What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

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

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Tsaraslondon



From early Verdi to his last, great, life-affirming masterpiece in this absolutely superb and perfectly cast recording, so good I've never felt the urge to acquire an alternative, though I've listened to quite a few.

It may be Verdi's last opera, written when the great man approached the age of eighty, but the music has such sparkle, such lightness, such fluidity that you would never believe it and it betrays not a single suspicion of waning resources. His mastery of ensemble is, I would suggest, unparalleled and the many tricky and complicated ensembles in the opera are performed here to perfection. Nor would I change one member of this superbly characterful cast. Some have complained that Gobbi's voice was not "fat" enough, whatever that means, but his range of expression and tone colour are staggering, his characterisation of the loveable rogue spot on. Barbieri makes a deliciously fruity and plebeian Quickly, Moffo and Alva a delightful pair of lovers, Panerai a comically pompous Ford, with an Otello-like intensity in his jealousy aria, and there are brilliantly characterful contributions from Nan Merriman as Meg, and Renato Ercolani and Nicola Zaccaria as Pistol and Bardolph. I have read plenty of comments about Schwarzkopf's Aice being unidiomatic and more of a Frau Fluth, but I simply don't buy it. This is one of her greatest studio creations, her portrayal full of sparkling good humour and fun and she fills the lyrical sections of her music with gloriously full tone.

Added to this the Philharmonia play with unbelieavable precision and virtuosity under Karajan's quicksilver baton.

Pure joy from beginning to end.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Papy Oli

Quote from: absolutelybaching on August 06, 2022, 05:57:00 AM
You have obviously experienced the audio magic!

(She's the only person I know that you can hear smile, when she sings 'Cosi' in the final act, as her lover goes off to his execution, which she thinks is not going to be real).

But if you get the chance, do take a look at her Covent Garden 1964 final act (why they only recorded the last bit of the performance remains an annoying mystery!). She is quite extraordinary in it: the intensity and passion is frightening at times. Look at her yelling -almost spitting- 'Mori!' at Scarpia as he lies groaning on the floor. She wants that bastard deader than dead! It's wonderful stuff. (And Tito Gobbi is no slouch as Scarpia, either!)

Here's a link to the video in question.

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on August 06, 2022, 06:02:50 AM
I agree with this 100% and it's not just that Gobbi and Callas are superb individually. You really see and understand their deep rapport. Gobbi once said his performances of Scarpia only came out 100% when he was singing with Callas. For her part, she had enormous appreciation and respect for him.

I would just mention to Papy Oli that the voice in 1964 is not what it was in 1953, but the dramatic compensations of seeing her act as well as sing are enormous. If only they'd recorded the whole thing!


Thank you both for the video and your comments on it. I have saved the link and will check it out soon.
Olivier

Papy Oli

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on August 06, 2022, 07:08:45 AM


From early Verdi to his last, great, life-affirming masterpiece in this absolutely superb and perfectly cast recording, so good I've never felt the urge to acquire an alternative, though I've listened to quite a few.

It may be Verdi's last opera, written when the great man approached the age of eighty, but the music has such sparkle, such lightness, such fluidity that you would never believe it and it betrays not a single suspicion of waning resources. His mastery of ensemble is, I would suggest, unparalleled and the many tricky and complicated ensembles in the opera are performed here to perfection. Nor would I change one member of this superbly characterful cast. Some have complained that Gobbi's voice was not "fat" enough, whatever that means, but his range of expression and tone colour are staggering, his characterisation of the loveable rogue spot on. Barbieri makes a deliciously fruity and plebeian Quickly, Moffo and Alva a delightful pair of lovers, Panerai a comically pompous Ford, with an Otello-like intensity in his jealousy aria, and there are brilliantly characterful contributions from Nan Merriman as Meg, and Renato Ercolani and Nicola Zaccaria as Pistol and Bardolph. I have read plenty of comments about Schwarzkopf's Aice being unidiomatic and more of a Frau Fluth, but I simply don't buy it. This is one of her greatest studio creations, her portrayal full of sparkling good humour and fun and she fills the lyrical sections of her music with gloriously full tone.

Added to this the Philharmonia play with unbelieavable precision and virtuosity under Karajan's quicksilver baton.

Pure joy from beginning to end.

Recording now bookmarked (and also the earlier Ernani) for future exploration, thanks.
Olivier

JBS

Quote from: Papy Oli on August 06, 2022, 08:41:47 AM
Recording now bookmarked (and also the earlier Ernani) for future exploration, thanks.

