Lucia Di Lammermoor

[Solitary Wanderer]

Off to see this production of Lucia di Lammermoor next Thursday 

I'll be learning it over the next week or so with this recorded version:



I've also bought this to watch over the weekend:



Doing my homework

Perhaps we could have a discussion on this famous Romantic-era opera?

[bhodges]

I'll be very interested in your comments.  I'm not sure how much I could contribute to a discussion, since I don't know the opera at all.  But I hope to get acquainted with it in a few months, when the Met does a new production of it (including opening night) with Natalie Dessay.

Anyway, given all the advance preparation you're doing, sounds like you're going to have a great time!

--Bruce

[Solitary Wanderer]

Hi Bruce

Yes, the DVD I have is a Met performance so I guess I'll be seeing an opera at the Met next week

I listened to the whole thing last night and enjoyed it. I read up on the background as well in a few of my opera books so I'm getting a hang of the story.

I'll be playing the cds again tonight to get familiar with the music.

Its alot to take in but its fun

[Anne]

Pay close attention to the sextet (at the beginning of Act 2).  It is famous.  I don't know of any other in the repertoire.

Joan Sutherland loved to sing this opera for one reason because she had to fall down in it.  After she learned to fall, she enjoyed doing it and wanted to do it frequently. 

A fast way to learn the melodies is to learn them track by track, i.e., play track 1 until you can hum it.  Then listen to track 2 repeatedly until you can hum it etc.

In act 1 there are arias for Joan to sing and then Pavarotti to sing.  After those two, then the lovers sing a glorious duet.

Donizetti liked the male voice and wrote lots of melodies for it.  Be sure to learn Pavarotti's aria at the end of the opera.  Every time I hear it, it makes me feel bad for the 2 lovers.

You have chosen a wonderful recording for this opera. 

[marvinbrown]

Off to see this production of Lucia di Lammermoor next Thursday 

I'll be learning it over the next week or so with this recorded version:



I've also bought this to watch over the weekend:



Doing my homework

Perhaps we could have a discussion on this famous Romantic-era opera?

  Hi Solitary Wanderer, Hope you enjoy Lucia di Lammermoor.  This is a Bel Canto opera.  Look out for Lucia's "Mad" Scene..one of the many highlights of this opera....look forward to reading your reviews.

  marvin

[Maciek]

I was about to start this topic myself! I wanted to find out what the recommended recordings are... Any suggestions? Just so you know: modern sound is not something I give highest priority.

[marvinbrown]

I was about to start this topic myself! I wanted to find out what are the recommended recordings... Any suggestions? Just so you know: modern sound is not something I give highest priority.

  I have the Lucia Di Lammermoor with Maria Callas (EMI great recordings of the century) who shines in the role.  That being said this is Bel Canto opera (meaning beautiful voice) I would be interested in hearing Solitary Wanderers review of Sutherland in the role.

  marvin

[Tsaraslondon]

The Callas recording of Lucia di Lammermoor that beats all the competition is this one



Yes it is live, though the sound is not bad for 1955. Yes it has most of the cuts traditional at the time, though Karajan does open up one or two of them. But it has Callas at her peak in one of her most famous roles. Remember, it was Callas who wrought a veritable revolution in this role, some time before Sutherland sang it. In fact Toti Dal Monte, an erstwhile Lucia, visited Callas in her dressing room after seeing her in the role, and confessed, with tears running down her face, that she had never understood the part until that moment. The rest of the cast is pretty good too, and the Berlin audience are so vociferous in their approval that Karajan is forced to encore the sextet. Whatever recording of Lucia you go for, this one ought to be in anyone's collection as well.

[Solitary Wanderer]

Pay close attention to the sextet (at the beginning of Act 2).  It is famous.  I don't know of any other in the repertoire.

Joan Sutherland loved to sing this opera for one reason because she had to fall down in it.  After she learned to fall, she enjoyed doing it and wanted to do it frequently. 

A fast way to learn the melodies is to learn them track by track, i.e., play track 1 until you can hum it.  Then listen to track 2 repeatedly until you can hum it etc.

In act 1 there are arias for Joan to sing and then Pavarotti to sing.  After those two, then the lovers sing a glorious duet.

