L'Assedio Di Corinto

1. Le siège de Corinthe (The Siege of Corinth), opera
   Composed by Gioachino Rossini
   Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
   with Delia Wallis, Harry Theyard, Gwynne Howell, Justino Diaz, Robert Lloyd, Beverly Sills, Gaetano Scano, Shirley Verrett
   Conducted by Michael Moores, Thomas Schippers
   
   

L'Assedio Di Corinto,Gioachino Rossini,Michael Moores,Thomas Schippers,London Symphony Orchestra,Beverly Sills,Delia Wallis,Gaetano Scano,Gwynne Howell,Harry Theyard,Justino Diaz,Robert Lloyd,Shirley Verrett,Angel Records,Classical,Classical Music,Italian Romantic Opera,Opera,Opera / Operetta / Oratorio

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Average customer rating: A primadonna showpiece of dubious style Sills and Horne...it should have been recorded Famous performance offers extraordinary singing but not very good sound UNBELIEVABLE VOCAL SPLENDOUR Believe the Hype

Rossini: L'Assedio di Corinto Manufacturer: Opera D'oro ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi Handel - Julius Caesar / Treigle · Sills · Forrester · Wolff · NYCO · Rudel Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: Complete Opera (with full libretto and translation) Massenet: Manon Donizetti - Three Queens (Anna Bolena ~ Maria Stuarda ~ Roberto Devereux) ASIN: B00005Y84R Release Date: 2001-02-27

Tracks:

1. Sinf - Thomas Schippers
2. Act One: Signor, Un Sol Tuo Cenno - Chor
3. Act One: Del Vincitor Superbo... Guerrieri, A Noi S'affida - Franco Bonisolli/Marilyn Horne/Paolo Washingon/Chor
4. Act One: Tua Figlia M'e Promessa.. Destin Terribile - Marilyn Horne/Franco Bonisolli/Beverly Sills/Chor
5. Act One: Di Morte Il Suon Mando... La Data Fe - Chor/Beverly Sills/Franco Bonisolli/Marilyn Horne
6. Act One: Dal Ferro Del Forte - Chor
7. Act One: Duce Di Tanti Di Tanti Eroi - Justino Diaz
8. Act One: Trionfammo, Signor - Gianni Foiani/Justino Diaz/Franco Bonisolli/Beverly Sills/Chor
9. Act One: Pamira Mi Sei Resa - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills/Franco Bonisolli/Milna Paoli/Gianni Foiani/Chor
10. Act Two: Cielo! Che Diverro? - Beverly Sills
11. Act Two: Sgombra Il Timor... Che Vedo? Ohime? - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills
12. Act Two: Vinci, Pamira... Imen Le Dona - Justino Diaz/Milna Paoli/Chor

Tracks:

1. Act Two: Divin Profeta - Chor
2. Act Two: Pamira... Questa Altar - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills/Marilyn Horne
3. Act Two: Sian Tolti A Lui Quel Ferri - Justino Diaz/Marilyn Horne/Beverly Sills/Gianni Foiani/Milna Paoli/Chor
4. Act Three: Avanziam... Questo E Il Luogo - Marilyn Horne/Piero Di Palma
5. Act Three: Signor, Che Tutto Puoi - Beverly Sills/Marilyn Horne
6. Act Three: Signor, Ben Credo... Sei Tu, Che Stendi, O Dio - Marilyn Horne
7. Act Three: O Mio Cleomene! - Marilyn Horne/Franco Bonisolli/Beverly Sills
8. Act Three: Celeste Providenza - Marilyn Horne/Beverly Sills/Franco Bonisolli
9. Act Three: Tutto Percorsi Il Marzial Recinto - Paolo Washington/Franco Bonisolli/Beverly Sills/Milna Paoli/Marilyn Horne/Chor
10. Act Three: Nube Di Sangue Intrisa - Paolo Washington
11. Act Three: Questo Nome, Che Suona Vittoria - Paolo Washington/Thomas Schippers
12. Act Three: L'ora Fatal S'appressa... Giusto Ciel! In Tal Periglio - Beverly Sills/Milna Paoli/Women's Chor
13. Act Three: Ma Qual Mal Suona Funebre Accento? - Beverly Sills/Milna Paoli/Justino Diaz/Chor

Customer Reviews:

A primadonna showpiece of dubious style.......2007-02-26

I've been fascinated by this 1969 production since I read an interview of the great Renata Tebaldi who performed the opera early in her career and who basically dismissed the way Rossini's music was performed in this Scala production. She claimed that by the time he wrote it, Rossini wanted to move away from florid music. Initially I thought Tebaldi was excusing herself for not performing the florid music but a little bit of research proved me wrong.

