What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[nico1616]

I never knew this recording existed, nor had I great expectations of it. But I really enjoy it, orchestral sound and conducting is great. We have a good bright-toned soprano Rosina in Gianna d'Angelo, an even better count in Nicola Monti and Capechhi is a funny Figaro. The Callas/Gobbi/Alva Barbiere will always remain my number one, but this is one to keep.

[San Antone]

Puccini : Tosca
Eleonora Buratto (Tosca), Jonathan Tetelman (Cavaradossi), Ludovic Tézier (Scarpia), Giorgi Manoshvili (Angelotti), Davide Giangregorio (Sagristano), Matteo Macchioni (Spoletta), Nicolò Ceriani (Sciarrone); Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Daniel Harding



This Tosca was recorded live in Rome last October, in concerts which marked both the centenary of Puccini's death and the beginning of Harding's tenure as Music Director of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia; he was appointed as Antonio Pappano's successor in March 2023. It features as Recording of the Month in the April edition of Gramophone, with Mark Pullinger enthusing that 'this new account boasts the finest Tosca cast of the digital era and is a recording I'll be returning to often in years to come.' (Presto)

I am a fan of Daniel Harding, and enjoy hearing new recordings of Puccini and Verdi.

[San Antone]

Puccini : Tosca
Eleonora Buratto (Tosca), Jonathan Tetelman (Cavaradossi), Ludovic Tézier (Scarpia), Giorgi Manoshvili (Angelotti), Davide Giangregorio (Sagristano), Matteo Macchioni (Spoletta), Nicolò Ceriani (Sciarrone); Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Daniel Harding



This Tosca was recorded live in Rome last October, in concerts which marked both the centenary of Puccini's death and the beginning of Harding's tenure as Music Director of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia; he was appointed as Antonio Pappano's successor in March 2023. It features as Recording of the Month in the April edition of Gramophone, with Mark Pullinger enthusing that 'this new account boasts the finest Tosca cast of the digital era and is a recording I'll be returning to often in years to come.' (Presto)

I am a fan of Daniel Harding, and enjoy hearing new recordings of Puccini and Verdi.

I'm glad this recording exists, but the female lead has a bit too much hoot in her sound for my taste.  I doubt any new recoding will replace my favorites, Callas, 1953 or Price, 1962, or even Gheorghiu, 2000.

[nico1616]

I'm glad this recording exists, but the female lead has a bit too much hoot in her sound for my taste.  I doubt any new recoding will replace my favorites, Callas, 1953 or Price, 1962, or even Gheorghiu, 2000.

That is often the problem with new recordings of a Puccini or Verdi opera. How to compete with all great stuff that was released decades ago. The last time I heard a new Puccini opera that could compete with the top was in 1999, when Pappano's Il Trittico was released. Still, I like Harding as a conductor and will check this one out.

[AnotherSpin]

Last night, I found myself indulging in the new recording of Tosca. I couldn't help but let it play until the very end, despite the late hour and the fact that everyone in the house had retired for the night. I do enjoy listening to music in fine volume, after all. And so, I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The era of truly great operatic recordings may be behind us, and we've all heard the reasons why. Still, what struck me most was the orchestra's sound — delicate, balanced, and beautifully captured in the recording. It lacked the drama of Karajan's or the lushness of de Sabata's, but it had its own convincing charm. I didn't expect much from the vocalists, given the circumstances, but they didn't disappoint much. There was a slight issue with how they were recorded, but overall, it left a satisfying aftertaste.

[nico1616]

This is Karajan's second studio Otello. I just love Vickers and Freni here.

[Number Six]

This is Karajan's second studio Otello. I just love Vickers and Freni here.

Checked it on Apple Music. Looks like they don't use that album art anymore. 

[Tsaraslondon]

This is Karajan's second studio Otello. I just love Vickers and Freni here.

It's just a shame that Karajan makes a big cut in the Act III ensemble in this set, but not in his earlier one.

[brewski]

Last Friday, OperaVision released this production of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, recorded in January from Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and it's well worth checking out. I wasn't totally sold on every aspect of the production, but most of it works beautifully, and the singers and orchestra, conducted by Vitali Alekseenok, are excellent.

Hard to believe that he wrote the score when he was in his twenties!

[nico1616]

Checked it on Apple Music. Looks like they don't use that album art anymore. 

