Why is this night different from all other nights?

On all other nights, we eat either unleavened or leavened bread, but tonight we eat only unleavened bread.

On all other nights, we eat all kinds of vegetables, but tonight, we eat only bitter herbs.

On all other nights, we do not dip [our food] even once, but tonight we dip twice.

On all other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining, but tonight we only recline.

I posted this beautiful Passover plate when I wrote about the synagogue in Pesaro; it is an example of the ceramics that were created by Jewish artisans in the region in the 1600s.  

To all my friends who will begin their seder meal with that question and those answers I wish the Happiest and Holiest of Passovers.

Chag Pesach Sameach.

18 aprile - la prima sera di Pesach

I Am Not A Shoe Fetish! Honest!

Its just I can't get over the shoes on display here in Italy. Not just in the high fashion centres like Milano or the slightly lower fashion (except in its own mind) Roma but in the high end shops in towns like Pesaro.

Though these are not as outrageous as some of the footwear on display in Milano I am still trying to figure out where the smart upper middle class woman would wear these in Pesaro???? Though for some reason I am seeing them with a multi-pleated thirties style dress in a soft brown with matching fur at the cuffs in a revival of The Women. I really must stop watching those 30s movies!

28 agosto - Sant'Agostino d'Ippona

The Scuole On Via Sara Levi Nathan

You may recall that last year on my visit to Pesaro I came across a rather unusual and touching memorial to the expulsion of the Jews under the Manifesto of Race enacted in 1938. By that time there were very few Jews living in Pesaro as much of the community had moved to Ancona and the records show that no one was actually deported from Pesaro. However Jewish refugees from Croatia, Germany and Poland had been rounded up but unlike many people they were not herded into internment camps but housed in private homes or hotels in the town. They were required to report to the police daily but there was an unspoken agreement with the local authorities so it was more observed in theory than in practice. They were the lucky ones - others in the Urbino region were not as fortunate and made the journey to camps and almost certain death.

This poster from the Museum display at the Sephardic Synagogue gives graphic voice to the restrictions placed on Italian Jews with the enacting of the Manifesto of Race in 1938.

It was the repetition of an age old pattern of tolerance-intolerance for the community in Pesaro. There had been a Jewish settlement in the town since 1214; a community that had lived mostly at peace and in a live-and-let-live arrangement with the local rulers and populace. Over the years other Jewish merchants – expelled from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies - came into the town and integrated into the Italian community. However with the persecution, expulsion and execution, under Papal decree, of the Marranos of Ancona a new community of Portuguese (Shepardic) Jews migrated to the town. A protest blockade of Ancona harbour shed new importance on Pesaro and Guidubaldo Della Rovere was more than happy to welcome merchants, doctors, artisans and commerce into his Dukedom. Though his attitude was to turn less welcoming when the harbour proved too shallow for major trading.

In 1507 Gershom Soncino opened a printing house in Pesaro and worked there with some interruptions until 1520. He produced, besides books in Italian and Latin, an impressive range of classical Hebrew texts including a book of Festival Prayers thought to date from 1520.

It was at that time that construction was begun on the Shepardic Synagogue in what was the old Jewish Quarter. It is thought that Mordekhaj Volterra, a wealthy Portuguese banker, commissioned and financed the building prior to leaving the city for Firenze where he became Francesco dei Medici's financial and political adviser. This dates the building from between 1556-1559. It housed not only a scuole but community offices, an infant school, a school dedicated to the studying of the Kabbalah and a music school.

This beautiful Passover plate - typical of the period in design - from the Pesaro Ghetto dates from 1614 and is currently in the Jewish Museum in New York City.

When the Duchy of Urbino devolved to the Papal States in the 1600s a ghetto was created and with the closing of the Italian rite Synagogue outside its boundaries only the Sephardic scuole was left for the community. The boarded up Italian synagogue was badly damaged in the 1930 earthquake and eventually demolished in 1940. During the period of Nazi occupation it goes without saying that the Sephardic Synagogue was closed down.

In 1944 the liberating British Army included an all Jewish regiment who reopened the Synagogue and services were held there for the last time. The building was left abandoned and it deteriorated rapidly. With the agreement of the Jewish Community in Ancona, who own the building, the City of Pesaro took it over and began a restoration project in 1990. Work was finally completed in 2004 and the building opened as a historical site.

