What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Tsaraslondon]

I've always preferred Massenet's setting of L'Abbé Prévost's novel to Puccini's. The Puccini tends to over-sentimentalise, where Massenet is much closer to the source material.

This classic recording has never really been bettered, and captures a style of performance practice you would never come across in today's more international climate. Monteux, who conducted the work many times in the theatre, had the score in his bones as did his Opéra-Comique resources, and cast of French singers. The only non French singer is Victoria De Los Angeles, who was nevertheless totally at home in French music, and well known the world over for her portrayal of Manon. She is unrivalled at conveying both the childlike inocence and worldy sensuality of the heroine, and she is here at her vocal best. Henri Legay might be considered a little too light of voice for Des Grieux, but he sings with elegance and style, and is totally convincing at suggesting the youth's inexperience as well as his passion and obsession. The rest of the cast is as well nigh ideal as you could get, which leaves the small matter of the sound. EMI's transfer is somewhat harsh and shrill, though it didn't deter me from enjoying the set. I'm told the Testament issue is much better. Has anyone heard it?

[mc ukrneal]

I have that set in the EMI Karajan big box, it is very enjoyable. Although I have flirted with other sets, Domingo, Previn, Bohm, I keep returning to the Boskovsky with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra on EMI. Rothenberger is a singer we rarely mention, she was superb in Mozart for example and is splendid here. Renata Holm is the other soprano and they really sound like they are having fun. Gedda is in the mix as is the best ever Orlovsky, Brigitte Fassbaender, she is properly sexy and ambiguous and sings without guying it or degrading the sound. No one starts the Bruderline ensemble like Fischer Dieskau does here, elevating it to the universal. It is a similar moment for me as the reconciliation at the end of Mozart's Figaro.

The whole thing fizzes along, the dialogue sparkles. It should be regarded as a classic.

The Bohm with Janowitz, Wachter and Holm again has Windgassen as a world weary and rather pallid prince. But as a whole, it is well worth hearing. Previn employs te Kanawa and Fassbaender, Gruberova and Bar. It goes well, but sounds like it was recorded in a huge bathroom. The Boskovsky is closely recorded and relatively intimate.

I don't recall much about the Domingo conducted set, apart from it not leaving much of an impression, though it has yet another great cast of singers. The Carlos Kleiber has some great singers, but Ivan Rebroff is a falsetto Orlovsky, and I really don't want to hear that.

Mike

PS The Boskovsky is available on Amazon UK for 1p plus postage!

I found the EMI set on Amazon, but didn't buy it while I thought about it. In the meantime, my wife bought something and thought I wanted it, so now I am getting it! hahaha. I guess it's fate. I love Boskovsky in this fare, and of course the singers are fabulous, so I expect I will quite enjoy it. My streak of not buying anything for at least six months is still intact!

[knight66]

I found the EMI set on Amazon, but didn't buy it while I thought about it. In the meantime, my wife bought something and thought I wanted it, so now I am getting it! hahaha. I guess it's fate. I love Boskovsky in this fare, and of course the singers are fabulous, so I expect I will quite enjoy it. My streak of not buying anything for at least six months is still intact!

That is funny. You wil have to develop this skill of getting others to buy you things you want, then tell me how it is done. I hope you enjoy the Boskovsky; I listened to it last night and it was like meeting an old friend.

Mike

[André]

Anyone has heard or heard of this 1949 version of Fledermaus by Fricsay ? It's available under various guises:







The Music web reviewer is quite enthusiastic.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/Dec08/Strauss_Fledermaus_audite23411.htm

[knight66]

No Andre, I don't kow it, but show me anything by Fricsay that is less than excellent. I imagine it is worth a listen.

Mike

[Tsaraslondon]

Sibelius's only opera, a 35-40 minute work consisting of eight short scenes, is an early work (1896). Sibelius withdrew it shortly after its first performance and it remained unheard until a radio broadcast in 1981.

Not top notch Sibelius by any means, but worth an occasional listen.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Pure awesomeness. One of my favorite French operas ever, to which this recording does full justice.

[Tsaraslondon]

Pure awesomeness. One of my favorite French operas ever, to which this recording does full justice.

I love this opera, and think this its best recording. It has an energy and vitality, which is absolutely perfect, and Gedda is in fabulous form.

[Tsaraslondon]

I find it hard to take seriously the sentimental religiosity of Massenet's Thaïs, and no doubt Massenet felt the same. As he said about an earlier sacred-drama of his Marie-Magdalène, he himself didn't believe in "all that Holy Father stuff — but the public likes it". Sex and religion frequently go hand in hand in late nineteenth century opera, and Thaïs ends with the courtesan finding God whilst the monk Athanaël succombs to his lust.

Whether the public still likes this "Holy Father stuff" is a moot point, but it did provide Renée Fleming with a role to showcase her gorgeous vocals, and we should be thankful that she was able to take her portrayal into the studios, because up until then the opera had not been particuarly happy on disc. I doubt we will ever hear a better recording.

[marvinbrown]

  As I put the first CD in my player I knew Tsaraslondon  would approve:

  [asin]B00KTQD7ZA[/asin]

  This 2014 remastering is done to perfection!

  marvin

[Tsaraslondon]

  As I put the first CD in my player I knew Tsaraslondon  would approve:

  [asin]B00KTQD7ZA[/asin]

  This 2014 remastering is done to perfection!

  marvin

This was my first ever complete opera set so I have a great deal of affection for it. True, Callas is in better voice in the 1954 recording, but this one has the better cast and better sound, and Callas's portrayal has deepened.

My favourite of all her Normas, though, is a live 1955 La Scala account, with Del Monaco as Pollione and Simionato as Adalgisa, where voice and artistry find their truest equilibrium. The sound on the Divina Records transfer is pretty good too. It's well worth seeking out.

[Tsaraslondon]

Many years ago I remember seeing a fantastic David Pountney production of this opera at the English National Opera. That was back in 1987, and this, the premiere recording of Shostakovich's original score was recorded in 1978.

Though there have been other recordings and plenty of other stagings since then, this first recording still packs quite a punch, with the husband and wife team of Rostropvich and Vishneskaya creating something quite special. In Vishnevskaya the opera has found its perfect Katerina, and there are superb performances from the rest of the cast, especially Gedda's Sergei and Petkov's Boris.

One of the towering achievements of the gramophone, which garnered many awards when first issued in 1979.

[marvinbrown]

This was my first ever complete opera set so I have a great deal of affection for it. True, Callas is in better voice in the 1954 recording, but this one has the better cast and better sound, and Callas's portrayal has deepened.

My favourite of all her Normas, though, is a live 1955 La Scala account, with Del Monaco as Pollione and Simionato as Adalgisa, where voice and artistry find their truest equilibrium. The sound on the Divina Records transfer is pretty good too. It's well worth seeking out.

  I am not familiar with the 1955 recordings and will check it out in the future (mental note).  The 2014 remastering is astonishingly good.  Callas voice is crystal clear. It is as if she was standing right in front of me as she was singing.  Its a 1960 recording. You would have thought it was recorded yesterday.   I don't know how they were able to "clean them up" sonically to get such impressive sonic results. I believe it was remastered here in London, at Abbey Studios maybe?

  marvin

[Ciaccona]

NP:

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From the Box-Set:

[asin]B00FM60U8E[/asin]

[André]

As Turandot and the Unknown Prince, Nilsson and Corelli were box office dynamite. Nilsson famously quipped « Isolde made me famous, Turandot made me rich ». They recorded the opera for EMI in 1965 and sang it on stage in NY (this 1961 Met production as well as in 1966 under Mehta), in Milan (December 1964, the first time a non-italian soprano opened the Scala season) as well as in Macerata in 1971.

I have the EMI set as well as the La Scala, which I plan to listen to also. This was my first hearing of this legendary production. It has to be said that on the musical side things seem to go swimmingly. But that can hardly be gleaned from the wretched recorded sound. Most damaging is the huge dynamic compression in loud passages, especially in the second act and in the last scene of the third act.

Nilsson is commanding and sings with gusto and Corelli matches her note for note in the big duets. Giaiotti as Timur is superb and, after a shaky start in Signore ascolta, Anna Moffo is an exellent Liù.

[André]

From the WAYL thread:

Act I is under way. The sight of Turandot got Calaf ensnared (« O divina bellezza, O meraviglia»). This lavishly illustrated 120 page book includes a libretto as well as the cds (of course). The sound is quite good. This was a prestige production directed by Margherita Wallmann. After the lousy sounding Stokowski Met production it's a relief to hear the opera in good sonic conditions - for a 1960s live recording, that is.

This 1964 opening night performance is a rerun of previous Nilsson-Corelli confrontations in Turandot at La Scala (1958, 1960, 1962). It captures both supersingers in fine form - esp the stentorian Calaf of Corelli, who nonetheless manages some meltingly warm pianissimi. Nilsson was in slightly warmer voice at the Met, but she owns the role of the Ice Princess. The novelty is the Liù of the russian prima donna from the Bolshoi, Galina Vishnevskaya. She delivers a heartfelt performance and some beautiful vocalism. All the smaller roles are very well handled, esp Nicola Zaccaria's touching Timur. Gavazzeni conducts very well.

[Tsaraslondon]

Werther has been particularly lucky on disc, right from its first recording with Thill and Vallin, but, of modern recordings, this one might just be the best of all, much as I enjoy those featuring Gedda and De Los Angeles, Carreras and Von Stade or Kraus and Troyanos.

Alagna is always at his best in French opera and his Werther is no exception, sensitively pharsed and suitably impassioned. True, the role of Charlotte lies a little low for Gheorghiu, but she sings quite beautifully and the London Symphony Orchestra play superbly under Antonio Pappano's assured direction.

Highly recommended.

[André]

Turandot by Puccini from this box:



Two very big pluses: the overall strong singing and superb characterization of Maria Callas in the title role and the playing/singing of the La Scala forces under Tullio Serafin. Despite its superhuman requirements in the vocalism department, Turandot is a huge choral symphony and should be conducted with a view for the long arc, like Schoenberg's Gurrelieder or Mahler's 8th symphony.

...............................

Callas sang a stronger in questa reggia in an earlier recital disc, but her characterization of Turandot goes far beyond that in the rest of the opera, where her command of the text is nothing short of miraculous. Her diction and delivery are so natural that you could write down the text from hearing her sing the part. The way she intones "amore" (twice: when she questions Liù, she is incredulous; when she proclaims it as Calaf's name at the end she is exultant) is a lesson in psychological development.

Eugenio Fernandi sings strongly despite an ungainly tone, somewhat like an american tenor (Peerce, Tucker). In a couple of crucial passages he squeaks like a capon, but otherwise he is strong of tone and true of intonation. As Liù Mrs. Legge spins a couple of magical pianissimo high notes, but otherwise I find her singing precious, matronly and arch. It's hard to believe the same singer could have such different tones coming her vocal cords. The excellent Nicola Zaccaria had a kind of monopoly on the role of Timur. He is totally believable and touching. Only Bonaldo Giaiotti was as good. The sound is very good (mono) and the conducting suitably strong. Serafin is superb at making the score surge forward relentlessly without ever suggesting any haste.

Curio: emperor Altoum is sung by Giuseppe Nessi, who sang the first Pong under Toscanini in 1926. He sounds appropriately old here, but I much prefer Hugues Cuénod who sang it for his Met debut in 1988, when he was 86 years young. Cuénod's tone never wobbles and his characterization is simply perfect. Check him in this youtube extract: talk about stealing the show !


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ach0ummlOd4

[Tsaraslondon]

As you might imagine, I enjoy this set quite a bit, not least for the psychologically perceptive characterisation of Callas, whilst wishing she had recorded it just a few years earlier, when she was still able to deliver a superb and vocally resplendent In questa reggia, as she does on her 1954 Puccini Arias recital. That said, though the strain is evident, I don't think her vocal deterioration is anywhere near as bad as has been made out, and certainly she sounds much more vocally entitled than Ricciarelli for Karajan.

Unlike you, I've always enjoyed Schwarzkopf's meticulously executed and beautifully shaded  singing as Liu, whilst admitting she does sound more like a Viennese Duchess than a slave girl. Zaccaria is excellent, Fernandi OK, though it's a great pity Corelli wasn't engaed to sing with Callas until three years later (the second Norma). Serafin's conducting is thrilling and I just wish that it had been recorded in stereo. Turandot, of all operas, demands sonic splendour. This was 1957. What a shame Legge was so mistrustful of the relatively new stereo.

[Tsaraslondon]

This is actually Davis's second recording of Saint-Saëns' most popuar opera. the first made in London with José Cura as Samson and Olga Borodina as Dalila. If memory serves me correctly, they were both more richly endowed vocally than Carreras and Baltsa, but less communicative, hence my preference for this one. Though both of them are caught just a little past their peak, (Carreras strained by the more dramatic upper reaches of the role and Baltsa once or twice developing a pronounced beat in the voice) they are thoroughly inside their respective roles and sensitive to the needs of the drama.

Davis often conducted the opera in the theatre and his experience with the piece pays dividends. His reading is superbly paced and balanced.

There have been quite a few recordings of the opera, none of them entirely recommendable, but this one seems to me as good as any.