What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Wendell_E]

Just arrived in the mail today, a Blue-ray of The Fiery Angel, recorded in March 2021 at the Theater and der Wien:


Markus Butter ... Mathias / Faust
Kristjan Johannsson ... Innkeeper / A Servant (as Kristján Jóhannsson)
Andrew Owens ... Jakob Glock / A Doctor
Natascha Petrinsky ... Hostess of the Inn / Abbess
Nikolai Schukoff ... Agrippa von Nettesheim / Mephistopheles
Bo Skovhus ... Ruprecht
Aušrinė Stundytė ... Renata
Alexey Tikhomirov ... Inquisitor
Elena Zaremba ... Fortune Teller

Constantin Trinks ... conductor
Andrea Breth ... stage director

Directed (for TV) Tiziano Mancini

Looking through the archives, I see this is the second Breth production that I've seen, the first being a Berlin Lulu that I referred to as "shit" back in 2015 (the production, the performance was very good). This is a lot better, though certainly not for purists. It takes place entirely in a psychiatric ward, most of the characters, including Renata and Ruprecht are patients, the Hostess of the Inn / Abbess and Agrippa von Nettesheim / Mephistopheles are medical staff, appearing throughout, not just when those characters are onstage. Even when they're the character, they're still in their medical garb. The Inquisitor is some sort of official in a suit, perhaps the head of the hospital. He ends the opera by putting a bullet in Renata's forehead. So what happens to the plot if the two leads are just delusional? And the "Innkeeper" gives Ruprect an injection early in the first scene, so perhaps the whole thing is just a drug-induced hallucination? Still, the execution is brilliant, and the performers, especially the two leads, really throw themselves into it. Stundytė was the Mother Jeanne in the recent Munich production of The Devils of Loudon.

[Tsaraslondon]

The Muti recording of Aida has always been a good central recommendation for the opera, ever since it was first issued in 1974, an excellent performance, though not, in the final analysis, my favourite.

Principal amongst its virtues is Caballé's Aida, which is one of the best things she ever did for the gramophone. She is dramatically alive and compelling, especially in the Nile Scene, where her singing of O patria mia is exemplary, the final top C spun out on a pure thread of sound that no other Aida quite manages; truly the dolce ending Verdi asks for. Unfortunately Cappuccilli's Amonasro is a bit of a dull dog, and he is nowhere near as interesting as either Taddei or Gobbi.

Domingo is also something of an asset. I suppose his Radames is a little generic, but his musical manners are a great deal better than Del Monaco, Baum or Tucker and in general I prefer him. Cossotto is also excellent, but I don't prefer her to Dominguez, Simionato or Barbieri, all of whom I have enjoyed recently.

Muti is fine, but I prefer Serafin on the studio Callas performance. If only Serafin had better sound. Still, this set deserves its reputation and remains one of the best around.

[Tsaraslondon]

When discussing the best recordings of Aida, people rarely mention this, the second of Karajan's two studio recordings, and I always forget just how good it is until I listen to it again.


Principal among its virtues is Karajan's spacious, but still vitally dramatic conducting, less inclined to be self-consciously beautiful as in the first, and the superb playing of the Vienna Philharmonic. The sound is really good too, wide ranging but warmly ambent.


So what of the singers? The best of them is I think Baltsa, who is a really interesting Amneris. For once, she sounds, as she should, like a young, haughty Princess and a valid rival for Aida. She sounds both sensual and absolutely thrilling in the more dramatic moments, especially in Act IV. Freni and Carrears are on the light side, it is true, but both are convincing in their respective roles. Freni's performance is on a smaller scale than either Caballé or Callas, no doubt, but I still enjoyed it and Carreras's voice was in prime condition when he made the recording. I actually preferred his performance here to Domingo on the Muti. Cappucilli is moer dramaticaly alive here than on Muti also, but he's still no match for Gobbi and Taddei. Raimondi and Van Dam are excellen in the bass roles and we even get the silken voiced Ricciarelli as the Priestess.


