Let me say at the very outset that musically Belisario is one of Donizetti’s very finest works. Dating from 1836, it came hot on the heels of Maria Stuarda and Lucia di Lammermoor and it finds the composer at the height of his lyrical powers. It had a bumpy ride to opening night (see the excellent booklet) but despite cast problems and a libretto that had been turned down by a previous management Donizetti enjoyed something of a triumph.

The young librettist, Salvadore Cammerano, was to become one of the century’s greatest, but here he fails to make everything add up to a satisfying dramatic whole. Belisario’s embittered wife, who in the first act looks set to be the prima donna, fails to put in an appearance in Act Two, while the tenor who turns out to be her long-lost child is an old saw long past its sell-by. The composer too made the odd slip – the perky second tune of the overture for example is at odds with the tragic nature of Belisario’s fall from grace, blinding and eventual demise. BUT, that aside, there are some superb scenes to be relished, especially in a performance as compelling as the one delivered here by the intrepid Opera Rara.

The cast is remarkable, even by the company’s high standards. Joyce El-Khoury as Antonina is every inch the woman scorned, singing with glorious tone and passionate commitment. Nicola Alaimo as her husband Belisario is positively Cappuccilli-like in his gruff nobility while Camilla Roberts in the not-quite-soprano, not-quite-mezzo role of their daughter Irene sings with radiant tone. Perhaps the standout, though, is the American tenor Russell Thomas as Alamiro, the rediscovered son. His is a world class lyric-dramatic voice of thrilling intensity. With Sir Mark Elder on fire on the podium and a state of the art recording this has to be a contender for every opera award going.