Favorite vocal recitals on CD or DVD

Started by bhodges, April 24, 2007, 11:04:11 AM

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Lilas Pastia

I take it you're not exactly fond of his singing  ;)

Brünnhilde forever

Quote from: knight on April 11, 2009, 01:42:50 AM
I don't suppose you could get him to play the piano rather than sing?  8)

Mike


Luv: Of what I know about his academic background, I am quite sure he is an accomplished pianist; you are closer to him geographically than I am, maybe next time you attend one of his Lieder concerts, you could recommend to him a piano recital.

(I am ducking - I am gone!)  :-*

knight66

Andre,

He brings me out in hives, more so recently. I have hammered rather extensively about his mannerisims, so I won't reheat the stew again. Lis, no need to duck. I will come up behind you when you least expect and play some of Callas' least good top Cs on repeat.

You will never know when I will appear.

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

Brünnhilde forever

Quote from: knight on April 11, 2009, 09:56:30 AM
Lis, no need to duck. I will come up behind you when you least expect and play some of Callas' least good top Cs on repeat.

You will never know when I will appear.

Mike

Mike, I just returned from my audiologist who advised me to take an Aspirin, drink lots of fluid and bedrest, and he promised I shall recuperate. But if the assault gets repeated, I should report it to the UN Human Right's Commission because continued exposure the Calla's top Cs, good or bad ones, border on torture, illegal, as you well know!  >:D

Peace!  :-*

DarkAngel

I have been busy buying up any RCA "living stereo" opera releases and have become quite impressed with work of:
Anna Moffo

This short Moffo aria collection is great:



Recorded in 1960 with Tullio Serafin, great example of her colortura technique, only downside is skimpy
run time of 45 minutes..............plenty of room for a few extra songs

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: DarkAngel on May 04, 2009, 08:52:32 AM
I have been busy buying up any RCA "living stereo" opera releases and have become quite impressed with work of:
Anna Moffo

This short Moffo aria collection is great:



Recorded in 1960 with Tullio Serafin, great example of her colortura technique, only downside is skimpy
run time of 45 minutes..............plenty of room for a few extra songs

Well vocal recitals at that time tended to only run about 45 minutes, so the only way a company can extend playing time is to add material from other recitals or complete recordings, which would destroy the autonomy of the original release.
I am reminded, that at about the same time, Moffo recorded a disc of Verdi arias, which is also excellent, but unfortunately seems to be unavailable right now.

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

DarkAngel

#106
I see where RCA Living Stereo has an aria collection by Price, but I had to go with the Moffo CD first plus she has a better selection challenging tracks..........




Speaking of Anna Moffo....
I used to think that Callas was almost untouchable in her rendition of Rossini aria Una Voce Poco Fa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AThDejzVRvo&feature=related

But then I found this amazing version by Anna Moffo..........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjKwm3enCTw&feature=PlayList&p=8E6AFD42F554B19C&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=20

Tsaraslondon
Has La Divina finally met her match in this great aria, and isn't Moffo just beautiful and wonderfully sassy in this video, a fabulous Rosina?  :D

It is available on an early EMI aria collection but extremely high price on used market  :(





Anne

At least 10 years ago there was a collection of guys who truly admired Anna Moffo.

There is or was a video tape of Anna Moffo singing possibly "La Traviata."  Maybe it was a different opera she sang.  I can't remember.

Lilas Pastia

Moffo is very good vocally (to say the least) but she doesn't convey the complexity of Rosina's character. Shining high notes and a knowing wink at the camera come in handy and she knows her strong points.

IMO she is easily outclassed as Rosina by both Callas and De los Angeles. It's not just the vocals, but in this particular case the 'face' behind the singing. Callas' Rosina has 'danger' written all over it. De Los Angeles' has such an arsenal of guileful charm and humour that one can imagine this girl easily surmounting any hurdle (100% the sister of L'Italiana in Algieri's Isabella).

