opera-rara now. The singing and orchestra are fantastic throughout as is the sound quality and the excellent booklet that it comes with. The book though is no where near as large as other opera-rara books but then as they have only to document five songs from an uncompleted opera, how much is there to write about?"