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Every week we offer 12 new titles available to stream for free
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: The Importance of Being Earnest (in Italian)
Andreolli, Misciano, Zanini, Adani; Campori. RAI, 1972
Compilation: Amy Shuard
Excerpts from Macbeth, Walküre, Götterdämmerung, Katya Kabanova, Tristan & more
Compilation: Anne Evans
Excerpts from Temistocle, Die Fledermaus, Dalibor, La Traviata, Lohengrin, Walküre, Elektra & Die Frau ohne Schatten
Compilation: Martina Arroyo in Concert
Amsterdam, 1967. BONUS: Martina Arroyo Sings Verdi
Mozart: Così fan tutte (In English)
Harwood, Baker, Curragh, Westi, Van Der Bilt, Shirley-Quirk; Gibson. Glasgow, 1969
Spotlight: George London
From Our Collectors
Five-Star Reviews
Opera lovers share their discoveries from the catalogue.
Very Good Uncut Performance, Excellent Sound!
“A lot of Frau aficionados may pass this performance by because the leading singers may not be familiar. Big mistake. They are excellent and easily match some of their better known colleagues. Winfried Zillig conducts a note complete performance for the Hessian Radio years before Sawallisch's complete studio set was made decades later.Kupper easily soars through the Empress' tessitura (including a spot on top D in her opening aria). If she isn't as intense as Rysanek dramatically, she sings the coloratura passages with greater ease. Diana Eustrati, a Greek mezzo who sang with several German houses for years, is a superb Nurse. Her voice easily encompasses the wide range of the role. Bensing's career was tragically cut short by an early death at 44. He sings the Emperor with security and imagination and is one of the few tenors who can clearly be heard on the role's final top C. Kronenberg is a strong Barak and Schluter a Dyer's Wife who doesn't wobble. It has to be admitted that by this time in her career she didn't have anything above a B-flat so she rewrites the vocal line quite a bit to accommodate that; Strauss would not have minded. A young mezzo named Christa Ludwig sings the voice of the Falcon. The sound is excellent with little or no distortion. A few brief passages (including the beginning of the final quartet) were patched in from another performance with other singers, but it's edited so skillfully you really have to be paying attention to detect them.”
John Stanton
“All principal singers here give iconic performances of these much recorded roles. Del Monaco and Stella are arguably better here than their later studio recordings. Del Monaco is at his vocal best, the voice beautifully resonant and expressive throughout. His Chenier is heroic and romantic, even sensual. Antoineltta Stella sings beautifully displaying why she was so popular with Italian audiences and a major opera star. Giuseppe Taddei, with his big beautiful voice, individual phrasing and vocal attack gives body to Gerard, and with a strong supporting cast and excellent sound this is a 'must have' version for fans of this opera.”
Wonderful Mefistofele
“This is a wonderful performance. The sound is good, the musical performance is full and exciting under Argeo Quadri, and the 4 leading roles are well taken. Hayashi is lovely as Elena, Chiara is a very communicative, involved performer and it is nice to have more than is commercially available from her. Buzea is a solid Faust and Ghiaurov is superb as Mefistofele. This was caught at the height of his vocal powers. Excellent!”
Only Frau in English
“I saw this production in Coventry when WNO toured it across the UK and still have strong visual memories of a basic, but very effective staging. WNO managed to assemble a stellar cast from (with the exception of Katsu) home grown talent, showing what a depth of resource opera had in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. All the performances are committed, strong and vocally persuasive: Tinsley is as characterful and tireless as ever as the Dyer's Wife, and Bailey is a warmly communicative Barak, both singing with great insight and strength. Anne Evans, then on her way to Brunnhilde, is a silvery Empress with deep reserves of power for the awakening scene. Patricia Payne really makes her mark as the Nurse and commands the huge range of the part with ease and if Katsu is a little wooden vocally, maybe that suits the part! All the minor parts are well filled (with a gourgeous tenor for the Apparition) and the orchestra plays superbly well under Richard Armstrong. Reservations? Well, the words do not always come across as clearly as you would like (Tinsley sadly at fault here) but maybe the blame lies with Strauss, rather than the singers. Having said that, it is a good translation, of which I have a copy and this is the only Frau in English ever likely to be available. I think it is wonderful, and well worth exploring. Sound is excellent.”
