What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Soave_Fanciulla]

[Hoffmann]

Today's walk:

[Florestan]

Going through this again, but listening to each opera twice in a row before moving to the next.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Today's walk:

What did you think of it?

[Florestan]

Listening to this (1869 version) in the car:

[Hoffmann]

What did you think of it?

The opera is nice - not top of the line Donizetti, but good. Some lovely choruses and very well sung.

[Hoffmann]

For today's walk, I was about ready to go with the new-ish Yannick Nezét-Séguin Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, but I was looking through OL and re-read the comments on Tannhäuser, so changed my mind:





This isn't my favorite Tannhäuser, but it is very good (and, it is Solti) - even Rene Kollo was having a good day. The women are spectacular, as is Victor Braun's "O du mein holder Abendstern" (it might be a cliche, but I never get tired of it).

[Florestan]

[Hoffmann]

Poured down rain and high winds here today, so no walking. Instead, I headed toward my ULP and came up with this:





This is a classic recording from 1961 (remastered) with very good sound. I am so used to hearing Kiri Te Kanawa/Lucia Popp/Samuel Ramey, et al. that the voice here (Giuseppe Taddei/Eberhard Wächter/Elizabeth Schwarzkopf/Anna Moffo, et al. were a little jarring. I think Anna Moffo's voice really jumped out with its kind of 'little girl' timbre. A good listen, but will take a couple more outings to get a better sense of it.

[Florestan]

Poured down rain and high winds here today, so no walking. Instead, I headed toward my ULP and came up with this:





This is a classic recording from 1961 (remastered) with very good sound. I am so used to hearing Kiri Te Kanawa/Lucia Popp/Samuel Ramey, et al. that the voice here (Giuseppe Taddei/Eberhard Wächter/Elizabeth Schwarzkopf/Anna Moffo, et al. were a little jarring. I think Anna Moffo's voice really jumped out with its kind of 'little girl' timbre. A good listen, but will take a couple more outings to get a better sense of it.

Cossotto is very good.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

I wanted something comforting and familiar for a change:

[Florestan]

This one gets the dull and boring cover award:


Somewhat sound quality challenged but a nice listen:

(Sound clips)

[MAuer]

Conductor: Thomas Schippers
RAI Orchestra and Chorus
Cast: Martina Arroyo (Elena), Gianfranco Cecchele (Arrigo), Sherrill Milnes (Montfort), Bonaldo Giaiotti (Procida), Giovanni Antonini (Bethune), Giovanni Gusmeroli (Vaudemont), Cristina Angelakova (Ninetta) Carlo Gaifa (Tebaldo), Federico Davia (Roberto), Bruno Sebastian (Danieli), Tommaso Frascati (Manfredo)

For me, the real surprise here was the Procida of Bonaldo Giaiotti – he has such a wonderfully rich, attractive bass that I’m surprised he’s underrepresented on recordings. Apparently, he had a respectable international career in the ‘60s and ‘70s, singing major roles at leading houses. Gianfranco Cecchele is not Domingo, but he is generally up to the part of Arrigo. His is a darkish, lirico-spinto tenor with solid, ringing high notes. Naturally, I love Sherrill Milnes’ Montfort – I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sing anything and didn’t love it. And he portrays these Verdian father figures so well. At times, Martina Arroyo (Elena) sounds like a mezzo when she’s singing in her midrange or lower register, which is simply an observation and not a complaint. On the whole, this is a fine recording, though as a live performance, it includes plenty of audience applause at the conclusion of each act. It’s hard to classify the accompanying “booklet” as anything more than a folded piece of paper printed on both sides. A track listing is provided, but absolutely nothing else – not even a plot synopsis. Of course, when one pays only $16 for a 2-CD recording, one can hardly expect lavish packaging. It’s easy enough to find a synopsis online, and by now, I’ve also picked up a number of Italian words and expressions – enough that I can often get a general idea of what the characters are singing about.
What I’d really like, though, would be a recording of this opera with the Kaufmann-Harteros team in the leads.

[Florestan]

TODAY: