Review: A Lost Opera Returns, and Shouldn’t Be Lost Again

Luck has a lot to do with legacy in music, and Carolina Uccelli didn’t have much of it.

That’s why you may not recognize the name of this Italian composer, who was born in Florence in 1810 and died there in 1858. She was a promising talent, encouraged by Rossini, and had a first opera, “Saul,” under her belt by the time she was 20.

Then came her second opera, “Anna di Resburgo,” in 1835. It had the misfortune of premiering in Naples a month after Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Both featured a strong-willed soprano, and took place in the countryside of Scotland. But “Lucia” was a masterpiece written by a composer at the height of his powers, while “Anna” was the work of a beginner, not to mention a woman. (Few sophomore outings become classics; there’s a reason you almost never hear Wagner’s “Das Liebesverbot.”)

“Anna” was given just two performances before closing. Uccelli went on to write songs and tour with her daughter, Emma. She didn’t, however, compose another opera. The score for “Saul” was lost, and “Anna” went on to languish in a Neapolitan library.

That is, until it was picked up by Will Crutchfield, the invaluable bel canto specialist and founder of Teatro Nuovo, which at Montclair State University on Saturday gave the first known performance of “Anna di Resburgo” since 1835. Crutchfield tracked down the score, transcribed its 600 pages of chicken scratches and programmed it for his company, which is giving the opera a fantastic concert showing in repertory with Bellini’s more-famous “I Capuleti e i Montecchi.”

“Anna” travels to the Rose Theater in Manhattan on Wednesday. If you’re an opera lover, get a ticket. So rare is it to see this art form’s lost history return to life with such care and expertise. Most important is the revelation that Uccelli never deserved to be overlooked; she may have been a beginner, but she was good.