What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Clayton]

I listened to part of this again just yesterday; may have to finish the rest this evening. In recent years some have called it the best Tristan recording of all, despite the sound limitations. Mödl may not have the most beautiful of voices, but her Isolde is sharply characterized. Vinay makes for a noble, heroic Tristan, but I can't help feeling his voice sounds just a bit tired even in Act II. Still, it's a memorable performance, under the young Karajan's driving energy.

Is it this (Urania) version that you have or can you recommend another version? I like it very much and would like to listen to it without the very disrupting spotify gaps. I know there are many different releases of this performance with different remasters but am a little unsure which one to go for, especially as it is a live performance.

I can't recognize the tired voice of Vinay; I am still quite new to this opera and find act one and the last the most exciting at the moment.

I could almost buy this CD for that beautiful, beautiful picture of young Karajan on the cover. I find that all pictures of musicians performing show them at their most attractive

like this one

[Amfortas]

Is it this (Urania) version that you have or can you recommend another version? I like it very much and would like to listen to it without the very disrupting spotify gaps. I know there are many different releases of this performance with different remasters but am a little unsure which one to go for, especially as it is a live performance.

There are several different releases; I've got the Membran. It seems of decent sound quality, given the age of the recording, but I haven't compared it to other versions.

I can't recognize the tired voice of Vinay; I am still quite new to this opera and find act one and the last the most exciting at the moment.

I'm not sure about Vinay's voice; at times it strikes me as tired, but that may be him softening it in a kind of crooning. Not a strong argument against the performance.

[Adrian]

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
Huguette Tourangeau (Orfeo), Catherine Malfitano (Euridice), Barbara Hendricks (Amor)
Residentie Orkest, Nederlands Kamerkoor, Hans Vonk
Live recording 1975

Attachment 7877

Very beautiful performance. The sound is okay; I wish a studio recording had been made of this, in which case it would definitely had been a top three. As it is there is too much ballet farts (technical term for pitter patter pitter patter shloop shloop sound made by ballet dancers) in the recording but I still like this recording very much.

I saw this production, Tourangeau is the most strange voice I ever heard.
The anti fans called her the horny pigeon

[Clayton]

I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon with Terradellas (he's from Barcelona)

Terradellas: Artaserse
Anna Maria Panzarella (Artaserse), Céline Ricci (Arbace), Marina Comparato (Mandane), Sunhae Im (Semira), Augustin Prunell-Friend (Artabano) & Mariví Blasco (Megabise)
La Real Compañía Ópera de Cámara, Juan Bautista Otero
2008

[Clayton]

^
second listen has just put this as CD of the month, even against some almost superlative competition. Superb singing and music that reaches some parts that many other composer just do not reach.

Terradellas, from Barcelona (sorry, that is the last time I say that), a composer of the Neapolitan school, studied under Francesco Durante who also counted Pergolesi amongst his students. The teacher did well and we hear some of the beautiful lyrical melodies of Pergolesi's composition and I also hear some of the genius of Vivaldi's structure.

Unfortunately the accompanying booklet does not contain English text but in this case I do not care, the music is enough for me.

9.2177/10

[Adrian]

Reading John Gerald's post, I had to pull out

Donizetti: Belisario
Nicola Alaimo (Belisario), Joyce El-Khoury (Antonina), Camilla Roberts (Irene), Russell Thomas (Alamiro), Alastair Miles (Giustiniano), Julia Sporsen (Eudora), Peter Hoare (Eutropio), Edward Price (Eusebio), MIchael Bundy (Ottario), Darren Jeffery (Centurione)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder
2012

Attachment 7876

It is a very good opera and a very good recording. I love it.

Just ordered it, very curious, will let you know

[Clayton]

This morning I went to another student of Durante

Anfossi: La finta giardiniera
Nuria Rial (Sandrina), Krystian Adam (Belfiore), Maria Espada (Ramiro), Katja Stuber (Arminda), Miljenko Turk (Podestà), Florian Götz (Nardo) & Monika Reinhard (Serpetta)
L'Arte del Mondo, Werner Ehrhardt
2011

[Clayton]

Just ordered it, very curious, will let you know

I hope you'll like it. It is a very good opera that got lost in it's sister's (Lucia) shadow. That and I think it's a bit difficult to stage. Opera Rara did very well to show that it is an opera to be appreciated more.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Hoffmann's avatar

[Clayton]

Campra: Tancrède
Benoît Arnould (Tancrède), Isabelle Druet (Clorinde), Chantal Santon (Herminie), Alain Buet (Argant) & Éric Martin-Bonnet (Isménor)
Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles & Orchestre Les Temps Présents, Olivier Schneebeli
2014

[Amfortas]

Terradellas, from Barcelona (sorry, that is the last time I say that) . . .

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Campra: Tancrède
Benoît Arnould (Tancrède), Isabelle Druet (Clorinde), Chantal Santon (Herminie), Alain Buet (Argant) & Éric Martin-Bonnet (Isménor)
Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles & Orchestre Les Temps Présents, Olivier Schneebeli
2014

Welll.. ? It's in my basket, do I press buy?

[Hoffmann]

Is it this (Urania) version that you have or can you recommend another version? I like it very much and would like to listen to it without the very disrupting spotify gaps. I know there are many different releases of this performance with different remasters but am a little unsure which one to go for, especially as it is a live performance.

I can't recognize the tired voice of Vinay; I am still quite new to this opera and find act one and the last the most exciting at the moment.

I could almost buy this CD for that beautiful, beautiful picture of young Karajan on the cover. I find that all pictures of musicians performing show them at their most attractive

like this one

The second act is totally magic - it's the love duet with Brangäne's warning weaving above that makes me weak. The Liebestod, however, at the end of a live performance is killer. Even when the singing has been less than satisfying - and T&I is a tough outing for singers - the Liebestod very neatly wraps up the evening and makes everything ok.

- - - Updated - - -

Hoffmann's avatar

Ummm, what about my avatar? Is it ok?

[Hoffmann]

For today's walk, a beautiful day, partly sunny with enough overcast to block the sun from broiling would-be walkers. That, and a lovely breeze that was a delight. Not even the Russians could bring me down:

[Clayton]

Welll.. ? It's in my basket, do I press buy?

On the first listen I was not excited

but to be fair, my concentration has been very much disrupted by the Terradellas artaserse.

I shall listen to it again later today or tomorrow (as soon as above vacates head) and post thoughts on second listen.

- - - Updated - - -

...
Ummm, what about my avatar? Is it ok?

I believe Sospiro was saying that she has been enjoying Gardelli's Nabucco...