What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

Started by Tsaraslondon, April 10, 2017, 04:29:04 AM

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foxandpeng

Philip Glass
Akhnaten
The Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Paul Esswood
Dennis Russell Davies
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy

Operafreak

The true adversary will inspire you with boundless courage.

Tsaraslondon



At just over 79 minutes, this classic set could no doubt have been fitted onto one CD, but at least here we get full notes, texts and translations - and for such a performance it is absolutely worth it. I doubt I'll ever hear a better and indeed only a couple of months ago it was the reviewer's top choice on BBC Radio 3's Building a Library programme.

Reviewed on my blog for anyone who's interested. https://tsaraslondon.com/2020/11/17/a-merry-widow-for-all-time/
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

JBS


Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

André

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on November 13, 2021, 12:36:37 AM


At just over 79 minutes, this classic set could no doubt have been fitted onto one CD, but at least here we get full notes, texts and translations - and for such a performance it is absolutely worth it. I doubt I'll ever hear a better and indeed only a couple of months ago it was the reviewer's top choice on BBC Radio 3's Building a Library programme.

Reviewed on my blog for anyone who's interested. https://tsaraslondon.com/2020/11/17/a-merry-widow-for-all-time/

Classic indeed.

Coincidentally, I'm listening to La Fanciulla del West, also conducted by von Matacic.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: André on November 13, 2021, 12:09:28 PM
Classic indeed.

Coincidentally, I'm listening to La Fanciulla del West, also conducted by von Matacic.

Ah yes. He was a very fine conductor. Unfortunately I can't take to Nilsson in this role and the rest of the cast is not very enticing. My favourite recording of La Fanciulla del West is the Mehta. I prefer it to the one with Tebaldi and Del Monaco too.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Tsaraslondon



Nedda was one of the four roles Callas recorded but never sang on stage. I can't imagine the role having much interest for her, but, as is her wont, she creates a fully rounded character, far away from the tarty little minx she was often portrayed in those days.

All round, this is one of the best cast versions on disc, with Gobbi superb as Tonio and Panerai nicely contrasted as a seductive Silvio. Di Stefano is arguably a tad light voiced for Canio, but, as ever, creates a believable character, his diction impeccable. Monti is luxury casting as Beppe and Serafin paces the score brilliantly. The sound is clear mono. One of the best versions in the catalogue, which I review more thoroughly on my blog https://tsaraslondon.com/2017/01/08/i-pagliacci/.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

André

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on November 14, 2021, 12:12:15 AM
Ah yes. He was a very fine conductor. Unfortunately I can't take to Nilsson in this role and the rest of the cast is not very enticing. My favourite recording of La Fanciulla del West is the Mehta. I prefer it to the one with Tebaldi and Del Monaco too.

I have both (Mehta and Tebaldi). Gibin (with von Matacic) is ordinary until he shouts top notes matching those of Nilsson. When they open up together ff it's thrilling. My own preference is also for the Mehta recording, which has no weak link - a resounding success.

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

First listen to the complete opera, ever:



Speaking of  'no weak link - resounding success', this production of Puccini's La Rondine is quite sensational. As in La Bohème there are 2 pairs of lovers and both have a lot to sing. This production was cast from strength, with the glamourous pair of Gheorgiu and Alagna in superb voice, while inva Mula and William Matteuzzi (the latter in particular) providing a strong vocal and dramatic foil.

Magda's famous aria ' Chi il bel sogno di Doretta ' is not a full-blown solo soprano aria like 'Vissi d'arte'. It is actually started by the tenor from the second pair, Prunier. He sings about a girl named Doretta being propositioned by a king but refusing his promise of wealth. Prunier doesn't know how to finish the song, so he asks Magda for a suitable conclusion. She then reprises it, accompanied by a few of those in attendance (it's a soirée in Magda's salon). I imagine it's been later altered into the form we know for recital purposes. In any case, the original setting is much more charming IMO, and certainly more suitable for the purpose of that scene. I was really charmed by this work, a wistful and undramatic story where nobody dies, kills or commits suicide. It does not have a happy end as in Fanciulla del West, which is a good thing - you can pull off a 'ride into the sunset' conclusion only once, I guess.

I've purchased the CPO version for comparison purposes. Reviews were favourable but do mention that Pappano's is the best version available. Still, I'll welcome different insights into this fine, understated work.