The Sephardic Synagogue is actually on Via delle Scuole a narrow street just off Via Sara Levi Nathan. A bit of investigation revealed that the street was named after the Pesarese Sara Levi (1819-1882), a friend of Mazzini and Garibaldi and the mother of Ernesto Nathan (London 1845-Rome 1921), a Mayor of Rome. The main portal faces the east (Jerusalem) and the small door at the right led to the woman's gallery.

Because it is only open on Thursday afternoon's for a few hours I've never been able to visit it in previous years. This year I decided that as this may well be the last trip to Pesaro for a while I had to see it. It is a small but fascinating piece of Italian and Jewish history.

At the entrance to the synagogue there was a water stoop for the ritual thrice washing of hands before prayer (top). It still shows signs of the elaborate stucco work that capped it - it is probably that the niche wall would have been painted with an elaborate design. The mikveh (bottom) would have been for total immersion bathing as required prior to Yom Kipper and other occasions. Both were fed by a natural spring.

The ground floor houses an interesting exhibition on life in and around the Synagogue and detailed explanations of the various artifacts and rituals in Italian and English. Rather amusingly of the two possible translations for the Italian Pasqua (Passover or Easter) the English version has the Sephardic community celebrating the Christian festival.

The communal baking oven was used only for baking of the Passover matzoh which would have been overseen by the Rabbi. Given the size of the oven the matzo would have been baked in small batches - the dough kneaded as a community effort in the same room and put into the oven immediately to avoid contamination from leavening.

We were encouraged by a very friendly lady to go up the staircase to what she said - with obvious pride in her voice and on her face - was a treasure for Pesaro. And she was right - even in its current state the Prayer Room has an incredible beauty.


The large rectangular room was filled with light from three walls of large windows; the fourth wall enclosed the women's galleries. The colours were light - mostly whites, grays, blues and soft browns. Benches lined the walls - contrasting natural wood with panels painted a deep green - the only dark colour in the room.

When the magnificently carved, gilt wooden arc was in its place in the niche it must have been an awesome sight. Even without it the detailing in the stucco work surmounting the niche is impressive. I'm not sure what the Hebrew letters say and would appreciate help from any of my friends who can read it.

The east end of the room - facing Jerusalem - has a large niche for the arc - a magnificent carved gilt Aron ha-Kodesh which is now in the care of the Jewish community in Livorno. Likewise the elaborately carved and gilded bimah or reading stand was moved to the Levantine synagogue in Ancona. Unfortunately no effort has been made to recreate them as part of the restoration nor into replacing what must have been the elaborate candle fixtures hanging from the richly stuccoed ceiling.

What catches the eyes immediately in the room is the marvelous stucco ceiling. A riot of floral and leave patterns in whites and gray it is a delight to the eye. When the few remaining sections of paint were examined it was found that the soft gray background had been achieved by mixing coal black into the paint.

For some foolish reason I did not get a picture of the west end of the room - a balcony accessed on either side by a flight of marble stairs broken by a landing. On the landings were very badly damaged and faded frescos which I can only hope will be restored - in part at least - in the future. I'm not sure what the balcony would have been used for - perhaps a cantor or since music was so important in the Sephardic rite a choir of some type.

The two frescos on the balcony landings are badly damaged but are representations of the Holy City of Jerusalem (top) and the Encampment of the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai (bottom). The three dimensional framing, again a reflection of decoration of the period, is accomplished with painted wood, stucco and trompe d'oeil.

The stucco panels on the walls (top) and over the windows (bottom) avoid any use of the human form in the decoration but reflect the taste of the time for festoons of fruits and flowers with arabesques.

I have often felt when entering a particular mosque, temple, church or synagogue that centuries of people bringing their hopes, their fears, their desires, their needs and their thanks to a place works its way into the walls and gives the place a beauty that all the man made decoration in the world cannot accomplish. For me the Prayer Room of this 460 year old synagogue in the historic backstreets of a small town in Italy had that feeling.

24 agosto - San Bartolomeo apostolo

Pissing in the WIND

I've been remarkable silent for the past 12 days while on my annual Ferragosto jaunt to Pesaro. That just isn't normal and I hope to make up for it in the next few days with some posts about the town (one of my favorite in Italy), the food, the Rossini Festival, the food and the side trips to Urbino and Rimini, the food, the days spent in Assisi with an excursion to Perugia and did I mention the food?

