OPERA PRIMA

Opera Prima is a fairly obscure Italian symphonic prog album from the duo of keyboard player Paulo Rustichelli and drummer Carlo Bordini. Sadly this album released in 1973 remains their only collaborative effort. Bordini is perhaps better known to RPI fans for playing in the pre- Goblin outfit Cherry Five. Rustichelli following in his father Carlo's footsteps has gone on to compose Italian film scores amongst his achievements.

This is a keyboard dominated record; in fact the duo are the only musicians to play on the album. The music ranges from sublime passages of restrained piano to more bombastic Hammond fuelled moments, the sound palette widened with the use of synths and often reminiscent of ELP. The standard of playing is not surprisingly excellent as in the main are the compositions, surprisingly mature considering the young age of Rustichelli, the only downside being some decidedly rough vocals.

Despite being an excellent album I wouldn't consider this one of the more essential releases in the RPI genre, but lovers of symphonic keyboard fuelled prog will no doubt find much to enjoy here.