Macbeth with Tito Gobbi & Amy Shuard
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Macbeth
Giuseppe Verdi Tito Gobbi, Amy Shuard, Forbes Robinson Royal Opera House, Covent Garden OD 10481-2 |
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Sound Quality:
  Macbeth was the type of role that Tito Gobbi excelled at. When he portrayed roles like Macbeth, Iago and Falstaff one was reminded that they were not just experiencing a Verdi opera but a Verdi/Shakespeare opera. And if his voice was not beautiful in the traditional way that would lend itself to roles like Don Giovanni and other "matinee idol" baritone roles, he was able to use his gruff baritone to great effect to convey the twisted psyches of the "bad-guy" baritones. Amy Shuard joins him as Lady and is spectacular. It was a great surprise to me that she had such superb agility. She even manages an extremely transparent d flat at the end of the sleep walking scene which wavers slightly but that should be overlooked given the vocal risk she was taking trying to sing it as piano as she does. Franceso Molinari-Pradelli conducts. The sound is excellent. |
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3 Comments on Macbeth with Tito Gobbi & Amy Shuard »
December 16, 2009
Alexander Brehler @ 7:50 am:
Aria Macbeth : "Pieta rispetto amore" from this Performance missing ! (Gobbi was indisposed or no more into 'BELCANTO',- the reason that he never sang Count Luna in Il Trovatore ). I was very interested how he would interpret the Macbeth Aria, and was disapointed that he left the Aria out (onle the Rezitativ is here).
Anybody knows more about that ?
Dieskau (NOT an 'Italian Voice') on the other hand performs an very interessting MACBETH, together with the excellent Grace Bumbry (Salzburg), but my favorite Macbeth is from the Colon Radio, with Astrid Varnay and Josef Metternich ! "She really makes her Husband doing it !!! with the same magic and personality as she did as Ortrud to Telramund (again with Metternich, Radio), but on stage: with Varnay I experienced the same influence on Telramund and Elsa !
March 5, 2010
Brian Lowery @ 5:07 am:
I have this same recording, April 8, 1960, on BellaVoce and the big aria, "Pieta, respetto, amore" is missing. Otherwise it is quite good. The CD had brief liner notes and it called our the missing aria as cut 8 on the 2nd CD, but it is not there. A much better Macbeth is Opera Depot's 10316-2 with Paskalis, Barstow, and James Morris (as Banquo) The chorus of witches is the best on any recording!
May 13, 2010
Mike Begley @ 8:56 pm:
The aria was cut because Gobbi was ill that evening.