 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
14.100.135.126
Hello everyone, please share your recommendation for best recording/pressing for these popular operas:
La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Riggoletto
Aida
Cavalleria Rusticana
Carmen
Die Zauberflöte
Don Giovanni
Other operas also welcome!
Follow Ups:
The Bernstein "Carman" is perhaps one of the best vinyl records I own. Audiophile quality, and wonderful performance.
Traviata - I like the Kleiber recording, which a lot of others like as well.
Aida - Solti (with Vickers and Price). Too bad that Vickers refused to work again with Solti after they made this.
Carmen -also Solti, with Troyanos and Domingo. Bernstein is interesting and well recorded, but I prefer the Solti.
Cavallieri Rusticana - Bjoerling/Erede or, for a total sentimental wallow, Karajan.
Magic Flute - the first Solti (with Burrows). To my mind you should avoid Klemperer and Bohm. I am an admirer of Klemperer in many things, but his Magic Flute is slow, old fashioned, and omits the dialog, which is vital. Bohm is just a plodder in Magic Flute.
Don Giovanni - the Giulini is the classic choice, for good reason, but try the old Busch recording as well.
No real opinion on Trovatore or Rigoletto. I probably would go for the old RCA Trovatore with Bjoerling and Milanov, or the EMI with Karajan and Callas. I have never really bonded with Rigoletto, so no recommendation.
Others - Otello, with Karajan, or with Serafin (look for the wonderful Soria version of the Serafin if you for it)
Don Carlo (in Italian) with Solti.
I love In Ballo in Maschera, but not sure I have a recommendation.
Simone Boccanegra with Abbado (a terrific recording of an underrated piece)
Marriage of Figaro - probably the Giulini. I like the singers and conducting better on the Solti, but to my mind it is ruined by the poor early digital sound.
Barber of Seville - love the Varviso recording.
Turandot - the Decca with Sutherland et al is probably the safest choice but I would never give up my Callas recording - she makes Turandot into a flesh and blood character in a way that I have heard from no one else.
Then, there's Wagner.....you owe it to yourself to hear the Act I, from 1935, of Walkure, with Bruno Walter conducting. Will take you an hour or so....listen to it a few times, if you love it, you'll get hooked on Wagner, if you don't then you can pass on him.
TGR: I haven't favorites among the others, but could not agree more re the Kleiber Traviata, the Solti Flute, and the Giulini Giovanni.
Re Marriage of Figaro, I prefer the Fritz Busch 1930s performance to all others. For any Verdi I'd seek out Toscanini performances before others, especially his Otello and Falstaff. But of course one needs tolerance for the sound quality though for me performance outweighs sound quality.
Jeremy
The Busch Don Giovanni is terrific, but I have never heard the corresponding Figaro - need to correct that!
Toscanini's Otello belongs in every opera lovers' collection, as it is in mine. Haven't heard it in a long time. His Falstaff probably does, too, but I have never warmed to the opera. He recorded Ballo as well, but that one I haven't heard.
I should have mentioned that the Busch Figaro omits dialogue -- still, the performance is extraordinary. I've never heard the Busch Giovanni, but your mentioning it will cause me to seek it out. Last, I urge another hearing of the Toscanini Falstaff -- I think it's Verdi's greatest opera, and the performance has yet to be equaled.
Good to chat with you,
Jeremy
I assume you meant recitative, not dialogue since there is none.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
OK, recit then -- aging without grace.
Jeremy
Travis...there is in Carmen and others....sprechtstimme. Spoken dialogue as opposed to recitative which is sung and moves the plot forward. Aria is sung and expresses feelings about the charter, or conditions of the moment.
I know.
I was answering another poster about Marriage of Figaro which does not have dialogue. It has recitative.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
The other poster knows too -- thoughtless he is.
Jeremy
Why do you want to know about what I like? Surely the aim is to find out what you prefer. So why not put in the hard yards, do some comparative listening, and make your own decisions for yourself. Asking this question of say 10 different opera lovers will probably elicit 10 different answers. The only opinion that should matter to you is your own, and to find out what it is you have to do some work.
My only observation worth mentioning is my belief that the perfect opera recording in terms of cast, orchestra/conductor, general performance, and sound quality has yet to be produced.
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
