Hi-res opera lovers, rejoice! Decca has started making more of its legendary opera catalog available in wonderful 24/96 remasterings, among them one of the greatest opera recordings of all time for both performance and sound quality: Puccini’s ‘Turandot’, recorded in 1972 with Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, and Montserrat Caballe, Zubin Mehta conducting. I got the download from ProStudioMasters yesterday (it’s not yet available on HDtracks), and the sound is simply sensational. This was always a favorite demo recording since its LP days, though I found the CD release pretty harsh and strident (no surprise there!). The new 24/96 ameliorates all of that, leaving us with simply resplendent and sumptuous sound quality, effortless in its dynamics, breadth, and depth. I haven’t heard it this good since my old LPs and reel-to-reels! The performance can hardly be bettered, especially with Sutherland and Pavarotti in their glorious prime. Incidentally, I spot-checked several of the tracks in Audacity, where substantial high-frequency content up to the 48kHz limit was evident. Great job, Decca!
Russell
P.S. Other new Decca operas in 24/96 include Donizetti’s ‘La Fille du Regiment’ (Sutherland/Pavarotti), Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’ (Fischer-Dieskau, Suliotis), and Verdi's ‘Rigoletto’ (Sutherland/Pavarotti). (The Solti ‘Ring’ and Britten’s ‘Peter Grimes’ were released in 24/96 some time ago.)
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Topic - Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ in 24/96: simply stunning! - Russell 15:14:27 05/31/14 (15)
- RE: Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ in 24/96: simply stunning! - Disbeliever 23:08:56 06/04/14 (1)
- Fair Point - Chris from Lafayette 12:01:53 06/05/14 (0)
- RE: Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ in 24/96: simply stunning! - Dave Billinge 05:20:54 06/01/14 (11)
- RE: Already on an easy to use format - amioutaline? 14:17:34 06/03/14 (0)
- The Blu-ray should be coming.... - Russell 09:59:11 06/01/14 (0)
- RE: Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ in 24/96: simply stunning! - PAR 07:17:54 06/01/14 (8)
- RE: Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ in 24/96: simply stunning! - Dave Billinge 10:13:45 06/01/14 (4)
- Sony 5400, Korg Audiogate Software and some DVDR's! - oldmkvi 11:42:52 06/01/14 (0)
- You're right, the initial fuss with downloads is greater, but. . . - Chris from Lafayette 11:25:56 06/01/14 (2)
- RE: You're right, the initial fuss with downloads is greater, but. . . - Disbeliever 23:31:41 06/01/14 (1)
- I've had NO Problems with any Downloads - oldmkvi 08:34:37 06/02/14 (0)
- UK Hi-Rez Downloads: The Classical Shop [nt] - Chris from Lafayette 08:54:26 06/01/14 (2)
- Yes, but they don't do Universal Classics. (But Linn Records does!) (nt) - Russell 10:08:39 06/01/14 (1)
- Ah - I get it - thanks! - Chris from Lafayette 11:17:26 06/01/14 (0)
- RE: Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ in 24/96: simply stunning! - Chris from Lafayette 19:48:38 05/31/14 (0)