Three Falstaffs I like are Abbado, Gardiner, and Solti. There's also Guilini and Muti and Toscanini.  Bernstein recorded it with Fischer-Dieskau in the title role, but that one doesn't click for me.

It is very much an ensemble opera: Falstaff gets two sort-of-arias and Ford another, but the love duets keep getting interrupted, ensembles develop all over the place, and pacing is very important. It's one of my favorite operas.



That laundry basket has an important role in Act II.
The Solti has been re-issued a couple of times; I posted the cover of the set I have.
There's also at least one live Karajan and one other studio Karajan in Amazon's listings but I only have the one Tsaraslondon posted.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Papy Oli

Thank you for the recs, Jeffrey, duly noted  :)
Olivier

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: JBS on August 06, 2022, 09:36:10 AM

There's also at least one live Karajan and one other studio Karajan in Amazon's listings but I only have the one Tsaraslondon posted.

I've never heard the live one, but the later studio Karajan isn't a patch on the EMI set.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Papy Oli

Act I of Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia

Victoria de los Angeles, Luigi Alva, Ian Wallace, Carlo Cava
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vittorio Gui


Olivier

ritter

Great recording of a great work, Olivier. Vittorio Gui really knew what he was doing in that repertoire.

The music lesson at the beginning of Act II is IMO one of the funniest moments in opera ever (but you do need to follow the text). I know Andrei (Florestan here on GMG) will agree...

Enjoy!

Papy Oli

#3188
Quote from: ritter on August 08, 2022, 04:29:27 AM
Great recording of a great work, Olivier. Vittorio Gui really knew what he was doing in that repertoire.

The music lesson at the beginning of Act II is IMO one of the funniest moments in opera ever (but you do need to follow the text). I know Andrei (Florestan here on GMG) will agree...

Enjoy!

Good afternoon Rafael,

I got drawn into this proper first listen so quickly that I completely forgot to read a synopsis or follow with a libretto  :blank: :laugh:

Just to make matters "worse", I then switched to another Barbiere Act I, by Galliera/Callas/Gobbi/Alva. Still without synopsis/libretto. The singing and tunes seem to suffice today (I'll correct that of course).

As much as I preferred the Gui early doors over the other versions on sampling, I am becoming a big fan of Gobbi's voice and singing...and more dangerously, I am really warming up to Callas again :o That Galliera version seems to have a little more lightness and cheekiness to it than Gui's.

Olivier

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Papy Oli on August 08, 2022, 05:36:05 AM
Good afternoon Rafael,

I got drawn into this proper first listen so quickly that I completely forgot to read a synopsis or follow with a libretto  :blank: :laugh:

Just to make matters "worse", I then switched to another Barbiere Act I, by Galliera/Callas/Gobbi/Alva. Still without synopsis/libretto. The singing and tunes seem to suffice today (I'll correct that of course).

As much as I preferred the Gui early doors over the other versions on sampling, I am becoming a big fan of Gobbi's voice and singing...and more dangerously, I am really warming up to Callas again :o That Galliera version seems to have a little more lightness and cheekiness to it than Gui's.



With both Gui and Galliera, there comes across a joy in the act of music making, that one rarely hears today for some reason. Both recordings are to some extent textually inaccurate, but they fizz and pop like good champagne. I also love Gui's Le comte Ory from the same period.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Tsaraslondon



Believe it or not, Leonora was Callas's first ever Verdi role, which she sang in Trieste in 1948. She sang it again in Ravenna in 1954, a few weeks before making this recording, and then unfortunately never again. Leonora's music has a melancholy tinta that suits her very well and her Leonora is one of her greatest studio creations.

The other main reason for hearing this recording is the conducting of Tullio Serafin, who conducts with sweeping lyricism and dramatic incisiveness. The rest of the cast is variably splendid; Tucker in terrific voice, but apt to indulge in slides and sobs, Rossi-Lemeni authoratative but woolly toned, Tagliabue a little over the hill and Nicolai a tad blowsy. Renato Capecchi is an asset as Fra Melitone, though.

The recording is good, clear mono and it remains one of the best performances of the opera on disc. A more detailed review on my blog https://tsaraslondon.com/2017/01/08/la-forza-del-destino/.

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

Tsaraslondon





Two recordings of Verdi's early comic opera, Un Giorno di Regno. A flop at its La Scala premiere, it was actually something of a success when later performed at Venice's Teatro San Benedetto, a theatre with a strong tradition of  comedy and buffa. The rather convoluted libretto is by Romani, who penned Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore and the influences are easy to notice. I'd say it was definitely worth the occasional revival.


Of these two recordings, the Gardelli on Philips is no doubt the more polished, and of course enjoys better sound, but it somehow lacks the joy and high spirits of the Cetra recording, which is cast with singers much more versed in opera buffa style. The ladies on the Gardelli both sound too heavy next to their Cetra counterparts and the men lack the natural comedic timing of Capecchi, Bruscantini and Dalmangas. The best performance on the Gardelli is that of the young José Carreras, whose honeyed tenor is a joy to hear, but  if Juan Oncina can't command quite the same beauty of tone, he is a very characterful Edoardo nonetheless.


There are a few cuts in the Cetra recording, which runs about 10 minutes shorter, and of course the 1970s stereo sound is better than the mono 1950s Cetra, but I'd still give the palm to Cetra.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Papy Oli

A first listen to Pergolesi - La Serva Padrona.


Olivier

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Papy Oli on August 10, 2022, 06:08:14 AM
A first listen to Pergolesi - La Serva Padrona.



Now you're ahead of me! I'm not sure I've ever heard Pergolesi's most famous opera.   :-[
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Tsaraslondon

#3194


Written in a space of three months for La Scala, Verdi's seventh opera is a bit of a mixture, with pages of real inspiration alternating with pages of bombast and banality. The chorus of demons in the Prologue is quite comical and precisely the sort of thing parodied by Gilbert and Sullivan. Still, in Giovanna, Verdi does create a character of real flesh and blood and she gets some wonderful music.

I do rather wish that this had been recorded by Gardelli as part of his Philips series. Levine tends to emphasise the bombast at the expense of the lyrical and I find much of his conducting just too brash. The recording, at least in this transfer, is a bit brash too. The three principal singers are excellent, with Caballé really touching as Giovanna, but I do wonder what this same team would have produced under Gardelli's more sympathetic baton.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Papy Oli

Quote from: Papy Oli on August 10, 2022, 06:08:14 AM
A first listen to Pergolesi - La Serva Padrona.



Playing this one again, after reading the libretto.
Great fun, love the continuous interaction between the 2 characters.
Olivier

Papy Oli

Olivier

ritter

#3197
Quote from: Papy Oli on August 11, 2022, 02:56:40 AM
Wagner - Parsifal Act II (Karajan)


Now we're talking, Olivier:D

One of the summits of European music and 19th century art tout court.

I hope you're enjoying he experience!

Good day to you, cher ami.

EDIT:

I'll join you with Act II of Parsifal, but in the Barenboim recording (which is the one I have at the office).


Tsaraslondon

Quote from: ritter on August 11, 2022, 03:33:24 AM
Now we're talking, Olivier:D

One of the summits of European music and 19th century art tout court.

I hope you're enjoying he experience!

Good day to you, cher ami.

EDIT:

I'll join you with Act II of Parsifal, but in the Barenboim recording (which is the one I have at the office).



I agree with you, whilst wondering if Parsifal is the best way in to Wagner. Admittedly, I'm not really a Wagnerian, and I still find it quite a tough nut to crack. I also have the Karajan recording, by the way.

How are you finding it, Oli?
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Papy Oli

Hi Rafael, Hi Tsara,

I am really enjoying Parsifal so far, particularly that Karajan version which really draws me in. I only picked Parsifal as it was mentioned here as Wagner's pinnacle work in his set of operas, so why not!

I have owned the complete Solti Wagner box for years (bought it on whim several years ago when it was dead cheap, around £35 I think, just in case that maybe one day I'll get into opera...I just took my time  :laugh: ). On initial sampling of Act I, I found Solti's Parsifal much harder to get into somehow, as well as Boulez. Barenboim is one I had a positive reaction to as well but the HvK holds the lead strongly for now.

I am still struggling with "under-par" or very historical sound at the moment (with other operas too), so I am putting Knappertbusch's various Parsifals on the back burner for now  :P

I had a read back earlier on an old thread (GMG members' essential lists, to check on operas) and saw Solti's Wagner popping up as often as Karajan's Ring. Which would be the Wagner opera where Solti is considered as strong/top notch? Thank you. (disclaimer: I haven't dared diving into the Wagner thread yet, I am reading more about and finding my feet in the Callas one of late..)


ps: side point, Tsara, you'll need to check out that Serva Padrona by the way, it is great fun!
 
Olivier