What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Dark_Angel]

Abbado's Lohengrin. meh.

There are some more desireable versions led by Kempe from early 1960s now at mid price.....

[Itullian]

There are some more desireable versions led by Kempe from early 1960s now at mid price.....

yeah, i'm a Lohengrin lover. i have the Kempe which is great, the Solti which is great, the Karajan which is great and the Sawallisch which is great.
i was somewhat disappointed in the Abbado. his act endings fall a little short imho. the digital sound is great though. i'll keep it. next one i'll be getting is the Leinsdorf for Konya and the complete text.

[Dark_Angel]

Callas 1959 stereo Gioconda, what a performance featuring a young Fiorenza Cossotto and Piero Cappuccilli as the most vile villian Barnaba. Gioconda was actually one of Callas favorite roles, Maria said in interviews the last act is her most accomplished recorded work and hearing the towering "suicidio" aria here who am I to argue......

There is an earlier 1952 Callas Gioconda originally on Cetra label also conducted by Votto, Feodra Barbieri replaces Cossotto here although overall I prefer the 1959 above

[brianwalker]

Anyone else thought that Aida was influenced by Meistersinger?

Abbado's Lohengrin. meh.

You didn't love Act II?

[HarpsichordConcerto]

Traditional production, perhaps closest to original staging by tradition. That's the feeling I got as far as staging was concern. Utterly Russian in idiom.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Completely untraditional staging - this time in a marriage bureau (Marthaler likes shops, he did the dry cleaner traviata) And the conductor decided that the weird production needed a weird - if extremely multi-talented - "accompanist" onstage, complete with glass harmonica, carefully tuned beer bottles, falsetto singing and random sound effects.

Peter Mattei sang beautifully.

[HarpsichordConcerto]

Completely untraditional staging - this time in a marriage bureau (Marthaler likes shops, he did the dry cleaner traviata) And the conductor decided that the weird production needed a weird - if extremely multi-talented - "accompanist" onstage, complete with glass harmonica, carefully tuned beer bottles, falsetto singing and random sound effects.

Peter Mattei sang beautifully.

I thought about buying it. But the staging was too silly looking. It was on deep discount at that time.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

I thought about buying it. But the staging was too silly looking. It was on deep discount at that time.

Unless you have a thing about any of the singers I think that is a wise decision.

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

Wow, this is already out? The performance was just a while ago. Although, oops, it looks like this is a different performance, in Salerno.

Anyway, this might still be instrumental in getting to the bottom of that controversy, when that reviewer (the same one who made the gross comment about Diana Damrau) tore to pieces Bryan Hymel's performance in Robert Le Diable, and I suspected he didn't know what he was saying, given that just before and then after the Robert Le Diable, Bryan did so well in Les Troyens respectively at Covent Garden and at the Met - making me think that it was unlikely that he was *that* bad in Robert Le Diable, although of course, one thing doesn't prove the other since it's a different role and a different performance, anything could have happened to his voice when that critic saw the show.

Still, I'd be curious about your opinion on Bryan's singing, when you listened to this. If he did very well in this same role for this recording, although indirectly, it does indicate that the critic's opinion would have a bigger chance of being misguided, since except for some vocal problem or other circumstantial issue, then there would be no reason for Bryan not to repeat a good vocal performance of the role, in the live show.

So, how was Bryan's singing of this role?

[Schigolch]

He was brave singing this very difficult role, combined with performances as Enee. His is a voice of a lyrical tenor. Of the robust kind, but lyrical. It's also a quite homogeneus instrument, and he was very expressive in this recording. So, it's a good one, indeed.

On the other hand, it gives sometimes the feeling that he is forcing the instrument to produce those sounds, that he is singing on his capital, rather than in his income, so to say. Something that you can get along with while in your early thirties, true, but dangerous moving forward. However this is something that only the singer can know for a fact.

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

He was brave singing this very difficult role, combined with performances as Enee. His is a voice of a lyrical tenor. Of the robust kind, but lyrical. It's also a quite homogeneus instrument, and he was very expressive in this recording. So, it's a good one, indeed.

On the other hand, it gives sometimes the feeling that he is forcing the instrument to produce those sounds, that he is singing on his capital, rather than in his income, so to say. Something that you can get along with while in your early thirties, true, but dangerous moving forward. However this is something that only the singer can know for a fact.

Thanks, nice to know that he did well - and yes, chances are that the critic was clueless, then, if Bryan *is* capable of singing the role well.

But yes, at one point in the interview he did say that he was accepting whatever they offered him, before he started to get his big breaks, so, it's conceivable that he's been forcing his voice. Hopefully now that he is becoming more and more prominent he'll be able to be more selective. He is such a nice guy, I hope he doesn't damage his voice.

[HarpsichordConcerto]

[HarpsichordConcerto]

[Itullian]

Anyone else thought that Aida was influenced by Meistersinger?



You didn't love Act II?

i liked most of it, but the ending left me a little flat.
i dont think he captured the full grandeur of the organ/instrumental ending like Solti or Karajan did.

[Itullian]

Is it the audio recording with Jerusalem, Studer, Meier, and Moll? I'm rather fond of that one, myself . . .

yes Mary, thats the one.
so far it seems well executed, but the chill factor not there for me.
i'll give it another try though.