One of the reasons I've been lax in my postings I can blame squarely on WIND. Its a long story but up to now I've been using an Internet key from TIM when I travel to various areas here in Italy. Other than on the train I have never had a bit of trouble.

Laurent decided to go the same route but went with WIND because they were the first Provider outlet we found in Pesaro. We should have done our research. He could not upload the application to his Ibook and when he took it back to the store their attitude was pretty much - we got your €50.00 so tough! I tried it on my Ibook and it set up okay so I took the WIND key and gave him the TIM. No good deed ever goes unpunished.

Over the past 10 days it has

• taken anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to initialize the system.
• taken between 2 to 5 minutes to connect.
• taken so long to download basic Google that I was constantly getting time outs.
• took over 3 minutes to upload a small picture file - a larger one timed out.
• a check of their system to verify they had service in Assisi indicated it wasn't a problem - but the signal was so weak that nothing and I do mean nothing was coming through.
• Sitting on the terrace by the pool at the hotel in Pesaro there was not available signal for over two hours.
  

Though I have entitled this posting Pissing in the WIND which is what I feel like I've been doing the past few days, second thoughts suggest that this should be an outward rather than an inward gesture. If I could find anyone at WIND who seemed to give a damn I'd try it. However at this point I'm home, connected to my faithful FASTWEB - that has only failed me once in 3 years - and secure in the knowledge that on the next trip I will have my TIM key with me.

And I should start posting again. In the meantime I'm open to suggestions as to what to do with the key from WIND?

21 agosto - San Pio X Papa

Rossiniana

Though his name is not as exploited as say Mozart's is in Salzburg there is no mistaking that Rossini is a "native son" of Pesaro. His image appears in many places and there is even a Rossini Torta that can be brought home in a decorative tin as a culinary souvenir of your visit. But this being Italy there is a certain light-heartedness to it all. There is an honest affection for the man who though perhaps its best known citizen is only one of many Pesaresi who have contributed to the world of music (Renata Tebaldi, Cristiano Mozzati0) and athletics (Massimo Ambrosini, Valentino Rossi).

While wandering the back streets of town looking for the old Synagogue we passed by an interesting building that we had remarked on once before. It has all the appearances of a church as indeed it was in the 12th century but its 21st century incarnation is as Casetta Vaccaj, a very pleasant wine bar and cafe. I'll be writing a bit more about it later but what caught my eye there was a poster for an art exhibition they had a few years ago. It featured the work of Filippo Letizi, a local artist and animator who now works out of Berlin.

His drawings of The Swan of Pesaro echo that affection for the bon vivant, gourmet, wit and genius of the man. These particular designs are on a collection of aprons and shopping bags which he did for the two sisters who own the Casetta and reflect Rossini's love of things culinary.


Anyone who has been to Pesaro will recognize the beachfront, the Piazzale della libertà with Arnaldo Pomodoro's lovely Globe of Peace fountain, Casa Rossini, Duomo, Piazza del Popolo and the main shopping street. They are all leading up to the Teatro Rossini in this promotional video Letizi did for the town.

Letizi Pesaro

fil3tto | MySpace Video

For me it captures the charm of one of my favorite places in all of Italy.

13 agosto - Santi Ponziano e Ippolito

And Music! Always Music! - II

Ferragosto – the annual exodus of vacationing Italians is now in full swing. Our favourite lunch spot served their last afragato yesterday, our butcher has left thin slicing veal until September and any clothes forgotten at the dry cleaners will be picked up the last week of August. Our neighbourhood streets are mostly deserted as businesses close up and everyone heads out of town. I think it was our friend Robert who referred to Ferragosto as being the period when Italians leave the hot, noisy, crowded cities for the hot, noisy, crowded beaches. And once again this year we've joined the movement from town to shore. The drive yesterday wasn't too bad but I don't even want to think what the Strada di Adriatica will be like on Friday or Saturday.

As the sun was going in last night the beach at Pesaro was deserted - but by Saturday it will a sea of bronzed bodies in various states of undress. The two lily white ones will be Laurent and I.