I think, all in all, I prefer this set to the Muti. I found it much more involving.

ttps://tsaraslondon.com/2019/06/14/karajans-second-recording-of-aida/

[André]

When discussing the best recordings of Aida, people rarely mention this, the second of Karajan's two studio recordings, and I always forget just how good it is until I listen to it again.


Principal among its virtues is Karajan's spacious, but still vitally dramatic conducting, less inclined to be self-consciously beautiful as in the first, and the superb playing of the Vienna Philharmonic. The sound is really good too, wide ranging but warmly ambent.


So what of the singers? The best of them is I think Baltsa, who is a really interesting Amneris. For once, she sounds, as she should, like a young, haughty Princess and a valid rival for Aida. She sounds both sensual and absolutely thrilling in the more dramatic moments, especially in Act IV. Freni and Carrears are on the light side, it is true, but both are convincing in their respective roles. Freni's performance is on a smaller scale than either Caballé or Callas, no doubt, but I still enjoyed it and Carreras's voice was in prime condition when he made the recording. I actually preferred his performance here to Domingo on the Muti. Cappucilli is moer dramaticaly alive here than on Muti also, but he's still no match for Gobbi and Taddei. Raimondi and Van Dam are excellen in the bass roles and we even get the silken voiced Ricciarelli as the Priestess.


I think, all in all, I prefer this set to the Muti. I found it much more involving.

ttps://tsaraslondon.com/2019/06/14/karajans-second-recording-of-aida/

My favourite recording of the opera, bar none, mostly on account of the orchestral contribution and sound. The conducting is just as you describe it and the WP outclass every others in sheer beauty of tone, heft and involvement. I second your description of the singers' contributions. Carreras is particularly fine in the Nile scene. His ascent into head voice at Vivrem beati d'eterno amore is just stunning. And he's the only tenor to realize the dramatic potential of Tu, Amonasro!...tu, il Re? Numi! che dissi? No!...non è ver!...sogno...Delirio è questo...

[Tsaraslondon]

My favourite recording of the opera, bar none, mostly on account of the orchestral contribution and sound. The conducting is just as you describe it and the WP outclass every others in sheer beauty of tone, heft and involvement. I second your description of the singers' contributions. Carreras is particularly fine in the Nile scene. His ascent into head voice at Vivrem beati d'eterno amore is just stunning. And he's the only tenor to realize the dramatic potential of Tu, Amonasro!...tu, il Re? Numi! che dissi? No!...non è ver!...sogno...Delirio è questo...

For some reason, when people consider great recordings of the opera, they tend to concentrate on Karajan I, and this one gets forgotten, even by me, but when I do listen to it I'm also almost surprised at how good it is.

I've listened to six different recordings of the opera over the last six days (I'm listening to the Pappano at the moment) and I think I may have enjoyed the Karajan set the most. Of course it's not strictly comparable to the live ones I listened to, as the sound on both (Callas, Mexico 1952 and Callas/Barbirolli London) doesn't even compare with good mono recordings of the period. The sound on the Karajan is in another world and, though I may prefer certain singers in individual roles (especially Gobbi and Taddei as Amonasro) the cast on this one is still pretty good.

Incidentally, I haven't posted my impressions of the Pappano yet, but it's not performing that well against Karajan at the moment.

[KevinP]

Purchased and received, but not actually listened to yet:



After all this opera's been through, it deserves a non-multitasked listen from me.

[Tsaraslondon]

So I come to the final Aida in my collection, which also happens to be the most recent recording. It was released in a blaze of publicity in 2015, the first major studio recording of an opera in many years, and garnered great reviews all round. I enjoyed it at the time and I've listened to it a few times since, but I've noticed it's the last one I think of pulling down from the shelves. Listening to it now, straight after my five other recordings, I'm conisdering binning it. I doubt I'll listen to it again.