Moffo's late carreer was one of sad vocal decline, but she was not a little helped by her being the wife of RCA' boss Robert Sarnoff. Most of her 1970s records (all on RCA) show her in vocal distress and do not serve her reputation.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on May 06, 2009, 06:23:58 PM
Moffo is very good vocally (to say the least) but she doesn't convey the complexity of Rosina's character. Shining high notes and a knowing wink at the camera come in handy and she knows her strong points.

IMO she is easily outclassed as Rosina by both Callas and De los Angeles. It's not just the vocals, but in this particular case the 'face' behind the singing. Callas' Rosina has 'danger' written all over it. De Los Angeles' has such an arsenal of guileful charm and humour that one can imagine this girl easily surmounting any hurdle (100% the sister of L'Italiana in Algieri's Isabella).

Moffo's late carreer was one of sad vocal decline, but she was not a little helped by her being the wife of RCA' boss Robert Sarnoff. Most of her 1970s records (all on RCA) show her in vocal distress and do not serve her reputation.

You hit the note on the head, LP. Moffo was a beautiful woman, with a lovely voice (at least in her early career), but I rarely feel that she completely gets to grips with the character she is portraying. Her Violetta, pleasing to the eye and the ear, never grabs the imagination the way that singers, such as Callas, Cotrubas, De Los Angeles and Stratas do. Indeed, as I have mentioned before, it seems to me that, both in her recorded and video performances, she skates over the surface of the role's deeper complexities.

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

knight66

Do you like recitals where the mood is sustained rather than a recital that provides contrast? If the latter then, nevertheless, I suggest the following to you.

It is not a true recital, but a conflation of three substantial fillers from three different discs, brought together and making a satisfying whole.

Linda Finnie singing Mahler's 'Kindertotenlieder' and  'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen', added to which a rare piece by Richard Strauss, Notturno. In each the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is conducted by Neeme Jarvi. The recordings date between 1990 and 1992 and are from Chandos.

In each instance, the reviewers very much concentrated on the main sellers with each disc, Mahler symphonies in the first two instances, the Rosenkavalier suites in the latter. A pity, because some very interesting music making was overlooked.

Jarvi is not everyone's cup of tea, but he is a very good accompanist. In the Mahler, there is nothing eccentric, much of the playing is very beautiful, sweet, plangent strings and woodwind.

But the real reason to look for this disc, is Linda Finnie. She is a Scot who started her career in the early 70s. I remember being in chorus often in those early days, she was always an interesting singer who held the ear. She has appeared on quite a few Chandos discs. The voice is juicy, dark, warm, a contralto tone. But she can lighten it, the top notes are for the most part very well taken and she fines her tone down beautifully.

As heard during these years, it is a firm voice, she digs into the words and several times here she produces memorable interpretations. Later, she was taken on by Bayreuth, she appears in the recorded Baremboim Ring. Although the voice sounds very ample, it was not an over large instrument. The last couple of times I heard her, which was a few years ago, she had developed a Wagner wobble, the sheen had disappeared. I suggest she has been forcing the voice. A great pity.

Here, where the voice is at its prime my favourite is the collusion between her and Jarvi in the final Gesellen song, 'Die zwei blauen augen'. It is taken slowly, the funeral march aspect is much emphasised. This song is an early precursor to the ultimately easeful death of the 9th Symphony, despair gives way to a strange consolation, an acceptance and absorption into the ether. It is brought off tremendously well.

Her singing is subtle, she never indulges a braying chest voice, rather like Marlyn Horne did in her Kindertotenlieder recording. Although I like that disc, she is inclined to hit you over the head with her tone. Finnie, allows you the glimpses of the abyss, the grief, more from the inside rather than laid on from the outside.

The final piece is the 18 minute long Strauss, a mood piece. Not memorable in terms of any big tunes; but gravely beautiful and flowing. Again, she uses the words intelligently, the voice really was a great one.

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

zamyrabyrd

I just bought a great collection (Naxos) of Mahler (Kindertotenlieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen) and Schumann (Liederkreis) done by Fischer-Dieskau in the 50's and recommend it highly.