Donizetti liked the male voice and wrote lots of melodies for it.  Be sure to learn Pavarotti's aria at the end of the opera.  Every time I hear it, it makes me feel bad for the 2 lovers.

You have chosen a wonderful recording for this opera. 

Yes Anne, I noticed the unique sextet yesterday while I listened. I will pay more attention to it today.

The version I bought gets consistantly excellent reviews. I'm enjoying it thus far especially Sherill Milnes; what a voice!

  Hi Solitary Wanderer, Hope you enjoy Lucia di Lammermoor.  This is a Bel Canto opera.  Look out for Lucia's "Mad" Scene..one of the many highlights of this opera....look forward to reading your reviews.

  marvin

Yes the famous 'Mad' scene. I must listen again to the flute during this section because it is a counterpoint to her vocal line and reflects her 'mad' thoughts about Edguardo.

I was about to start this topic myself! I wanted to find out what the recommended recordings are... Any suggestions? Just so you know: modern sound is not something I give highest priority.

Well, the one I got and the Callas get regular props as does the 1991 Edita Gruberova version on Teldec.

  I have the Lucia Di Lammermoor with Maria Callas (EMI great recordings of the century) who shines in the role.  That being said this is Bel Canto opera (meaning beautiful voice) I would be interested in hearing Solitary Wanderers review of Sutherland in the role.
  marvin

I've only heard one version Marvin and I like it! But once I'm familiar with this performance I may investigate another one

The Callas recording of Lucia di Lammermoor that beats all the competition is this one



Yes it is live, though the sound is not bad for 1955. Yes it has most of the cuts traditional at the time, though Karajan does open up one or two of them. But it has Callas at her peak in one of her most famous roles. Remember, it was Callas who wrought a veritable revolution in this role, some time before Sutherland sang it. In fact Toti Dal Monte, an erstwhile Lucia, visited Callas in her dressing room after seeing her in the role, and confessed, with tears running down her face, that she had never understood the part until that moment. The rest of the cast is pretty good too, and the Berlin audience are so vociferous in their approval that Karajan is forced to encore the sextet. Whatever recording of Lucia you go for, this one ought to be in anyone's collection as well.

Nice story Yep, if I get another version it will proberly be the Callas.

[marvinbrown]

The Callas recording of Lucia di Lammermoor that beats all the competition is this one



Yes it is live, though the sound is not bad for 1955. Yes it has most of the cuts traditional at the time, though Karajan does open up one or two of them. But it has Callas at her peak in one of her most famous roles. Remember, it was Callas who wrought a veritable revolution in this role, some time before Sutherland sang it. In fact Toti Dal Monte, an erstwhile Lucia, visited Callas in her dressing room after seeing her in the role, and confessed, with tears running down her face, that she had never understood the part until that moment. The rest of the cast is pretty good too, and the Berlin audience are so vociferous in their approval that Karajan is forced to encore the sextet. Whatever recording of Lucia you go for, this one ought to be in anyone's collection as well.

  Ok now I am confused, the Lucia di Lammermoor I have is the Tullio Serafin recording with Maria Callas, Di Stefano, Gobbi, Arie, Canali, Natali and Sarri with the Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Florentino, I believe this one also has cuts.  I was not aware there was another recording with Callas.  Have you heard the Serafin EMI recording Tsaraslondon?  How does it compare with your live recording?

  marvin

[Maciek]

Marvin, if that makes you feel any better, I think there is at least one more Callas complete recording of Lucia (Tulio Serafin again but this time with the Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus and different singers, also on EMI).

[marvinbrown]

Marvin, if that makes you feel any better, I think there is at least one more Callas complete recording of Lucia (Tulio Serafin again but this time with the Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus and different singers, also on EMI).

