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What a difference the conductor makes and Solti, who has a fine group of singers, totally ruins thier efforts with his ridiculously fast and rigid tempo. I've always thought he was a terrible Verdi conductor and this only confirms it. It's a pity because he has some fine singers on many of his recordings, but I don't like any of his Verdi.
Questa may make no revelations, but I prefer his more relaxed tempo. Unfortunately Tagliavini's strained singing rather ruins this version, which leaves me with Giulini, who assuredly does know how to conduct Verdi. His singers are a fine bunch too. As Woddduck has pointed out, it's the tenor who will make or break a performance of this Quartet and Domingo does a fine job, phrasing nicely and not sounding too strained by the high tessitura. Cotrubas is ideally sweet and plaintive as Gilda, Cappuccill, who probably has the least to do, fine as Rigoletto and Obrasztsova, for once, doesn't oversing and pull focus. Thet get my vote.
Questa may make no revelations, but I prefer his more relaxed tempo. Unfortunately Tagliavini's strained singing rather ruins this version, which leaves me with Giulini, who assuredly does know how to conduct Verdi. His singers are a fine bunch too. As Woddduck has pointed out, it's the tenor who will make or break a performance of this Quartet and Domingo does a fine job, phrasing nicely and not sounding too strained by the high tessitura. Cotrubas is ideally sweet and plaintive as Gilda, Cappuccill, who probably has the least to do, fine as Rigoletto and Obrasztsova, for once, doesn't oversing and pull focus. Thet get my vote.