The great reviewer L.E. Cantrel below touched on this and his instincts were right but it isn't only the excessive ornamentation that is out of place here. The role of Pamyra is in the same group as Matilde in Gulielmo Tell and obviously Anna in Maometto. As such, the tessitura very much lies in the middle of the voice requiring anything but a high coloratura. Secondly, Assedio did not originally have a contralto but a tenor role because Rossini knew that in France, where he first presented Siege, they did not like women in male roles. The music he wrote for his tenor, unlike the trouser Calbo in Maometto, was not very ornamented.

When Schippers decided to have a contralto as Neocle in Assedio (and none other than Marilyn Horne) he also had to bring back the music from Maometto otherwise Horne would be useless. With Sills regular upward transpositions, a borrowed aria from an early Rossini opera and interpolated high notes solved the problem of Pamyra's tessitura and pleased the crowd who after all didn't know much about this obscure work.

What came out was spectacular singing by both ladies who without a doubt sieged La Scala. Rossini's intentions were of course dismissed and this ends up sounding more like most of his very florid early works without the more sophisticated style that is still preserved in Gulielmo Tell. I'm not dismissing his early works but it is nice to see a different side of him which this recording however doesn't offer us. The sound is adequate and the supporting cast good with promising beginners. For Sills, Horne and all coloratura fans it's a must but for Rossini studies you should look further as it doesn't deserve the 4 stars I gave for the singing..:-)

Sills and Horne...it should have been recorded.......2006-07-10

I bought this after reading all the superlatives lavished on this recording, and yes, they are correct. But while it is all extremely exciting and virtuosic, it is also very beautiful. This opera contains some wonderfully melancholic music by rossini and sills magically spins the lines, creating a chilling atmosphere, much as she does with the opening scena of Lucia. It is also interesting to hear here live because she really was a daredevil and goes for all the notes and trills that one wishes many other sopranos would try for also. She is not always successful as can be heard at the end of the first ensemble where she goes for a high 'e' but sort of just squeels. Also, it's interesting to note the size of her voice in comparison to her colleagues. It can be heard quite well on its own, but when she sings with others, such as horne, one can really tell that Sills' voice is really lacking in size. Anyways, the sound is what you would expect from D'oro, though I thought it would be a little better because it was recorded in 1969. Alas, it should have been done in the studio!

Famous performance offers extraordinary singing but not very good sound.......2006-01-07

Source: Live performance at La Scala in Milan, April 14, 1969.

Sound: Not very good, no better than fair--and that is a very generous assessment. Rest assured, anyone who buys this set must do it for the performance, not for the sound reproduction.

From the applause heard so close to the microphone pick-up, it is clear that this set was recorded from the audience. Since the orchestra and voices are in fairly good balance--or at least, not in as bad balance as found on many pirate recordings--and the cheering from the audience in the cheap seats is rather distant, my guess is that the pirate-recordist was sitting on the main floor, but away from the stage, well toward the back of the house. His or her recording equipment was far from state-of-the-art for 1969.

Cast: Pamira - Beverly Sills; Neocle - Marilyn Horne; Cleomene - Franco Bonisolli; Maometto II - Justino Diaz; Jero - Paulo Washington; Omar - Gianni Foiani; Ismene - Milna Paoli; Adrasto - Piero Di Palma. Conductor: Thomas Schippers with the Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan.

Text: This is one of those operas that offers--or rather suffers from--a multiplicity of texts. In Rossini's time, the best way for a worldly young composer (of which Rossini was a sterling example) to make pots of money was to write operas. Operas were commissioned by impresarios for performance during a specific season for a specific theater. After that, any scoundrel who could get his hands on the score or a reasonable facsimile thereof, could offer the piece as he saw fit--and Rossini (or Bellini or Donizetti) could whistle for his money. Only the presence of the composer on the spot to oversee an authentic performance was likely to guarantee that any money would find its way into his pockets.

