Reply With QuoteWhat is Kasarova like on this? I seem to remember a very uneven register from a DVD I watched, maybe of the same production.Originally Posted by Festat
I feel like Florestan.
I feel like Florestan.
What is Kasarova like on this? I seem to remember a very uneven register from a DVD I watched, maybe of the same production.I feel like Florestan.
Natalie
Yes, I remember that DVD (because of that little boy's KILLER Oberto!) and I don't think it is as noticeable here, even though listening to Kasarova may indeed be rather like driving a manual transmission car sometimes, the shifting of gears can get apparent to the point I wonder if she's just having a bad time blending or actively exposing the mechanics of singing. I love her deep, weirdly dark tone but her ways can get tiresome.
That Alcina CD set also isn't the best technically, constant on-and-off microphone axis during the recits and A LOT of stage noise.
It was absolutely astonishing, wasn't it.
Natalie
unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on viewpoint), there's not a lot of Alcina out there
The 'Holy Grail' for us has to be the Aix-en-Provence if it ever comes out on dvd...
I’m really enjoying this. It’s too bad many people know nothing more of La Gioconda then the oft-parodied Dance of the Hours. I’m glad the part of bad guy Barnaba is a fairly substantial one because Milnes sounds absolutely fantastic. (I could listen to this guy sing the contents of the Oxford English Dictionary.) Caballé really sinks her teeth into the title role – you don’t want to get on this gal’s bad side. I find the character of Laura to be rather bland in comparison, but Baltsa does the best she can with it. Enzo Grimaldo doesn’t strike me as all that interesting, either; he’s the typical impassioned hero whatever the circumstances may be. But such heroes need beautiful voices, and no question that Pavarotti delivers. Ghiaurov is a really nasty Alvise, and Alfreda Hodgson a fine La Cieca.
I'm sold
well, I would have been. Thank goodness PC are sold out on this CD because I need another La Gioconda recording like I need
err...
another La Gioconda recording
I guess
Ah, the downside of live recordings. Fortunately, technology has improved to the point where it sometimes is hard to tell. The Matilde di Shabran recording is live - but I alway forget until the end of Act I (it's a long Act I) where brief applause is allowed.
It's a relatively recent recording so no excuse.
Natalie
Another day another chunk of dissertation another one of my favourites and definitely the favourite Verdi.
I realized today that this Rigoletto has both Scotto and Bergonzi. As this is my favourite Rigoletto it has led me to conclude that the Barbirolli Butterfly might be my favourite not just because of the conducting (which is excellent) but also because I already liked two of the principals by getting to know them intimately well on this Rigoletto. I had failed to put together this fact until earlier today. Either way the Kubelik is an awesome Rigoletto (I am definitely not biased because it was the first recording I bought.)
"Non sono in vena" Rodolfo summing up P.B's feelings on his dissertation.
There is a quality in Lucia Aliberti's voice that reminds me of Maria Callas.
"Ah,non credea mirarti si presto estinto, o fiore." --Bellini, La Sonnambula (also written on his tomb).
I ordered this a while ago, but it ended up being shipped to my old address, so only recently received it. This is a very sweetly sung and beautiful recording - I think I even prefer it over the Horne/Ernesto Palacio/Nicola Zaccaria (Ralf Weikert, Cond), which might be livelier, but this one is so sweet, I loved it. No big voices here, mind you, but on a recording, one hardly notices. Ending does seem to drag a bit, but I need to compare with my other recordings before rendering judgement.
That is a very good one that I bought because of Eva Mei. If you didn't look at the booklet first, then the dragged out ending is explained because this set includes both the tragic and happy endings. I think it also has several tracks on the third disk that are alternate versions of select parts, an appendix of sorts. So you would want to sort that out and use only your preferred ending.
I ordered this a while ago, but it ended up being shipped to my old address, so only recently received it. This is a very sweetly sung and beautiful recording - I think I even prefer it over the Horne/Ernesto Palacio/Nicola Zaccaria (Ralf Weikert, Cond), which might be livelier, but this one is so sweet, I loved it. No big voices here, mind you, but on a recording, one hardly notices. Ending does seem to drag a bit, but I need to compare with my other recordings before rendering judgement.
"Ah,non credea mirarti si presto estinto, o fiore." --Bellini, La Sonnambula (also written on his tomb).
Well, since I was already there...
This may very well be my favourite Alcina on disc by now.
I only have this Alcina, which I bought because of both the very early Sutherland (recorded live in 1959) and Fritz Wunderlich. Together again for the very last time.
The sound is excellent monaural but the opera, as I guess was typical at the time, has been cut and rearranged. According to Fanfare.com, for example, the role of Oronte has been eliminated entirely.
I only have one recording with Arleen Auger, but it's really wonderful and a favorite (Il Matrimonio Segreto/Brilliant). Her Alcina is listed as the only complete recording of the opera, so I've added it to my list.
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