Here are the items that we found.
Don Carlo
By 1968, Leyla Gencer may have lost some of the sweetness of her early years, and the occasional register break can be jarring—especially for such an ethereal character as Elisabetta. However, in exchange, her voice takes on a darker hue, and as always, she employs her signature style and technique with aplomb. Fiorenza Cossotto was made to sing Eboli, her voice possessing the ideal mix of intensity and sensuality. Her high B in "O don fatale" is enough to make any soprano jealous. Sesto Bruscantini is a compelling Posa, and Nicolai Ghiaurov delivers a sonorous Filippo while still retaining the smoothness of his younger years. Bruno Prevedi excels in the often thankless title role. Notably, this recording includes the Fontainebleau scene - a rarity during the 1960s.
Track List
Act I
1. Su, cacciator! pronti o la belva
2. Al fedel ch’ora viene, o signora
2. Al fedel ch’ora viene, o signora
Act II
3. Carlo, il sommo imperatore
4. È lui! desso… L’infante!
5. Sotto ai folti, immensi abeti
6. La Regina!
7. Il Re!.. Perchè sola è la regina?
8. Tu resti in mia regal presenza
4. È lui! desso… L’infante!
5. Sotto ai folti, immensi abeti
6. La Regina!
7. Il Re!.. Perchè sola è la regina?
8. Tu resti in mia regal presenza
Act III
9. "A mezzanotte al giardin della regina..."
10. Al mio furor sfuggite invano
11. Spuntato ecco il di d’esultanza
12. Nel posar sul mio capo la corona
13. Sire; egli è tempo ch’io viva
10. Al mio furor sfuggite invano
11. Spuntato ecco il di d’esultanza
12. Nel posar sul mio capo la corona
13. Sire; egli è tempo ch’io viva
Act IV
14. Ella giammai m’amò...!
15. Il Grande Inquisitor!
16. Giustizia! o Sire
15. Il Grande Inquisitor!
16. Giustizia! o Sire
Act I
17. Pietà! Perdon!... O don fatale!
18. Son io mio Carlo
19. O Carlo, ascolta, la madre t’aspetta
18. Son io mio Carlo
19. O Carlo, ascolta, la madre t’aspetta
Act V
20. Tu che le vanità
21. È dessa!
21. È dessa!
Customer Reviews
Share your experience with fellow collectors
Share Your Experience
A star rating alone is welcome, and reviews may be written in any language.
5.0
Based on 7 reviews
✓ Verified Buyer
New Zealand
Bel Canto Fan
Others have said it all. A wonderful cast in wonderful sound. As good as you are going to get.
Report
✓ Top Reviewer
United States
Terrific Don Carlos in Excellent Sound!
This is a great performance of Don Carlos. Prevedi sounds in better voice here than he does in the Covent Garden performance also available from Opera Depot. The pitch problems that plagued him there are largely absent and he characterizes the neurotic young man very convincingly. Gencer is tremendous. Not every sound she makes is beautiful, but that was always the case. She shapes and colors Elisabetta's music with such skill that you hardly know she's doing it. She is regal and passionate without being a wallflower: she stands up to Phillip in their scene together with almost fierce pride. Similarly, her "Tu che le vanita" has many complex, specific emotions, not just a pastel shade of melancholy. Her competitive streak shows itself when she holds the final high B much longer than Verdi wrote it.Ghiaurov in his prime sounds like a god. His Act Four aria is wildly cheered as it should have been. Cossotto almost steals the show with her thrilling singing and Bruscantini is a superb Rodrigo who includes the written trills in his music. Roni is a terrifying Grand Inquisitor and Pugliese is an extremely good Friar. Previtali leads the five act version, but cuts the second verses of Rodrigo and Elisabetta's Act Two arias (Eboli gets all of the Veil Song.) The prison scene ends with Rodrigo's death.Excellent sound marred, however, by file corruption at the end of the second disc. As a bonus, Gencer is heard in Lady Macbeth's three big scenes from a performance in 1960.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
France
✓ Top Reviewer
United Kingdom
Hah, hah...!
Andy's comment 'Fiorenza Cossotto was made to sing Eboli' makes me smile...as if the mezzo had been unwillingly forced to take on the role! He means (of course) that Cossotto was BORN to sing Eboli - and how! Just listen as she -in her prime- sweeps all before her!
Report
✓ Top Reviewer
United States
This is a really excellent
This is a really excellent performance of this work. Everyone is in top form. Ghiaurov and Cossotto are well known in these roles and are excellent here. Gencer, Prevedi and Bruscantini never got to record these roles and how wonderful it is to have them here. Gencer always amazes me. She is so unique and marvelous with stupendous pianissimos. Sound is very good.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
Spain
✓ Verified Buyer
Poland
