Wolf-Ferrari - Sly / Carreras, Milnes, Cantarero

1. Sly, ovvero La leggenda del dormiente risvegliato, opera
   Composed by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
   with Sherrill Milnes, Santiago Calderon, Mariola Cantarero, Francisco Vinas, Alfredo Heilbron, Rosa Ma. Conesa, Rosa Maria Ysas, Jose Carreras, Isabelle Kabatu
   Conducted by David Gimenez
   
   

Wolf-Ferrari - Sly / Carreras, Milnes, Cantarero,Sherrill Milnes,Francisco Viñas,Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari,David Gimenez,Mariola Cantarero,Isabelle Kabatu,José Carreras,Santiago Calderon,Alfredo Heilbron,Rosa Ma. Conesa,Rosa Maria Ysas,Koch Schwann (Germ.),Classical,Classical Music,Opera,Opera / Operetta / Oratorio,Orchestral Music

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Average customer rating: An overlooked opera Carreras-Intelligence triumphs over vocal decline! really not so great

Wolf-Ferrari - Sly / Carreras, Milnes, Cantarero Manufacturer: Koch Schwann (Germ.) ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolf-Ferrari | Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000056T3H Release Date: 2001-05-22

Customer Reviews:

An overlooked opera.......2006-05-04

"Sly" is a great opera that is overlooked and not produced as often as it should be. We saw Domingo sing Sly at the MET and was so impressed we bought this CD down in the gift shop! I like this CD production - the live aspect is good, in my mind. One can picture oneself at the opera house. I can't wait until there is another production to see this opera again!

Carreras-Intelligence triumphs over vocal decline!.......2002-03-15

A mesmerizing portrait by a still mesmerizing tenor! A gem of an opera, if you can, get the video too. It's AMAZING!

really not so great.......2001-05-22

This opera appears to be having a vogue as a vehicle for, how to put it tactfully, tenors in their declining years - Domingo is about to try it at the Met - and Carreras has been performing it at a variety of opera houses. This recording is taken live from a performance in summer 2000 at Barcelona. Taking a theme from Shakespeare's Prologue to 'The Taming of the Shrew', librettist Forzano prepared this tale of Christopher Sly initially for Puccini, who rejected it. Sly falls asleep dead drunk at a lowly inn, only to wake up in the grandest finery, victim of a practical joke.It all ends badly - and doesn't really add up, emotionally, dramatically or musically.

Wolf-Ferrari's music in this opera could be described as 'characters in search of an author' - it despatches the dramatic events efficiently enough, but with a lack of personality, or of real command of pacing.The invention, occasionally arresting, is in general short-breathed and fails to take wing where you would expect. The review in 'Gramophone' magazine mentions that the first act could almost be worthy of 'Falstaff' or 'Gianni Schicchi' - well, I beg to differ - there is more invention in 30 seconds of 'Falstaff', or 2-3 minutes of 'Schicchi' than here. The strange third act, almost totally a monologue for Sly, doesn't satisfy as a culmination: a work that starts out darkly playful suddenly becomes pure melodrama and this strikes me as faulty story-telling and inconsistent characterization.

'Sly' undoubtedly is a vehicle for a star tenor, and Carreras does sing with burnished tone, insight and great nobility (perhaps too much for a drunken sot!)and there are not too many high-lying forays that expose him. Sherrill Milnes retains his distinctive timbre, and does what he can with a role that yields diminishing returns, but comes a cropper whenever he ventures above the stave. Isabelle Kabatu as Dolly was perhaps exciting live, her thick timbre doesn't seems to record well and can be harsh and unlovely, though she seems to improve in the last act. Some of the cameo parts, mainly in the first act, are atrocious! The singers portraying John Plake and Rosaline - well, the latter almost sounds like a send up; don't they hold auditions in Barcelona? The orchestral writing is often austere, and some exposed passages don't bear scrutiny in this performance. Perhaps live, in the presence of a star performer this work can be compelling, but I don't rate it an interesting listen on CD.

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