Now that you say it, I did not even notice the 'problem'.
In my opinion, these are sad times if a cover like this is considered offensive.

[San Antone]

Checked it on Apple Music. Looks like they don't use that album art anymore. 

I wonder if the Opera d'Oro one on Apple Music (and other streaming services) is the same recording as the original EMI?  The Opera d'Oro sounds like a live broadcast. 

[JBS]

I wonder if the Opera d'Oro one on Apple Music (and other streaming services) is the same recording as the original EMI?  The Opera d'Oro sounds like a live broadcast. 

The current CD incarnation quite literally features the original cover.


The Opera d'Oro is a live recording from Vienna

I know of only one Opera d'Oro issue that is not live, a re-issue of the Schwarzkopf recording of Merry Widow.

[San Antone]

The current CD incarnation quite literally features the original cover.


The Opera d'Oro is a live recording from Vienna

I know of only one Opera d'Oro issue that is not live, a re-issue of the Schwarzkopf recording of Merry Widow.

Thanks.

The upshot being that the original studio album that was posted is not available to stream, although, the other Vickers/Karajan with Gobbi is. 

[Tsaraslondon]

Thanks.

The upshot being that the original studio album that was posted is not available to stream, although, the other Vickers/Karajan with Gobbi is. 

Don't you mean the Vickers/Serafin with Gobbi?

[Wendell_E]

The Opera d'Oro is a live recording from Vienna

The Opera d'Oro's actually from the Salzburg Festival.

[San Antone]

Don't you mean the Vickers/Serafin with Gobbi?

Yes; I got it mixed up.

[San Antone]

Puccini : Tosca
Renata Tebaldi, Mario Del Monaco, George London
Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia orchestra and chorus (1959)



Modern cover art for a recording I enjoy almost as much as Callas '53.

[nico1616]

There seem to be countless great Wagner recordings made in Bayreuth. This is surely one of them, Varnay is stunning and I did not expect I would like Nilsson's Elsa this much.

[André]

Amazon tells me I bought this set in July 2020. I unwrapped it a few hours ago.

Orientalism was a big thing in France in the 19th century. It started in the 1820s, focusing first on Greek Antiquity and Alexander the Great's asian conquests. Victor Hugo's 1829 Les Orientales was quickly adapted in music by Berlioz. The latter's orientalist bent (L'enfance du Christ) was eventually followed by Félicien David's Le Désert (1843), Adolphe Adam's Si J'étais Roi (1852) and continued unabated under the 3rd Empire (1852-1871).

After the fall of the Third Empire (1871) at Bismarck's recently united First Reich, the French bourgeoisie was licking its wounds, reeling from the ruination brought upon France by Napoleon III's dreams of grandeur. France's northern half had been occupied, pillaged and humiliated, the old kingdom amputated of its northeastern provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The country sorely needed diversions, and distractions were at a premium. Theatre owners and composers were happy to provide entertainment to fit the country's mood of escapism.

Bizet provided Parisian audiences with Djamileh (1872), Delibes with Lakmé (1883). Les Pêcheurs de perles (1862) as well as Félicien David's Le Désert were revived to great acclaim. It's under these circumstances that Massenet composed Le Roi de Lahore in 1877 and Esclarmonde in 1888. The war against the Prussians had ended almost a generation ago, but the thirst for exoticism had not really abated.

Esclarmonde is the Empress of the Byzantine Empire. She has magic powers. She falls for the Frank chevalier Roland. To make a long story short: Esclarmonde and Roland are Lohengrin and Elsa, but in reverse: he is forbidden to know of her identity . Contrary to Wagner, Massenet provided his audience with a HEA.

What Massenet got right from Wagner was a keen sense of spectacle and an uncanny gift to clothe the opera's numbers in sumptuous musical garments. Massenet proudly assumed that very grand, public kind of musical entertainment and wasn't afraid to require unusually large and flexible voices. Enter the Bonynge/Sutherland kind of operatic production. Sutherland's death-defying upward leaps in alt have to be heard to be believed. Aragall's wonderfully warm and ardent tenor voice abet her perfectly. Forget about correct pronunciation. This is all about solid, stunning verticality and warm, loud (perfectly tuned) tones.