In 1820, Rossini delivered this opera as "Maometto II." It came with a tragic conclusion. Two years later, he obtained another payday, but at a less sophisticated theater whose impresario demanded a happy ending. Rossini dutifully delivered one. Some years after that, Rossini hit the jackpot by receiving an invitation to present his opera in Paris, at the richest opera house in the world. The French, of course, fancied themselves as more cultivated than the over-emotional Italians. They certainly regarded Italianate vocal fireworks as more than a bit uncouth, so they demanded more sedate and dignified vocal lines as well as translation into their own language. Since the cause of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire had become fashionable, they also demanded a change in plot: the opera would no longer sing the tale of the overwhelming of Negroponte, an Italian military colony; now it would be about the fall of Corinth, a suitably Greek town. Rossini gave them everything they wanted with the renamed "Le siege de Corinthe," then happily counted his money.

The revised opera was a hit in Paris. Back in Italy, French success acted as good advertising for local performances, so enterprising gentlemen translated the new French libretto into Italian as "L'assedio di Corinto," and tossed in whichever snippets of Rossini's music came to hand, even as they absent-mindedly neglected to send any money in Rossini's way.

And it has now come to pass that Amazon offers "Maometto II"--in both the 1820 and the 1822 versions, "Le siege de Corinthe" and "L'assedio di Corinto," the last in versions that reflect both Rossini's Frenchified approach and the uncorseted, unabashedly Italianate form under consideration in this review.

Documentation: Typical anemic Opera d'Oro package. No libretto. A few hundred words on the background of the opera. A few hundred words summarizing the plot. Track list.

Performance: An Amazon reviewer writing back in 2003 had this to say: "This is absolutely the most spectacular coloratura singing ever done by Beverly Sills. It's her debut at La Scala and it was a triumph." I quite agree, both about the singing and the triumph. I further affirm that the singing of Marilyn Horne is equally impressive, and in no way overshadowed by Sills. On the basis of those two tremendous performances, I have no qualms about endorsing the five-star ratings assigned by eleven of the thirteen previous reviewers.

But ... I can't help remembering a story about Rossini that is so well-documented and so widely spread that it might even be true. In his old age, the grand old man lived in Paris, self-acknowledged center of all the universe. A young, up-and-coming singer of fabulous potential--she might have been Adelina Patti--was presented to him. She sang "Una voce poco fa" from "The Barber of Seville," putting into it every trill, high note and spectacular decoration of which she was capable, all in the hope of impressing the great composer. When she was finished, Rossini smiled, applauded politely and said, "That was a nice tune. Who wrote it?"

I have no close familiarity with this score. I am satisfied to take the assurance of earlier reviewers that Sills, like Patti before her, tossed in astonishing high notes, glistening coloratura passages, exquisite trills and probably a kitchen sink or two. It was perfectly proper that she do so, for opera is show biz written large, and a large part, perhaps most, of the audience comes to hear just that sort of stunt singing. They generously award their bravissimas for it, and they depart the opera house warmly content in the knowledge that they have received good value for the outrageous prices of their tickets. After they leave, only curmudgeons like me and Rossini are left to mutter, "That was nice. Who wrote it?"

The rest of the performance is all right. Justino Diaz was a good, reliable singer but not, I think, on anyone's A-list of great bass-baritones. Franco Bonisolli could sometimes be a fine, stirring tenor. Cleomene is not one of his signature roles. Schippers and the orchestra seem to be OK, but the recording quality does them no favors.

HISTORICAL NOTE: In 1453, Sultan Mehmet (Mohammed II or Maometto II) captured Constantinople to the enormous dismay of Christendom. When the torn corpse of Constantine XI was brought before him, having been found among the piled bodies of Constantinople's final defenders and identified by the golden eagles sewn upon his shoes, the great sultan gave the last of the Byzantine emperors an honorable burial. Mehmet then divided the churches of the City equally between the victorious Moslems and his new Christian subjects and, from the very throne of the Roman Caesars, returned the pastoral staff to Patriarch Gennadius.

Mehmet busied himself with restoring, improving and re-populating the former Constantinople, now Istanbul [from the ubiquitous road signs, "eis ton polis" (to the city)]. For years he disdained to take notice of the mini-"empires" established in Greece by the tag ends of old Byzantine dynasties. In 1469, however, he wearied of the endless civil wars among the Greek dynasts. Leading a small but sufficient fraction of his total forces, the Sultan simply rolled over their strongholds, one of which was Corinth. Those of the would-be emperors that he captured he pensioned off, then sent them into exile in Rumania. Those who managed to escape to Italy and elsewhere busied themselves for the remainder of their squalid lives by selling off claims to the imperial title to any western prince foolish enough to pay them.

The mighty conqueror, Mehmet, continued to scare the bejabbers out of the princes and prelates of Europe until, to their vast relief, he died in 1481.

UNBELIEVABLE VOCAL SPLENDOUR.......2005-06-29

Singing like this - I did not think it possible. This must be the best performace with Beverly Sills ever recorded and one of the best in the history of recording!

Believe the Hype.......2005-04-04

I'm not big on live recordings, but this is one of such historical significance that I figured I had to have it. And I was curious. Could Sills really be as marvelous as legend and the other Amazon reviews have said? Well, yes...and then some. OK, she hits one clinker somewhere on the first disc (nobody's perfect), but this is a truly goosebump-inducing performance. Now I get why Sills became the mega-star she did. And the supporting cast (Diaz & Horne in particular) are just as good. Electrifying from start to finish, this is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of 20th century operatic performance -- and those who just want to wallow in thrilling music and splendid singing.

Average customer rating:

Rossini: L' Assedio di Corinto (Seige of Corinth) Complete Opera Manufacturer: Opera D'oro ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B00008FI2I Release Date: 1997-09-16

Tracks:

1. Sinfonia: Andante
2. Sinfonia: Allegro
3. Sinfonia: Signor, un sol tuo cenno
4. Sinfonia: Del vincitor duperbo di Bisanzio
5. Sinfonia: In cosi reo periglio
6. Sinfonia: Guerrieri, a noi s'affida
7. Sinfonia: Si combattete, il ciel ne reggera
8. Sinfonia: Tua figlia m'e promessa
9. Sinfonia: Destin terrible
10. Sinfonia: Di morte il suon mando
11. Sinfonia: Dal ferro del forte
12. Sinfonia: Duce di tanti eroi
13. Sinfonia: Trionfammo signor
14. Sinfonia: Che affano, o ciel
15. Sinfonia: Pamira me sei resa
16. Sinfonia: L'alma che geme
17. Sinfonia: Cielo, che diverro?
18. Sinfonia: Si, ferite, il chieggo, il merto
19. Sinfonia: Dal soggiorno degli estini
20. Sinfonia: Sgombra il timor
21. Sinfonia: Che vedo, ohime
22. Sinfonia: Potrei lasciar che l'alma
23. Sinfonia: Vinci Pamira, il terror che t'arresta

Tracks:

1. Sinfonia: Divin profeta
2. Sinfonia: Pamira?
3. Sinfonia: E suo germano
4. Sinfonia: Sian tolti a lui que ferri
5. Sinfonia: O sol di chi t'adora
6. Sinfonia: Corinto in suon di sdegno
7. Sinfonia: Sfidiam della sorte l'ingiusto figor
8. Sinfonia: Ebbene; il nuovo sole
9. Sinfonia: All'armi, all'armi strage
10. Sinfonia: Avanziam, questo e il luogo
11. Sinfonia: Salve asil dellal morte
12. Sinfonia: Non temer d'un basso affetto
13. Sinfonia: Del periglio al fero aspetto
14. Sinfonia: Signor, che tutto puoi
15. Sinfonia: No, no, ben credo
16. Sinfonia: O mio Cleomene
17. Sinfonia: Perfida, a che vieni?...
18. Sinfonia: Celeste provvidenza
19. Sinfonia: Tutto percosi il marzial recinto
20. Sinfonia: Chiuso serbate il cor
21. Sinfonia: Nube di sangue intrisa
22. Sinfonia: Oh patria, oh patria
23. Sinfonia: Questo nome che suona vittoria
24. Sinfonia: L'ora fatal s'appressa
25. Sinfonia: Giusto ciel!...
26. Sinfonia: Ma qual mai suona funebre accento

