Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor - Scotto, G. Raimondi, Guelfi, Ferrin; Abbado. Milano, 1967
$8.95
Listen to a Sample:
Hearing this Lucia di Lammermoor, it is clear why many compared Renata Scotto to Maria Callas. Scotto, like Callas, was capable of astounding virtuosic vocal feats, but that virtuosity, as impressive as it may have been, was never just for virtuosity’s sake. Scotto manages to imbue each vocal turn with a thought or impulse, further highlighting the characters decent into madness even from her opening aria. In other hands, this could easily seem contrived and forced, but Scotto is able to seamless marry the musical and the dramatic in a way that few singers, with the exception of Callas, could. Gianni Raimondi is excellent as Edgardo and Claudio Abbado delivers a sincere and unfussy reading. The sound is very good.
BONUS:
Renata Scotto sings "Cupa fatal mestizia" from Maria di Rohan
Lisboa, 1968
OD 11070-2