André



Suor Angelica

I love the Sutherland recording, in part because her voice is so instantly recognizable. It's important to tell Angelica apart quickly because in the first 25 minutes lots of nuns/sopranos sing and they tend to sound alike. In this EMI version it happens, too. Listening without a libretto it takes a while to establish Angelica's vocal identity. In the second half of the piece it's no problem of course, as we only hear her and two boomy mezzos. Be that as it may, Gallardo-Domas sings beautifully, with floated top notes and strong character (this nun is no ninny). The descent into madness at the end (Ah! Son dannata) is downright frightening. Overall this is a very, very fine performance.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: André on November 14, 2021, 11:19:10 AM
I have both (Mehta and Tebaldi). Gibin (with von Matacic) is ordinary until he shouts top notes matching those of Nilsson. When they open up together ff it's thrilling. My own preference is also for the Mehta recording, which has no weak link - a resounding success.

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

First listen to the complete opera, ever:



Speaking of  'no weak link - resounding success', this production of Puccini's La Rondine is quite sensational. As in La Bohème there are 2 pairs of lovers and both have a lot to sing. This production was cast from strength, with the glamourous pair of Gheorgiu and Alagna in superb voice, while inva Mula and William Matteuzzi (the latter in particular) providing a strong vocal and dramatic foil.

Magda's famous aria ' Chi il bel sogno di Doretta ' is not a full-blown solo soprano aria like 'Vissi d'arte'. It is actually started by the tenor from the second pair, Prunier. He sings about a girl named Doretta being propositioned by a king but refusing his promise of wealth. Prunier doesn't know how to finish the song, so he asks Magda for a suitable conclusion. She then reprises it, accompanied by a few of those in attendance (it's a soirée in Magda's salon). I imagine it's been later altered into the form we know for recital purposes. In any case, the original setting is much more charming IMO, and certainly more suitable for the purpose of that scene. I was really charmed by this work, a wistful and undramatic story where nobody dies, kills or commits suicide. It does not have a happy end as in Fanciulla del West, which is a good thing - you can pull off a 'ride into the sunset' conclusion only once, I guess.

I've purchased the CPO version for comparison purposes. Reviews were favourable but do mention that Pappano's is the best version available. Still, I'll welcome different insights into this fine, understated work.

I used to have the Maazel on LP, which is also very fine. It has Domingo and Kiri in one of her most successful non Mozart roles. I also know the old Molinari-Pradelli with Moffo as Magda, but, when it came to acquiring the CD, it not being an opera I wanted multiple copies of, I went for this Pappano set, which I think trumps them both. A fantastic set, which won the Gramophone award that year, i believe.

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: André on November 14, 2021, 11:58:44 AM


Suor Angelica

I love the Sutherland recording, in part because her voice is so instantly recognizable. It's important to tell Angelica apart quickly because in the first 25 minutes lots of nuns/sopranos sing and they tend to sound alike. In this EMI version it happens, too. Listening without a libretto it takes a while to establish Angelica's vocal identity. In the second half of the piece it's no problem of course, as we only hear her and two boomy mezzos. Be that as it may, Gallardo-Domas sings beautifully, with floated top notes and strong character (this nun is no ninny). The descent into madness at the end (Ah! Son dannata) is downright frightening. Overall this is a very, very fine performance.

I don't have this recording, but my favourite Angelicas would be De Los Angeles (no problem picking her voice out from amongst the other nuns), Ricciarelli, recorded quite early in her career before the voice had started to spread and Scotto, whom I would suggst is hors concours. Scotto presents the most intense, most psycholgically penetrating traversal of the role I've heard. Between them Scotto and Maazel turn what is often a piece of quasi religioso sentimentality into a mini psychodrama about the effects of repression, almost echoing some of the themes in Powell and Pressburger's darkly intense movie Black Narcissus. I usually find the sentimentality of the vision at the end a bit too much to take, but here it comes across as a drug-fueled hallucination. Of course you have to offset this with some squally top notes. but I'll accept them for the total experience.

I'm surprised you like Sutherland in the role so much. It's not just the cloudy diction (not as good here as it was in Turandot) but her inabilty by this time to hold a long, legato line. Play the beginning of Senza mamma, then play Tebaldi, De Los Angeles or Callas. With Sutherland each note seems to have an individual little push, where the others maintain a pure legato line, yet manage to do so with much more natural diction.

Admittedly I'm not much of a Sutherland fan, but for me this has always been one of her least successful recordings.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

André



Okay, I won't do a long write-up, referring instead to Robert Levine's raving review in ClassicsToday:

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-14874/


I concur with his views on the conductor, orchestra and splendid sound. He is more enthused than I about the singers though. Not that they are not up to snuff. They are all very good, just not on the exalted level of the classic accounts we all know so well. It must be noted that they are not caught up close, but at a natural distance from the listener. This might contribute to a slightly less than heroic impression such as we might expect from a studio recording. Better that than unnatural balances though. This 2008 production is as good as anything we can hope for today. In any event, the conducting, choral singing and gorgeous sound fully justify Levine's encomium.

