Here are the items that we found.
Featured Artist
Sylvia Fisher
This week, I came across a fascinating series of recordings featuring the great Australian soprano Sylvia Fisher.
Fisher was beloved for her gleaming, silvery soprano, ideally suited to the demands of Richard Wagner, as well as for the clarity of diction that made her an ideal proponent of Britten’s operas, particularly in the title role of Gloriana. Her recorded legacy is comparatively limited, making surviving broadcasts and live performances especially valuable documents of an important dramatic soprano.
Sylvia Fisher
New Titles Added
120 New "Coming Soon" Titles
I have added 120 new titles to our “Coming Soon” collection, including several recordings that have never been available before.
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Bach (J.C.): Lucio Silla
Gaifa, Geszty, Varady, Hermann; Kehr. Schwetzingen, 1974
Britten: Albert Herring
MaCDonald, Fischer, Sinclair, Vyvyan; Davies. English Opera Group, 1962
Britten: Gloriana
Fisher, Hillman, Garrard, Hammond-Stroud, Andrew; Bernardi. Aldeburgh, 1968
Charpentier: Louise
Neblett, Alexander, Devlin, Bible, Riegel, Densen; Wendelkon-Wilson. 1971
Massenet: Thaïs
Pilou, Edwards, Riegel; Buckley. Miami, 1976
Spotlight: Ernst Kozub
From Our Collectors
Five-Star Reviews
Opera lovers share their discoveries from the catalogue.
The one! The only! La Olivero!
“Olivero and Giacomini are white hot! Their unbridled abandon, passionate, vengeful, is beyond any human scale. Does knowing Giacomini is half Olivero’s age add to the eroticism? Giordano’s score is cinematic under Scaglia.”
GLORIOUS
“And exciting too. I've never been so caught up in the action of act 3 as in this performance. It blazes from start to finish. Dame Gwyneth and Rene Kollo are magnificent, and Donald McIntyre is superb too, as is the playing of the fabulous orchestra. Yes, it's relatively fast, but everything about it is right - the ebb and flow, the tender, quiet passages throughout, the thunderous opening of act 3 and the edge of your seat wonder and excitement of Brunnhilde's awakening and the final duet.”
Excellent Beginning to a Fine Cycle!
“Heinz Wallberg does not waste any time. His tempos are fast and to the point yet he tells the story without cheating anything. His singers all know their roles well and are fully involved in the drama. Hotter is no longer in his vocal prime, but it hardly matters so authoritative is he. Boese sings Fricka well though she doesn't do a lot with the text. Pernerstorfer is also past his vocal best, but he still manages a bitter, well-articulated account of his role. Uhl is a superb Loge, both giants are distinctive, and Hoffgen shows why she was considered the world's best Erda at the time. The Rhinedaughters make an uncommonly strong trio (Myrtha Gabbarini has a strong top C for the climaxes). The sound is excellent, unintentionally exposing the mediocre orchestral playing.I'm looking forward to the rest of this cycle!”
Performance Site Confirmed as Philadelphia
“For the record: the performance took place on April 7, 1967 by the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company at the Academy of Music. The verification comes from Frank Hamilton's meticulously researched Opera in Philadelphia annals, backed up by the cast announcement in the April 2, 1967 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer.”
Thrilling Wagner from post war Bayreuth
“Wow, I absolutely loved this and listened to the entire cycle in three days. Keilberth’s pacy conducting is not within shading and the epic majesty of Siegfried’s Funeral March and the final conflagration are fantastic, in remarkably good sound for a broadcast over 70 years old. The cast is splendid with Hermann Uhde’s youthful Rheingold Wotan giving way to Hans Hotter’s authority in Die Walküre and Siegfried, Astrid Varnay in prime voice, with little scooping, as Brünnhilde, Bernd Aldenhoff’s clear voiced young Siegfried giving way to the moving if late authority of Max Lorenz in Götterdämmerung, Josef Greindl magnificently baleful as Hunding and Hagen, Ludwig Weber gloriously lyrical as Fasolt, Gunther Treptow an impassioned if sometimes strained Siegmund and Inge Borkh rapturously beautiful as Sieglinde. Is the Walküre Fricka sung by Ruth Siewert not Ira Malaniuk as listed? It sounds like her Götterdämmerung Waltraute and the Bayreuth online archives would seem to corroborate that impression. The MP3s are an absolutely bargain (I’m learning to embrace streaming) and I am sure I will revisit this recording many times in the future.”
Daniel Zara
“Without Wagner’s specially crafted, gravel-chewing, pseudo-quasi-Ur-Deutsch, the monster Fairy Tale loses a few clicks of Menace and Spookiness but gains a sort of close-up familiarity: certainly “kinder, friendlier”, this Brit-sung-Saga. and wonderfully sung. This Cycle is loaded with great voices–and The Wanderer of Don Garrard is especially notable. Too bad the Valkyrie 1st Act finale is so inartfully chopped up.”
Karl Heinz Konrad
“Eine selten aufgeführte Oper die unter die Haut geht. Vor allem kann man verstehen was in der Handlung passiert, da Deutsch gesungen wird. Die Sänger sind alle beeindruckend wobei Dvorakova besonders hervor zu heben ist.”
Surprising Scotto
“I knew Scotto as a very sensitive singer and fine musician in the 70' and 80', and also a young, "not-yet completely finished" voice, but vibrant and incredibly talented in the 50', but I didn't know how beautiful, rich, firm, controlled, intense Scotto's voice was in the 60', one of the most beautiful I've heard.”
Leonore
“What an evening this must have been. The cast throw themselves into the piece with abandon and with Mackerras in charge it's a thrilling performance. I always loved Pauline Tinsley's singing and she does not disappoint, with heroic sound plus the necessary agility for the title role. No weak links in the cast and all in good sound.”
Beaut
“Years ago, I played Giulio Cesare for a non-opera-loving friend. “This is opera?” she said. “But it’s…pretty!” So just remember baroque opera is the gateway drug. I love this recording, especially Caballe. I’m used to a contralto Caesar, but I cottoned on to Paksalis very quickly. The sound is recessed—the principals are in another room—but clear. Turn up the gain you’ll be fine. Somebody somewhere is singing his recitative in English. Isn’t he? Someone tell me I’m not imagining this.”
Hildegaard Kiel
“I had just arrived in the UK 3 months prior, and it so happened, that for half-a-crown I managed to get a seat in the (I believe) fifth tier at Covent Garden for Joan Sutherland’s performance on 17FEB59. It was – as you said – completely dazzling! Not only her singing was “out of this world” but the entire stage scene during the madscene looked like a Rembrand painting having come alive! Already the following day Lucia di Lammermoor was broadcast over the network in London!With profound thanks for the 26FEB59 CD recording, H. Kiel”
Boulez Bayreuth1976
“Singers ? 10/10, orchestra ? 10/10. Boulez ? better than the official recording ! Audience ? Living but very few noise (bouh and so on), sound Better tha the official recording.Thanks Opera Depot”
Gene in LA
“I had the good fortune to see the New York City Opera’s production in L.A., with Norman Bailey as Sachs, Johanna Meier as Eva and the great, greatly-missed John Alexander as Walther. Julius Rudel conducted. I believe NYCO was borrowing the English National Opera production, done in Andrew Porter’s English as The Mastersinger. It was quite possibly the greatest single opera performance I’ve ever seen.”
Die Meistersinger - Beecham 1951
“Wonderful Beechanm Performance in good sound for its time. Shame Act 3 was never recorded but what we have is outstanding. Grummer is a great Eva. Also exc value for money as always”
Brian Morgan
“This 1963 Concert Version for Cologne radio of "Il tabarro" is fascinating. Immediately, it reminds one of the 1966 studio recording of excerpts from the same composer's "Tosca," for Decca, also sung in Italian translation, with Anja Silja as the prima donna.Helga Pilarczyk, celebrated particularly for her important interpretations of the works of Schoenberg and Berg, is an unexpected choice for the rôle of the hapless Giorgetta, but is a success nevertheless. The Kammersängerin does not provide the visceral thrill and catharsis of the great Italian sopranos, like Magda Olivero and Renata Scotto, in this music. Rather, the German artist provides a searing psychological penetration of the character with a precise examination of the score. As with the aforementioned Decca recording of "Tosca," this performance has an Expressionistic slant which is intriguing and extraordinary.The Heldentenor Ernst Kozub, principally remembered for his Erik in Otto Klemperer's 1968 recording of "Der fliegende Holländer" (with Theo Adam and Silja) is a marvel as Luigi. Despite such a large, dark voice, he sings for far more dynamics than the average tenor, and Marcel Cordes roars splendidly, like the dragon Fafner, as Michele. The mellifluous voice of Erwin Wohlfahrt is heard in the secondary part of the Song-seller, and Alberto Erede conducts con slancio. Opera Depot's pressing is exemplary.”
