What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Florestan]

There's got to be more Dutchmen in Florestan's CD cabinet than in a small hamlet in Holland

I had one CD and one DVD that I picked up back in September. Watching the Sawalliscdh DVD a few weeks ago gave me the fever. Now have 7 CD sets and 3 DVDs.

[Hoffmann]

This arrived yesterday and, considering my investment, was apprehensive about actually listening to it - kind of like owning a bottle of 1961 Chateau Margaux. How could it ever live up to expectations?




It did, in fact, like many live recordings, start off slowly - singers weren't completely warmed up so voices seemed a little flabby. I thought, well, there's another set for the ash heap of history. But, it got better and better as it went along - voices warmed up, Claudio Scimone's conducting keeps a brisk pace and Marilyn Horne almost steals the show. As usual. Sound is very good with a decent balance between singers and the orchestra. Worth the expense.

[Hoffmann]

Because it's sublime.

[Festat]

[StarThrower]

I just got this one, and I love it! Witty, funny, great singing, and brilliant music!

[Hoffmann]

I've been a little remiss - I went walking the other day and listened, quite unintentionally (I thought I had pressed the indicator for the Leinsdorf/Leonard Warren/Leonie Rysanek recording instead) and thought Wow! this is really good:






Yesterday's walk, with a nod to Florestan , was Der Fliegende Hollander




Franz Konwitschny, c
Gottlob Frick
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Marianne Scheck
Fritz Wunderlich
Rudolf Schock

I also own the Klemperer/Theo Adam/Anja Silja recording that I never listen to because this one is so good.

[Hoffmann]

Another selection out of my grab bag box 'o operas, this charming one act-er by Cherubini:




Delightful, even though (well, especially, maybe) sung in German!

[Festat]

[Hoffmann]

For today's walk, yet another from my box o' operas:




Wonderful opera - nicely conducted and very well sung, despite my lack of familiarity with the singers.

C: Christophe Rousset
Derek Lee Ragin
Sandrine Piau
Doris Lambrecht
Olivier Lallouette
Vanda Tabery
Guy Fletcher

[Povero Buoso]

After a long and lovely train journey. I managed to get through 2 and a half full operas (or 4 and a half depending on your definition).
First up was the delightful La Fanciulla del west an opera I increasingly think is much like nice scotch. The first time you try scotch you may dislike it a little. The next time you realize you actually quite like it. Finally the third time you try it you realize scotch was really good all along and how could you possibly think that cider (Madama Butterfly) was better than scotch.


After the scotch that was La Fanciulla it was time to move onto the banana split that is Il Trittico. Why banana split I hear you ask. The banana holds all three parts together. Il Tabbaro is Chocolate (Most people like it but its taste can be a little too bitter for some) Suor Angelica is Strawberry (Too sickly sweet for some people but those who enjoy strawberry ice cream like it more than chocolate and sometimes even more than vanilla) Gianni Schicchi is Vanilla (Everyone tends to like vanilla the most of the three ice creams it's also the lightest of the three).


Though the Schicchi was different from the set being this brilliant version.



Finally were the first two acts of La Boheme which are very easily the Pizza of Opera. It's seen everywhere but people don't usually get annoyed because who doesn't love pizza after all!

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

^^^

Love your comparisons with food!

[Hoffmann]

For today's walk, I decided to listen to my new recording of Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri, this one conducted by Claudio Abbado and features Agnes Baltsa, Ruggero Raimondi, Enzo Dara and Alessandro Corbelli, among others.




I love the Erato recording with Claudio Scimone, Marilyn Horne, Kathleen Battle and Samuel Ramey, et al. - such that I really didn't need another recording. It turned out to be an interesting lesson. Listening to my new recording, the principals all sang well but the opera - the performance - overall, was joyless.

Marilyn Horne, in my experience, is to singing like a bottle of Champagne is to being popped on one's birthday: full of life and sparkle. L'Italiana in Algeri is a wonderful comedy that, with Horne in the lead, is full of joy and pleasure.




The new recording has the singers dutifully going about their business in a competent but very businesslike fashion.

Not, I think, what Rossini was after.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

[Clayton]

sounds interesting...

any comments?

[Hoffmann]

For yesterday's walk, I once again dipped into that bottomless box of operas and dug out this one with an all star cast:




Cond: Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Joan Sutherland
Nicolai Ghiaurov
Franco Corelli
Giorgio Tozzi
Giulietta Simionato
Fiorenza Cossotto

Gli Ugnonotti (the Italian title of the opera known to most of us as Les Huguenots) was, shall I say, an interesting listen. I didn't so much enjoy it as I was fascinated in contrasting Meyerbeer's reputation as a dominating figure in opera in Paris in the early to mid-nineteenth century with what I was hearing. I found the music to be decidedly uninteresting, though it might have been the quality of the recording that was off-putting (live, 1962). The singing, as you might imagine, is top notch - Joan Sutherland, early in career, is terrific and her trill exciting, but I wasn't impressed by the opera.

In any event, when the whole thing was done, I thought there was some superb singing of rather dull stuff and no wonder the opera has mostly vanished from the repertoire.