IL TROVATORE

V 1: EDITION VON KARAJAN VER

In May 1977 Karajan returned to the Vienna State Opera like a king returning from exile, and was greeted with 'unbounded adulation', as Gottfried Kraus here affirms in his notes, for the conductor's Trovatore, with Leontyne Price, Ludwig, Pavarotti, Cappuccilli and Van Dam as his superb cast. A year later he returned for a revival of the same work, this time with a television broadcast as an added incentive. Cappuccilli and van Dam remained from the previous cast, Kabaivanska, Bonisolli and Cossotto were the scheduled newcomers, but at the dress rehearsal Bonisolli, annoyed that an audience was present, chucked his sword at the conductor during Manrico's Act 3 aria. Consternation all round. Luckily by the first night on May 1st Domingo, no less, had been engaged as a replacement.

None the less, Viennese critics thought the cast less admirable than its predecessor. On the strength of this evidence and a video I possess of the TV transmission, they may have been wrong. It would be hard at that time, let alone since, to find singers more suited to their roles. To my mind, Kabaivanska is a subtler Leonora than Price (heard on the 1962 Salzburg/DG set under Karajan and in his faulty 1977 studio recording), even if her actual tone is not as rich as Price's. This regrettably under-recorded soprano sings with vigour, feeling, refinement and technical assurance, all displayed affectingly in her Act 4 aria, the very picture of the wronged, desperate Leonora. Cossotto, sometimes coarse in tone (and not quite the equal of the subtler Simionato in 1962 or Barbieri in 1956) remains an undoubted presence.

Domingo has never been the ideal tenor for Di quella pira' (as is Corelli in 1962), but every other part of Manrico's role is very much his territory as be once again shows, singing it in his absolute prime - try his introductory serenade. Cappuccilli as ever is a strong presence as Luna and, like his colleagues, gives his all for Karajan. Van Dam, singing formidably, is in his element as Ferrando. Karajan himself seems rejuvenated by the occasion, presenting the work with the raw, emotional drive it calls for. You are definitely present at a memorable evening at the Staatsoper.

I won't say that the performance surpasses his 1962 Salzburg rendering, let alone the classic 1956 recording on EMI with Callas et al in the cast, but as yet another revelation from the Vienna archives, and one for which no allowances have to be made in terms of sound quality (the earlier sets are in mono), this must now come into the reckoning as a favoured version, not least because it appears at mid price, though it suffers from the omission of Leonora's Act 4 cabaletta 'Tu vedrai'. There's also a short, interesting bonus with Karajan talking about the work with Marcel Prawy. A translation is included in the accompanying booklet but, as with all this series, no libretto or translation is provided.

-- Gramophone [8/1999]

This recording includes a radio interview with Herbert von Karajan.
Libretto is not included.

Verdi: Simon Boccanegra

Also available on Blu-ray

Before starting to work at Nabucodonosor, which will later become his iconic Nabucco, Giuseppe Verdi was on the verge of abandoning music, discouraged as he was by the flop of his second opera. He then received a libretto by Temistocle Solera almost by chance, as it was destined to another composer. Verdi was very reluctant to put himself to work, but later he referred that one night he “threw the manuscript on the table […]. the booklet opened: unwillingly, my eyes were drawn to the page that was before them and on these verses: ‘Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate’”. So he started focusing on the task and “one day one verse, the next day another verse, a note and a phrase at a time, […] little by little the opera was composed”. The rest is history. Nabucodonosor was a triumph, the public of La Scala, on the night of 9th March 1842, repaid him with an unprecedented success hailing all the numbers of the opera with warm ovations and paying a special tribute to the chorus Va’, pensiero, sull’ali dorate, which in Italy has since become a sort of second national anthem. The reasons of such a success were that the opera possessed such force in itself, such simplicity and smoothness of style that made it the perfect example of tragic opera. This production has been filmed at the 2019 Festival Verdi in Parma. It’s a very powerful and engaging creative project by 2018 Abbiati prize winner duo Ricci/Forte. The most striking feature of this staging is that the action takes place in 2046 on a military ship, which reminds us of an Ark. This performance portrays a dystopic society where we can find many references to real contemporary events. Nabucco is turned into an oppressive dictator who is obsessed with his own image. The Hebrew slaves are portrayed as refugees wearing life vests, while on the ship deck various screens are used to display the regime’s propaganda.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata is an operatic drama in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The work is based on an epic poem by Tommaso Grossi, which was “very much a child of its age; a grand historical novel with a patriotic slant.” Verdi dedicated the score to Maria Luigia, the Habsburg Duchess of Parma, who died a few weeks after the premiere. "I Lombardi best encapsulates the spirit of the Italian people’s desire for nationhood. One would be pleasantly surprised, full as it is, of rousing choruses and musical numbers of great beauty, with music wonderfully expressive and perfectly in accord with drama at times. Visually and musically a sumptuous staging, full of contrasting colors and glorious singing for this young Verdi's rare work." (review by Alan Nelson / Operawire). American soprano Angela Meade and the italian tenor Francesco Meli star in the main roles of this production, which is conducted by Michele Mariotti and was recorded in April 2018.

This historic recording is presently one of the very few CDs available on the market of Verdi's forgotten work. "Un Giorno di Regno" is a comic opera represents Verdi's first challenge in this genre before Falstaff's composition. The cast is made up of Italian artists and the performance has been recorded in 1951 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of composer's death.

Verdi: Il trovatore (Live)

Verdi: La battaglia di Legnano (Recorded 1959) [Live]

Verdi: I due Foscari - Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor

NABUCCO

Falstaff: Stefano Posda, Ruggero Raimondi, Luca Salsi, Virginia Tola, Sabina Puertolas, Cinzia de Mola, Liliana Mattei, and Tiberius Simu star in this production of the Verdi opera with Paolo Arrivabeni conducting the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opera.

FALSTAFF

A few months before his death in February 2014 conducted by the then 83 year old world famous conductor Lorin Maazel at the Munich Philharmonic, the famous Verdi Requiem. He presided over there " his" orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic Choir and soloists class : Anja Harteros (soprano), Daniela Barcellona (mezzo- soprano), Wookyung Kim (tenor) and Georg Zeppenfeld (bass). The moving concert was recorded on three nights and this may be his last recording of the great conductors will now appear on Sony Classical. The press was then full of praise were " all desires and expectations (fulfilled) that can be put to this work. " (S�ddeutsche Zeitung). And the evening paper Munich spoke of a " forceful and convincing " interpretation.

In 1956 at the Rome Opera, the legendary Pierre Monteux conducted one of his very few opera recordings, Verdi’s La traviata, starring soprano Rosanna Carteri as the doomed heroine Violetta, Cesari Valletti and Leonard Warren.

A deeply satisfying performance, rewardingly cast and conducted. Rosanna Carteri has the ideal voice, hovering between lirico and spinto, to satisfy the vocal and dramatic demands of the part. Cesare Valletti is just about an ideal Alfredo, a suitably youthful and emotionally vulnerable portrayal. As father Germont, Leonard Warren – famous in the part at the Metropolitan – sings with the mellow tone and care for words that were his hallmarks.

- Gramophone