Sound and conducting are great, it's true, but the conducting isn't a notable improvement on my other two favourites (Serafin and Karajan) and the sound, superb though it is, isn't that much better than the Karajan. As for the singers, every single one of them is bettered by someone else on one of the other sets. Best of them is, without doubt, Kaufmann, who as always sings with intelligence and musicality. His pp morendo close to Celeste Aida is amazing, but I do miss the ring on top notes we get from all the other tenors, even Domingo and Carreras. Tézier isn't bad, but no match for Gobbi or Taddei, nor Cappuccilli whose tone is much more italianate too. There's nothing special about Semenchuk either, and she is easily outclassed by Dominguez, Simionato, Barbieri, Cossotto and Baltsa. But the real stumbling block for me is Harteros. Freni shows us how a lighter voice can work in this music, but quite honestly I thought Harteros sounded like Minnie Mouse on occasion. The voice just isn't that lovely. She has some good intentions, but she doesn't really have the equipment to pull them off. She attempts a pp dolce top C at the end of O patria mia but it just ends up acird and insecure. At no point does she challenge Freni, let alone Callas or Caballé. If Price were in the reckoning, I have no doubt that she too would wipe the floor with her.

So of all the six sets I've listened to in the last few days, I'm afraid this is the most expendable. I doubt I'll bother with it again.

[Tsaraslondon]

Is Alzira as bad as it's reputation? Well, maybe not, though it has less interest than Giovanna d'Arco, which preceded it and Attila, which followed. There is much that is formulaic and it betrays signs of being composed in a hurry, but some of the music, especially the finales to Acts I and II aren't bad at all.

Gardelli, always at his best in early Verdi, makes a great case for it. I'm not sure why this wasn't recorded for Philips, but it does mean we get a slightly different team of soloists from those who appeared on the Philips recordings. Araiza and Cotrubas are both on the light side, but she is, as usual, most affecting, especially in her contribution to the duet with Bruson' Gusmano, il pianto l'angoscia di lena. On the other hand, Araiza does sound somewhat stretched in a role that needs a bit more heft. Bruson is excellent.

Not then, the greatest of Verdi's early operas, but not without interest, and always worth the occasional outing.

[André]

So I come to the final Aida in my collection, which also happens to be the most recent recording. It was released in a blaze of publicity in 2015, the first major studio recording of an opera in many years, and garnered great reviews all round. I enjoyed it at the time and I've listened to it a few times since, but I've noticed it's the last one I think of pulling down from the shelves. Listening to it now, straight after my five other recordings, I'm conisdering binning it. I doubt I'll listen to it again.

Sound and conducting are great, it's true, but the conducting isn't a notable improvement on my other two favourites (Serafin and Karajan) and the sound, superb though it is, isn't that much better than the Karajan. As for the singers, every single one of them is bettered by someone else on one of the other sets. Best of them is, without doubt, Kaufmann, who as always sings with intelligence and musicality. His pp morendo close to Celeste Aida is amazing, but I do miss the ring on top notes we get from all the other tenors, even Domingo and Carreras. Tézier isn't bad, but no match for Gobbi or Taddei, nor Cappuccilli whose tone is much more italianate too. There's nothing special about Semenchuk either, and she is easily outclassed by Dominguez, Simionato, Barbieri, Cossotto and Baltsa. But the real stumbling block for me is Harteros. Freni shows us how a lighter voice can work in this music, but quite honestly I thought Harteros sounded like Minnie Mouse on occasion. The voice just isn't that lovely. She has some good intentions, but she doesn't really have the equipment to pull them off. She attempts a pp dolce top C at the end of O patria mia but it just ends up acird and insecure. At no point does she challenge Freni, let alone Callas or Caballé. If Price were in the reckoning, I have no doubt that she too would wipe the floor with her.

So of all the six sets I've listened to in the last few days, I'm afraid this is the most expendable. I doubt I'll bother with it again.

Exactly. Once again I second all your findings here.

[Tsaraslondon]

Recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1979, this is a splendid performance of Verdi's 1857 re-working of the unsuccessful Stiffelio, which was composed in 1850. Much of the music is the same, but there are enough differences to make it worthwhile to view them as separate works.

