What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Florestan]

Sutherland's diction was a lot better when she was working with conductors like Serafin, Giulini, Nello Santi and Molinari-Pradelli. It went to  pot when she started working almost exclusively with Bonynge, who got her to adopt a moony, swoony style. It's not just that her diction was bad, but that she never really made words count. It's also noticeable that the more they concentrated on her brilliant upper register, the more the lower and middle registers fell away and the voice became dull in those areas. Some thought the splendour of her upper notes compensation enough, but I never did.

Well, I'm a prima la musica poi le parole kind of guy* --- but JS abused the principle big time. 

*not quite, actually: I speak French fluently and understand a fair amount of Italian (more than enough for operas actually).

[Tsaraslondon]

I think uniquely among tenors, Domingo has made three studio recordings of Otello, one for each decade from the 70s through to the 90s, which is certainly some achievement in itself.

The generally accepted opinion is that the last one with Chung is the best, but I'm not sure I'd agree, though all three performances have something to commend them, and all are worth hearing.

It might be useful to set Domingo's Otello aside for the moment, and look at the other elements of the recordings. When it comes to the conducting, I like Maazel's the least. As usual he pulls around rhythms too much and draws attention to himself in the wrong way. Chung and Levine are both much to be preferred , though I don't always feel Chung really gets under the skin of the score. Levine, whom I don't always like in Verdi, is both more dramatic and more lyrical, but I still prefer Serafin to both. Incidentally I should mention that the Maazel isn't actually the soundtrack to the Zeffirelli film, which was mercilessly cut, and the recording is note complete.

When it comes to Iago, Diaz isn't as bad as he's sometimes made out to be, but he's a bit anonymous. He doesn't really make much impression. Milnes and Leiferkus are more interesting, but Leiferkus's very un-italianate voice takes some getting used to and Milnes' tone is intrinsically too noble. He still sounds more like a Posa. Both are intelligent singers and both are credible villains, but neither eclipses memories of Gobbi, who just has the sound of evil in his voice.

All three Desdemonas are excellent. If my preference is for Scotto, it is because she makes a little more of the character dramatically. Admittedly the voice can turn a little squally when under pressure at the top, but her soft singing is exquisite and she is the only one of the three sopranos to really use her chest voice. Ricciarelli's voice tends to disappear in the lower register, but elsewhere her singing is very beautiful and she too is a very affecting Desdemona. Studer isn't always a singer I enjoy, but I do like her singing in the Chung, even if ultimately I prefer both Scotto and Ricciarelli. All three are far preferable to Rysanek on the Serafin recording. The supporting roles are best served by Chung, who has Ramon Vargas as Cassio and Denyce Graves as Emilia.

Which leaves us with the small matter of Domingo. I know some question the suitabilty of his voice for the role, but he was the foremost Otello in the world for almost three decades and aside from the three studio recordings, there are numerous live accounts around, both on disc and on video and it is certainly worth seeking out at least one of his video performances, as he was a superb actor. He doesn't have the sheer animal power of Vickers, but his singing throughout these three sets is remarkably consistent. There is some deepening of the interpretation from Levine through to Chung, but there is a bit more ring to the voice in the earlier recording. In all three recordings he shows what an intelligent singer can do with a role for which he is not entirely suited and his is an entirely believable portrayal, but by and large I prefer him in the Levine, which, all round, I find the finest of all these three recordings.

However, if forced to choose but one, I would still go for Serafin, despite the weakest Desdemona, as the two male leads are more important in this opera, and team Vickers/Gobbi take a lot of beating. I also give the conducting palm to Serafin, who, as usual, just gets everything unobtrusively right.

[JBS]

I saw Milnes perform Iago in May 1979 in a Met touring production (Levine conducted; Richard Cassilly and Gilda Cruz-Roma were the O and the D) and remember him as very good in conveying the character's villiany: but a good deal of that was with gesture and facial expression, so perhaps an audio-only version would fail to convey it.

I have the Levine and Chung recordings, but like you I prefer the Serafin, which was my first recording of the opera.

