Rossini: "Il Turco in Italia." Cecilia Bartoli; Michele Pertusi; Alessandro Corbelli; Ramon Vargas; La Scala Orchestra and Chorus/Riccardo Chailly (London 458 924-2 CDs).

Maybe there aren't as many show-stopping ensembles here as in "Barber" or "Cenerentola," but that's the only hedging you'll find in the rest of this review. This performance has real juice and spirit, as though the singers are living this fragile story instead of just capturing it on a recording. No one could remain indifferent to, for instance, the sheer joy that sweeps you up in the ensemble numbers, like the one early in the second act where the Turk is attempting to purchase a wife from Geronio (Corbelli). Bartoli is magical, spinning these embroidered, perfectly-articulated flights into the sky and entwining her lines around Pertusi's in the duets with remarkable clarity and zest. The immediacy and personal power of her delivery in the bitter second-act aria "Qual colpo... Squallida veste" perfectly demonstrates why she has become such a beloved icon. Pertusi has expertly focused pitch, and never completely gives up the hint of tongue-in-cheek clowning behind the character. The piece is given complete, restoring some often-cut recitatives and numbers. Chailly's sizzling direction is often thrilling, not just in building those trademark crescendos but in giving rare insight into the skill of Rossini's scoring. This release will stand as definitive for the foreseeable future, a must for those who enjoy glorious singing and a spirit of fun.

- Tom Di Nardo