1957
“In fact, a few years after the opera's premiere, Rossini created a version for a baritone Iago, and that became the most frequently performed version for the rest of the 19th century. So, if this recording uses Rossini's version (I have no way of knowing), there's nothing inauthentic about the baritone Iago. However, to enjoy this--and I do recommend it--you really do have to be prepared for what it is: the goal in 1957, when this opera was totally unknown, appears to have been to do whatever it took to present as much of the opera's best music as possible, while cutting as much as possible of everything else. This includes some drastic and musically unnatural resequencing and even the transfer of some music from one character to another. Recitativo is cut to the barest of minimums. As a result, the flow and pacing of scenes is sometimes quite different from what Rossini had in mind, and at times the opera also becomes dramatically odd--for example, this version ends abruptly with the murder of Desdemona. In addition, the overall feel of the performance emphasizes passion over grace, so this becomes a very Verdian take on Rossini's music. All of this said, though, if you can accept it for what it is, and forget about what it isn't, this is really a quite wonderful performance.”
Theodore Shulman
“I have spent many years looking for a recording with a baritone who does an adequate job of singing the role of Count Almaviva. It's so hard to play this role convincingly--you have to be aloof, but also passionately angry; nasty and manipulative, but also sympathetic during the aria at the beginning of Act 3. Tito Gobbi is the first I have heard who meets all these requirements. After listening to his masterful performance as Don Giovanni under Furtwangler (1950), I had high expectations, and he does not disappoint. He has the snarling vocal muscle and also the precision and virtuosity necessary for the part, as well as the acting ability.The other members of the cast are very good as well, particularly Sir Geraint Evans as Figaro, and Mirella Freni as Susanna. Solti sometimes goes a bit too fast during the ensembles for my taste, but for the most part he does a good job.This is one of the two recordings of FIGARO which I consider essential; the other is the live recording from Aix-en-Provence (1956), conducted by Hans Rosbaud, with Teresa Stich-Randall as the Countess, Rita Streich as Susanna, and the great Rolando Panerai as Figaro.”
Joseph Brand
“This is an amazing performance in very good sound. The dramatic quality shoots straight out of the speakers while the quality of the singing leaves the majority of today’s performers standing. Shuard’s battle cry will make your hair stand on end. Pinpointedly accurate with stunning top C’s and B’s in a shining silvery sound with not an ounce of vibrato. Much of the role lays fairly low and again the beauty of her phrasing and dramatic understanding make it a most moving and feminine assumption. Matching her with a creamy legato is Jones’s Sieglinde – one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard – and I think her first. Both Shuard and Jones bring an Italianate bel canto approach to their roles. These are great interpretations. Kozub, like Shuard, an unfairly underrated performer is a strong Siegmund whose powerful baritonal tenor can still shade into a gentle mezza voce as in the Zauberfest monologue. David Ward is a subtle and at times frightening Wotan whose beautiful bass voice is beautifully scaled to the demands of the role. Add to this the excellent Fricka and Hunding of Veasey and Langdon and Solti at his theatrical best (so much better than the famous recording) this set, live opera at its very best is highly recommended.”
Martin Ramor
“It's a very nice Ring. Orchestra and conducting are great. Cox, Adam, Wolfarth and Kniplova are wonderful. Katz very good compared with great majority of Siegmunds nowdays, however he lacks power in Waelse, Waelse if we compare him with Melchior or Suthaus or Forbis some 13 years ago. I didn't like Hillebrecht as Sieglinde since she is a bit breathless, but generally this is Ring worth having in my collection.”
