Classical Music Forum banner

Opera on CD

121K views 676 replies 43 participants last post by  Itullian 
#1 ·
Lucia di Lammermoor

I've got these



was the first version I ever heard. I love it. Caballé is sparkling & Carreras at his best as Edgardo. His "Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali" always has me reaching for my hanky. 5/5



I got this one in May & it was my first Callas recording. It's in mono but for me that makes the sound more natural somehow (can't explain it very well). I think it's fantastic - Di Stefano, Callas & Gobbi all brilliant. My one complaint is that they miss out the duets with Lucia & Raimondo starting with "Di tua speranza l'ultimo raggio tramontò!" and they miss out the Wolf's Crag scene. 4/5



I got this as it does include the omitted scenes (as above) & because it's supposed to be the benchmark.

Milnes is fabulous, Pavarotti didn't compare favourably with di Stefano or Carreras and Sutherland can only sing in vowels. Maybe seeing her live she warranted 'La Stupenda' but not on studio recording. 2/5
 
See less See more
3
#2 ·
Sutherland can only sing in vowels.
I agree. But on the basis of this incredible album alone she deserves her place among the all time greats. It has the best coloratura singing I've ever heard in my life. La Stupenda indeed. The problem you mention got worse as she got older. At the time when this was recorded (1960) it was less of an issue.

 
#3 ·
OK advice time :)

I'm flying to Milan tomorrow & will have a three hour wait at the airport & then a two hour flight.

To pass the time I like to listen to an opera & read the libretto.

Should I take libretti of ones I know & love or of ones I've not heard yet (& may not like)?
 
#4 ·
In my opinion, definitely one you haven't heard yet - it's more exciting, I think. About the may not like part, I'm sure you'll be able to find some sure fire thing based on style and other works of the same composer and same singers that you already love.
 
#6 ·
Lucia di Lammermoor



I got this as it does include the omitted scenes (as above) & because it's supposed to be the benchmark.

Milnes is fabulous, Pavarotti didn't compare favourably with di Stefano or Carreras and Sutherland can only sing in vowels. Maybe seeing her live she warranted 'La Stupenda' but not on studio recording. 2/5
There is the 1961 version in good sound with younger Sutherland at her peak technical singing voice doing amazing things with her massive vocal range and purity of high notes, although many prefer the later version you pictured above for more nuanced performance and stronger supporting cast

 
#9 · (Edited)


This is a great deal for $25 at Amazon USA......
15 CD set of Renata Tebaldi's stereo 1950s Puccini operas, 7 total. These are not live or radio broadcast but the best sound from Decca's vaults, even today considered some of the best performances ever of these works with Tebaldi at her peak ability, booklet has synopsis but not full libretti, contents:

Manon Lescaut 1954
Turandot 1955
Madama Butterfly 1958
La Fanciulla Del West 1958
Tosca 1959
La Boheme 1959
Il Trittico 1962
 
#10 ·
That's so tempting Dark Angel, so long as the sound quality is good. Maybe something for the Christmas wish list so long as my opera enjoyment is still fairly strong then, and not just a "niche" genre to add variety to my listening. I was also was looking at "Mozart's Best Operas" (which unfortunately is only an MP3 download) for only 8 dollars. It has Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, and Cosi Fan Tutte. I'm going to hold off though...it's just as well. I've obtained over forty CDs worth of music in the past few months. If I keep buying, I'll NEVER get a chance to actually listen to all of it. Amazon has crazy low prices on so much of their classical music.
 
#13 ·
The Sony recording of Lucia conducted by the late,great Sir Charles Mackerras is very interesting because it is the first Lucia recording to use period instruments. The interesting thing is that the orchestra doesn't really sound all that different from the Lucia performances we're accustomed to,but there are some subtle differences.
The cast,with Andrea Rost, Bruce Ford, Anthony Michaels-Moore,and Alastair Miles,has no superstars, but it's very good, and Mackerras makes Donizetti's music sound quite vivid and forceful,without neglecting its Bel Canto elegance.
However, given reports of the quality of the orchestras in Italy in the early 19th century, the orchestra,London's Hanover band, may actually play the opera much better than it actually was in Donizeti's day. So it's a kind of idealized "authenticity". Still. this recording is very much worth hearing.
 