Bonynge was a really great conductor, his talent abetted by first class orchestral execution and sumptuous Decca engineering. To go along with it and with his wife's Disney-World-type of voice, Decca had the knack of choosing the very best supporting vocal cast - something not accorded Maria Callas who, most of the time had to rely on third rate comprimari.

We get to hear supporting characters/singers such as Huguette Tourangeau, Louis Quilico, Robert Lloyd in superb voice. My ears perked up at Quilico's first phrases, at last recognizing a native francophone in the cast. It does make a difference: the sharpness of his delivery always attuned to the warmth and bite of his succulent baritone voice. In the third Act Huguette Tourangeau again provides balm to the ear with her warm, liquid but pointed French diction.

Sutherland hoots and wobbles a bit in her first few numbers but that is only mild cause for concern, and temporary anyways. What counts is that nobody since 1975 (50 years !!) have provided comparable vocal thrills.

[Florestan]

Amazon tells me I bought this set in July 2020. I unwrapped it a few hours ago.

Orientalism was a big thing in France in the 19th century. It started in the 1820s, focusing first on Greek Antiquity and Alexander the Great's asian conquests. Victor Hugo's 1829 Les Orientales was quickly adapted in music by Berlioz. The latter's orientalist bent (L'enfance du Christ) was eventually followed by Félicien David's Le Désert (1843), Adolphe Adam's Si J'étais Roi (1852) and continued unabated under the 3rd Empire (1852-1871).

After the fall of the Third Empire (1871) at Bismarck's recently united First Reich, the French bourgeoisie was licking its wounds, reeling from the ruination brought upon France by Napoleon III's dreams of grandeur. France's northern half had been occupied, pillaged and humiliated, the old kingdom amputated of its northeastern provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The country sorely needed diversions, and distractions were at a premium. Theatre owners and composers were happy to provide entertainment to fit the country's mood of escapism.

Bizet provided Parisian audiences with Djamileh (1872), Delibes with Lakmé (1883). Les Pêcheurs de perles (1862) as well as Félicien David's Le Désert were revived to great acclaim. It's under these circumstances that Massenet composed Le Roi de Lahore in 1877 and Esclarmonde in 1888. The war against the Prussians had ended almost a generation ago, but the thirst for exoticism had not really abated.

Esclarmonde is the Empress of the Byzantine Empire. She has magic powers. She falls for the Frank chevalier Roland. To make a long story short: Esclarmonde and Roland are Lohengrin and Elsa, but in reverse: he is forbidden to know of her identity . Contrary to Wagner, Massenet provided his audience with a HEA.

What Massenet got right from Wagner was a keen sense of spectacle and an uncanny gift to clothe the opera's numbers in sumptuous musical garments. Massenet proudly assumed that very grand, public kind of musical entertainment and wasn't afraid to require unusually large and flexible voices. Enter the Bonynge/Sutherland kind of operatic production. Sutherland's death-defying upward leaps in alt have to be heard to be believed. Aragall's wonderfully warm and ardent tenor voice abet her perfectly. Forget about correct pronunciation. This is all about solid, stunning verticality and warm, loud (perfectly tuned) tones.

Bonynge was a really great conductor, his talent abetted by first class orchestral execution and sumptuous Decca engineering. To go along with it and with his wife's Disney-World-type of voice, Decca had the knack of choosing the very best supporting vocal cast - something not accorded Maria Callas who, most of the time had to rely on third rate comprimari.

We get to hear supporting characters/singers such as Huguette Tourangeau, Louis Quilico, Robert Lloyd in superb voice. My ears perked up at Quilico's first phrases, at last recognizing a native francophone in the cast. It does make a difference: the sharpness of his delivery always attuned to the warmth and bite of his succulent baritone voice. In the third Act Huguette Tourangeau again provides balm to the ear with her warm, liquid but pointed French diction.

Sutherland hoots and wobbles a bit in her first few numbers but that is only mild cause for concern, and temporary anyways. What counts is that nobody since 1975 (50 years !!) have provided comparable vocal thrills.

Great review. I have two amendments, though.

First: Napoleon III's was the Second Empire, not the Third.

Second:  why would you assume that Massenet took his cues for the grand public sumptuous musical entertainment from Wagner, instead of from the true originators of the genre, with whom Parisian audiences were much more familiar: Auber and Meyerbeer?

And, what is a HEA?