Thrilling performance
“Horst Stein is sometimes thougth of as a safe but not the most exciting of conductors. Here however he strikes thrilling form. The performance takes off from the start. Thomas Stewart a wonderful Wotan and as his daughter Berit Lindholm is superb. Often singing at the same time as the mighty Nilsson were we inclined to overlook the glories of Lindholm ? Was there ever a more pasionate Sieglinde than Gwyneth Jones (dont think so) partnered with the excellent Helge Brilioth this recording should be in the collection of every Wagner lover. The sound is excellent.”
Super!
“Loved this performance which fairly zips along. Wunderlich is, well, wunderlich and the rest of the cast keep up. Some listeners have been critical of the band, but they seem fine to me!”
"ANTONIETTA STELLA"
“Antonietta Stella was one of the finest sopranos of her generation and matched, for instance, Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto and Montserrat Caballe'. Unfortunately, she was underrated and overlooked by the great recording companies. This is a great compilation featuring and starring Antonietta Stella at her best. Highly recommended!”
A Neblett show
“Excellent performance. Though Anton Guadagno was not a Wagner specialist, he was a good and experienced conductor who knows how to to manage an opera. The orchestra and especially the choir are not Bayreuth level but they made an acceptable job. William Wildermann is a good but not very good Daland and the two tenors are also fine. Fortunately there are two real stars who make this performance really extraordinary. Carol Neblett and Norman Bailey belong to the best Sentas and Dutchmen I have ever heard. Bailey’s voice is perfect for the Dutchman and he is able to express all the nuances of this role. But the true hero of this performace is Carol Neblett a few years before her MET debut in the same role. She is simple shining. A wonder. Listening her singing and acting I don’t understand why she didn’t become a superstar. Due to her production this performance is really a treasure. Highly recommended.”
John Stanton
“Carol Neblett and Franco Bonisolli creat a potent chemistry here. She is a sweet voiced and vulnerable Mimi, her disappointment and anger with Johnson at his deceit movingly alloyed with sadness and conflict. It is a moving potrtait achieved without over emphasis or histrionics. Bonisolli is a masculine and sensual Johnson. Their's is a wonderful partnership. Guelfi, one of the preeminent baritones of the 50's and 60's is Rance. Here his voice is worn and unsteady, but retains considerable power, although he is tediously loud. A shadow of his former self. The rest of the cast is good and Varviso conducts with attention to the ebb and flow of the drama.The sound is well balanced and of high quality.”
Chad Marcel
“Magical RING from Karajan and Company. My first RING was Karajan's studio version. After all these years, it was wonderful to hear the corresponding live performances. They're even more compelling than the studio counterparts.”
SANTI & MASNADIERI A HEAVENLY MATCH
“Once your ear adjusts to the sonics, this is a performance to be treasured. The singing is solid Verdi in the grand tradition. La Deutekom is incomparable, Moldoveanu & Zancanaro provide the requisite testasterone AND NELLO SANTI proves again that he is without a doubt the finest Italian conductor of the late 20th C. There are a few pitch issues (the last 2 tracks were very sharp!) but that can be corrected and is a small price to pay for having this exciting performance of a seldom heard Verdi opera in one's library.”
Rigoletto
“What a great performance? MacNeil owns the role among baritones of my time and here in his prime he was great. Gencer has a bigger and richer sound than most Gildas( remember Toscanini record the fourth act with Milanov) and her singing is thrilling. And Raimondi is a fine Duke. All in all a superb performance”
The “Aida” to return to beyond all others
“I often return to this fabulous performance and marvel at my luck; I was seventeen when I saw this revival. Mignon Dunn, good, was replacing Christa Ludwig at short notice (at my performance Amneris was the woefully overparted Ann Howard). But the reasons I revisit this performance are Charles Mackerras, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Carlo Bergonzi (and Kiri Te Kanawa). You have only to listen to the pointing of the wind playing in the dances to realise the special, Toscaninian, detail that Mackerras brought to the score; and the power he elicits from strings and brass in later scenes is superlative. (His 1974 “Otello” with Cossutta, Te Kanawa, and Cappucilli was also classic.) Cruz-Romo and Bergonzi also sang “Forza” (1975) and “Ballo” together at Covent Garden: I find her like a superior Tebaldi here and remain amazed the recording companies did not pursue her. The final scene with Bergonzi is, just as I remember, sublime, even when you compare it to other illustrious couples on record. Bergonzi, a terrible physical actor, is at his vocal and expressive peak here; the ending of Act Three - so firm! - remains beautiful, heroic, thrilling. Mackerras’s effect on the whole cast is wonderful: I remember a queeny regular exclaiming grandly (and correctly) “Gwynne Howell’s singing like a GOD; and Forbes Robinson’s singing as I’ve NEVER heard him sing BEFORE.” The young Te Kanawa was already a name, and the lustre of her voice as the Priestess remains incomparably beautiful here.”