#14 ·
#16 ·
Lucia di Lammermoor



I got this as it does include the omitted scenes (as above) & because it's supposed to be the benchmark.
The deluxe Decca packaging in digibook format is cool but...........
having 3 Cds slide in and out of slots almost guarantess scuffing on CDs :mad:

Has anyone tried the Black Dog opera CD sets..............
Come in deluxe large digibooks 150 pages and sold in book section of Amazon $10 new

 
#17 ·
The deluxe Decca packaging in digibook format is cool but...........
having 3 Cds slide in and out of slots almost guarantess scuffing on CDs :mad:

Has anyone tried the Black Dog opera CD sets..............
Come in deluxe large digibooks 150 pages and sold in book section of Amazon $10 new

I don't have this edition but I have other Black Dog Opera Library issues and they are all very well done.
 
#19 ·
Getting back to Les Troyens once more, before I got the Gardiner DVD I had Dutoit's CD with Lakes.

Ending of opera is diffrent in those versions. In Gardiner's Cassandre comes out after Dido kills herself and sings Fuit Troia, Stat Roma, in Dutoit's there is chord until the very coda.

What's going on?

I know that Berlioz had to make shorter versions of opera in his time to increase chances for performance, but are those various versions still performed by diffrent conductors?
 
#20 ·
It's not Cassandre, it's Clio. It's just that the same singer does both roles in Gardiner's DVD.

This Clio scene *is* indeed in Berlioz's libretto.

Berlioz was only able to premiere the three last acts in his lifetime, with many cuts.

But I'm not aware of any different versions endorsed by him - he never intended to do these cuts, he was forced to do them, and he wanted his opera to be complete, it was just a way of seeing at least part of it since he was unable to convince the managers to put up with the full length of the opera - and in my opinion the Clio scene is an essential part of it, as it points to the march of History.

I may be wrong, but I believe that it is the Dutoit CD that is lacking on an essential scene, and there is no official Berlioz version that skips that scene, not that Gardiner's DVD added it.
 
#21 ·
Possible.

I've also checked opera's plot on wikipedia and, though it's very detailed, the last scene is described without this essential scene we are talking about: The Carthaginians then utter one final curse on Énée and his people, vowing vengeance for his abandonment of Didon, as the opera ends.

That's how it looks on Dutoit's rec.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Berlioz added the last scene after he finished the libretto but before he finished the score. I found a letter by him in which he mentions it.

"I have added an ending to my drama, an ending far more grandiose and conclusive than the one which satisfied me at first. The spectator will now see the Aeneas task accomplished, and Clio exclaims in the last scene, while the Rome Capitol glistens in the horizon - Fuit Troja! Stat Roma!"

The letter is included in the book "Life and Letters of Berlioz." The author is H. Mainwaring Dunstan. It was published in 1882. Page 279.

The letter is to M. Hans von Bulow and the date is February 20, 1858. Here is the link to it (the book can be read online, it is in the public domaine):

http://tinyurl.com/33pgoep

Berlioz began the libretto on 5 May 1856 and completed it toward the end of June 1856. He finished the full score on 12 April 1858.

So, the scene was included before he even finished the score. It looks to me like in his letter to his friend he is talking about a work in progress, he made adjustments and final touches to the libretto while finishing the score, and the scene was already there by the opera's completion in April of 1858. It would have to be there already for all subsequent presentations if the conductor wants to be faithful to Berlioz, especially considering that in his letter he expresses his enthusiasm for the scene. The mutilated opera only premiered on November 4, 1863, more than five years *after* the scene had been already added to the libretto, so, I think there is no justification to not include this scene.

Kudos to Sir Gardiner!
 
#25 ·


Amazon uk are currently playing a marketing game with this classic Bohm/Bayreuth set. I used to have it on LP many years ago and never replaced it on CD when I ditched all my vinyl, so when I saw it a few days ago offered at £12.99, I snapped it up. I see the price is now climbing and has risen (at the time of writing this) to £15.37, which is still a wonderful bargain if you want one - surely one of the best Tristans available. Comes complete with booklet and libretto, and costs about £25 everywhere else.