Average customer rating: Miricioiu at her most amazing level Who can compare? Stunning

Nelly Miricioiu - Bel Canto Portrait ~ Scenes from Emma d'Antiochia, L'assedio di Corinto, Belisario, Parisina Nelly Miricioiu , Ildebrando D'Arcangelo , and Alice Coote Manufacturer: Opera Rara UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, 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 Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Nelly Miricioiu - Rossini Gala Bravura Diva Au Jardin de Mon Cur ASIN: B00005AG5B Release Date: 2001-08-14

Customer Reviews:

Miricioiu at her most amazing level.......2003-06-14

Nelly Miricioiu is a cult soprano with a devoted following, but not a household name in the average Met broadcast/U.S. opera house subscribing household. 'Tis a pity!

At 50 years plus, one now often aware of the wear on her voice, but this album catches her at her bel cantista best. And, at her best, she is one of the greatest singers of the past century. If anyone who has heard her needs confirmation of that, this CD confirms it. The rich, covered tones and the coloratura technique are astounding and moving.

Too bad that she is not better know, though that is probably a result of her choice of performing venues and her devotion to Opera Rara's bel canto revival projects. Then again, if she sang standard operas for the largest labels, she would be more popular but there would be no way we would hear treats like rare Mercadante, obscure Donizetti or Sir Michael Costa.

She is at her best here and so is the music. The Mercadante makes you want to hear and see his operas in the house, the seldom-heard Donizetti titles, also, and one must wonder what else Costa wrote and how we can get to hear it. Not only the singing but the rich orchestration in the Costa left me drooling for more.

So, thanks to Opera Rara and to the miraculous Miracioiu for these treats. If you don't yet own this CD, buy it!

Who can compare?.......2002-02-17

Who indeed. What La Nelly does here is pure magic. At the same time her devotion to music of lesser known sources shines through as well as her starquality. The openingsequence is stunning. It is and remains unbelievable that this singer is not the megastar she deserves to be. Just compare her depth, pure singing and 'Callas-like' vocal acting powers with some other singers that are promoted these days.

Stunning.......2001-08-15

International star Nelly Miricioiu, whose Callas-like voice has been featured on many Opera Rara sets in the past, outdoes herself in these four scenes, all taken from operas from the 1830's. Her interpretations are a tasteful and nearly perfect marriage of vocal agility and dramatic acumen.

The climax of the CD is undoubtedly the first item. Modern audiences are presented here with a unique opportunity to hear a sample from Mercadante's once-popular Emma d'Antiochia. This is an historically significant selection. So far, the only Mercadante operas revived in modern times have either been juvenalia dating from the 1820's, written in Rossinian style, or his mature `reform' operas, which radically departed from the styles of Bellini and Donizetti and heavily influenced Verdi. The operas lying between these two periods have gone completely ignored. Emma d'Antiochia was written in 1834 for none other than the great Pasta, and the angelic-voiced Eugenia Tadolini played the secondary soprano role of Adelia. The cast was rounded out by the famed tenor Domenico Donzelli and bass Orazio Cartagenova. With such illustrious artists at his disposal, one would anticipate that Mercadante's powers would have been put to good use. This scene far surpassed my wildest dreams. It reveals a Mercadante with a less individual style than he displays in his `reform' operas (i.e., beginning with Il Giuramento of 1837). Neverthless, we can already see that he possessed an unfailing sense of how to paint dramatic pictures with music-and sweep the listener off his or her feet in the process. Mercadante's music is more elegiac here, closer to Bellini or Donizetti than his later works-but he does not follow their norms slavishly and clearly was already questioning these dogmas. The opera does not end with the obligatory aria-finale, although the heroine does have a two-part solo, complete with a powerful, Verdian cabaletta with galloping string accompaniment -at the beginning of the scene. The slow movement of the aria is exquisite and incredibly moving. The orchestration for harp, horn, and cello elevates an already lovely melody to a higher emotional plane. The orchestra has a strikingly original figure before the cabaletta's second verse-a swirling and frantic string passage that keeps the energy of the piece fresh and seems, like a vortex, to suck the listener back into the cabaletta's repeat. Miricioiu milks the dramatic possibilities of this scene for all they're worth. The entrance of Adelia, Emma's rival, sung beautifully by soprano Mary Plazas, marks a point of departure from the musical norms of the day. An impassioned dialogue, starting with Adelia's hurling imprecations at Emma, and then softening when she sees her rival succumbing to the effects of self-inflicted poison, leads into a brief but tremendously effective and beautiful duet. Emma then staggers offstage to die, and a horrified Adelia and chorus (along with bass Ashley Holland as Corrado-Emma's husband) bring down the curtain in a frenzied and shattering coda. Everything in this scene, from the uncommonly subtle and ingenious orchestration to the beautiful melodies, cries out for a fully staged and well-cast revival of the complete opera, or at the very least a concert performance.

