The Donizetti Opera Festival in Bergamo continues to present early works by Donizetti that have been unjustly neglected for decades. Alfredo il grande, a love story that explores the defeat of the invading Danish army by the victorious Britons, was first performed in 1823 and was revived in this production two centuries later. Skilfully orchestrated, it features memorable arias for the hero Alfredo, and includes a superb concluding rondo for the heroine Amalia, as well as a radiant quintet. The opera is heard here in Edoardo Cavalli’s 2021 critical edition. Gramophone called it ‘a vocally accomplished performance’ and ‘a fine revival’.

On its initial audiovisual appearance on Dynamic, Gramophone wrote that Gilda Fiume was ‘superb’, that ‘Antonino Siragusa is a gifted tenore di grazia’, that the whole production featured a ‘vocally accomplished performance’ and that ‘Corrado Rovaris directs it with point and precision’.

Conductor Corrado Rovaris has collaborated with various institutions including Teatro alla Scala, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, largely in the Baroque and bel canto repertoires. He was awarded a knighthood by the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2015, and was honoured in 2016 with the Franco Abbiati Prize.

Cast:
- Alfredo: Antonino Siragusa (tenor)
- Amalia: Gilda Fiume (soprano)
- Eduardo: Lodovico Filippo Ravizza (baritone)
- Atkins: Adolfo Corrado (bass)
- Enrichetta: Valeria Girardello (mezzo-soprano)
- Margherita: Floriana Cicìo (soprano)
- Guglielmo: Antonio Garés (tenor)
- Rivers: Andrés Agudelo (tenor)