Link here:
Bohm Tristan&Isolde
 
#28 ·


Amazon USA seller Newbury Comics was kind enough to briefly let the price of this ultra deluxe Callas studio boxset drop to $220 new recently.......I grabbed it :)

Now I will sell my cheap generic looking budget set for $80 used and get my Callas obsession fulfilled for $140.....Maria you are mine!
 
#34 ·


Divina Records
http://www.divinarecords.com/

Almaviva I think you would like these.......
This is a boutique label that only sells custom made Callas CDs, owner has access to original tapes no one else has. Entire collections of rare Callas materials are donated to him because they know he is the pinnacle of Callas collectors. Not only is the sound best avialable but the enhanced 2nd CD has amazing treasure chest of rare photos, newspaper articles, short videos etc

They are made in South America by owner named Pablo, takes about 10 days to get in USA
 
#38 ·
Listening to the Turandot highlights album with Joan Sutherland right now on Myspace. Really don't like the story, but so far, I've heard some good music. Particularly, I like these ones:

Signore Ascolta,
Non piangere Liu,
Tanto Amore Segreto,
Che e Mai di Me.
 
#39 ·
Listening to the Turandot highlights album with Joan Sutherland right now on Myspace. Really don't like the story, but so far, I've heard some good music. Particularly, I like these ones:

Signore Ascolta,
Non piangere Liu,
Tanto Amore Segreto,
Che e Mai di Me.
Goog taste, girl, but somehow I still feel you're going about this the wrong way... Turandot is not the most accessible Puccini either... have you tried La Bohème?

Oh well, so much for my constant saying that there is no right or wrong about this. So, don't listen to me.
 
#40 · (Edited)
I do have La Boheme, and have read the libretto. I do like it. The DVD from 2008 with Netrebko and Villazon is in my Netflix queue after Madame Butterfly and the La Traviata that you recommended awhile back.

I'm constantly having to try a "little of this" and a "little of that". I sample lots of highlights, and if the highlights draw me in, then I follow up with the more in depth exploration. Whether it's the right approach or wrong one, it is quite simply me. :)
 
#41 ·
I do have La Boheme, and have read the libretto. I do like it. The DVD from 2008 with Netrebko and Villazon is in my Netflix queue after Madame Butterfly and the La Traviata that you recommended awhile back.

I'm constantly having to try a "little of this" and a "little of that". I sample lots of highlights, and if the highlights draw me in, then I follow up with the more in depth exploration. Whether it's the right approach or wrong one, it is quite simply me. :)
No, forget what I said, it's the right approach, because it's what works for you.:tiphat:
 
#44 ·


Has anyone listened to this? I'd appreciate some opnions on it. I have all the other Jacobs Mozart operas, but I'm not at all sure about adding this latest Magic Flute to them and listening to all that dialogue. (My only Flute recording is Klemperer's, which not only has the unmatchable Lucia Popp, but also has the benefit of omitting all the dialogue!)
 
#45 ·
If you've got a multi-region player (I've not yet seen a copy on region 2) it's worth considering getting your hands on a copy of this. I've seen it on Met player and it's pure magic. I'm sure that Natalie will agree with me. It's sung in English and there are some cuts, but I sat at the edge of my seat from start to finish.

 
#48 ·
My copy of the Jacobs Zauberflöte is, at this very moment, wending it's way across the Atlantic Ocean and should be making its joyful appearance in my mailbox within the next 24 to 72 hours.

I am in FULL SALIVATION mode. Having made, over the years, an express point of acquiring René's Mozart and Monteverdi opera recordings and videos, this should bring me up-to-date. In situations like this, I almost prefer not to pay much attention to early critical responses (and there have been some negatives centering, in part, around Jacobs' incorporation of all spoken dialogue - some people just don't have the patience).

Ce n'est pas rien. Chacun à son gôut.
 
#167 ·
How did I miss this? A marvelous disc.:)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top