In general I prefer the autonomy of Stiffelio, but there is some splendid music in Aroldo which we don't hear in the earlier opera. In particular, Mina emerges as a much stronger character than her opposite in the earlier opera and Caballé is in splendid form here. Cecchele isn't the most subtle of artists but we'd be grateful to hear such a voice today.

[Tsaraslondon]

Attila has always had a tenuous hold on the repertoire and it's certainly a lot better than Alzira, with a great role for a basso cantate. They're aren't that many, let's face it. Among much that is formulaic, there are some pages of real inspiration and it also provides thee great roles for soprano, tenor and baritone.

This, the first of Gardelli's first two recordings (the other is on Hungaraton) has a lot going for it, not least the singing of the three men. Raimondi may not have quite the authority he would have later in his career, but his is a voice well suited to the role. Excellent performances too from both Bergonzi and Milnes. What lets it down is the pallidly voiced Odabella of Cristina Deutekom. The role has many of the same requirements as Abigaille, including fluent coloratura and cutting power both on high and down below. Deutekom gets round the notes well enough, but she has no discernible chest voice and the voice is just too light. Neither of her two big scenes make the impression they should, which is a shame because they should be highlights of the score, and they just aren't. Listen to Sutherland singing Santo di patria or Callas or Caballé in O nel fuggente nuvola and you will hear what's missing.

However Gardelli's natural, unforced conducting is a good reason to acquire this set, and his cast is on the whole better here than the later one on Hungaraton. Sass may be a more apt choice for Odabelle but she is past her best. The Muti is well cast too, Studer definitely an improvement on Deutekom, but in general the men on this one tip the balance back towards it and Muti's conducting can be a bit too emphatic.

[ritter]

While cooking for a lunch I'm hosting tomorrow at home, listened to Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, in this recording (the first the work received):



My impressions are the same as when I first bought this recording a couple of years ago.

Great fun (the opera and the cooking )!

[Tsaraslondon]

I never can decide which of these two excellent sets I prefer. The studio recording was recorded in 1956 before Callas had sung Amelia on stage and the live one at the 1957 prima of a new production at La Scala. Gavazzeni is the more exciting, more propulsive conductor, Di Stefano and Callas are great on both, Barbieri and Simionato both superb and, if Bastianini has the more enitled baritone, Gobbi creates a more interesting character. Ratti is shrill and acrid on both.

I've done a more thorough comparison on my blog if anyone's interested. https://tsaraslondon.com/2017/03/24/callass-two-recordings-of-un-ballo-in-maschera/

[Tsaraslondon]

Verdi in patriotic form, La Battaglia di Legnano was first staged in 1849, only two years before Rigoletto and Verdi's own voice is becoming more and more noticeable. Verdi himself thought quite highly of it, though it is rarely staged these days.


This is an excellent recording of the piece, with particularly fine contributions from the young Ricciarelli and Carreras, both of whom were in their early 30s at the time of the recording. Manuguerra, though much older shows few signs of it and likewise gives a fine performnce. Gardelli is as always exemplary in early Verdi.

[Papy Oli]

Puccini
La Bohème
Act IV
(Karajan, Freni, Pavarotti)

I am having a moment here... what a heart-breaking beauty...

[Tsaraslondon]

Il Corsaro gets about as bad a press as Alzira but I thinkit's a good deal better than that opera. Amidst much that is routine and formulaic, there are a few gems, amongst which can be numbered the arias for the two women and the prison scene for Corrado, which opens with a most arresting orchestral introduction.

As ever Gardelli's conducting is spot on and has three wonderful princap singers. Carreras has rarely done anything better for the gramophone and his voice is at its early, honeyed best. Norman is luxury casting in the secondary soprano role of Medora, who gets one of the loveliest moments in the score with her Act I romanza and Caballé is in great voice as Gulnara. Gian-Piero Mastromei who sings the baritone role of Seid, is the least interesting of the singers, but he also gets the least interesting music to sing.