Richard di Calatrava awards five stars!
“Well, this is just marvellous!I had (quite coincidentally) been listening on YouTube to the 1987 ENO Proms performance of Act Three, in English and conducted by Sir Reginald Goodall, and wishing that the whole production was available. Imagine my delight when -barely a fortnight later...this turned up!Andy finds that 'Lionel Friend appears to draw on the Goodall school of Wagner conducting'. That's because Mr. Friend at that time was one of ENO's formidable and highly-respected House Conductors, who could be called upon to conduct anything and everything...and did a very fine job of it too! Friend actually assisted Goodall on the musical preparation for this 1986 production, and I assume that Goodall was unwell for this broadcast; Friend takes over with confident aplomb and with qualities for which no apology has to be made! In fact, he went on to a splendid international career. Check out this biography: https://lionelfriend.com/biography.htmAs for the cast, there is little but joy here: Gwynne Howell's peerless, worldly-wise Gurnemanz (what a sonorous bass he had!), Neil Howlett's agonised Amfortas (Howlett was ENO's leading Verdi baritone at that time; also a great Scarpia, Golaud, Jochanaan and Dutchman), Rodney Macann's really nasty -but beautifully sung-Klingsor (I remember his dramatic King Priam for Kent Opera), Anne Evans's rare Kundry - a real tour-de-force!), the more-than-dependable Dennis Wicks as Titurel, and a host of familiar ENO names amongst the supporting cast. Only Warren Ellsworth's Parsifal is -for me- less than completely satisfying. He has the right voice, he has wonderful dramatic involvement, he has the charisma for a Wagnerian hero...so what is it? Well, as I found with Welsh National Opera's Walkure (conducted by Goodall and also starring Anne Evans's first Brunnhilde), Mr. Ellsworth -who was tragically to die at only 42- sometimes indulges in a (slight) scoop; more a sort-of little forcing of the note (for dramatic emphasis?) It's not terribly bothersome, and not enough to remotely considering docking a star(!) but -for me- it does slightly mar the whole experience.As could be expected from English National Opera "in those days", diction is mainly above average and -especially in a static opera like Parsifal- it really helps when you can understand what Gurnemanz is burbling on about in those 15-minute monologues!I have thought long and hard before sharing my final thoughts with other enthusiasts...but I will take the plunge. For me, and despite my purely-personal reservations with Ellsworth, this is simply one of the most wonderful performances of Parsifal one could ever wish to experience. Don't hesitate...please!”
Corelli als Jose ist immer ein Erlebnis
“Corelli als Jose ist unübertroffen und hier ist eine von seinem besten späteren Carmen.Cortez und Bruscantini machen tolles Job auch, Oliviero De Fabritiis ist ,wie immer, absolut perfekt.Sound ok( es gibt keinen besonderen Wahl - entweder sind die Sängern gut oder ist das Sound gut. Seltener trifft das sich zusammen)”
David Inglis
“It is wonderful to hear this performance again after all these years! I think Georg Solti was at the peak of his powers then and the cast is ideal. Sena Jurinac is excellent as the Marschallin and Josephine Veasey sings beautifully and passionately as Oktavian. Michael Langdon captures every aspect of Ochs’s character and above them all soars Joan Carlyle’s Sophie with magical high notes, but also with a vivid character. Finally, there is the joy of Kenneth Macdonald’s Singer a beautifully sung cameo!”
Seek no farther
“Sir Michael Tippett's most accessilbe opera, "King Priam," is angular and fast-moving. However, it doesn't 'play itself,' as performances with lesser casts have demonstrated. For this world premiere, Covent Garden fielded its first team, headed by Forbes Robinson's stalwart protagonist. Richard Lewis is a standout as Achilles, and the combination of Marie Collier, Margreta Elkins and Josephine Veaaey in the female leads speaks for itself. John Pritchard tucks into the score with gusto and the result is a performer that ought to satisfy opera fans who think of Tippett as knotty and inscrutable (a reputation that he did a lot to perpetuate). Highly recommended.”