This is the third year that we've come to Pesaro on the Adriatic coast. Its main claim to fame is that Rossini was born there on February 29, 1792. He left the town at a relatively young age but he still held it in great affection – unlike Mozart who cordially detested his hometown of Salzburg and would probably bridle at being known as its most famous export and its biggest draw. Though Rossini does have pride of place in town it is also known for its beaches, excellent food, good wines and relaxed atmosphere.

As its probably going to be our last year here – for a while at least – we decided to stay a bit longer and break up the opera going – sort of a one night on, one night off for Laurent. This year's programme is adventurous even for Pesaro. Two of the works are being presented for the first time at the Festival and one of my favourites is being revived. The well known work is La Cenerentola, the Swan of Pesaro's take on the Cinderella story. I still treasure the old Glyndebourne recording from 1953 with the great Vittorio Gui, who spearheaded much of the Rossini revival, conducting. Its a work I've seen several times and never tire off. It has been said that Rossini's music is brilliant but often heartless – a listen to any of the music he wrote for Angelina (Cinderella) will give lie to that thought. I was looking forward to seeing Kate Aldrich in the title role but she has been replaced at rather late notice by Marianna Pizzolato, who was fantastic in Zelmira last year so the disappointment is tempered. Appearing with her will be Lawrence Brownlee, the young American tenor who has become one of the leading Rossini singers of our time. This will be the first time I've heard him live so there is much anticipation.

This is Paolo Fantin's design for the set for Sigismondo. Now this is an opera about a King of Poland in the 15th century - and what we have here is straight out of The English Patient. This evening should be very interesting.

Sigismondo was a complete failure at its premiere in 1814 and it appears not to have been revived again until 1992 in Rovigo. In his early work on Rossini Francis Toye dismissed it out of hand as not worth being talked about. Normally in the world of opera if a work disappears from the repertory it's for a good reason but we shall see. But should the opera be less than inspired the casting alone makes its a must-see: Daniela Barcelona is singing the title role and I have yet to see a performance by her where the sparks haven't flown and the audience on their feet cheering. Olga Peretyatko will be the “wronged” wife – dear lord was every wife in operadom wronged? Again she is a singer I've much enjoyed in the past at the Festival. The conductor is the young, I'd almost say very young, Michele Mariotti, who lead a quicksilver Barbiere di Siviglia last month at Scala. So anticipation is high there also.

The third work is as little known, Demetrio e Polibio - this was Rossini's first attempt at a full-scale opera and is rather unusually scored for strings only. The casting is perhaps not as starry as the other two but Yijie Shi was a good Comte Ory last year and I've enjoyed Maria Jose Moreno in several things in the past three years. And it'll be chance to hear another unfamiliar piece. From a musical point of view it should be an interesting week.

But it won't stop at music. There are plans afoot to do a few days trips to some of the more interesting spots in the Region with Urbino being number one on the list. And another day trip is planned to Rimini – 20 minutes away on the train – for the sole purpose of having a drink on the terrace of the Grand Hotel. Both Laurent and I love Amacord – Fellini's nostalgic and slightly melancholy memories of his home town. Many scenes are set on that terrace and we both want to have our pictures taken, in our Borsalinos, sipping our aperitvo and enjoying the sea breezes.

And then there is the food! Those perfectly cooked seafood lunches at H2NO, aperitivos at El Cid and dinners at Ristorante Bristolino "Lorenzo e Bibo". Though we were sad to see that the Ducale in the Piazza del Popolo has been boarded up - they had a great buffet spread and an entertaining owner/chef. But since we'll have a few more days than we normally do there will be chances to try some of the new places that have opened up.

As we sat at El Cid last night at 6 last evening sipping our aperol-sprtiz and watching people stroll, bike and run by, I mention to Laurent that if you thought about it Pesaro is little bit seedy, a touch run down at the heels. He smiled and said: Yes it is, isn't it! And we took both grabbed another pizza square. I guess we both enjoy a little bit seedy and slightly run down at the heels.

