VERDI King of Italian Opera

Started by marvinbrown, April 20, 2007, 12:50:59 PM

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Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Sarastro on September 28, 2009, 08:23:05 AM
Apparently, you don't know as far. ;D A simple search shows the following:

Virginia Zeani (Singer)     

1950 - 1959:
1954 - Ivan Susanin (Glinka) - Alfredo Simonetto: Virginia Zeani (Antonida)
1956 - La traviata (Verdi) - Angelo Questa: Virginia Zeani (Violetta Valery)
1957 - I Puritani (Bellini) - Francesco Molinari-Pradelli: Virginia Zeani (Elvira)
1957 - Demon (Rubinstein) - Maurizio Arena: Virginia Zeani (Tamara)
1958 - Assassinio nella Cattedrale (Pizzetti) - Ildebrando Pizzetti: Virginia Zeani (Prima Corifea)

1960 - 1969:
1960 - Otello (Rossini) - Fernando Previtali: Virginia Zeani (Desdemona)
1961 - Il piccolo Marat (Mascagni) - Oliviero de Fabritiis: Virginia Zeani (Mariella)
1962 - Maria di Rohan (Donizetti) - Fernando Previtali: Virginia Zeani (Maria)
1962 - Il piccolo Marat (Mascagni) - Ottavio Ziino: Virginia Zeani (Mariella)
1965 - Zelmira (Rossini) - Carlo Franci: Virginia Zeani (Zelmira)
1967 - Alzira (Verdi) - Franco Capuana: Virginia Zeani (Alzira)
1968 - La traviata (Verdi) - Jean Bobescu: Virginia Zeani (Violetta Valery)

1970 - 1979:
1971 - Elisa e Claudio (Mercadante) - Ugo Rapalo: Virginia Zeani (Elisa)
1971 - Werther (Massenet) - Antonino Votto: Virginia Zeani (Charlotte)
1972 - The Consul (Menotti) - Thomas Schippers: Virginia Zeani (Magda Sorel)
1975 - Tosca (Puccini) - Giuseppe Morelli: Virginia Zeani (Floria Tosca)
1977 - Tosca (Puccini) - Cornel Trailescu: Virginia Zeani (Floria Tosca)


Quite a few of those recordings are sold on Amazon.

When Wendell said "commercial", I took it to mean studio recordings. How many of the above were recorded in the studio? Not many, I wager. The only 2 recordings to make it into The Metroplitan Guide to Recorded Opera are a 1959 La Serva Padrona  and the 1977 Tosca, which suggests that the others were not, and are not, as freely available as those of some of her contemporaries. Leyla Gencer is another important singer who made few "commercial" recordings.





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

Wendell_E

#281
Quote from: Tsaraslondon on September 28, 2009, 08:38:43 AM
When Wendell said "commercial", I took it to mean studio recordings.

Exactly.  And thanks.  I'd even include live recordings, provided the artists know they're being recorded for release and get paid by the record company.

Sarastro missed at least one non-commercial recording that I know of (without even having to search for  :P):  The La Scala world premiere of Dialogues of the Carmelites (in Italian).  Zeani created the role of Blanche.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

knight66

Yeah, yeah, yeah......but did anyone like what they heard?

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Maciek

I thought she was fantastic.




(I know next to nothing about Verdi sopranos, though. I'll see where the "related videos" lead to, to make this a more educational experience.)

Lilas Pastia

From what I can gather Zeani was a strong verdian (I listened only to what's out there on youtube), but not an illuminating one. Mind you, being labeled a 'strong verdian' is already a passport to a very select company. To push the envelope a bit I listened to her Depuis le jour (Charpentier's Louise), probably one of the toughest assignments for a lirico or lirico spinto. She makes a good show of it - including goodish French pronunciation - but the amorous ecstasy is generalized. It's like her Louise has been married to Julien for 5 years rather than waking up from a night of sexual bliss. Vocally she doesn't exhibit the utmost control this part demands.

knight66

Not an illuminating singer! Could be, I will have to listen to more on Youtube when I get a chance. I was surprised to hear such a great voice and possibly did not look for the detail.

I find Leontine Price can be like that. I love her singing, but then when I compare some of her work, it can seem undercharacterised. A couple of instances, The famous aria from Ernani, that aria basically splits in half with very different emotions being evoked in each. You cannot tell that from Price, though the vocalisation is terrific. As usual, going back to Callas and the journey through the aria becomes very clear. Sutherland also is lacking in detail in the aria.