Next, a scene composed by Sir Michele Costa for a London performance of Rossini's L'Assedio di Corinto gives us a glimpse of a composer whose work has hitherto not been explored even by Opera Rara. Costa was reknowned as a conductor in early 19th-century England, but also was a composer of operas-he wrote a Don Carlos that predated Verdi's by some 25 years. This aria features a lovely introduction with a cello solo, a beautiful cavatina, and a frantic cabaletta with participation from the chorus. Miricioiu gives us an all-but-flawless performance of this extremely florid and difficult aria. Opera Rara's extraordinary knack for finding the gems buried deep in the recesses of Europe's dusty archives and polishing them to their former brightness is never more convincingly demonstrated than here.

Miricioiu rounds out the program with two more familiar (though still rarely performed) selections-Antonina's final aria from Donizetti's Belisario, and "Sogno talor di correre" from Parisina. The Belisario aria has not enjoyed a good press with critics, and I have to say that my experience of this aria-the recording with Gencer-did nothing to make me enthusiastic about hearing this scene again. But Miricioiu's masterful handling of this scene-frenetic with guilt and despair-made me completely reevaluate my thinking. I listened breathless to this scene, and couldn't believe I was hearing the same opera I thought I knew. Miricioiu is ably supported by bass Ildebrando d'Arcangelo as Emperor Guistiniano, Alice Coote as Irene, and Roland Wood as Belisario. A good deal of the credit for invigorating this piece has to go to conductor David Parry, who sets an energetic pace and shading of mood at every turn. And although all interpretations of Donizetti's Parisina will unavoidably be held up to Caballe's for comparison, Miricioiu gives Montserrat a run for her money with a lovely "Sogno talor di correre", tenderly spun from her vocal cords like fine silk thread, heavy with the wistfulness and sorrow of a forbidden love.

Any Opera Rara set can be expected to have a superlative set of liner notes, and this CD does not disappoint in that area, either. Each of the selections is supplemented with an excellent essay, an English-Italian libretto, and reproductions of period drawings of the composers and singers who created the roles. In addition, Opera Rara has begun to include information about their own artists in their booklets-something conspicuously absent from their previous liner notes. Here an introduction to Nelly Miricioiu will prove informative to those who are unfamiliar with this great artist.

Average customer rating: Sweet Beverly Sills my opinion

Rossini: L'Assedio Di Corinto Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000002S3J Release Date: 1993-03-16

Tracks:

1. Sinf - London SO/Thomas Schippers
2. Act One, Scene One: Signor, un sol tuo cenno - Ambosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
3. Act One, Scene One: Del vincitor superbo di Bisanzio - Harry Theyard
4. Act One, Scene One: In cosi reo periglio - Ambosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy/Shirley Verrett/Gwynne Howell
5. Act One, Scene One: La spada omicida - Gwynne Howell/Harry Theyard/Shirley Verrett/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
6. Act One, Scene One: Tua figlia m e promessa - Shirley Verrett/Harry Theyard/Beverly Sills
7. Act One, Scene One: Destin terribile! - Shirley Verrett/Harry Theyard/Beverly Sills
8. Act One, Scene One: Di morte il suon mando - Ambosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy/Beverly Sills/Harry Theyard/Shirley Verrett
9. Act One: Scene One: La data fe rammento - Ambosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy/Beverly Sills/Harry Theyard/Shirley Verrett
10. Act One, Scene Two: Dal ferro del forte - Ambosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
11. Act One, Scene Two: Duce di tanti eroi - Justino Diaz/Ambosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
12. Act One, Scene Two: Trionfammo, signor - Robert Lloyd/Justino Diaz
13. Act One, Scene Two: Capo all'oste ribelle - Justino Diaz/Harry Theyard
14. Act One, Scene Two: O ciel! fermate... - Beverly Sills/Justino Diaz/Harry Theyard/Delia Wallis/Robert Lloyd/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
15. Act One, Scene Two: Ritrovo l'amante nel crudo nemico - Beverly Sills/Justino Diaz/Harry Theyard/Delia Wallis/Robert Lloyd/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
16. Act One, Scene Two: Pamira mi sei resa - Beverly Sills/Justino Diaz/Harry Theyard/Delia Wallis/Robert Lloyd/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
17. Act One, Scene Two: L'alma che geme - Beverly Sills/Justino Diaz/Harry Theyard/Delia Wallis/Robert Lloyd/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy

Tracks:

1. Act Two: Cielo! che diverro? - Beverly Sills
2. Act Two: Si, ferite, il chieggo, il merto - Beverly Sills
3. Act Two: Dal soggiorno degli estinti - Beverly Sills
4. Act Two: Ah! che spiegar non posso - Beverly Sills
5. Act Two: Sgombra il timor - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills
6. Act Two: Che vedo? Ohime... tu piangi? - Justino Diaz
7. Act Two: Potrei lasciar che l'alma - Beverly Sills/Justino Diaz
8. Act Two: Vinci, Pamira, il terror - Justino Diaz/Delia Wallis/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
9. Act Two: Divin profeta, dator di bene - Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
10. Act Two: Pamira... Questo altar - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett/Robert Lloyd
11. Act Two: E suo germano! - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett
12. Act Two: Sian tolti a lui quei ferri - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett
13. Act Two: Oh, sol di chi t'adora - Justino Diaz/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett
14. Act Two: Corinto in suon di sdegno - Robert Lloyd/Justino Diaz/Shirley Verrett/Beverly Sills/Harry Theyard/Ambrosian Opr Chor...
15. Act Two: Ebbene, il nuovo sole - Robert Lloyd/Justino Diaz/Shirley Verrett/Beverly Sills/Harry Theyard/Ambrosian Opr Chor...

Tracks:

1. Act Three: Avanziam... questo e il luogo! - Shirley Verrett
2. Act Three: Ciel! chi vegg'io? - Gaetano Scano/Shirley Verrett
3. Act Three: Non temer, d'un basso affetto - Shirley Verrett
4. Act Three: Signor, che tutto puoi - Beverly Sills/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy/Harry Theyard
5. Act Three: Oh come al cor soavi - Harry Theyard
6. Act Three: D'ogni intorno vegliate - Justino Diaz/Harry Theyard
7. Act Three: Pria svenar con ferme ciglia - Justino Diaz/Harry Theyard
8. Act Three: Speri invan - Harry Theyard/Justino Diaz/Shirley Verrett
9. Act Three: All'empio in braccio - Harry Theyard/Justino Diaz/Shirley Verrett
10. Act Three: Tu che tanto orgoglioso ostenti - Harry Theyard/Justino Diaz/Shirley Verrett
11. Act Three: Di generoso, nobile - Shirley Verrett/Justino Diaz
12. Act Three: O mio Cleomene! - Shirley Verrett/Harry Theyard
13. Act Three: Ciel! Ella! - Harry Theyard/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett
14. Act Three: Celeste prowidenza - Harry Theyard/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett
15. Act Three: Tutto percorsi il marzial recinto - Gwynne Howell/Harry Theyard
16. Act Three: Chiuso serbate il cor - Gwynne Howell/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett/Harry Theyard/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
17. Act Three: Nube di sangue intrisa - Gwynne Howell/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett/Harry Theyard/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
18. Act Three: Questo nome, che suona vittoria - Gwynne Howell/Beverly Sills/Shirley Verrett/Harry Theyard/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
19. Act Three: L'ora fatal s'appressa - Beverly Sills
20. Act Three: Giusto ciel! - Beverly Sills/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
21. Act Three: Vittoria! Vittoria! - Beverly Sills/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
22. Act Three: Parmi vederlo, ahi misero - Beverly Sills/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy
23. Act Three: Ma qual mai suona - Beverly Sills/Ambrosian Opr Chor/John McCarthy/Justino Diaz

