GIOVANNA D'ARCO

Un ballo in maschera is a poignant love story between two complex, mature characters torn between their desires, loyalties and the inevitable consequences of their choices. In this production, stage director Vincent Boussart delves deeply into the theme of masks, revealing a rich interplay of drama and comedy, human duplicity, lies and truth. "The two male protagonists, Piotr Beczala as Riccardo and Carlos Alvarez as Renato, were the outstanding performances for the evening." (Bachtrack) "A deeply moving play of masquerade and humanity" (El Pais)

La Battaglia di Legnano is among the least recorded operas of the Verdi repertoire. Currently the only studio edition available is the Philips' conducted by Lamberto Gardelli in the Seventies. However, prior to that famous edition is this recording made at La Scala in 1961 which enjoyed great fame and diffusion especially in the Eighties and Nineties. Currently this famous live version has been unavailable for a long time. For this reason, and for the excellent quality of the sound recording, we have decided to make this important document available again. Naturally, a new equalization of the sound source has been carried out, making the original recording as natural as possible. The vocal cast remains one of the greatest possible in the entire history of recording.

Un ballo in maschera is a poignant love story between two complex, mature characters torn between their desires, loyalties and the inevitable consequences of their choices. In this production, stage director Vincent Boussart delves deeply into the theme of masks, revealing a rich interplay of drama and comedy, human duplicity, lies and truth. "The two male protagonists, Piotr Beczala as Riccardo and Carlos Alvarez as Renato, were the outstanding performances for the evening." (Bachtrack) "A deeply moving play of masquerade and humanity" (El Pais)

Classical Music

Classical Music

In this interpretation of Verdi's MacBeth, stage director Christof Loy skillfully navigates the interplay of light and dark, infusing the opera - based on Shakespeare's work - with remarkable depth and drama. The outstanding vocal ensemble vividly captures the psychological nuances of the characters, featuring Ludovic Tezier as the paranoid MacBeth and Martina Serafin as Lady MacBeth, the mastermind behind the crimes. Giampaolo Bisanti pours his passion into the score, while The Symphony Orchestra and the Liceu Choir deliver exceptional performances in response. Consequently, the audience experiences a flawless blend of lyrics and music, crafted by the Milanese composer, librettist Francesco Maria Piave, and poet Andrea Maffei. "It is a unique scenography." El Pais

In this interpretation of Verdi's MacBeth, stage director Christof Loy skillfully navigates the interplay of light and dark, infusing the opera - based on Shakespeare's work - with remarkable depth and drama. The outstanding vocal ensemble vividly captures the psychological nuances of the characters, featuring Ludovic Tezier as the paranoid MacBeth and Martina Serafin as Lady MacBeth, the mastermind behind the crimes. Giampaolo Bisanti pours his passion into the score, while The Symphony Orchestra and the Liceu Choir deliver exceptional performances in response. Consequently, the audience experiences a flawless blend of lyrics and music, crafted by the Milanese composer, librettist Francesco Maria Piave, and poet Andrea Maffei. "It is a unique scenography." El Pais

DOMINGO - OPERA DUETS WITH MIL

TITO SCHIPA- MOZART, MASSENET,

TOSCANINI COLLECTION VOL 62 -

This disc includes both DDD and ADD recordings.

Richard Moohr's recording of Ernani in Rome for RCA in 1967 was the first stereo recording of this Opera. It featured an exceptional cast with Carlo Bergonzi and Leontyne Price under the conduction of Thomas Schippers. Since then there have been no more than four recordings of this work, and this version is still considered one of the most significant in Verdi's discography. It has not been available on the market for several years. For this reason we have made it available in our catalogue.

As with Falstaff Toscanini is notable for performing what is there, insisting that detail, often overlooked, should be observed. Maintenance of a basic pulse within which there could be necessary ritardandos and accelerandos was the basis of Toscanini's approach. All interpretative points were at the service of what was to this conductor a deep spiritual experience, by turns incandescent and beseeching all adding up to a great spiritual and emotional experience, again helped here by being taken from a live occasion. Examples of Toscanini's authority and belief abound – the terrifying intensity of the Dies irae, the turmoil of "Confutatis", the expressive cellos introducing the Offertorio, the lightness of the strings at "Plent sunt coeli" in the Sanctus, the ethereal texture throughout the Lux aeterna, the exactness and raising of tension in the Libera me fugue. Nowhere in this performance, as in so many recent ones, does one question a tempo or indeed find anything that calls attention to the conductor rather than to Verdi. In that respect it matches and often surpasses those conducted by Serafin (EMI – reviewed on page 2074), Fricsay (DG) and Giulini (EMI), now all on CD.

-- Gramophone [5/1990]

CHOEURS DE L'OPERA DE VIENNE -