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

Is this even a recital I wonder....a collection of Alessandro Scarlatti cantatas.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scarlatti-Cantatas-2-Alessandro-Scarlatti/dp/B00000DFKP/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1244280552&sr=1-2

I have had this disc for quite some time, but listening to it today has prompted me to write a little about it. A lava flow of beautiful melody, lively and gentle in turn.

A bright, tiny  HIP band is conducted by McGegan.

The six cantatas are secular. Pastoral subjects are the theme, love mostly. David Daniels is at his freshest, responding to the words and with natural phrasing the voice very lovely. A beautiful disc.

Mike

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

knight66

#113
Behind the scenes Elgarian and I have been discussing the English soprano Teresa Cahill. We both like her, but, she was never a headline artist. She has contributed well in some excellent ensemble casts and can be especially well heard on a Chandos disc of Elgar, 'Spirit of England' conducted by Alexander Gibson.

There her voice soars above choir and orchestra and that sparked a memory of a Strauss recital I had seen in a shop. I went searching the net and found a new copy on Amazon Marketplace.

The disc is on a label called Diversions. Two LP recitals have been brought together; both accompanied by Roger Vignoles, so clearly safe and imaginative hands there. The first half of the disc consists of 18 Strauss songs, the second six Rachmaninoff songs. Then back to Strauss with six further songs, three of which are the first three Strauss songs from the start of the disc with marginally different timings. The sealed disc had somehow let in moisture and the notes for the disc are welded together, but I can tell that both recitals are from 1982, the first is from Chandos, the Rachmaninoff and second Strauss group from the BBC, that recording has a dryer more forward acoustic.

But back to the main event. Her voice is as though born for Strauss. It is creamy and pure and very beautiful. Her breath control allows her to throw about those long lyrical phrases and she sings expressively and can pull out big notes and drama. The size of the voice suits the song repertoire well.

There is a mix of the expected and the lesser known, so Cacile, der Rosenband and Meinem Kinder are all there. One song new to me was Die Georgine, the longest track on the disc at 3.44. The piano steals in, a gentle song with lots of those ecstatic leaps of a fifth to throw the voice up into the air. Like all the others, it is beautifully done. I don't know why she was not snapped up by the major labels, as there have not been many voices like this put before us.

The Rachmaninoff songs are sung in Russian. They are a group mainly of nature inspired songs. She produces hush and melancholy here.

It is a generously filled disc, so the three repeated songs still leave you with well over an hour of beautiful performances of some lovely music.

Again prompted by our discussions, I bought the CFP double disc of excerpts from Don Giovanni and Rosenkavalier. Both largely with the Scottish Opera repertoire casts of the time. What great casts they were able to assemble then! Each is performed by the then SNO, conducted by Gibson and the draw  for me was Cahill as Sophie in the latter opera. You also get Dernsch as the Marschallin and Anne Howells as Octavian, who sings very slightly under the note at times. This was recorded in 1975 and is, notwithstanding Howels, pretty delectable. As this is really about Cahill, then I urge folk to get the discs, she has to be heard in the presentation of the rose; those vital phrases taken as securely and beautifully as in any recording I know.

She was a substitute for an indisposed Elizabeth Harwood, who had performed the opera with Scottish Opera. Having also got the live Rosenkavalier with Harwood, the part is more suited to Cahill. Sufficiently well suited that she performed the part in Covent Garden under Carlos Kleiber.

She is yet another of those singers, we all know some, who we admire and wonder why about. Why don't we have a dozen recitals, why did she not record Mozart and Bach? I guess we just have to be grateful for what is there.