  Oh dear how many times has Callas sung this role? ....I guess we are spoiled for choice...

  marvin

[Tsaraslondon]

  Oh dear how many times has Callas sung this role? ....I guess we are spoiled for choice...

  marvin

Marvin,

There are 3 complete Callas recordings on EMI. I have them all, as they all have something to offer, though IMO the best by far is the live Karajan I mentioned. She recorded the role twice for EMI. The first was in fact the first complete opera she recorded for EMI, in 1953. It was not produced by Walter Legge, and used the forces of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Confusingly it has been reissued several times by EMI, and I think it is available at present in 3 separate editions (the Callas edition, on GROC, and on EMI's bargain historical series). It is conducted by Serafin, and has Di Stefano and Gobbi in the cast. It finds her in freshest voice, but the sound is not noticeably superior to the live Karajan account (from Berlin in 1955), and, being the first recording she made for EMI, the engineers hadn't really got the measure of her voice. Interestingly, Legge held up the release of this recording until after the later I Puritani had been released, as he felt that the latter (made under the aegis of La Scala), would make a bigger splash, which indeed it did.

She re-recorded the role in 1959, again with Serafin, though this time with the Philharmonia, Tagliavini and Cappucilli, and this time in stereo. Though her dramatic insights into the role are, if anything, even more probing, the recording is compromised by the parlous state of the top of her voice at this time. Though top notes are not shirked, they never fall particularly easy on the ear, and the cadenza in the Mad Scene is considerably curtailed. Nevertheless, much of the singing in the middle register has an ease and beauty lacking in the first recording. Tagliavini, too, though often singing most stylishly is also noticeably past his best.

The Karajan I detailed earlier finds her at her very best, singing with an almost insolent ease, the breath control prodigious. 1955 was indeed the year of many of her best performances (La Sonnambula, La Traviata and Norma at La Scala; Madama Butterfly and Rigoletto in the studio), and IMO, Callas caught live, is always better than Callas in the studio. As I said earlier, if I were only allowed one Callas Lucia, this would be it.

[marvinbrown]

Marvin,

There are 3 complete Callas recordings on EMI. I have them all, as they all have something to offer, though IMO the best by far is the live Karajan I mentioned. She recorded the role twice for EMI. The first was in fact the first complete opera she recorded for EMI, in 1953. It was not produced by Walter Legge, and used the forces of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Confusingly it has been reissued several times by EMI, and I think it is available at present in 3 separate editions (the Callas edition, on GROC, and on EMI's bargain historical series). It is conducted by Serafin, and has Di Stefano and Gobbi in the cast. It finds her in freshest voice, but the sound is not noticeably superior to the live Karajan account (from Berlin in 1955), and, being the first recording she made for EMI, the engineers hadn't really got the measure of her voice. Interestingly, Legge held up the release of this recording until after the later I Puritani had been released, as he felt that the latter (made under the aegis of La Scala), would make a bigger splash, which indeed it did.

She re-recorded the role in 1959, again with Serafin, though this time with the Philharmonia, Tagliavini and Cappucilli, and this time in stereo. Though her dramatic insights into the role are, if anything, even more probing, the recording is compromised by the parlous state of the top of her voice at this time. Though top notes are not shirked, they never fall particularly easy on the ear, and the cadenza in the Mad Scene is considerably curtailed. Nevertheless, much of the singing in the middle register has an ease and beauty lacking in the first recording. Tagliavini, too, though often singing most stylishly is often noticeably past his best.

The Karajan I detailed earlier finds her at her very best, singing with an almost insolent ease, the breath control prodigious. 1955 was indeed the year of many of her best performances (La Sonnambula, La Traviata and Norma at La Scala; Madama Butterfly and Rigoletto in the studio), and IMO, Callas caught live, is always better than Callas in the studio. As I said earlier, if I were only allowed one Callas Lucia, this would be it.

  Wow and thanks for the indepth explanation.  I am glad to hear that the recoding I have, a reissue of the original complete 1953 recording, is in fact a COMPLETE Recording (1954 EMI Great Recordings of the Century)-I do not know why I thought it was cut?? .  But based on what you are saying the Karajan recording is the way to go....I'll have to check it out...thanks for the tip.

  marvin

 

[Tsaraslondon]

  Wow and thanks for the indepth explanation.  I am glad to hear that the recoding I have, a reissue of the original complete 1953 recording, is in fact a COMPLETE Recording (1954 EMI Great Recordings of the Century)-I do not know why I thought it was cut?? .  But based on what you are saying the Karajan recording is the way to go....I'll have to check it out...thanks for the tip.

