What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Hoffmann]

Attachment 11741

When i was just a boy, we had a gramophone record of Barber of Seville with Callas/ Gobbi/Alva which we played on our radiogram or Dansette record player! Imagine my delight when i managed to get it on CD many years later. For me it is definitive though i am sure there are are other fine recordings out there. Any views? And did Callas do any other comic operas?

I have a couple of Barbiere recordings (Abbado w Domingo and Kathleen Battle; Leinsdorf w Roberta Peters, Robert Merrill) besides the Callas. I really only listen to the Callas. The others are nice, but it is inconceivable that there is another recording out there that equals Callas' charm and effortless singing - and this recording always makes me happy.

[Da55id]

Any post that starts "when I was just a boy" has got to be a good one

As for whether the Callas recording is the definitive one, I think there are too many good recordings/interpretations to say so. I certainly like it and have it but I also like the production with Gruberova.

Attachment 11743
Edita Gruberova, Juan Diego Flórez, Vladimir Chernov, Rosa Laghezza, Enric Serra, Francesco Ellero d'Artegna, James Anderson
Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Male Choir, Ralf Weikert

Thank you. I only mean that the Callas/ Gobbi recording had become definitive for me!!Its almost as old as me! Its lasted in my affections longer than any lover!!! By the way, how does James Anderson find the time between all those wickets for England?

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Any post that starts "when I was just a boy" has got to be a good one

As for whether the Callas recording is the definitive one, I think there are too many good recordings/interpretations to say so. I certainly like it and have it but I also like the production with Gruberova.

Attachment 11743

Edita Gruberova, Juan Diego Flórez, Vladimir Chernov, Rosa Laghezza, Enric Serra, Francesco Ellero d'Artegna, James Anderson
Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Male Choir, Ralf Weikert

I have that one!

[Itullian]

Attachment 11741

When i was just a boy, we had a gramophone record of Barber of Seville with Callas/ Gobbi/Alva which we played on our radiogram or Dansette record player! Imagine my delight when i managed to get it on CD many years later. For me it is definitive though i am sure there are are other fine recordings out there. Any views? And did Callas do any other comic operas?

That's a great recording for sure.
My favorite was always the Gui on EMI.
The best sung with Bruscantini the best Figaro I ever heard.
And De Los Angeles (my favorite soprano) and Rossini singer extaordinaire Alva complete the great cast.
I was always annoyed by the massive cuts in the old recordings though so I sought out an uncut version. After many listenings I chose the Marriner on Philips.
My favorite UNCUT version.
Why did they always cut Rossini?

[MAuer]

I also have the Marriner/Philips recording -- really like Baltsa and Araiza as the young lovers.

[Florestan]

[Soave_Fanciulla]

d.
And De Los Angeles (my favorite soprano)

Just finished this, loved de los Angeles and Legay; and happy with the sound (i got it as part of the Massenet box set and I thik they must have remastered as there is no trace of the crackle mentioned in reviews)

Massenet: Manon
Victoria de los Angeles, Henry Legay, Jean Borthayre, Michel Dens, Rene Herent & Jean Vieuille
Orchestra & Chorus of the Theatre National de l’Opera-Comique, Pierre Monteux

[Florestan]

Not sure why I bought this.
Kind of reminds me of English opera, which I have not been too keen on.
Probably should have bought a set in the original language.
Perhaps it will be appreciated more after I watch it on DVD.

[Hoffmann]

Enjoying this - I almost always only listen to the Muti/Ramey/Studer set.

I don't think I have another recording with Cristina Deutekom. She certainly hits the notes in the tough role of Odabella, but she has a distinct vibrato that takes some getting used to. Raimondi is fine here, but always hard to beat Samuel Ramey. Gardelli's conducting always a pleasure.

[Florestan]

This is a nice set. Starts off with a BBC Radio introduction to the performance. I have four Sutherland Sonnambula sets and I think I like this one better than the others: 1980 with Pavarotti (wrong voice for Elvino IMO), 1962 with Nicola Monti, and 1961 with Renato Cioni

[Florestan]

[Soave_Fanciulla]

A very excellent recital, listened to it twice in a row.

Handel's Finest Arias for Base Voice, Vol. 2 - Christopher Purves (baritone) - Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen

[Hoffmann]

This afternoon's listen:

[Florestan]

[MAuer]

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Conductor/orchestra: Zubin Mehta; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus of the Vienna State Opera
Cast: Fritz Wunderlich (Belmonte), Anneliese Rothenberger (Konstanze), Reri Grist (Blonde), Gerhard Unger (Pedrillo), Fernando Corena (Osmin), Michael Heltau (Pasha Selim)

I’d always wanted a recording of this opera with Wunderlich’s Belmonte, but for a long time, the only version available was the DG studio recording conducted by Eugen Jochum that includes Erika Köth’s Konstanze. Perhaps her voice sounded different when heard in the theater, or maybe it was one of those that just didn’t record well, but to me, it has a twittery, Minnie Mouse quality that’s quite annoying. Anneliese Rothenberger sings the role in this live recording from the Vienna State Opera, and she’s a definite improvement. Wunderlich is, well, Wunderlich – that incomparably beautiful voice, the innate musicality, the total commitment. He adds a little ornamentation to a couple of his arias and gets to sing “Ich baue ganz auf deine Stärke,” often omitted from live performances because of its fiendish difficulty. Unfortunately, Belmonte’s fourth aria, “Wenn der Freude Tränen fliessen,” is omitted. Listening to him always makes one regret his tragically early death. Reri Grist is a spirited Blonde who tosses off coloratura and high notes as though there’s nothing to it, and her Pedrillo, Gerhard Unger, has an attractive light lyric tenor that suggests he could also take on the part of Belmonte. Fernando Corena was among the leading comic basses of the mid-20th century, but his voice sounds a bit lightweight for Osmin. The lowest note in “O wie will ich trumphieren” emerges as little more than a rattle. Since this is a live recording, some stage noises and the audience’s applause are included, but the overall sound quality is good, especially considering that this is 54 years old. It also means the singers deliver their own dialogue, which is not always the case with studio recordings of German operas that include spoken dialogue, where actors are sometimes entrusted with the spoken passages. I can’t say I like the practice; on the Fricsay Fidelio from the late ‘50s, the actor who handles Pizarro’s dialogue has a raw, gravelly voice that sounds absolutely nothing like Fischer-Dieskau’s lyric baritone. It also seems needless, since the singers themselves do a fine job of it.