Lindpaintner’s 4-act opera Il vespro siciliano (1843) enjoys a revival.

Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner (1791–1856) was a much admired figure in his day, referred to glowingly by such distinguished musicians as Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, who acknowledged respectively his gift for composing operas and his skill as an orchestral conductor. Like the 21 operas he wrote, Lindpaintner himself has since been virtually forgotten, which makes this month’s release of the world premiere recording of one of his operas particularly notable. Raymond Bisha introduces us to the 4-act Il vespro siciliano (The Sicilian Vespers), modeled on the Parisian grand operas popular at the time, and set in Sicily in the year 1282.