Again in Verdi, there is the Solti recording with Price and in her duetting with Janet Baker, you hear how much more meaning Baker gets into the words. Sutherland, with Solti in the later Decca has some real expressive moments, but again, the inward detail is not noticeable.

So, Zeani may be a bit generalised, I will listen again, but then, so were some singers we do regard as great.

Mike

DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Sarastro

Quote from: Wendell_E on September 28, 2009, 08:57:04 AM
I'd even include live recordings, provided the artists know they're being recorded for release and get paid by the record company.

Sorry, I took it as commercial for distribution.

What I read about the singers in those times is that many studio performances were recorded the following way: singers sang a performance, then were seated in a bus, driven to a studio and there they sang the entire performance over (oh, maybe that's why some of those performances are so fresh spectacular!). Definitely they did not have a drink and whatever they wanted, as opposed to some Katherine Jenkins who probably spends some time just chilling and "preparing" to record. And I bet some singers would record for free just to become very well-known. Different times...

Lilas Pastia

Quote from: knight on September 28, 2009, 11:17:14 PM
Not an illuminating singer! Could be, I will have to listen to more on Youtube when I get a chance. I was surprised to hear such a great voice and possibly did not look for the detail.

So, Zeani may be a bit generalised, I will listen again, but then, so were some singers we do regard as great.

Mike


Mike, go for her E strano...Sempre libera (on Youtube). It's really all about the voice, with very little in terms of the ability to convey emotions. The first part of the aria is very slow, very evenly paced, with the voice incredibly full and rich. technically she reminds me a bit of some MPO Celibidache performances. Soon you realise she deliberately chooses means over end. Any expression there is is of the standard kind. In that regard she's no Scotto, let alone Callas. In that very important sense, she does not illuminate the part. Depuis le jour is another instance and, in that particular case, the murderous demands of the aria dominate the performance.

zamyrabyrd

Quote from: knight on September 27, 2009, 11:30:21 AM
Here is a singer who brings all that is needed to this part. Recently we have had to be grateful for singers either a size too small for the piece, or singers whose tone spreads uncomfortably. Here is someone I have never heard of before, it is excellent singing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riKGpYitPbA&feature=related

Virginia Zeani: a voice of the right size, beautifully produces, dramatic singing with great enunciation.

Mike

Her wide vibrato, not always on pitch, is really a distraction for me. It sounds more like a challenge to the Divinities du Styx rather than a deeply hurt but resigned young woman.
I guess I'm spoiled by Callas' rendition of this aria.
ZB
"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one."

― Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

knight66

Yes, though Callas was known to display vibrato in spades on the higher notes.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Tsaraslondon

I have just spent the morning listening to Verdi's Stiffelio. What a great opera this is. It immediately pre-dates Rigoletto, so we should maybe not be surprised that it is sucj a masterly work. There are conventional passages, to be sure, but much that is magnificent. I was newly impressed by the finale to Act 1, and from there I was totally enthralled by both the work and the performance (Gardelli's Philips recording). Act 2 opens with a subtly and evocatively scored piece of scene setting, leading into Lina's magnificent aria Ah dagli scanni eterei. Her cabaletta is conventional and four square to be sure, and the short duet with Raffaele that follows is not much better, but with the entrance of Stankar and Stiffelio, we are on to firmer ground, and from here to the end of the act, Verdi is inspired.  And in Act 3 he hardly puts a foot wrong. The scene in which Lina makes her confession to her husband/priest confessor is particularly moving, as too is the short final scene in which Stiffelio publicly forgives his wife for adultery.

The opera's neglect is, I suppose, not that difficult to explain. Nineteenth century Italians no doubt found it hard to understand a piece about a priest who was married, and subsequently forgave his wife for adultery. Verdi reworked the opera, not altogether successfully, into Aroldo, though it achieved no more success in that form. Fortunately the original Stiffelio was rediscovered in the latter part of the last century, when Carreras sang it at Covent Garden in Elijah Moshinsky's wonderful production (once available on video), and the role was subsequently taken up by Domingo.