A frontrunner among recorded Don Giovanni's
“The performance took place either in late September or October 1975 at the Palais Garnier (Théâtre National del’Opéra), Paris. The cast was the best that could be gathered for this work at that time. Nobody disappoints, and Te Kanawa even exceeds one's expectations with her nuanced characterisation and at times quite subtle and meaningful word pointing (as in the recitative preceding "Mi tradi"), while Burrows is heard here at his very best as Ottavio, mellifluous yet ardent and virile (both his arias won huge ovations), surpassing their own selves in the Philips studio recording conducted by Colin Davis. Charles Mackerras let the singers apply appoggiaturas at the appropriate places as well as ornamentations. His traversal is marked by flexibility of tempos and rhythmic acuity, allowing enough room for the singers to breathe and make their expressive points. Raimondi, Te Kanawa and Moser would appear a few years later in the film directed by Joseph Losey, but here they are heard in fresher voice and more vivid, spontaneous vein. The sound is excellent for a live recording of this vintage, with the voices having a clear and forward presence. Overall, a great buy and a frontrunner among recorded Don Giovanni's.”
Ronald Dowd as Siegmund
“This was my first purchase from Opera Depot and made specifically to hear Ronald Dowd again (he left few if any recordings). He was the first opera singer I heard live (in 1958) and remained a favourite until he left the UK in 1972. I often worried his voice would be too light for the more heroic parts he took (Aeneas, Samson etc) but was invariably won over by his wholehearted performances. The same applied here and I was increasingly impressed by his committed singing. Amy Shuard and Michael Langdon are equally admirable and it was good to be reminded of Norman del Mar, a much underrated conductor. I have already listened to it several times.”
Masterson's Sophie - singing that aspires to greatness
“This is a wonderful performance from the golden age of the English National Opera. I saw the production twice in 1975, and it was as glorious visually as it was musically. Barstow is a characterful, soprano (it makes a difference!) Octavian, and although Lois McDonall's Marschallin (standing in for Anne Evans) can be verbally indistinct at times, she has a lovely creamy tone. However, Valerie Masterson's Sophie is glorious; a review at the time suggested she was the best Sophie in the world at the time, and Lord Harewood, in his autobiography, referred to her unique sound in this role, singing that aspires to greatness. Her wonderful pianissimo singing in the Presentation of the Rose has set a standard for me that I have never heard equalled and she is both clear in diction and a real characterful presence. Sound is excellent.”
Long Search as one of the Streetboys
“I was 11 years old when we did this amazing Opera. I was one of the kids on 1st and 4th Act. Anja Silva was such beauty friendly woman to us, but she was married with Dohnanyi, so no chance for me :-) So i felt in love with Ellen Shade. :-)We´ve had such a great time at the opera, with the rehearshals and this premiere and all following concerts. Thanks to the unknown recorder for this amazing recording on a piece of history. I have goosebombs when i was listening, and my eyes are wet.”
Anthony WILLIS
“Considering my only Nabucco is the 1949 Callas recording anything would be a benefit! I love it though and enjoyed it. Pauline Tinsley was so vastly under-represented in the recorded music field.”
An ARIADNE to bring you sheer joy
“Sheer pleasure from beginning to end. Christa Ludwig resplendent throughout (in her one and only performance, all in the cast superb, Reri Grist a total delight, Jess Thomas still splendidly heroic. Sena Jurinac owns the Composer. The great Karl Bohm - THE conductor for Ariadne!”
Montreat Elektra
“I taped this performance on 9/18/67 from the Montreal Expo/Vienna State Opera visit. I was sitting center orchestra, center row and my seat companion was none other than Tony Randall, an avid opera fan. Live, it was, in my opinion, Birgit's best Elektra; she was possessed that night. So was Leonie; near the opera's end, with Elektra dead and the orchestra thundering out the Agamemnon motif, Leonie entered stage right at 100-yard-dash speed, sang out her "Elektra" at mid stage and exited stage right..all in a matter of seconds. It brought the audience to its feet. I never saw her do that again, but the memory of that September night in Montreal will be with me forever. I am so happy you are able to share this event with your subscribers!”