  marvin

 

Actually, Marvin, all the Callas recordings make cuts that were traditional at the time, though Karajan opened up a couple of the cuts in the Act II Finale. All recordings made before 1960 omit the duet between Raimondo and Lucia which follows her confrontation with Enrico in Act II Scene i and the whole of the first scene of Act III, set in the tower at Wolf's Crag in which Enrico challenges Edgardo to a duel. To hear these scenes, you will have to go to recordings with Sutherland, Moffo, Caballe, Sills or Gruberova. To confuse matters further, the Caballe recording goes back to the original keys, often higher than the ones we are used to, but which mean the omission of the high Ebs in the Mad Scene, and the Sills recording uses a glass harmonica instead of a flute in the Mad Scene, which is what Donizetti originally wanted.

[marvinbrown]

Actually, Marvin, all the Callas recordings make cuts that were traditional at the time, though Karajan opened up a couple of the cuts in the Act II Finale. All recordings made before 1960 omit the duet between Raimondo and Lucia which follows her confrontation with Enrico in Act II Scene i and the whole of the first scene of Act III, set in the tower at Wolf's Crag in which Enrico challenges Edgardo to a duel. To hear these scenes, you will have to go to recordings with Sutherland, Moffo, Caballe, Sills or Gruberova. To confuse matters further, the Caballe recording goes back to the original keys, often higher than the ones we are used to, but which mean the omission of the high Ebs in the Mad Scene, and the Sills recording uses a glass harmonica instead of a flute in the Mad Scene, which is what Donizetti originally wanted.

   I see,  yes after carefull examination some of  these scenes you mention are missing from my recording.  Though we lose these scenes as vital as they are we do gain the Mighty Callas  ...........such an astonishing voice (I am sure you agree!!!)

  marvin

[Maciek]

Well, when I finally get to doing it, looks like I'll be getting myself 2 Callas Lucia's... I'll want to hear that 1959 recording (Tullio Serafin, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus) because it happens to have Bernard Ladysz in the cast - the only Polish singer to have ever been recorded performing alongside Callas. But of course I woudln't want to ignore the Karajan recommendation, so it'll have to be two of them...

And it seems the Sutherland is also worth a listen?

Oh, dear...

[Tsaraslondon]

   I see,  yes after carefull examination some of  these scenes you mention are missing from my recording.  Though we lose these scenes as vital as they are we do gain the Mighty Callas  ...........such an astonishing voice (I am sure you agree!!!)

  marvin

If you like Callas, you might be interested in this thread http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,788.0.html from a few weeks back.

[Sergeant Rock]

Well, when I finally get to doing it, looks like I'll be getting myself 2 Callas Lucia's... I'll want to hear that 1959 recording (Tullio Serafin, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus) because it happens to have Bernard Ladysz in the cast - the only Polish singer to have ever been recorded performing alongside Callas. But of course I woudln't want to ignore the Karajan recommendation, so it'll have to be two of them...

And it seems the Sutherland is also worth a listen?

Oh, dear...

And Moffo too...definitely!

Maciek, you need roughly eight Lucias, minimum...four with Callas 

Seriously, there's even another Callas/Karajan Lucia, from one year earlier than the Berlin performance:




Tsaraslondon doesn't need a second from me but I give it anyway. If you can only have one Lucia, the '55 Berlin performance is the one to own (I have four: three Callas and Moffo). I own the Rodolphe version, not EMI. I read a review of the first EMI CD incarnation that said the producer drastically cut the ovation after the Sextet. Rodolfe keeps it intact--it goes on for a full minute! Hearing it, you really understand why Karajan was "forced" to repeat it. If anything, the encore is even more intense. So, if you buy it on EMI and they've retained the cut, just remember, the Berlin audience went absolutely bonkers...for good reason.

Sarge

[Maciek]

If you can only have one Lucia...

Excuse me! I think we've already established that that would be... well, simply wrong.

Well then, what I need is... I really need a better paid job...

Maybe I'll just take up a second job for a while - until I get the required 8 (or 18, or whatever ) Lucias...