It is at least as interesting as the earlier Nabucco, Macbeth and Luisa Miller, and a good deal better than Ernani and Attila, which gained popularity much sooner. I recommend it to all lovers of Verdi wholeheartdely.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Wendell_E

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on January 23, 2010, 03:45:12 AM
I have just spent the morning listening to Verdi's Stiffelio. What a great opera this is.... I recommend it to all lovers of Verdi wholeheartdely.

Strongly seconded.  The Met's revived the opera this season, and it'll be broadcast on their regular Saturday matinee series on January 30th:

Conductor: Plácido Domingo
Lina: Sondra Radvanovsky
Stiffelio: José Cura
Stankar: Andrzej Dobber
Jorg: Phillip Ens
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Guido

I've never heard anything by Verdi other than the Requiem - what is the list of essential operas? The ones that get talked about most as far as I can gather are Falstaff, Othello, Aida, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Don Carlos, Il Trovatore, Nabucco.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Wendell_E

Quote from: Guido on February 28, 2010, 05:17:14 PM
I've never heard anything by Verdi other than the Requiem - what is the list of essential operas? The ones that get talked about most as far as I can gather are Falstaff, Othello, Aida, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Don Carlos, Il Trovatore, Nabucco.

Those are pretty much the essential ones, I suppose.  You might add Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, Un Ballo in Maschera, and La Forza del Destino.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Drasko

#294


74 CDs plus 863 page book with complete libretti (translations?). Out in June, price around €280 (as listed for pre-orded in Japan).

Full Contents


Though the price is only €150 here: http://www.discolandmail.com/catalogo-109194.htm

sospiro

Only just found this thread & it's great to meet fellow obsessives!  I don't have all his work yet but want to eventually. Just come back from a week in Barcelona. Found this shop in Carrer dels Tallers.



Big mistake.  :D

Not seen so many Verdi CDs in one place before & swear I started hyper-ventilating. Buying from Amazon just isn't the same. Filled in some gaps in my collection & bought editions which I didn't know I wanted until I saw them. I counted 14 different Rigolettos. It was a good thing I had to come home - on my third visit the staff addressed me by name.

Listened to Caballé/Norman/Carreras 'Il corsaro' on the flight home. "Seid" the baritone part is just fabulous Cento leggiadre vergini... is wonderful.




(If anyone knows of a similar shop in UK, please don't tell me about it, my credit card won't stand it!!)


Annie

DarkAngel

#296
Quote from: Drasko on May 11, 2010, 12:20:36 AM


74 CDs plus 863 page book with complete libretti (translations?). Out in June, price around €280 (as listed for pre-orded in Japan).

Full Contents


Though the price is only €150 here: http://www.discolandmail.com/catalogo-109194.htm

Looks like a good way to pick up good performances of the early lesser known operas which are not in great supply currently and nowhere near as cheap.......will wait for this to make its appearance at Amazon USA sellers in the future

863 page book........that has to be the biggest book ever included in a CD set!  :)

Sarastro

Quote from: Drasko on May 11, 2010, 12:20:36 AM


74 CDs plus 863 page book with complete libretti (translations?). Out in June, price around €280 (as listed for pre-orded in Japan).

Full Contents


Though the price is only €150 here: http://www.discolandmail.com/catalogo-109194.htm

How interesting -- this set clearly favors Nucci and Pavarotti! :D

Wendell_E

Quote from: Sarastro on May 11, 2010, 10:35:41 PM
How interesting -- this set clearly favors Nucci and Pavarotti! :D

Nucci maybe,  Pavarotti gets five (I counted the Requiem, but not the Inno delle Nazione), but Domingo and Bergonzi are right behind him with four apiece.  If they really favored Pavarotti, they could have easily added six to his total with recordings from the Decca catalogue.  Carreras gets the most operas (7), mostly those rarities he recorded with Gardelli.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Franco

Quote from: Drasko on May 11, 2010, 12:20:36 AM


74 CDs plus 863 page book with complete libretti (translations?). Out in June, price around €280 (as listed for pre-orded in Japan).

Full Contents


Though the price is only €150 here: http://www.discolandmail.com/catalogo-109194.htm

This will definitely be something I keep my eye on for availablity in the US - I have always wanted to get all the Verdi operas but have bogged down with the early ones that are hard to find, plus to have all the libretti in one book would be a nice addition.

I did not realize that the Phillips, Gardelli operas were part of the Decca catalog, that is another plus, IMO.  I have two or three of those and consider them a good value.