Yes, this is an exceptionally fine performance
“Very beautiful, and the tension never lets up. (It's unusual for me to hear a complete performance of this opera without ever feeling bored!) I bought it in order to hear more of Sigurd Björling; I have only heard bits of him in the past. He's wonderful, human-sounding and vulnerable like Hermann Uhde, but also brassy and powerful like Ferdinand Frantz. Many Wotans get one or another aspect of the character right-- Hans Hotter usually gets the tragic side right but fails to menace; James Morris sounds beautiful but doesn't convey the autocratic, presumptive side of Wotan's personality; George London's Wotan is loud and blustery but not complex, and so on. Björling has the whole package.The only flaw I've been able to find so far is that sometimes the tenor (Kølbjorn Høiseth) sounds a little bleaty.”
James Mertins
“I saw every one of these performances, the best singer on the stage was Howell, ever word heard and superbly sung. Luxon was always a singer of great note but, for me certainly at the Garden and the Coliseum never came over like he did in the smaller houses, it was really a pity that he went deaf. Kiri is very good but Cotrubas even in English got to the heart of the role.”
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!”
David Wyatt
“Giulini's 'late' Falstaff in London was my introduction to the opera: it was difficult to see why he'd chosen it, as a lot of the sheer fun was in the staging rather than the music. Hearing this earlier performance explains a lot! The late one was autumnal, like a late Titian - beautiful, but all the colours were browns; this one is more like earlier Titian, bright colours, still beautiful but much more lively. It's an ensemble opera and though (as noted above) Meg and Alice are less sharply characterised than the others, there is a huge sense of energy, momentum and fun - in the music this time, and (judging from the audience reaction) on stage too. I'd forgotten just how good Geraint Evans was - though he's careful not to make too much of the title role, and is dignified rather than buffo.”
Anonymous
“One of my most favorite Bayreuth Rings. I can recommend it strongly.Superb performance, it's impressive in particular that Ligendza's youthful Brünnhilde with pure voice and H.Stein keeping dynamic conducting throughout.”
Rysanek's fond farewell to Amelia
“It’s interesting that, after Don Carlo in 1964, Rysanek's only Italian role at the Met was Tosca, which she sang there till 1979. In Vienna they had more faith in her Italian repertoire and she sang Amelia 24 times between 1960 and this, her final performance of the role, on 10 November 1976. Unfortunately, as far as I know, no recording with Di Stefano has surfaced as yet, but five performances of varying sound quality survive with Cossutta (1970, 1971), Domingo (1971), Spiess (1973) and this with Merighi (1976), a good, natural-sounding recording despite the odd drop-out.It has to be said that Leonie, who would seem a natural for Verdi’s soaring lines is not always at her happiest at the climaxes of the Act 2 aria and the duet, but elsewhere she sings with wonderful sweep and assurance, as always making something special of the repeated final act warning to Gustav “Cadavere domain sarai tu se qui rimani”.Merighi is an attractive-toned, ringing and musical Gustav, if not quite matching Rysanek’s involvement in the Act 2 duet and Mazurok is a vivid, vocally sumptuous Ankarström. Vienna paid Rysanek the courtesy of a fine supporting cast featuring Reri Grist’s sweet-toned, uniquely pointed Oscar and Fiorenza Cossotto’s gravely sonorous Ulrica reminding us of the importance of these roles.Giuseppe Patane’s conducting is responsive, sensitive to the singers’ needs and wholly idiomatic throughout this highly enjoyable performance.”
Kevin Dunn
“This is an astonishing recording. Every element of the performance is first-rate, and the result is a radiant "Parsifal" in which the balance between musical and dramatic expression is achieved to near perfection.”
Matey
“First of all, I would be very thankful if anyone could confirm whether this is the same performance as the one released on CD from Boston, or if that's on the other night (which must be the 7th). Either way, this is cheaper and is still amazing. The only reason why I am asking is since the other one is a recording with no drop outs. It could also simply be another recording of the same night; if so, you should consider also getting this one!Sutherland's voice is very well captured indeed, and those D-flats and E-flats are enormous! The duets are also very beautiful and masterfully done. Finally the tenor has very decent coloratura! Ultimately, I highly recommend this recording.”
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.”