12 agosto - Sant'Euplio di Catania

Pesaro - La Scala di Seta

One of the great joys I've found since moving here is that I am seeing performers in person who I've read about, who's recordings I have listened to or who I've heard on broadcasts for years - Abbado, Pollini, Bartoli, Scholl and the list goes on. When I looked at the programme for this year's Festival I must admit I recognized quite a few names - Florez, Aldrich, Kunde - but one name did jump out: Claudio Scimone, listed as conductor for La Scala di Seta. When looking at the programme notes I was surprised to see that he had not appeared at Pesaro since 1985 when he conducted his own critical edition of Maomatto II. The absence of this well-respected and internationally known conductor and Rossini authority from the Pesaro podium is a mystery. But he was there this year and I had the privilege of seeing live someone who's recordings, particularly with I Solisti Veneti, I have listened to for years.

Written in 1812 La Scala is one of Rossini's five one-act farsi composed for the Teatro Giustiniani in Venice and one of five operas he wrote that year. It is a slight piece based on a slighter French play about a secretly married couple, an unwanted suitor, a meddling servant and the silken ladder used to enter the young lady's bedroom. Rossini wrote some charming music for it, the best known piece being the overture.

The cast take their bows in front of the reflected floor plan of a modern apartment which just happens to be the address of the theatre. Let's hope it doesn't give some developer ideas!

Director Damiano Micheletto updated the action to today with i-pods, track suits and espresso machines with little harm to the story. Again we had a large mirror tilted to reflect the stage floor which showed the floor plan of a very nice modern flat on the first floor of Via Rossini 2 which just happens to be the address of the theatre we were sitting in. As the overture began stagehands began to drag furniture, plants, lamps and units (including a functioning kitchen sink) into place under the watchful eye of a real estate agent. As the action progressed singers mimed flattening themselves against walls to overhear conversations, opening doors or holding those same non-existent doors closed. The action was fast-paced, at times frenetic and had a bit of the a TV5 comedy touch to it. Though it did beg the question as to why a vibrant young lady who lived in her own very classy apartment, had a vaguely oriental houseboy and jogged in the Piazza Ducale with i-pod in place would need her guardians approval to get married or sneak her husband into the house.

Olga Peretyatko (right with Paolo Bordogna) was the young lady in question - and as well as giving a deft performance of the music she look pretty damned hot whither in jogging gear or smart casual. It was interesting that she was paired with Jose Manuel Zapata who did not quite fit into the opera singer as movie star mold which seems to be preferred amongst casting directors today. A short, stocky bear of a man with a sweet tenor voice I for one could understand the attraction. Carlo Lepore played the slightly greasy Latin lover with a fine comic flair and handled his interpolated aria with ease. Of the other female in the cast, Anna Malavasi, I will simply say that I did not find the slightly sour edge to her voice appealing.

The best performance of the evening came from Paolo Bordogna as the poor put upon house boy Gemano. In his ink-black mop wig, sandals and pajama-like outfit he was obviously meant to be the Oriental houseboy of so many 60-70s movies though in a slight nod to political correctness - and in deference to its many Japanese patrons - it was stereotype with soften edges. Bordogna delivered the most polished singing of the evening and a delightful comic performance.

Conductor Claudio Scimone (centre) joins his young cast - Daniele Zanfardino, Carlo Lepore, Paolo Bordogna, Olga Peretyatko and José Manuel Zapata for a curtain call.

But the real star of the evening was Scimone in the pit leading the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento. He conducted with a brio and joy that turned this, let's admit it, light-weight work into a delight. The obvious pleasure he took was reflected in his face and body language at the curtain calls. He was obviously pleased with the work of his young cast and orchestra and with the applause they were receiving. He was justified - under his expert guidance they had given us two hours* of enjoyment which was the whole raison-être of these pieces.

*Though Scala di Seta was written as an one act opera Pesaro performed it in two acts and include an aria for the Latin lover that Rossini had written for some other use. Artistic director Alberto Zedda explained that in 1812 the creator of the role had not had a particularly good voice so was denied an aria; here they had a fine singer who deserved a chance to show his stuff so another source was robbed to give him the opportunity. It was a very Rossini solution and I'm sure he would have approved.

Sidebar: I was sitting at the hotel pool one afternoon and an elderly gentleman and his wife came out to take a bit of the sun. The gentleman had a ulcer of some sort on his leg and was moving slowly, I helped him and his wife get settled in, moved lounge chairs etc. When they left we exchanged pleasantries and I kept thinking that I recognized him. It was not until he entered the pit the next evening that I realized it was Scimone.

01 settembre - Sant'Egidio

Images of Pesaro - Sidewalk History

Just a reminder that a right click will enbiggen the photos for a close-up in a separate window.