[Tsaraslondon]

I have three different recordings of Don Carlos though I usually quip that what I really have is three recordings of three different operas, as each conductor chooses a different edition of the score. Giulini opts for the five act version in Italian, which still seems to me the most sensible option, though what music to include or not include in that version will no doubt always be a matter of debate.

Ultimately, though, I don't really care which version they choose. I love this opera. For all its flaws, I think it contains some of Verdi's greatest music and some of his most fascinating, most fallibly human characters. It might just be my favourite of all his operas.

What a superb recording this is too, a performance that has acquired something of a classic status. Giulini has never been a flashy conductor and his thoughtfulness and introspection are well suited to the dark tinta of this wonderful score. It is also brilliantly cast from top to bottom. Caballé was at her peak in 1971 when this recording was made and this is a performance to se beside her Aida in the Muti recording. Verrett, caught before she migrated to soprano roles, is a vital, thrilling Eboli. The men are just as good, though Domingo, a little generic here, woud later become a more interesting Carlo. Milnes and Raimondi are superb too and we get fine contributions from Foiani as the Grand Inquisitor and Estes as the Friar.

[TheGSMoeller]

Finally got around to watching these two operas, and didn't realize until I started Salome that they were both staged by Romeo Castellucci. For musical performance and interpretation they were both excellent, and the leads of both operas were spectacular, especially Asmik Grigorian as Salome.
The stage production of Moses was mesmerizing while the Salome was not as effective. Moses begins in a calming haze of white that eventually fades as the opera gets closer to the second act. Aron's rod looks like it's straight out of Kubrick's 2001, and yes that is a real bull being used on stage. It eventually becomes a pretty messy stage (literally with black ink) and closes with mountain climbers, but the minimalist set allows for an easy focus on the words and music, and since, I believe, the majority of the setting is just "the desert" this leaves plenty of room for visual interpretation, which I feel worked brilliantly here. It was a shocking yet stunning production, one I will revisit soon. Moses und Aron is quickly moving into my top 5 favorite operas.
Salome filmed at the Salzburg Festival, is performed on a huge stage and perhaps that is the reason it didn't necessarily translate well onto a TV but I felt I was missing things as watching. And some of the staged choices by Castellucci meant no actually dancing during the famous "dance" number, and at the end nothing or nobody visibly kills Salome, which for someone not familiar with the opera or story might've left confused. But still sounded great, would love to have this on a CD version.   

Next up in my BluRay collection is a Death in Venice production and a revisit of Birtwistle's The Minotaur.

[Olias]

[Wendell_E]

I bought the Dynamic DVD collection "Rossini Serio (e semi-serio)" of seven operas several months ago, but just finished watching my first selection.

Maometto Secondo from La Fenice Theatre, Venice, 2005

Maometto secondo: Lorenzo Regazzo
Selimo: Federico Lepre
Paolo Erisso: Maxim Mironov
Anna: Carmen Giannattasio
Calbo: Anna Rita Gemmabella
Condulmiero: Nicola Marchesini
 
Conductor: Claudio Scimone
 
Orchestra of La Fenice Theatre of Venice
Chorus of La Fenice Theatre of Venice
Chorus master: Emanuela Di Pietro
 
Director: Pier Luigi Pizzi

The collection's very short on documentation. The back of the box lists the singers (last name only) for each opera, the conductor, director, and subtitle languages, and that's it. I had to do some exploring for more details, including this note on the edition used, from the Dynamic website: "The Maometto II here recorded corresponds only in part to the original score (Naples, 1820), which is the version generally performed nowadays; it is, instead, the revision made for Venice's Teatro La Fenice staged on 26th December 1822 as opening title of the 1823 Carnival season, the same season which, on February 3rd, would also see the debut of Semiramide. For Venice Rossini tried to soften the monolithic character of his Neapolitan score, introducing an opening symphony, making changes - some of them quite substantial - to the score and, especially, giving the plot a happy ending."

The "happy ending" features the heroine singing "Di tanti palpiti" from La Donna del Lago. I thought the singing was very good, and the production was fine.