What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Adrian]

Rossini here too

Rossini: Semiramide
Joan Sutherland (Semiramide), Marilyn Horne (Arsace), John Serge (Idreno), Joseph Rouleau (Assur), Spiro Malas (Oroe), Patricia Clark (Azema), Leslie Fyson (Mitrane)
London Symphony Orchestra,
Richard Bonynge
Recorded: Walthamstow Town Hall, 1965/6

Attachment 7820

This one climbing the Clayton Rossini charts recently

For me number one for years

[Clayton]

Still with Rossini

Rossini: Il viaggio a Reims
Katia Ricciarelli (Madame Cortese), Lucia Valentini Terrani (Marchesa Melibea), Lella Cuberli (Contessa di Folleville), Cecilia Gasdia (Corinna), Eduardo Giménez (Cavalier Belfiore), Francisco Araiza (Conte di Libenskof), Samuel Ramey (Lord Sidney), Ruggero Raimondi (Don Profondo), Enzo Dara (Baron di Trombonok), Leo Nucci (Don Alvaro)
Prague Philharmonic Chorus & The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
1984



Though this one falls one place in the charts displaced by Semiramide...

[Hoffmann]

Still with Rossini

Rossini: Il viaggio a Reims
Katia Ricciarelli (Madame Cortese), Lucia Valentini Terrani (Marchesa Melibea), Lella Cuberli (Contessa di Folleville), Cecilia Gasdia (Corinna), Eduardo Giménez (Cavalier Belfiore), Francisco Araiza (Conte di Libenskof), Samuel Ramey (Lord Sidney), Ruggero Raimondi (Don Profondo), Enzo Dara (Baron di Trombonok), Leo Nucci (Don Alvaro)
Prague Philharmonic Chorus & The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
1984



Though this one falls one place in the charts displaced by Semiramide...

That's because Semiramide is such an outstanding opera! I also love Il Viaggio, but Semiramide is really wonderful.

This one also is excellent:




And I'm still getting used to this one (live):

[Clayton]

I spent too long away from baroque and couldn't handel it anymore

Handel: Flavio
Tim Mead (Flavio), Rosemary Joshua (Emilia), Iestyn Davies (Guido), Renata Pokupić (Vitige), Hilary Summers (Teodata), Thomas Walker (Ugone), Andrew Foster-Williams (Lotario)
Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn
2010



Beautiful performance by Rosemary Joshua as Emilia, originially the title role (as on the autographed manuscript) but this was changed as it sounded too similar to Bononcini's new opera Erminia performed a couple of months earlier.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

What a joy for a miserable Monday morning.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

What a joy for a miserable Monday morning.

I love the way an opera about thwarted love, unrequited love, political intrigue, reluctant duty to one's people, brotherly self sacrifice, fatherly coldness and burning heretics is still a joy on a miserable Monday morning

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

I love the way an opera about thwarted love, unrequited love, political intrigue, reluctant duty to one's people, brotherly self sacrifice, fatherly coldness and burning heretics is still a joy on a miserable Monday morning

I have to listen to something which matches my mood. If I listen to something cheerful when I'm fed up, I feel like yelling that they shouldn't be so bloody happy!

[Hoffmann]

This is excellent, and its 3 discs lasted until the end of today's walk - I like this set better than the Naxos recording that I've had for some time. This set features Marilyn Horne, of course, but also a soprano I had never heard of, Lella Cuberli, who is superb, and a similarly wonderful tenor, Ernesto Palacio.



And, playing right now:





Great voices here - Nilsson's principessa is a classic! I'm sitting and waiting for Bjoerling's "Nessun Dorma" before turning on the baseball game. The sound, unfortunately, is a little weird - it sounds like they had isolated Nilsson and company in an echo chamber with the sound bouncing between my speakers.

[Hoffmann]

What a joy for a miserable Monday morning.

That's a recording I don't have - what do you think of it? My go-to Don Carlo is Solti, but I'm always interested in anything with Boris Christoff.

[Florestan]

This is excellent, and its 3 discs lasted until the end of today's walk - I like this set better than the Naxos recording that I've had for some time. This set features Marilyn Horne, of course, but also a soprano I had never heard of, Lella Cuberli, who is superb, and a similarly wonderful tenor, Ernesto Palacio.

Three discs suggests my NAXOs Tancredi set is cut, but I do like it for Ewa Podles.

Well, here is what I am listening to now:

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

That's a recording I don't have - what do you think of it? My go-to Don Carlo is Solti, but I'm always interested in anything with Boris Christoff.

I decided not to get the Solti as I'm not keen on DFD but my bias may be preventing me from hearing a great recording ...

I wasn't familiar with Flaviano Labò before but I love his voice on the Santini. Bastianini is one of my heroes and Christoff can do no wrong in my eyes/ears.

[Clayton]

I have to listen to something which matches my mood. If I listen to something cheerful when I'm fed up, I feel like yelling that they shouldn't be so bloody happy!

well in that case, I hope the rest of your week is more like this

[Clayton]

meanwhilst, I have been here (because the music is beautiful and not because of my mood which is as bland as cheap supermarket goats cheese at the moment) with Handel again



Handel: Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, HWV46a
Natalie Dessay (Bellezza), Ann Hallenberg (Piacere), Sonia Prina (Disinganno), Pavol Breslik (Tempo)
Le Concert d’Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm

A lovely oratorio, libretto by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili with some beautiful performances. The text is pretty, poetic and romantic. Until I try reading too much in to it. Then I start getting a little melancholy.

[Adrian]

The stepchild of the record company Sony/ RCA:
On vinyl (I am not going to pay for a kind of illegal copy's )

Massenet Thais: Moffo/ Bacquier and Carreras.
I know that's not the best recording Moffo made but to ignore it almost completely ore snippy comments is ridiculous.

[Hoffmann]

The stepchild of the record company Sony/ RCA:
On vinyl (I am not going to pay for a kind of illegal copy's )

Massenet Thais: Moffo/ Bacquier and Carreras.
I know that's not the best recording Moffo made but to ignore it almost completely ore snippy comments is ridiculous.

I don't know - that looks like it should be very good. Great cast.