Lucrezia at last!
“Finally after all these years. I found a Sills Lucrezia in GREAT sound!Sills was in great voice for 1976 and Henry Price is so unrecorded,it was a pleasure to hear him again. I am so happy I found Opera Depot! Now if we can find an audible IL Trittico with Sills I would die a happy woman. No singer ever has moved me so. If you cannot find the Trittico I especially would love to own an audible Sour Angelica from Sills. All the ones I have are in horrible sound. Yet I still weep when I hear it. To have it in great sound would be sublime.Oh ...by the by. Some Marilla Devia would be wonderful if you could find some please. GRAZI guys!”
Carlos Kleiber proves the apple doesn't fall far from the tree
“Carlos Kleiber's father Erich had the honor of conducting the world premiere of Wozzeck in 1925, and although the two brought a very distinct voice to the works they led, Carlos shows that he inherited his father's understanding of the Second Viennese School”
Wonderful Magic Flute
“This is a wonderful live performance of MF. As usual, Prey is a great Papageno. I love his voice in any role but especially this one. Suitner is a great Mozart conductor and moves the performance quite nicely. Schreier and Carlyle are well suited and Mesple is an exciting Queen of the Night. The sound is also excellent. I only wish the dialogue was independently tracked but that may be asking too much for a live performance. For anyone who loves Magic Flute, you can't go wrong with this performance.”
A wonderful, historic performance
“Magda is amazing, Corelli terrific. I only vaguely knew the opera but it it has quickly become something I listen to frequently. This is probably due to the performances and the incredible, infectious reaction of the live audience.”
notes
“The orchestra: the NHK Symphony Orchestra = NHK交響楽団, from Tokyo. The NHKSO is regarded as the most elite orchestra in Japan. The choir: the selected members from Osaka College of Music and others."Osaka Festival Hall = 大阪フェスティヴァルホール" is the venue.”
memories of a glorious performance which i attended
“performance magnificent recording appalling side 3 tracks 8 and 9 bettertrack 10. lindholm a fabulously exciting singer whom i later saw as chrysothemis (twice) in edinburgh then as Isolde and Brunnhilde at rohcg. After 1982 she disappeared from our shores . Why? Ronnie Byrne Glasgow”
Joseph Brand
“This is as fine a Tristan as is possible. Following it with a full orchestral score one is amazed, firstly, by the accuracy of all concerned. The drama in Shuard’s interpretation draws you in to the character immediately, the narration and curse quite hair raising, the Liebestod ineffably lovely and moving. Dowd sings his role magnificently rising to all the challenges. Encouraged by the thrilling conducting of Davis the passage in act two when the two lovers rush into each other’s arms is overwhelming – I don’t think I’ve ever heard better. Add to that near perfect renditions of Brangaene, Kurwenal, Marke and the shepherd and the playing of the BBCSO and very good recording quality this is unmissable.”
Great Performance, Excellent Sound!
“This is as exciting and as well conducted an Aida as one can hope to hear. Certainly no Aida cast today could match what the singers in this performance accomplish. Arroyo could be a placid, uninteresting singer. Here she is not only involved, but sings like an angel in a role that suited her to a T. One never has to worry that the music will be too much for her. She meets everyone of Verdi's demands head on. She never got to record this role commercially; fortunately, Opera Depot has three recordings of it in excellent sound from which to choose. She is splendid in all of them.Domingo is so easy to take for granted. Radames, especially at this point in his career, was one of his best roles and he is in fine form. Cossotto is a terrific Amneris, bringing down the house after Act 4, scene 1. Cappuccilli, Ghiaurov, and Roni are superb in their roles and we have the luxury of having Piero De Palma as the messenger in the first scene and the young Josella Ligi as the priestess in the Temple Scene - talk about casting from strength!Abbado leads with authority, bringing out many details in the orchestration that I had forgotten about and pacing the opera like a champion. The sound is excellent.All lovers of Verdi and/or opera in general should have this recording!”
