What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Amfortas]

When I handed him my sort of ratty copy of the The Victor Book of the Opera to sign, with its photo of Marian Anderson as Ulrica on the Ballo page, he looked at me, gestured dismissively, and said "This is not me". I didn't know if he was joking or not . . .

He was joking; it *was* him.

Now you know why you never saw Pavarotti and Marian Anderson together.

[Clayton]

With the cricket finished now, something tells me I'm supposed to be Switzerland today for an archery trial or something.
However I can not let go of this one yet.

I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Janet Baker, Beverley Sills, Nicolai Gedda, Robert Lloyd, Raimund Herincx
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Giuseppi Patane

A question of do you prefer the smell of Philadelphus Belle Etoile or Magnolia Grandiflora? Well at the moment I still prefer the pretty Luisi/Netrebko/Garanca recording at the moment.
However no question that Gedda and Baker make a powerful (emotionally) set of voices that take romance to a different level in this recording, a tragedy of Shakespearean...

So I am back here now.

I Capuleti e I Montecchi
Agnes Baltsa (Romeo), Edita Gruberova (Giulietta), Dano Raffanti (Tebaldo), Gwynne Howell (Capellio), John Tomlinson (Lorenzo)
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden,
Riccardo Muti



Edita and Bellini. Ah, should be a recipe for success.

- - - Updated - - -

I am disappointed yet pleased to discover that I can not yet give a mature objective analysis of the 3 recordings.
Affected with Hearditis (I love the last thing I heard), when I hear this opera emotions seem to wash away any ability to make an intelligent examination of the recordings.



Anna, Edita, Sills
Belle-etoile, Pascali, Magnolia Grandiflora

- - - Updated - - -

Post script

John Tomlinson is a grand Lorenzo in the Muti recording.

[Hoffmann]

He was joking; it *was* him.

Now you know why you never saw Pavarotti and Marian Anderson together.

You know, somehow, I never thought about that ..

[Clayton]

...
Given that I am now on the subject, permit me to add another of my stories. I saw Pavarotti sing Riccardo/Gustavo in Un Ballo in Maschera when the Met brought it to Washington ca. 1978, and he really was a dazzling performer back in the day. Way too early for him to have become a self caricature, he was even convincing as an actor. I went to the performance with my colleague, Stella, and dragged her downstairs to the dressing rooms afterwards to collect his autograph. We met and chatted with him for a couple of minutes until his handlers chased us away. He was a little nonplussed by Stella, a very grand African-American woman who had lived in Europe, who held out her hand for him to kiss. When I handed him my sort of ratty copy of the The Victor Book of the Opera to sign, with its photo of Marian Anderson as Ulrica on the Ballo page, he looked at me, gestured dismissively, and said "This is not me". I didn't know if he was joking or not, did not retreat, and he signed my book anyway. So, there you have the story of "my life with Luciano Pavarotti".

Oh la la! J'adore les contes d'Hoffmann!

- - - Updated - - -

sorry. french thing. must be some signs of trauma from cricket.

[Hoffmann]

Well, given everything, what choice did I have?

[Clayton]

I'm staying with Bellini.

Vincenzo Bellini, I Puritani
Joan Sutherland (Elvira), Luciano Pavarotti (Arturo Talbot), Piero Cappuccilli (Riccardo Forth), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Giorgio Walton), Anita Caminada (Enrichetta de France), Gian Carlo Luccardi (Gualtiero Walton), Renato Cazzaniga (Bruno Robertson)
Chorus of Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra,
Richard Bonynge
1973



Many aspects make this a great recording and one of the is Nicolai Ghiaurov.
What a man! What a voice!



- - - Updated - - -

Another of course La Stupenda; in the 70's apparently in decline but here... what a beautiful girl at ()...

[Hoffmann]

I'm staying with Bellini.

Vincenzo Bellini, I Puritani
Joan Sutherland (Elvira), Luciano Pavarotti (Arturo Talbot), Piero Cappuccilli (Riccardo Forth), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Giorgio Walton), Anita Caminada (Enrichetta de France), Gian Carlo Luccardi (Gualtiero Walton), Renato Cazzaniga (Bruno Robertson)
Chorus of Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra,
Richard Bonynge
1973



Many aspects make this a great recording and one of the is Nicolai Ghiaurov.
What a man! What a voice!

Great recording! Sutherland is wonderful on this, but I completely agree that Ghiaurov is the key to its greatness. While I tend to think of Bellini as a particularly great composer for the female voice, this CD is interesting in that it reveals Puritani as one of the operas that has important roles for the deep male voice that overshadow the ladies.

[Festat]

My physical copy arrived today in the mail, quite unexpectedly. Do they really make postmen work on Sundays?

[Hoffmann]

I couldn't resist comparing the Gavazzeni/Callas recording with the Solti/Margaret Price CD - and I really love Ms. Price's Amelia:



- - - Updated - - -

My physical copy arrived today in the mail, quite unexpectedly. Do they really make postmen work on Sundays?

You must be kidding - the U.S. in the last year or so has been debating whether to terminate Saturday deliveries! One more reason to switch to MP3s...

[Soave_Fanciulla]

My physical copy arrived today in the mail, quite unexpectedly. Do they really make postmen work on Sundays?

This is such a cool CD!

(PS NZ Post is moving to 3 times a week deliveries - more delayed gratification on Opera deliveries - )

[Clayton]

-

...(PS NZ Post is moving to 3 times a week deliveries - more delayed gratification on Opera deliveries - )

Ha! Ha!

Europe does't have guavas but at least we have a developing postal system! Free for all market. Next day/sunday taken for granted.


Poor one-up-manship. Actually I'd prefer to have Papayas in the garden.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Actually I'd prefer to have Papayas in the garden.

So would I! Or even better, mangoes!

[Festat]

My grandmother has two mango trees in her garden. While it produces the sweetest and juiciest mangoes I have ever seen, it produces at least 250 kilograms of mangoes per season. It drives everybody mad, we don't know what to make out of mangoes anymore!

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Great recording! Sutherland is wonderful on this, but I completely agree that Ghiaurov is the key to its greatness. While I tend to think of Bellini as a particularly great composer for the female voice, this CD is interesting in that it reveals Puritani as one of the operas that has important roles for the deep male voice that overshadow the ladies.

Precisely why it's my favourite Bellini!

[Itullian]

Sublime