ETA: checking a bit further, I think Cassilly was subbing for Vickers. There was one time I went to a Met Spring tour performance in which Vickers was billed but he cancelled due to sickness; this was likely that performance.

[Papy Oli]

Learning curve of the day:

Finding out through the above 2 posts that Sherrill Milnes is a He when I had assumed otherwise based on the first name 

That's one potential faux-pas averted in the Opéra salons 

Thank you both for the Otello comments too, great pointers for future sampling again.

[Roasted Swan]

I think uniquely among tenors, Domingo has made three studio recordings of Otello, one for each decade from the 70s through to the 90s, which is certainly some achievement in itself.

The generally accepted opinion is that the last one with Chung is the best, but I'm not sure I'd agree, though all three performances have something to commend them, and all are worth hearing.

It might be useful to set Domingo's Otello aside for the moment, and look at the other elements of the recordings. When it comes to the conducting, I like Maazel's the least. As usual he pulls around rhythms too much and draws attention to himself in the wrong way. Chung and Levine are both much to be preferred , though I don't always feel Chung really gets under the skin of the score. Levine, whom I don't always like in Verdi, is both more dramatic and more lyrical, but I still prefer Serafin to both. Incidentally I should mention that the Maazel isn't actually the soundtrack to the Zeffirelli film, which was mercilessly cut, and the recording is note complete.

When it comes to Iago, Diaz isn't as bad as he's sometimes made out to be, but he's a bit anonymous. He doesn't really make much impression. Milnes and Leiferkus are more interesting, but Leiferkus's very un-italianate voice takes some getting used to and Milnes' tone is intrinsically too noble. He still sounds more like a Posa. Both are intelligent singers and both are credible villains, but neither eclipses memories of Gobbi, who just has the sound of evil in his voice.

All three Desdemonas are excellent. If my preference is for Scotto, it is because she makes a little more of the character dramatically. Admittedly the voice can turn a little squally when under pressure at the top, but her soft singing is exquisite and she is the only one of the three sopranos to really use her chest voice. Ricciarelli's voice tends to disappear in the lower register, but elsewhere her singing is very beautiful and she too is a very affecting Desdemona. Studer isn't always a singer I enjoy, but I do like her singing in the Chung, even if ultimately I prefer both Scotto and Ricciarelli. All three are far preferable to Rysanek on the Serafin recording. The supporting roles are best served by Chung, who has Ramon Vargas as Cassio and Denyce Graves as Emilia.

Which leaves us with the small matter of Domingo. I know some question the suitabilty of his voice for the role, but he was the foremost Otello in the world for almost three decades and aside from the three studio recordings, there are numerous live accounts around, both on disc and on video and it is certainly worth seeking out at least one of his video performances, as he was a superb actor. He doesn't have the sheer animal power of Vickers, but his singing throughout these three sets is remarkably consistent. There is some deepening of the interpretation from Levine through to Chung, but there is a bit more ring to the voice in the earlier recording. In all three recordings he shows what an intelligent singer can do with a role for which he is not entirely suited and his is an entirely believable portrayal, but by and large I prefer him in the Levine, which, all round, I find the finest of all these three recordings.

However, if forced to choose but one, I would still go for Serafin, despite the weakest Desdemona, as the two male leads are more important in this opera, and team Vickers/Gobbi take a lot of beating. I also give the conducting palm to Serafin, who, as usual, just gets everything unobtrusively right.

Just to let you know I really enjoy reading your comments and insights on various operas.  I find them very valuable - I mentioned recently you've prompted me to pick up the Gardelli/I Due Foscari.  I have the Levine and Maazel Otellos but not the Chung - I'll probably stop there 2 Domingo/Otellos are enough for me.  What do you think of the Karajan/Cossutta recording - Price is probably a bit too 'big' for Desdemona?  I played for Cossutta right at the end of his career in Italy in the mid 80's when he sang Samson opposite Cossotto's Delilah - that was quite a heavy-weight battle!

