What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Amfortas]

I love how related the timbres of Lucia and Edita are, there's a palpable mother-daughter relation, and yet Edita is piercing, commanding and nasty and Lucia is solar, crystalline and heroic.

Oh crap. Somehow that reminds me to call my mom for Christmas.

[Clayton]

It could be the PB influence, or the Edita factor, or just because it is such a good opera (I have 2 copies of the same recording)...

Verdi: Rigoletto
Renato Bruson (Rigoletto), Edita Gruberova (Gilda), Neil Shicoff (Il Duca), Robert Lloyd (Sparafucile), Brigitte Fassbaender (Maddalena), Jean Rigby (Giovanna), Kurt Rydl (Monterone), Armando Gabba (Marullo), William Matteuzzi (Borsa), Geoffrey Moses (Il Conte di Ceprano), Maria Grazia Pittavini (La Contessa di Ceprano), Maria Grazia Pittavini (Un paggio)
Coro e Orchestrea dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Giuseppe Sinopoli
Recorded September 1984



I can't remember why I have two copies of this. I think one (or both) was a present.

[Povero Buoso]

It could be the PB influence, or the Edita factor, or just because it is such a good opera (I have 2 copies of the same recording)...

Verdi: Rigoletto
Renato Bruson (Rigoletto), Edita Gruberova (Gilda), Neil Shicoff (Il Duca), Robert Lloyd (Sparafucile), Brigitte Fassbaender (Maddalena), Jean Rigby (Giovanna), Kurt Rydl (Monterone), Armando Gabba (Marullo), William Matteuzzi (Borsa), Geoffrey Moses (Il Conte di Ceprano), Maria Grazia Pittavini (La Contessa di Ceprano), Maria Grazia Pittavini (Un paggio)
Coro e Orchestrea dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Giuseppe Sinopoli
Recorded September 1984



I can't remember why I have two copies of this. I think one (or both) was a present.

Is it Fischer-Dieskau and Scotto though?

[Clayton]

Having probably spent more time recently with the Mitropoulos and Schippers recordings, this time I decided go with the Bonynge...

Verdi: Ernani
Luciano Pavarotti (Ernani), Joan Sutherland (Elvira), Leo Nucci (Carlo), Paata Burchuladze (Silva), Linda McLeod (Giovanna), Richard Morton (Riccardo) & Alastair Miles (Jago)
Orchestra & Chorus of Welsh National Opera, Richard Bonynge



the story may irritate some but because the music is so good it is a popular number so we do have a good choice of recordings...

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Decided to go with something wonderfully familiar. The music is gorgeous, great singing all round and the CD has a sepcial place in my heart as I bought it when living in Milan when it had just be re-discovered and recorded so it reminds me of that time in my life. It also has the best and funniest patter song (as interpreted by by the re-creator of the role Ruggero Raimondi in a variety of accents) in the repertoire.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Decided to go with something wonderfully familiar. The music is gorgeous, great singing all round and the CD has a special place in my heart as I bought it when living in Milan when it had just be re-discovered and recorded so it reminds me of that time in my life. It also has the best and funniest patter song (as interpreted by by the re-creator of the role Ruggero Raimondi in a variety of accents) in the repertoire.

I remember your telling me about this! And eating spug(gie) pie or was it tart in Bergamo?

[Soave_Fanciulla]

I remember your telling me about this! And eating spug(gie) pie or was it tart in Bergamo?

Spuggies and sludge (polenta con uccelli)!

[Florestan]

Just arrived 5 weeks after I ordered it. Not bad for $3.00 USD shipping from Shanghai China, and for 99 cents USD it is in like new condition and a very nicely packaged set in a hinged box, big booklet with librettos of both operas in three languages (including English) and cardboard slipcases for each disk. The first opera is original 1843 score of Der fliegende Hollander, not the second revision of 1845 that we normally hear, when the work was set in Scotland. The second opera, Le Vaisseau Fantome, is the one Louis Dietsch set music to from the score sold to him when Wagner was in need of money.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Needed something long enough for my grapeseed oil hunt which involved visiting several supermarkets. This did nicely but unfortunately I couldn't get my oil. Another hunt is scheduled for next week.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Needed something long enough for my grapeseed oil hunt which involved visiting several supermarkets. This did nicely but unfortunately I couldn't get my oil. Another hunt is scheduled for next week.

OK I'll bite this time. Why grapeseed oil?

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

OK I'll bite this time. Why grapeseed oil?

It has almost no taste and sometimes I just want oiliness and no flavour. Groundnut oil is similarly tasteless and this will do if I can't get grapeseed.

[Amfortas]

It has almost no taste and sometimes I just want oiliness and no flavour. Groundnut oil is similarly tasteless and this will do if I can't get grapeseed.

Totally understand. As everyone here can attest, I'm big on tastelessness.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Nice one Lully-me-lad.

[Hoffmann]

Felt lousy yesterday - don't know if it was a late, if reduced effect, of the stomach virus my nephew suffered through on Christmas morning or just the run-of-the-mill "blahs".

Anyway, no walk, but listened to:



and, from the bottomless box of operas:





This is quite good - Roberta Peters is delightful as Rosina. I still don't think anyone is likely to beat Callas in the role, but am coming around to the idea there may be other good versions out there that deserve a listen.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Hope you feel better soon.