It was a bold move by the 21-year-old Umberto Giordano to enter the 1888 one-act opera competition won by Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. This recording reveals a composer with a keen ear for musical colour even if the opera is no masterpiece. View image in fullscreen Giordano: Marina. Photograph: DeccaWhen Marina, a Montenegrin, takes in Giorgio, a wounded Serb, the inevitable conflict with her brother and her bullish suitor precipitates a typical verismo catastrophe. After a militaristic opening, Marina takes centre stage with an aching ballad of lost opportunity.