[Tsaraslondon]

Just to let you know I really enjoy reading your comments and insights on various operas.  I find them very valuable - I mentioned recently you've prompted me to pick up the Gardelli/I Due Foscari.  I have the Levine and Maazel Otellos but not the Chung - I'll probably stop there 2 Domingo/Otellos are enough for me.  What do you think of the Karajan/Cossutta recording - Price is probably a bit too 'big' for Desdemona?  I played for Cossutta right at the end of his career in Italy in the mid 80's when he sang Samson opposite Cossotto's Delilah - that was quite a heavy-weight battle!

Thank you. I'm not a professional critic by any means. I just say what I like.

Do you mean the Solti/Cossutta Otello? Karajan's first recording is with Del Monaco and his second with Vickers (the soundtrack to his film, I think). It's a long time since I heard the Solti and I haven't been tempted again, mostly because I don't usually like Solti, especially in Verdi. I seem to remember Cossutta and Price both being rather good and Bacquier quite interesting as Iago. I'd have to listen to it again though and I think I'm Otello-ed out for now.

[Roasted Swan]

Thank you. I'm not a professional critic by any means. I just say what I like.

Do you mean the Solti/Cossutta Otello? Karajan's first recording is with Del Monaco and his second with Vickers (the soundtrack to his film, I think). It's a long time since I heard the Solti and I haven't been tempted again, mostly because I don't usually like Solti, especially in Verdi. I seem to remember Cossutta and Price both being rather good and Bacquier quite interesting as Iago. I'd have to listen to it again though and I think I'm Otello-ed out for now.

of course its Solti/Cossutta (double duh to me for not checking!)

[Papy Oli]

Giving this one a stream:

[Tsaraslondon]

Giving this one a stream:

There's an alarming flap on the final top C in the Nabucco cabaletta, but the Macbeth arias have never been bettered, except perhaps by Callas herself on the 1952 live recording of the whole opera. It's instructive to have the libretto at hand when listening.

The Don Carlo aria is also another classic of the gramophone.

[Papy Oli]

There's an alarming flap on the final top C in the Nabucco cabaletta, but the Macbeth arias have never been bettered, except perhaps by Callas herself on the 1952 live recording of the whole opera. It's instructive to have the libretto at hand when listening.

The Don Carlo aria is also another classic of the gramophone.

What do you mean by this ? The only thing I noticed was maybe its abrupt ending ?

Otherwise, a great album, yes. Another tick in the list for me.

[Tsaraslondon]

What do you mean by this ? The only thing I noticed was maybe its abrupt ending ?

Otherwise, a great album, yes. Another tick in the list for me.

Maybe I made too much of it, but the final top C is a rather unlovely note and vibrates rather more than is desirable. Some critics have actually said it sounds more like a squawk, though I wouldn't agree.

[Tsaraslondon]

Maybe I made too much of it, but the final top C is a rather unlovely note and vibrates rather more than is desirable. Some critics have actually said it sounds more like a squawk, though I wouldn't agree.

To add to what I wrote above. I suppose I've become so used to reading bad press about the state of Callas's post weight-loss voice, especially from around 1958 onwards, that I feel I have to make apologies for it to anyone hearing her for the first time, or almost the first time. However, I should remember that I first got to know the Callas voice from these post weight-loss records, because so much of her back catalogue had been deleted by the time I started collecting opera in my late teens, EMI having decided to delete most of their mono catalogue after stereo became the norm. Consequently, except for the Puccini Arias and her La Boheme, which had somehow escaped the deletions axe, my first Callas recordings were the 1960 Norma, the 1965 Carmen and Tosca, and then Mad Scenes and Verdi Heroines. The rest I acquired slowly, either from scouring record stores for imports or after EMI started to re-release them, a lot of them in fake, re-channeled stereo. It was then that EMI realised that her records still sold regardless of whether they were mono or stereo and she has been the backbone of EMI's, and now Warner's, Italian opera catalogue ever since.

[Papy Oli]

Ok I see. Nothing stood out as untoward when I listened to it, then again, I am only getting familiar with and used to her voice.