Mike

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

Tsaraslondon

I heard Cahill as Sophie in the Scottish Opera production of Der Rosenkavalier, with exactly the cast of that CfP disc. It was my first exposure to the opera, and one of the most memorable evenings I have ever spent in the theatre. I loved the performance so much that I went back the following week to catch the last performance in the run. The cast could hardly have been better. I don't remember Anne Howells singing flat, but I do remember that she acted the part superbly. Teresa Cahill sang, as you say, superbly, floating out securely beautiful tone in all those high lying phrases. She was at least the equal of Edith Mathis, whom I heard sing the role at Covent Garden a couple of years later (with Gwyneth Jones and Brigitte Fassbaender). Helga Dernesch remains to this day, the best Marschallin of my experience, more naturally aristocratic than Jones, and certain details of her characterisation have remained imprinted on my memory, though this was well over 30 years ago now.

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

knight66

#115
TL, I was at one of the earlier run of performances, it might have been the first night. For that one the female line-up was Dernsch, Janet Baker and Elizabeth Harwood. I have discs of a performance that was broadcast. Those performances were in English and it says something for the pull Scottish Opera had on certain singers then, that Dernsch learned her part in English for the production.

Were the later performances in German? The CFP studio recording of excerpts is.

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

Elgarian

Quote from: knight on August 01, 2009, 12:26:12 AM
Again prompted by our discussions, I bought the CFP double disc of excerpts from Don Giovanni and Rosenkavalier. Both largely with the Scottish Opera repertoire casts of the time. What great casts they were able to assemble then! Each is performed by the then SNO, conducted by Gibson and the draw  for me was Cahill as Sophie in the latter opera. You also get Dernsch as the Marschallin and Anne Howells as Octavian, who sings very slightly under the note at times. This was recorded in 1975 and is, notwithstanding Howels, pretty delectable. As this is really about Cahill, then I urge folk to get the discs, she has to be heard in the presentation of the rose; those vital phrases taken as securely and beautifully as in any recording I know.

This is the 2CD set Mike is talking about:



I can't believe this has been allowed to go out of print. Hearing the Presentation of the Rose on this highlights disc (on LP, then) was one of the great defining moments of my musical life, back in the late 70s. I'd never heard any Strauss before, and this duet between Sophie and Octavian blew my head off. I remember sitting, dazed afterwards, with one of those 'what was that?!' feelings. Such moments always stay very precious, of course, but this has always, ever since, been my touchstone performance of Presentation of the Rose, and I've never heard one since that moves me as much. (Not that I have particularly extensive experience, I should in fairness say.)

knight66

Well, Alan, I am not going to urge you to listen to other versions if the one you have satisfies so much. I must have over a dozen versions of the scene across my collection.

The Don Giovanni is also very good. I cannot imaging John Shirley Quirk doing this on stage, but he is terrific on disc.

As I got this set this week, it may be possible to dig it out from somewhere. Well worth the effort.

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

Elgarian

Quote from: knight on August 01, 2009, 09:12:53 AM
Well, Alan, I am not going to urge you to listen to other versions if the one you have satisfies so much. I must have over a dozen versions of the scene across my collection.

Yes, I'm a lost cause on this one. I remember at one point buying the Schwarkopf/Karajan recording because it was supposed to be 'definitive', and being crushingly disappointed - utterly unmoved by the whole thing. It seemed almost - how can I say it? - clinically executed. I guess that completely disqualifies me as a listener worth attending to in these discussions. Sometimes there's no shifting these most deeply entrenched personal preferences. But now I'm taking this way off topic. I must stop. I'll come back when I've got time to say something sensible about my favourite recital discs. Meanwhile, the secret passwords are 'Susan Graham' and 'Reynaldo Hahn'.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: knight on August 01, 2009, 06:19:13 AM
TL, I was at one of the earlier run of performances, it might have been the first night. For that one the female line-up was Dernsch, Janet Baker and Elizabeth Harwood. I have discs of a performance that was broadcast. Those performances were in English and it says something for the pull Scottish Opera had on certain singers then, that Dernsch learned her part in English for the production.

Were the later performances in German? The CFP studio recording of excerpts is.

Mike

Yes, Mike, the later performance were in German, which, though it was the first time I'd seen or heard the opera, bothered me not one jot. You see I did what I wish so many would do before they go to the opera; ie some research, so when I got there I already had a good idea about the plot and what to expect.

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