Truly captivating: bass baritone Nicola Alaimo & pianist Carlo Rizzi celebrate Opera Rara's Donizetti Song Project with songs by Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini & Mercadante

Carlo Rizzi & Nicola Alaimo at Wigmore Hall (Photo: Russell Duncan)

Donizetti & Friends: Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini, Mercadante; Nicola Alaimo, Carlo Rizzi, Hetty Snell; Wigmore Hall
Reviewed 16 June 2026

Superb bel canto technique & brilliant comic timing make Nicola Alaimo's contribution to this concert of early 19th century Italian song something rather special, delightful & captivating.

Opera Rara is celebrating the completion of its Donizetti Song Project, eight discs of songs covering the whole of Donizetti's song output allied to a new edition of the solo songs created by Roger Parker and Ian Schofield. The eighth and final volume of songs, from bass baritone Nicola Alaimo and pianist Carlo Rizzi, has just been released [see Opera Rara website]. To celebrate Nicola Alaimo joined Carlo Rizzi and cellist Hetty Snell at Wigmore Hall on Tuesday 16 June 2026 for a lunchtime recital pairing Donizetti's songs with those of Rossini, Bellini and Mercadante.

I remember talking to a singer about Italian songs from later in the 19th century, particularly those of Tosti. The singer said that the songs were a challenge because they took for granted the singer's technique! This thought came back to me during Nicola Alaimo's recital as I realised that to make these songs work you needed a firm bel canto technique.

Most of the songs in the recital were based around an expressive melody over some sort of flowing piano accompaniment. They were all about the voice, and the way you used the melody for expressive purposes. Whether they were serious and intense or simply comic, Alaimo projected each song with maximum expressivity whilst always ensuring the primacy of expressive line. Yet his diction was admirable throughout, his lyric technique was no barrier to making the words count too. Unlike some opera singers, Alaimo seemed comfortable on the concert platform and proved a delightful companion and guide through the songs.

We began with Donizetti. Amore e morte was all lyric melancholy, 'Hear from a dying man...', with Alaimo giving us a lovely vibrant line and dark burnished sound. By contrast, Il trovatore in caricatura was a comic masterpiece about a troubadour reaching the castle after dark and being frightened by every little sound - cue sound effects from the singer (dogs barking, frogs croaking). Alaimo and Rizzi made this a delightful comic tour de force, with Alaimo demonstrating both his comic timing and a gift for patter!

La promessa, one of Rossini's Soirées musicales came next. A fast flowing melody full of elaborate detail and charm, with Alaimo really selling the piece. Then Bellini's Vaga luna, che inargenti. The piano introduction sounded, frankly, rather trite but as soon as Alaimo joined in with the melody he brought a sense of rich sophistication to the melody, demonstrating exactly why you need bel canto technique to bring these deceptive songs off.

Another group of Donizetti songs came next. Mentre del caro lido 'While the boat draws away' was barcarolle-like in its rhythmic sway, yet the phrases had pauses for elaboration whilst the poem's final lines had real edge to them. L'amor funesto had a cello obbligato from Hetty Snell. She and Rizzi began the song with an expressive singing melody, then Alaimo took over with Snell providing snatches of counter-melody. As the song progressed the intense drama moved the expressivity away from song and closer to the operatic. Snell and Rizzi continued with Donizetti's Largo for cello and piano, a song in all but name with expressive singing cello line.

We continued the cello obbligato theme with Mercadante's song, Il sogno which began with a dramatic piano introduction and urgent cello solo, the vocal line similarly urgent and intense with Alaimo combining word, line and phrasing to maximum expressive intent. Two Bellini songs came next, La ricordanza and La ricordanza. Both were relatively straightforward yet benefitted from Alaimo's superbly expressive bel canto technique and Rizzi's discreet support, the two wringing emotion out of these rather sentimental texts.

We ended with Donizetti. Dio! che col cenno moderi began in dramatic fashion on the piano with a long expressive held note for the voice's opening 'Dio'. A slow melody became more intense and the ending was freer and more operatic. The final song Amor marinaro 'Me voglio fa'na casa' was a lively and rather comic piece that Alaimo performed with the actions!

I have to confess that my prior experience with songs by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini has been a bit mixed. But Nicola Alaimo and Carlo Rizzi demonstrated that in the right hands these songs can be mini-masterpieces and this proved a delightful hour with Alaimo as a truly captivating host.

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