Maybe over time, I'll pick up on such variations in pre- and post weight loss. We'll see. For now, I am just slowly enjoying the journey 

[Florestan]

I'm not a professional critic by any means. I just say what I like.

And you do it in a highly articulated, educated and natural way and your enthusiastic love for opera shines through every paragraph. Honestly, you are way better than some professional critics I've read whose pretentious, intellectualist and artificial style is either risible or directly off-putting. Keep your reviews coming!

[Florestan]

(Cross-post from the WAYLTN thread)



Act I up to, and including, Una voce poco fa. Splendid performance.

Every time I hear this opera I understand why Rossini in comic mode was like a gush of fresh air breezing in a room filled with heavy perfumes. One of the greatest musical firebrands ever.

[Tsaraslondon]

Thank you to all. That means a lot.

[Ganondorf]

Reporting back from die Walkure at Finnish National Opera, second part of the first completely Finnish production of Ring.

First the good news. The wait of roughly 3 years because of pandemic was from artistical viewpoint worth it. The production was magnificent with Tommi Hakala singing with both great power and great lyricism Wotan.

Johanna Rusanen is not maybe how I imagine Brunnhilde to look like but in sound she fits the title role.

Siegmund was sung by Joachim Bäckström, who actually made me like Siegmund despite him being possibly my least favorite character in the entire Ring. Yes, I know, a shocking claim.

Sieglinde, Miina-Liisa Värelä was perhaps a slight improvement ovet Brunnhilde in that she both sounds and looks like Sieglinde to me. Her last greeting to Brunnhilde was earth-shattering.

Matti Turunen was an interesting Hunding. He is depicted as priestly character in this production which made me think of Ibsen's Ghosts.

Niina Keitel is fine Fricka. I never saw Fricka as mere nagging housewife but instead as someone who makes a lot of good points too. What kind of Goddess of Marriage would Fricka be If she allowed an incestuous union? Although Wotan has a point too in that loveless unions are not good either.

The valkyries were very good although Wagner never did quite flesh them out as individuals which I guess was inevitable considering there are 8 of them excluding Brunnhilde.

Conducting was by Hannu Lintu and while Solti or Karajan he is not, he serves the purpose.

I said there were bad news. Well, that would be the fact that my enjoyment of performance was somewhat marred by several severe anxiety attacks. It may be because one of Walkure's themes is war and from obvious reasons this reinforced anxiety. I do freely acknowledge that I am lucky in that I have no direct experience of war. Part of my anxiety was because the thinking of the poor victims of war made me empathize heavily with them. I have always been very emotional and the blood-relatives I've lost through suicide did not help the issue.

I hope I don't sound cruel when I say that relief to my anxiety was brought by the war thread on this Forum. It of course wasnt in any way because of the ongoing war itself but by the pleasant surprise of how the few pages of the thread I browsed were for the most part full of friendly and civil discussion, in a thread with a topic which no doubt would raise high emotions anywhere and undoubtedly did here too, I just missed them. I had for the most part avoided war news etc. as a way of protection but I was so upset by my emotions that this performance awakened that I thought screw it, lets see what people have thought about this, it may bring some relief to loneliness. And I'm glad that this proved to be so, as glad as I am that Die Walkure ends in ultimately comforting atmosphere.

[Ganondorf]

PS sorry about lack of umlauts in my post, I wrote this with my cell phone.

[Papy Oli]

Another Callas recital to start the day:

[Ganondorf]

Not that it matters, and maybe you knew it anyway, in which case ignore me. But it's usually possible to press-and-hold a key on a cell phone to trigger the display of all sorts of linguistic variants for a letter. Press+hold S, for example, and I get offered ß; press and hold E, I get offered five options: ē, ê, ë, è, é and (bizarrely!) 3. And so on.

Anyway: just thougt it worth mentioning, though I still find them fiddlier to do on a mobile than is probably worth the effort

Thanks! I figured there was a way but I was too dead tired after the opera to start finding a solution.