Mirror Image

Quote from: André on November 17, 2021, 01:11:44 PM


Okay, I won't do a long write-up, referring instead to Robert Levine's raving review in ClassicsToday:

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-14874/


I concur with his views on the conductor, orchestra and splendid sound. He is more enthused than I about the singers though. Not that they are not up to snuff. They are all very good, just not on the exalted level of the classic accounts we all know so well. It must be noted that they are not caught up close, but at a natural distance from the listener. This might contribute to a slightly less than heroic impression such as we might expect from a studio recording. Better that than unnatural balances though. This 2008 production is as good as anything we can hope for today. In any event, the conducting, choral singing and gorgeous sound fully justify Levine's encomium.

This looks like a lovely recording. Thanks for the report! I'm not even sure I have a recording of Lohengrin in my collection...actually, I think I have the Solti and that's it. I really should be more familiar with Wagner's output outside of the Ring, Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde[/i].

ritter

#2813
Revisiting Hans Pfitzner's Palestrina, in this recording conducted by Kirill Petrenko.


I've never been a fan of Pfitzner's music (I find, for instance, his Piano Concerto actually quite ugly), but Palestrina does have many things to admire, and this time around I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It is obviously derived from Wagner (or, more specifically, Parsifal) as far as the dramatic construction and the scoring are concerned, but the work has a quite individual sound world, and is a rather accomplished work.

This live recording from Frankfurt was made in 2007, i.e. from before Petrenko's rise to stardom (his Bayreuth debut and assumption of the role of Generalmusikdirektor of the Bavarian State Opera both happened in 2013, and his move to the Berlin Philharmonic was in 2019). But, even at this early(ish) stage in his career —he was 35 years old at the time—, the conductor's ability to extract the most out of richly scored pieces, while simultaneously being able to maintain the dramatic arc and forward movement in long acts of big operas (which made his Ring so successful and memorable at Bayreuth —I saw it live in 2014–) is already totally there. The vocal contributions are uniformly good, the diction (of paramount importance in this very "literary" opera) is clear, and this works excellently as an ensemble piece (the fact that the staging was by the great Harry Kupfer may have played a rôle in achieving this unity).

All said, a great performance of an ambitious and interesting work.

André

#2814


I takes a very strong trio of ladies and a crackerjack team of musicians (orchestra and conductor) to pull this off successfully. Excellent recorded sound definitely gives brownie points.  Here the sopranos are an accomplished group. Although not in a Nilsson class vocally, Deborah Polaski delivers the goods handsomely. Only in the last part (say, after the Recognition scene) does she falter somewhat and, at that point, her character has become crazed and incoherent so a degree of vocal rust can actually pass for a dramatic asset. Before that I found her both strong and convincing.

Her sister Chrysothemis is quite her opposite dramatically, so a totally different type of voice is needed. This release scores big in having an authentic lyric soprano with plenty of youthful flesh in her tones. Schwanewilms has always excelled in portraying lonely, fragile but brave characters through vocal means only. Consequently there are no histrionics on display, just a touching portrayal of the sweet sister who can't muster the force to rebel and fight her way out of the plight she finds herself in. She does have the big top notes Strauss throws her way in the last scene. Quite the best singer I've heard in that role.

As Klytemnestra, veteran Felicity Palmer has it all: a firm top and a trenchant low register, with histrionics just this side of being over the top. A thrilling account both vocally and dramatically. The men in the opera are secondary characters. I've read a review (Ralph Moore, Musicweb) that states Grundheber sounds like Elektra's grandfather, not her brother and another one (Gramophone) that found he « combines menace and warmth in just the right proportions as Orest and comes close to Hotter's classic portrayal ».

What gives this recording a special place in the discography is the incredible playing of the Cologne orchestra and the absolutely spectacular sound, easily the best on record (Musicweb, Gramophone and myself all in agreement about this  :D). Bychkov has recorded a lot of Strauss and he leads a thrilling, expansive reading. The amount of detail heard from the winds, from piccolo to contrabassoon, is quite a revelation. The bass end of the recording is firm and wide-ranging. The opera is played complete, like the Solti and Sawallisch versions. Most others have cuts.

