"After Leoncavallo's 'Zazà' ... Opera Rara continues to mine the nether regions of the 'verismo' alphabet with the same composer's 'Zingari' ... Leoncavallo peppers Zingari with plenty of musical colour ... his music is rich and sensual, and it's something of a mystery why it doesn't have a place in the repertory ... Opera Rara's artistic director Carlo RIzzi assembled a fine cast ... Krassimira Stoyanova is tremendous as the fiery Fleana ... in voluptuous voice, yet is always tasteful ... Rizzi is fabulous in this sort of repertoire and he draws committed playing from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ... This new Opera Rara recording is superior in every way"

"Lodernde Liebe, rasende Eifersucht, brutaler Mord - alles in 60 Opernminuten. Das ist Verismo, wie er bebt und lebt, singt und klingt. Ruggiero Leoncavallo konnte das, kompakt serviert ... Carlo Rizzi am Pult des prächtig klingenden Royal Philharmonic Orchestra geht dirigentisch in die Vollen. Die reife Krassimira Stoyanova (Fleana) mit edler Soprankantilene, Arsen Soghomonyan als tenordrastischer Radu und Stephen Gaertners (Tamar) üppiger Bariton fügen sich zum stimmigen Protagonistentrio"

"As expert an interpreter of Italian opera as one will find anywhere, conductor Carlo Rizzi seeks out the score's full potential and his musical forces - the Opera Rara Chorus and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - respond with constant dynamism. Strong voices in the impassioned major roles offer the right set of colours for a score containing several moments of heightened lyricism"

"I would have liked to be more enthusiastic about this revival and there are things about it I much enjoy but ultimately its flaws and failings both in terms of the work itself and its performance constitute a disappointment"

"To sum up, Opera Rara has come up trumps with this revival of Zingari. It plainly is not on the same elevated level as the verismo jewels Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, but it deserves reassessment and its time in the limelight"

"The producers have brought an admirable team of performers to make as good a case as possible for the work. Krassimira Stoyanova's gutsy throbbing soprano makes a powerful heroine, Fidelia. She gives her all in a passionately committed performance ... Overall my impression is that this was a respectable effort on the part of Opera Rara and it will serve quite well for listeners who want to investigate Leoncavallo's other operas. That is providing that they aren't expecting to encounter the same level of melodic and dramatic excitement to be found in Pagliacci"