Mitreißende Aufführung
“Sicher, der Sound der 1970er Aufnahme ist besser als bei dieser aus dem Folgejahr, die Stimme der Lindholm kräftiger als die der Ligendza. Und doch packt mich die 1971er Aufführung mehr, vor allem die Paarung Cox-Ligendza steigert sich am Ende zu einem fulminanten Finale.”
Ein Fest der Stimmen
“Dies ist Verdi-Gesang vom Feinsten. Hier ist ein Sängerensemble versammelt, wie es man es heute in dieser Geschlossenheit leider nicht mehr zu hören bekommet. Dieser Trovatore ist ein muss für jeden Verdi- und stimmliebhaber. Die Studioproduktion der RCA unter Zubin Mehta aus dem Jahr 1970 ist vergleichbar, erreicht aber nicht diese Spannung. Eine Aufnahme für die einsame Insel. Die Mono-Aufnahme ist sehr gut und enspricht der Klangqualität des Rundundfunksstandards aus dieser Zeit.”
Shaun Greenleaf
“This sprawling work is captured in excellent radio sound with an all-Francophone cast including the very characterful Robert Massard and the fine Guy Chauvet. The women are less distinguished but do fine work and the piece is a lot of fun.”
Giancarlo Stampalia
“Finally a fresh Dernesch recording (there is precious little else around aside from the Karajan classics)! I cannot deny I am a fan of this singer and therefore not totally objective. But here, even detractors will have to concede, she is in peak form, clean and precise, and before any fatigue showed in her high register; in terms of weight and volume, absolutely perfect for Ewa. And already with that incredibly warm timbre (with melancholy inscribed in it) which would stand her in good stead a few years later and make her (as far as I am concerned) the ideal Isolde.The rest of the cast I would say is excellent, with Waldemar Kmentt just displaying his usual uneven voice production (some notes, especially in the low and medium register, come out uglier and gruffer than others); but, as a medium-weight tenor (not a heldentenor thank god), he conducts himself admirably.The sound of the recording is indeed excellent.”
Martin Ramor
“An excellent recording. Vivid conducting of Antal Dorati. BBC Symphony Orchestra in superb form. Lewis is very good in the title role. It is interesting how he manages the great aria Sur le monts. Carlyle amazing as Therese (just listen to first CD). Ward and Garrard and Veasey are all wonderful in their roles.”
David Inglis
“I agree entirely with James Mertens ! The cast ,of course, boasts a third Scot in Kenneth Macdonald ,singing some of Strauss’s hard tenor music easily and beautifully. I believe it was Mr. Macdonald’s modesty that prevented him having a greater career in leading roles.The rest of the cast reflect the very high standards of the resident Covent Garden company at the time. The close working relationship with Rudolf Kempe is also evident.”
Bounty of riches
“This is magnificent, as well as a very generous program by Rysanek and King, who are in their glory. She gives her best extant performance of "Suicidio!" and he proves equally adept in German and Italian opera. Conductor Kurt Eichorn throws in various orchestral extras, including the rarely heard Waltz Suite from Strauss' "Intermezzo." The stereo sound is beyond praise. Run, do not walk to get this.”
Varnay is fantastic and there are other assets as well
“All I need to say about Astrid Varnay is: she lives up to her reputation, and, this role is perfect for her: ultra-butch, incandescent, super-athletic, and e-e-e-e-evil. But she is not by any means the only asset.Other reviewers are criticizing Ivan Petroff for being "unremarkable", and tonight he's not flashy like Tito Gobbi or Renato Bruson, but he's very competent and sympathetic and, in his own scenes, commanding. In fact, I have the impression that he is making a deliberate decision to cede the center of attention to Astrid Varnay when she's on stage--for which he deserves extra credit, not criticism! He knows whom the audience paid to hear.Italo Tajo is similarly modest, conscious of his position as supporting cast. Tenor Gino Penno sings his brief aria impressively; he sounds like a smaller version of Richard Tucker. I'd love to hear him do a larger role.And the other big superstar here is Vittorio Gui. He leads a crisp, muscular performance, making the opera an action-thriller rather than a morality-play, and he keeps the singers together (almost) all the time, and avoids getting bogged down in the big ensembles, which for many other conductors are deadly quicksand.”
Bliss!
“Rysanek, Konya and Varnay are amazing. The entire recording is a blessing in every way. The conducting is certain, deliberate, and glorious. I'm utterly in love with Konya's voice. The drama is front and center here.”
ANGELES GULIN, A GREAT TURANDOT
“The first important thing of this recording is the arguably fine Turandot of Angeles Gulin. She was one of the most underrated sopranos of her generation and steadily avoided by the great record companies... Very few great sopranos tackled with this difficult role (Gina Cigna and Birgit Nilsson). The starry cast also features Placido Domingo (in his prime) as Calaf and Mirella Freni (in her prime, too) as Liu. Maestro Oliviero de Fabritiis shows himself a great conductor once again. A must for every opera aficionado/connoisseur! Thank you so much, my dear friends at Opera Depot! Thanks a lot, my dear friend Andy!”
James Mertins
“Varnay learned this role for the Royal Opera House and she was stunning, she always said she liked singing it in English more than the German because it felt right. I can still see her rushing out into the night with the baby in her arms in the old production at the ROH, after Varnay came Shuard and the underrated Pat Johnson.”
conductor, Location
“Here Come the almost complete Dates of this Performance:1/14/64: Don Giovanni: Philadelphia, Academy of Music (Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company), hour: 1945: stage directorAdolf Rott; set design Franco Zeffirelli; ballet master and choreographer Thomas Andrew; lightingdesign Nananne Porcher; assistant lighting design Elizabeth Holloway; furnishing Three Century,Ltd., Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; costumes Van Horn, Inc., Louis ValentinoDon Giovanni Cesare SiepiIl Commendatore Louis SgarroDonna Anna Ingrid BjönerDonna Elvira Diana DelmonteDon Ottavio Cesare VallettiLeporello Ezio FlagelloZerlina Ginetta La BiancaMasetto William Beckmaestro direttore George Schickmaestro del coro Rolando Fiore”
Les grandes années de la Rossini Renaissance
“Abbado toujours exemplaire dans Rossini, Horne dans un de ses meilleurs rôles à une époque où elle ne charge pas encore, Dara une référence . Montarsolo moins formidablement équipé que d'autres Mustafa connait son Rossini sur le bout des doigts, Alva peut-être un peu sur la fin et un peu limité reste un interprète impeccable .”
Confessions
“I have two things to confess, neither to my credit: first, I’ve always found Porgi Amor a bit dull. Secondly, I’ve never heard Margaret Price. How did I miss her? What a lovely, creamy soprano. I even enjoyed Porgi Amor, this time around.”
Correct cast
“David R made the astute observation, that Don Fernnado doesn't really sound like Nimsgern. Correct. Nimsgern undoubtedly sings Pizarro. A google search shows that Luigi Roni sang Fernando. Walter Berry is not featured at all in this recording.”
Rock
“Cavalleria was the first and arguably the greatest verismo opera. I thinkMascagni would have been pleased with this performance.* Souliotis stillhad plenty of voice left. She sang the role on the BBC and in Florence, Vienna,and London.The tenor is surprisingly good. The baritone is fine. Certainly better thanthe raspy-voiced Gobbi on the Decca/London recording. (I heard Gobbi in“Otello” with the Met in 1967. He sounded somewhat better in person thanon recordings.)*I never talked to Mascagni, but theoretically I could have. He was stillalive during my childhood.I think Andrew has underrated the sound. I would give it 5 stars. It isin Stereo.”
La Stupenda being, indeed, stupendous!
“Pre-Dame Joan (for the most part I think) in a terrific 2-disc sampling of her varied repertoire. Performance dates range from an early (1958) Carmelites to arias from Hoffmann in 1974 Sydney. She's joined in duets by Horne (Semiramide-1965) and Cossotto (Norma--1969) and by tenor Renato Cioni if wonderfully representative excerpts from a 1969 Buenos Aires Traviata. The two halves of the Lucia mad scene are from London and Edinburgh in 1959 and 1961. It's a great and representative program. Sound quality varies, of course. Dame Joan is, of course, her usual almost-perfect self in all. This collection is a real treat and will enhance the collection of any Opera Depot aficionado.”
A performance to remember
“Performances of the Wiener Staatsoper specially in the 70s and 80s were special, not only because of the mostly outstanding quality of the performances, but due to the dedication, knowledge and above all loyalty of the audience to their singers and conductors. This audience had favorites and Hans Beirer being Austrian has definitely been one of their beloved and adored favorites who couldn't do wrong.This Ringcycle, which was Birgit Nilsson’s last Ring in Vienna, was conducted by the largely underestimated Horst Stein, started with a just wonderful Rheingold, whose cast was an outstanding mixture of well-tried and fairly new to the part performers, for whom it was important to tell a story together. With the beginning of Die Walküre, there was a slowly and steadily increasing tension in the house. A tension one can often experience when two different ways of performing don’t match, but here in Vienna it was different. Hannelore Bode, who has had just a few months ago an overwhelming Bayreuth debut as Sieglinde and Hans Beirer, who no doubt had the stamina to sing the role and a reputation for not being precise. Hannelore Bode gave her outmost to fill out the part in her singing, acting, looks ... name it; she basically performed all around Hans Beirer, who basically stood and sang. Unfortunately the reaction of the audience at the end of the first act is missing.Birgit Nilsson had cancelled her participation in Die Walküre, which was regrettable on a variety of reasons; one: just a few months ago she performed an amazing Walküren Brünnhilde and proved that she was still capable and furthermore; it would have been her last Walküren Brünnhilde in Vienna. Siegfried came, amazing performance, amazing cast and then came Götterdämmerung with Birgit Nilsson's last Götterdämmerung’s Brünnhilde in Vienna and with Hans Beirer as Siegfried. As mentioned, Hans Beirer had a reputation for not being precise and in the third act has finally crossed the conductor’s pain threshold in entering in a crucial moment three bars too early. Fortunately Horst Stein had the presence of mind to keep the performance running in using a short general break for silencing Hans Beirer and for refocusing and mainly in taking over Siegfried’s line: ‚Trink Gunther, trink…‘ after which Hans Beirer finished the phrase with’… Dein Bruder bringt es Dir.’ - The voice you hear is not the voice of the prompter, it is the voice of the conductor in the successful attempt to keep the show running. Couple of years before that, Hans Beirer entered in a gala performance of Fidelio in Berlin completely wrong, so that the performance had to stop. Loren Maazel was not capable in catching the error. Funny enough this had been another performance with Birgit Nilsson.From that moment on, one could no longer ignore the tension, which started to build in the first act of Walküre, in which irreconcilable ways of performing clashed. One could feel that quite a part of the audience couldn't wait for the performance to finish - so immensely was their desire in commenting what happened. In a way, it was absurd; Birgit Nilsson one of the, probably THE Brünnhilde of her time sang knowingly her last immolation scene at the Wiener Staatsoper, probably her summary of her many years of experience with this role on all the big stages and partners, so deeply touching - and part of the audience just couldn’t wait to avenge one of their own who has in their opinion been so wronged…! Birgit Nilsson completed the immolation scene, followed by the overwhelming closing music, brilliantly conducted by Horst Stein and performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker and then - mild applause, ovations for Birgit Nilsson, demonstrative applause from one part of the audience followed by a booing storm for Horst Stein, which one could have experienced only in Vienna in that period of time. (The only exception I have experienced was the dreadful and hateful reaction of the audience during and at the end of the first cycle of the Chéreau / Boulez Ring in Bayreuth. )On the one hand there were the loyal fans of their singers at the Wiener Staatsoper, who felt the need to defend one of theirs, on the other hand the part of the audience who were thankful for Horst Stein being so in charge through an out of the ordinary challenging Ring; Birgit Nilsson's last Ring in Vienna, Hans Beirer like from another time, young fresh performers like Hannelore Bode and Peter Hofmann - the dream couple of the Bayreuth Ring just a couple of months ago (interesting enough in Vienna Peter Hofmann sang Loge) and an exceptional mentally strong Horst Stein at the conductor's desk. - Unfortunately the reaction of the audience, their applause and boos is not included in the recording. Not only the performance was to remember.Thank you Andrew for uploading this remarkable performance!”
A Dynamic Duo + One
“I saw GIlda Cruz-Romo and Mignon Dunn several times (together and separately) in the 1970s and early 1980s at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and at the Teatro de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. I only saw them together with Carlo Bergonzi once, Aida at the Met in November, 1978. That was a fabulous evening. This performance is even better. Mackerras has a better grasp of the score than Patane, the conductor of the Met performance, and the soloists were all in better voice. I was always fond of Dunn's Amneris and it is displayed here in its full-throated glory. Cruz-Romo remains one of my favorite Verdi sopranos and it is such a shame that much lesser sopranos made dozens of mediocre studio recordings during the height of her career. Bergonzi is always an elegant singer, though incapable of communicating the drama of the moment in the same dynamic way Cruz-Romo and Dunn were able to do. No matter; his voice was still capable of producing the beautiful tone and line for which he was justly famous. The sound is better than most live broadcasts of the era. All in all an excellent performance.”
A great opportunity to hear a masterpiece
“This opera is a truly neglected masterpiece. It is as great as Janacek’s other operas such as Jenufa, the Cunning Little Vixen and From the House of the Dead, and to boot the plot is as zany as they come, typical of the composer, with time and space travel, probably the first science fiction opera. I have the Jilek recording on Supraphon and the BBC recording on Deutsche Grammaphon, and this one is right there with them, no surprise given the man at the helm. I did not know this recording existed until I saw it listed with Opera Depot, but once known I had to get it. It’s great to hear it in English, not all operas transfer well to it, but I think this one works. The sound is excellent. While my favorite recording overall is the BBC one, that is getting harder to find, while OD makes this one readily available. If you enjoy Janacek, getting this opera is a must.”
Stockholm's first Elektra nine years later - matured and refined
“In 1965, Stockholm finally got to see Strauss's opera when Birgit Nilsson undertook its title role. Nine years later in Edinburgh four of the protagonists, the same conductor and orchestra repeated it after occasional revivals in Stockholm during the intervening years. Nilsson at 56 may sound a little more edgy, but still the era's best Elektra. Lindholm is now 40 and not 31 which is an advantage both soundwise and for mastery of the character, and the others remain excellent. That the show has become well-oiled and less nervous is just to the good, and certainly the occasion of a guest performance at an international festival made everyone concentrate. And the theatre is small enough for projecting the psychological drama. I saw the 1965 performance and several revivals, and this Edinburgh version may be the best the production ever had, here in reasonable mono broadcast sound.”
Captivating
“Agree with all the positive comments here. I bought this for Price & Wunderlich but was captivated by the rest of the cast, too, including the Zerlina, a singer unknown to me. David M.'s comment on Waechter's Don is spot on. The orchestral sound in this mono recording shifts between muddy and oddly imbalanced. But the voices come thru clearly. And what voices!”
A deep and dark Macbeth
“Taddei's great performance with serious intubating tones,very deep and credible. Amy Shuard very penetrating, versatile, with many harmonics exceptionally in "La luce langue". Previtali, with the exception of some irregularities in the first act, led well with the support and highlighting of the moments of tension. Almost good sound considering it was live.Thank a lot again Operadepot!”
Exciting performances of Inge Borkh and Martha Mödl
“"Ich seh´s an deinen Augen, an deinem Zittern..." - For me, one of the most exciting parts of this record. I had the honour to see Miss Mödl in her last role: Mother Bazouge in "Gervaise Macquart" (G.Klebe) in Düsseldorf!”
A vintage performance.
“This great cast brought Die Fledermaus to life. Highlights are Valerie Masterson as Adele & Ann Hood as Prince Orlovsky both showing their extensive experience in operetta. The recorded sound is of a good calibre. A pleasure to listen to.”
something to add to my previous comment
“I posted a comment while I was still on vacation, and since then I have the recording and have listened to it. It's interesting to compare the recording to my memory (albeit from almost sixty years ago) of the performance. At the performance Souzay and the young Horne were definitely received by the audience as "stars", and Valletti was an also-ran, despite the elegance of his performance. The large hall (the pre-remodeled Northrup Auditorium at the University of Minnesota, where the orchestra played before its present hall was built) was not kind to him and his voice simply didn't have the presence in the room that Horne's and Souzay's did. Souzay also had a more flamboyant performance personality going for him, quite suitable to the Devil, and was clearly having a lot of fun--the Devil always has so much fun! It's interesting that on the recording Valetti (for me) comes off far the best, and Souzay's personality (and even some of his voice) doesn't come across, at least compared to my memory of the performance. To whomever did this recording, many thanks (and to Opera Depot). I was young and full of eagerness, and to get to sing in the chorus on stage with these soloists and orchestra was wonderfully exciting, and a strong experience in my then very young musical life. I had no idea the performance existed in a recording, and it's a real treasure for me to have.”
Edmund
“this was much more enjoyale than I expected,the sensation is Angelo lo Forese as Raoul an unbelievable and ideal mixture of Gedda and Corelli noth of whom I know from recordings of live performances of this opera Diaz is excellent and so is the Urbain of Chamorro a name new to me and a first class singer. Tarres is very hit and miss at th etop but still exciting,the cuts are many and large including all of act 5,but under the more than competent Savini this was a really unexpected Christmas treat”
A broad spectrum from England to Russia
“The double album covers two decades of Jon Vickers' operatic career (1957-1976) and offers a broad cross-section: Beethoven, Berlioz, Verdi, Britten, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Leoncavallo, Wagner. Although he has always sung very powerfully, his voice seems to have changed little: His Siegmund of 1961 sounds just as fresh as his Tristan of 1976. A rarity is the eruptive aria of Hermann, on the verge of madness, from Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades," sung in English.However, the technical quality is not good in several pieces. But in any case it is enough to give a realistic picture of his vocal power.”
A triumphant Welsh National Opera 'Die Walküre' under Sir Reginald Goodall
“This is a truly magnificent and uplifting Wagner performance. No devotee of Sir Reginald Goodall’s Wagner should be without it. I managed to attend many of Reggie's Wagner performances between 1970 and 1984, but his Cardiff performances of ‘The Valkyrie’ were among the most exhilarating. The interpretation and casting were/are excitingly different from the excellent EMI recording based on three ENO performances at the London Coliseum in December 1975, which benefited from even better recording quality and great performances by Norman Bailey, Alberto Remedios, Rita Hunter, Margaret Curphey, Ann Howard, Clifford Grant, and the ENO orchestra (I attended one of these as well). The special qualities of the Welsh National Opera performances in Cardiff plus a concert performance in Swansea’s acoustically outstanding Brangwyn Hall (exceptionally, I attended three of these performances) included not only the extraordinary energy that Reggie mustered at the age of 83, but also the extent to which he managed to radically rejuvenate and revitalise his interpretation to match his relatively lithe and youthful cast, most of whom were singing these roles for the first time.”
Boyd Cathey
“A young Jose Carreras sang the lead tenor role in this 1974 Berlin performance, while Placido Domingo sang performances in Vienna. The Domingo performance has appeared in an official commercial CD release on Orfeo and is urgently recommended. This Berlin performance offers us Carreras , in stellar and plangent voice, with Agnes Baltsa, in equally fine voice. IL GIURAMENTO is perhaps Saverio Mercadante's finest stage work, and deserves more familiarity and more presentations in the world's opera houses. Despite a convoluted plot, the music and Mercadante's ability to make his characters come alive, places this work above others in his oeuvre. There are two remarkable arias for the lead tenor and a superb final denouement/scene that compares well with Verdi. The sound is good broadcast sound. The more I listen to IL GIURAMENTO the higher I value it. Recommended.”
Perhaps my favorite Tristan
“This is, I believe, my favorite recording of Tristan. The music washes over you in the prelude; the lines are beautifully sculpted. This is a very dramatic orchestra. Ligendza is fully captivating as Isolde. Really a wonderful cast all around.”
Charles
“As you can see by my email address, Salome is one of my favorite operas. I heard ALL of Nilsson’s Salomes at the Met. In this live performance at Buenos Aires she is nothing short of a miracle. The voice is on fire here. Blazing top notes, fantastic middle and bottom range. With her maturity she manages to sound young. And what an actress on this night, she is utterly amazing. She said she does not like her studio recordings. This live performance was on of her favorites on record. God bless you Birgit. Rest in peace. You have left a recorded legacy for all the world to marvel at.”
Das Rheingold
“RECORDING IS GOOD. KARAJAN, THE ORCHESTRA AND IN GENERAL THE SINGERS ARE MAGNIFICENT. THE GERMAN STYLE OF KARAJAN, REMEMBER HANS KNAPPERTSBSCH. THIS VERSION I QUALIFY IT AS EXCELLENT.”
Brian Morgan
“This 1976 performance of "La fanciulla del West" (in very clear sound) is a record of the only time the great Anja Silja sang the rôle of the heroine, Minnie. The singing-actress seemed to always relish a new challenge, and--without the semblance of an Italianate voice--she triumphs in the part, and is absolutely unique in her portrayal.Róbert Ilosfalvy will be best remembered by collectors as the title rôle in Beverly Sills' 1969 studio recording of Donizetti's "Roberto Devereux." Sir Charles Mackerras conducts that set, as well as the performance under review, where he leads an exciting account of Puccini's opera set in the Wild West.”
FIRST CLASS! SUPERB!
“Schwarzkopf is impeccable, vocal perfection in legato and tireless in scale. Curiously and sadly, Konstanze’s first aria, “Ach, ich liebte” is cut. Loose is charming, with earthy low tones, pealing high tones. Dermota possesses one of the sweetest, most intrinsically beautiful timbres, matched by superior musicianship. Klein is a hard put-put upon Pedrillo, but fills out the quartet attractively. Alsen’s alpine bass is a marvel. Moralt gives a seamless, atmospheric reading, alternately elegiac and energetic. Am I imagining moments foreshadowing “Fidelio”?! Sound excellent.”
richard inverne
“Point of information: Andy doesn't seem to have specified the conductor, who was ANTON GUADAGNO. I saw McCracken's Otello (with Gobbi) at Covent Garden as a young teenager in the mid-'60s...and was blown away!”