Elektra, like Tosca or Carmen, is an opera that thrives on strongly characterized vocal and dramatic singing. There are many versions to choose from, but this one belongs with the best.


ritter

Thanks for the detailed comments, André. Very interesting.

I saw Elektra in 2011 here in Madrid, conducted by Bychkov, and it was excellent. Deborah Polanski sang the title rôle and (even if she was past her prime) her portrayal was riveting!

That recording from Cologne seems very good (and Schwanewilms must be perfect as Chrysothemis). I might seek it out..l :)

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: André on November 20, 2021, 12:59:03 PM


I takes a very strong trio of ladies and a crackerjack team of musicians (orchestra and conductor) to pull this off successfully. Excellent recorded sound definitely gives brownie points.  Here the sopranos are an accomplished group. Although not in a Nilsson class vocally, Deborah Polaski delivers the goods handsomely. Only in the last part (say, after the Recognition scene) does she falter somewhat and, at that point, her character has become crazed and incoherent so a degree of vocal rust can actually pass for a dramatic asset. Before that I found her both strong and convincing.

Her sister Chrysothemis is quite her opposite dramatically, so a totally different type of voice is needed. This release scores big in having an authentic lyric soprano with plenty of youthful flesh in her tones. Schwanewilms has always excelled in portraying lonely, fragile but brave characters through vocal means only. Consequently there are no histrionics on display, just a touching portrayal of the sweet sister who can't muster the force to rebel and fight her way out of the plight she finds herself in. She does have the big top notes Strauss throws her way in the last scene. Quite the best singer I've heard in that role.

As Klytemnestra, veteran Felicity Palmer has it all: a firm top and a trenchant low register, with histrionics just this side of being over the top. A thrilling account both vocally and dramatically. The men in the opera are secondary characters. I've read a review (Ralph Moore, Musicweb) that states Grundheber sounds like Elektra's grandfather, not her brother and another one (Gramophone) that found he « combines menace and warmth in just the right proportions as Orest and comes close to Hotter's classic portrayal ».

What gives this recording a special place in the discography is the incredible playing of the Cologne orchestra and the absolutely spectacular sound, easily the best on record (Musicweb, Gramophone and myself all in agreement about this  :D). Bychkov has recorded a lot of Strauss and he leads a thrilling, expansive reading. The amount of detail heard from the winds, from piccolo to contrabassoon, is quite a revelation. The bass end of the recording is firm and wide-ranging. The opera is played complete, like the Solti and Sawallisch versions. Most others have cuts.

Elektra, like Tosca or Carmen, is an opera that thrives on strongly characterized vocal and dramatic singing. There are many versions to choose from, but this one belongs with the best.

Sometimes I wish we had a "like" button, just so that the poster could know that someone is reading and appreciating their posts, especially when it's a review.

I fear Elektra will never be a favourite opera of mine. I used to have the Solto set on LP, but never felt like replacing it on CD. It's just too overwrought for me and, to my ears, sounds like a lot of hysterical women screaming at each other.

However I would like to thank you for your review and say that I enjoyed reading it, as I do all your opera reviews.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

André

#2817
Well, thank you, and likewise !  :-*

André

BTW these Bychkov recordings are from a very cheap box currently selling for 12.99€ at JPC:



The Strauss, Wagner and Verdi are superb, with state of the art sound. The Rachmaninoff disc, too except I'm not overly fond of these particular scores  :-\

Tsaraslondon

Cross posting from the main forum.

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on November 19, 2021, 06:46:49 AM


A few years ago I came across the Libera Me from this performances on youtube and I was totally knocked out by Norman's performance. Shortly after it disappeared from youtube and I searched in vain to see if the complete performances had ever been issued. Eventually the complete performance did surface on youtube, but I was thrilled to find earlier this tear that it had been issued on disc by BR Klassik.

I have the earlier of Muti's commercial recordings, which was recorded round about the same time as this 1981 performance. It also features Baltsa and Nesterenko, but has Scotto and Luchetti in the soprano and tenor roles. It is a performance I've always enjoyed, but it has to be said that this live one trumps it. It doesn't have the precision of the studio effort, but there is a real sense of occasion and the soloists could hardly be bettered.

This is the only instance I know of Norman singing the soprano part and she is absolutely magnificent, just as intelligent as Scotto, but more comfortable in the upper regions of the role, where Scotto can be squally. Carreras is at his youthful, honeyed best, his voice still very beautiful and singing with wonderful commitment. Baltsa and Nesterenko are even finer than they were in the studio version.

Muti's conducting is urgently dramatic, but also tender and lyrical. In short this is one of the best performances I've ever heard of the work and might just now become my favourite.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas