VERDI King of Italian Opera

[Moonfish]

Verdi Fans......Ciao, come stai?

  Oh I am tempted.....anyone here familiar with this boxset? 

  [asin]B07GVX9BPT[/asin]

  I am tempted because it is all the operas,in Bluray (great picture and sound), the productions seem for the most part to be traditional with some elaborate staging (maybe not as elaborate as the MET or Covent Garden productions but from what I can tell it is not Regietheatre which I hate.  But how is the singing?, how is the action/acting overall?  Any advice? thoughts impression?


  marvin

This looks very interesting......

[vers la flamme]

I do not own any complete Verdi operas on CD. Where would be a good place to start?

[André]

I do not own any complete Verdi operas on CD. Where would be a good place to start?

Depends if you prefer drama to singing. Not that Verdi doesn't realize both perfectly, but there's a world of difference between Rigoletto and Don Carlo, or La forza del destino and Otello...

[vers la flamme]

Depends if you prefer drama to singing. Not that Verdi doesn't realize both perfectly, but there's a world of difference between Rigoletto and Don Carlo, or La forza del destino and Otello...

I don't know the first thing about opera. I guess I would say I prefer singing, as I don't really care about the plots of the operas at this stage.

[Biffo]

You are not making it easy! Perhaps you should start with one of the most popular operas - La Traviata, Rigoletto or Aida

[vers la flamme]

You are not making it easy! Perhaps you should start with one of the most popular operas - La Traviata, Rigoletto or Aida

Any particular recordings of these that stand out? Honestly, I don't know the first thing about opera, especially Italian opera, but I am interested in Verdi.

[VonStupp]

I do not own any complete Verdi operas on CD. Where would be a good place to start?

I do not claim to be a Verdi-phile by any stretch of the imagination, but these three recordings have given me great pleasure over a long time on different mediums.

[Biffo]

I do not claim to be a Verdi-phile by any stretch of the imagination, but these three recordings have given me great pleasure over a long time on different mediums.

I don't think you can go wrong with these three recommendations - especially the Traviata

[Tsaraslondon]

Any particular recordings of these that stand out? Honestly, I don't know the first thing about opera, especially Italian opera, but I am interested in Verdi.

My prime recommendations for studio recordings of the three, would be these.








But, if sound isn't a problem, then you really need to hear Callas as Violetta, who is simply hors councours in this role



and for a totally thrilling Aida, though the sound is pretty atrocious, then you have to hear this one.

[VonStupp]

I also like Muti's Aida with the NPO, but for me, Leontyne Price's singular singing voice speaks to me the same way that Callas is a classic. Price's timbre can be a matter of taste though.

In addition to Solti's Aida with Price, she appeared with Leinsdorf on Sony too:

[André]

I prefer Price's second recording (pictured above) to the Solti-led one.

However, the best conducting and playing are on another version, that by Karajan and the WP (on EMI, not Decca). Freni and Carreras are overparted but both manage to turn their vocal vulnerability into totally believable dramatic performances.

[VonStupp]

I prefer Price's second recording (pictured above) to the Solti-led one.

However, the best conducting and playing are on another version, that by Karajan and the WP (on EMI, not Decca). Freni and Carreras are overparted but both manage to turn their vocal vulnerability into totally believable dramatic performances.

True, although I like Tebaldi too. Odd that my preferences for many of these Verdi operas lie with German conductors and orchestras.

[Tsaraslondon]

I prefer Price's second recording (pictured above) to the Solti-led one.

However, the best conducting and playing are on another version, that by Karajan and the WP (on EMI, not Decca). Freni and Carreras are overparted but both manage to turn their vocal vulnerability into totally believable dramatic performances.

I really like the second Karajan too and I think Baltsa's Amneris is one of the best on disc, reminding us that Amneris is a young, attractive woman and a viable rival for Aida. I agree with you about Freni and Carreras too.

I also enjoyed the recent Pappano recording when it came out, which has superb sound and is wonderfully conducted by Pappano. Unfortunately none of his singers, except perhaps Kaufmann, is up to the standard of that on older sets.

I've never liked Solti's Verdi (too much thud and blunder for me) and consequently never liked his version, despite the presence of Price (in better voice than on Leinsdorf) and Vickers. Others like Gorr more than I do as Amneris. She sounds a bit matronly to me.

The best Nile Scene and duet between Aida and Amonasro is Serafin with Callas and Gobbi, and Serafin surpasses even Karajan here. On no other recording do I hear the violins weep with Aida the way they do here when Callas pours out O patria, patria quanto mi costi.

Oddly enough Aida is not my favourite Verdi opera, but I have quite a few different recordings, more than most of the other operas, possibly reflecting the fact that I don't find any of them totally satisfactory and like different things in different recordings.

[Florestan]

BUMP!

@marvinbrown , @Tsaraslondon

An excellent article by Isaiah Berlin:

The 'Naiveté' of Verdi