As I walked down Via Rossini onto the North-East corner of Piazza Ducale in Pesaro I noticed several strange collages embedded in the pavement stones. I don't recall them being there last year but then like many other people I might just have obliviously walked over them. A close inspection revealed that they were historical documents commemorating a piece of Pesaro's 20th century history: the enactment of the Manifesto of Race in July 1938.

The paraphernalia for enacting the Manifesto of Race - papers to be carried, symbols to be worn and a list of the Jewish population of each European country. Italy shows 50,000 with a further 200 in Albania (then an Italian protectorate).

Prior to that date there had been nothing particularly antisemitic in the founding principles of the Fascist movement, in fact there had been a significant number of Jewish fascists from the very beginning. Of the estimated 47,000 Italian Jews roughly 10 percent supported Mussolini. Many of them also held important positions in the party organization, as well as in local and national government, from education to the military (including admirals and generals).

According to this notice Jewish teachers and students were banned from attending schools beginning October 16, 1938

Ettore Ovazza, a Jew from Genova, had served both as a minister in the government and as founder of La Nostra Bandiera, a Jewish Fascist newspaper. Ferdinanda Momigliano, a Jew from Milan, wrote the ultimate Italian wartime cookbooks: Living Well in Difficult Times and Eating Italian were in the house of every patriotic housewife. Margherita Sarfatti, Mussolini's mistress for 27 years, was Jewish and a major influence in his rise to power.

These documents include the orders for the Reporting for Deportation of the Members of the Jewish Race as well as communications for and from officials.

All saw their lives changed with the passing of the new Race Laws. Though the laws applied to any Non-Aryan they were particularly harsh with Jewish-Italians. They were now prohibited from holding public office, military rank, teaching or banking and mixed marriages were declared invalid. In 1943, in an now divided Italy, under the Italian Socialist Republic measures became harsher. Jewish owned property was confiscated and whole sale roundups done in cities throughout the North. Many were shipped off to death camps, others like Sarfatti had already escaped. Some like Ovazza and his family were caught escaping and murdered by the SS. Still others like Momigliano went into hiding; she would have been caught on at least one occasion but a quick thinking greengrocer warned her of the trap.

The instructions for the "transferred families" is very specific as to what they can bring with them - Food provision for 8 days, bed linen, a small valise with personal effects, money and jewellry - and what they are to do with apartment keys and other belongings.

A large and influential Jewish community had been founded in Pesaro in 1555 by Maranos fleeing the Inquisition in the Papal States. However by 1901 it had dwindled to a community of 93 and it is difficult to find out how many there would have been when the new laws were enacted. There could not have been many however their fate has been commemorated in this rather odd but in some ways touching tribute. I'm glad I took the time to look down!

28 agosto - Sant'Agostino d'Ippona

Pesaro - Zelmira

There was a fascination with reflecting glass panels at this year's Pesaro Festival. There was a small variation on one in the Comte Ory and two very large mirrors filled the stage in Zelmira and La Scala di Seta. The mind boggles at the cost of this sort of stage craft in these cash strapped days but at least when the Festival does things they do them big.

The chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna takes their curtain call in front of the huge mirror that reflects the stage floor grid.

For the past three years the Festival has been showcasing Rossini's Naples works (2007- Otello, 2008 - Ermione) and Zelmira, written in 1822, was his last opera for San Carlo and despite a libretto that makes little or no sense was a great success. It soon appeared on major European stages and this year Pesaro presented the new critical editon by Helen Greenwal and Kathleen Kuzmick Hansell of Rossini's 1826 reworking for Paris. An aria added for Vienna in April 1822 was also included. This made for a long evening - Act 1 lasted 2 hours and Act 2 was almost as long. But musically it was time well spent.

Again let's get carping out of the way first: it appears director Giorgio Barberio Corsetti was booed on opening night and I can only think that it was a highly appropriate response not so much for his concept as how he saw it through. The curtain went up as soldiers in modern combat uniforms clambered over three broken statues covered in sand. Okay this was to be an updated production with flack jackets, women in 50s head scarves and priests in Orthodox clergy robes - no great hardship the story happens in Greece so why not? For the next scene the stage floor slide open to reveal a metal grill and the sand tumbled through it - a very effect bit of stage magic - then the revealed statues ascended to the flies and hung over the singers' heads twisting and turning distractingly in the air. But not enough to distract us from Zelmira breast-feeding her father - showing that if Corsetti had not read the play Zelmira is based on, he had at least read the scholar's notes so thoughtfully included in the very fine programme book. The next scene brought that huge mirror which reflected the sandpit under the stage - a warren of tunnels with scurrying people in rags dragging bodies to and fro. Aside from the fact that much of what was going on had little to do with the already obscure plot it was distracting from what was happening musically. And it did little to illuminate the characters or help the singers most of whom just stood around going through some pretty standard - pax the breast feeding episode - operatic gestures. By the end of the first act Corsetti had given up trying to titillate us and we had a standard backdrop, the chorus in a semi-circle and the soloists lined up in front of them (see photos above and left). The second act had a few surprises including some large screen live projections which required that blue screens be trundled on behind the singers. It gave us some powerful close ups of Aldrich and Knude in full throtle but was mostly a display of the wizardry of the technical crew and little else.

But ultimately with a work like Zelmira you are not there for the story or the stage craft but for the music. And on most levels the Festival did major honour to its eponymous composer with what was intended to be the year's showpiece.

Of course a great deal of the interest centred around the return to the scene of his first successes of tenor Juan Diego Florez (right as Ilo) in the role of Zelmira's husband. And he did not fail to deliver what was expected of him. His fans reacted accordingly with a lengthy - I was almost going to say "pro-longed" - ovation at the end of his Act 1 Cavatina. It was undoubtedly thrilling but the top is not quite as free as I have heard it on broadcasts or recording. Ilo is actually a secondary role and the rest of the evening he contributed to some fine duets, trios and ensembles. Where he was least convincing was an actor - not even the newly acquired goatee could convince us that he was the fearless warrior ready to do battle for his wife and country. His boyish good looks that work so well in so much of Rossini worked against him here and again the director gave him little help.

More dramatically convincing was Gregory Kunde's Antenore, the usurper of the throne of Lesbos which is the principal tenor role. Written for the great Andrea Nozzari it is a fearsome piece of vocal writing but Kunde approached it fearlessly and with the required steel in his voice. It was not always a beautiful sound but it was thrilling. A few of the reports tried to foolishly compare the two tenors which is your old apples to apricots comparison or more accurately polished bronze to fired iron.

American mezzo Kate Aldrich (centre, right with Florez and Marianna Pizzolato) was making her Festival debut as the title character and dramatically she fit into the director's concept of Zelmira as the young wife thrown into a partisan's role against her will. Though her singing was never less than beautiful I felt it lacked a certain weight that the role cried out for. She has a lovely mezzo voice more in the Von Stade tradition than the Horne and I kept feeling that a darker voice was needed - the part was written for Colbran and the Act 2 aria added in Paris for Pasta certainly if reports are to be believed voices heavier than Aldrich's. I found myself wishing that she and Marianna Pizzolato had switched roles. As Emma, Zelmira's confident and friend, she gave an object lesson in Rossini singing in her Act 2 (Vienna) aria and throughout the evening. Her's was the mostly consistently strong performance of the evening. Rather strangely Emma, who is so fundamental to the plot, is not included in the general reconciliation and rejoicing of the finale. That did not stop the audience from giving her a resounding ovation during the call.

Of the lower men's voices Alex Espisito handled the role of Zelmira's father well as did Mirco Palazzi as Antenore's evil advisor Leucippo. The chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna processed as priests, bullied as storm troopers and cringed as village woman effectively. Roberto Abbado led the Bologna orchestra in a well-paced performance. Though I question if he needed to be elevated and spotlit to the degree that he was, given that this was a singers' opera.

Conductor Roberto Abbado takes his bow with l. to r. Alex Esposito, Juan Diego Florez, Kate Aldrich and Gregory Kunde.

It was a long evening but worth it to hear a work so rarely performed - next year they have promised us an even rarer work from the Rossini canon - his 13th and many say unluckiest opera Sigismondo. It appeared first in Venice in 1827 and the disappeared from the stage until a revival in 1992. Francis Toye, in an early biography, said the work was "wholly, irretrievably dead and buried"; and in a later well regarded book Herbert Weinstock dismissed it in a few words. Given that many of the Rossini works we hear today were equally looked down on it should be interesting to hear.

Pesaro - A Seafood Extravaganza

Just around the corner from El Cid, our breakfast and aperitivo haunt, there is a building attached to The Bristol, one of the many three star hotels that dot the beach front. The veranda is unprepossessing with a few plants and white plastic furniture. The sign says Ristorante Bristolino "Lorenzo e Bibo" - Specialita di pesce.

A step through the door was a revelation. The decor is "Early Grandma Knick Knack" with vases, silk flowers, candlesticks, dolls, lamps, plants, plush velvet, chintz prints. The only thing missing is the thin coating of dust and antimacassars that would have made this a visit to Grandmother's house.

But the decor wasn't the only revelation. Lorenzo, of the aforementioned team, is Lorenzo di Grazioli who runs the restaurant and Bibo is his brother who is the chef. Together with a team of efficient, black-clad ladies they turn out a seafood only menu that was one of the finer meals I've had in Italy.

There is no printed menu - well by law there has to be but Lorenzo prefers to come to the table and tell you what's cooking tonight. A small man with a fly-away halo of gray hair he seems to have his eye on everything going on while still finding time to chat and make his clients feel comfortable. Once he has taken your order his well drilled group of ladies spring into action. It wasn't until my friend Robert mentioned it the other evening that it twigged on me, but it is not usual to see an all female serving team in restaurants; you do see women serving food but normally they are the mother or daughter of the family giving a hand. The sommelier was also a woman - severe black dress, horn-rimmed glasses, hair in a bun - the only thing missing was the pencil in the bun and she could have been the office efficiency expert. But she knew her wines and after ascertaining our main course fish and our preferences - something dry from the region, she made her suggestion. She may have looked like Miss Marplestein but she knew her wines and produced a very nice Verdicchio di Jesi that matched our choice of Rombo (turbot) perfectly.

A fresh baked foccacio studded with tomato was set before us just in case we were a bit peckish.

We had ordered the seafood antipasti and to be honest were expecting the standard large plate with a selection of goodies from the sea. Here's what we got:

The first plate was Spada Cerviche: six or seven slices of tender swordfish with a slight citrus tang from the lemon and orange that it had been marinating in.

A Macedonia del mare followed: a mix of clams, mussels, calamari, olives, tomato, finocchio and celery lightly dressed with olive oil.

A capasanta on its shell:a single sweet scallop baked with a blanket of crumbs,red pepper and olive.

As the last of the antipasti there were Gamberetti: four plump and tender shrimp wrapped in pancetta and lightly coated in very fine crumbs. A spray bottle of balsamic vinegar was provided so you could spritz them for added flavour. Not a combination I would have thought of .... but it worked.

At that point I was wondering how I could manage a main course but Rombo is one of my favorites so I thought I'd try. It was the only slight disappointment - and I stress slight - of the evening. I found that though it was good - and the roast vegetables that surrounded it delicious - it could have had more flavour. But I was still able to leave behind only a few bones.

The Main course: Turbot baked in the oven with potatoes, zucchini, melanzane and several other vegetables.

Then came a slight breather in the service so we could finish our wine and relax for a bit more to come, just in case we were still hungry.

Along with two two bottles of ice cold degestifs - lemoncello and amaro nero - came a plate of cakes.

"Do you have room for a dolci, " asked Lorenzo. The affirmative answer yield up this extravagant fantasy of gelato, fruits, whipped cream and nuts - a sundae gone wild!

But not quite the end - you can't have a meal without coffee.

There is a running joke here: What's the hardiest thing to get in an Italian restaurant? The Bill! And the Bristolino was no exception, it did take awhile to get the tab but then we weren't that eager to see it because we were expecting a hefty account and didn't want the pleasure of the moment spoiled by talk of filthy cash. When it finally came we were stunned - Euro 100.00 (CAD150.00)for everything - food, water, wine and coffee.

We had been chatting briefly with Lorenzo throughout the evening and he had been attentive and fussed over us - as he did all his clients. As we got up to leave he came over to the table, thanked us for coming, hugged us and admonished us with a finger wag to come back again. You know that decor may have been the key, aside from the fact that she never cooked like that it was a little bit like visiting Grandma's house.

23 agosto - Santa Rosa da Lima