Customer Reviews:

Sweet Beverly Sills.......2006-08-16

You can believe the first reviewer and miss out -- or you can listen to the samples, buy it, and love the sublime beauty of Ms. Sills' coloratura. I bought this recording on record 31 years ago and it remains one of my top 5-10 favorite performances of any opera. (e.g. Kirsten in Tristan/Isolde; Solti's Ring; Bjoerling/Tebaldi et al in Turandot; Price and Domingo in Il Trovatore; and Bjoerling/DeLosAngeles in La Boheme; Pinza in Don Giovanni;...). To me opera is the deep emotion I feel as I close my eyes in the dark and just float. Compared to his earlier, fun operas (Roberta Peters in Barber of Seville or Cenerentola) in Siege of Corinth you hear Rossini moving toward a more serious dramatic genre which heralds the age of Verdi. Note the history -- the setting is the 1458 fall of Greece's Corinth to the Ottoman Turks; Rossini wrote it in 1826 in support of the Greek wars of independence (1821-1829); and this recording came out around the time of the Cyprus crisis and Turkish occupation in 1975. -- Eric

my opinion.......1998-10-08

In this record, unfortunately we can't get the "burning" and "inspired" interpretation of the Teatro alla Scala of Milano directed bySchippers. Maybe because this recording was made too late. in addition, the voice of sills is very metallic and without the emotion or the art of the live.

Average customer rating:

L'Assedio Di Corinto Rossini , Horne , Sills , and Diaz Manufacturer: As. Disc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000DOVR Release Date: 1993-08-17

Average customer rating:

The Opera Rara Collection Volume 1 Manufacturer: Opera Rara ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Meyerbeer | Meyerbeer, Giacomo | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Offenbach | Offenbach, Jacques | ( O ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Pacini, Giovanni | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Similar Items: The Opera Rara Collection, Vol. 2 Rossini: L'Assedio di Corinto ASIN: B00000C2BP Release Date: 1998-09-08

Tracks:

1. Mercadante Orazie Curiazi - Anthony Michaels-Moore/Alastair Miles
2. Donizetti Gabriella Di Vergy - Della Jones
3. Meyerbeer Dinorah - Deborah Cook,/Alexander Oliver//Christian Du Plessis
4. Donizetti Rosmonda D'Inghilterra - Renee' Fleming
5. Rossini Ricciardo E Zoraide - Bruce Fort/William Matteuzzi/Nelly Miricioiu
6. Donizetti Ugo Conte Di Parigi - Janet Price/Della Jones/Yvonne Kenny
7. Nicolini I Baccanali Di Roma - Yvonne Kenny
8. Offenbach Christopher Columbus - Marilyn Hill Smith/Johanna Peters
9. Donizetti L'Assedio Di Calais - Della Jones/Nuccia Focile/Christian Du Plessis
10. Mercadante Virginia - Bruce Ford
11. Pacini Maria Regina D'Inghilterra - Nelly Miricioiu/Mary Plazas
12. Donizetti Gabriella Di Vergy - Ludmilla Andrew/Christian Du Plessis
13. Meyerbeer Il Crociato In Egitto - Diana Montague
14. Rossini Armida - Bruce Ford/William Matteuzzi/Paul Austin Kelly
15. Offenbach Robinson Crusoe - Yvonne Kenny
16. Donizetti Emilia Di Liverpool - Sesto Bruscantini/Chris Merrit
17. Mayr Medea In Corinto - Jane Eaglen
18. Pucitta La Caccia Di Enrico IV - Della Jones/Marilyn Hill Smith
19. Donizetti Maria De Rudenz - Nelly Miricioiu
20. Mercadante Il Brindisi - Bruce Ford/Alastair Miles

Average customer rating:

The Opera Rara Collection, Vol. 2 Manufacturer: Opera Rara UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bellini, Vincenzo | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Pacini, Giovanni | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Operas | Opera & Vocal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Operas | Opera & Vocal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Opera Rara Collection Volume 1 Rossini: L'Assedio di Corinto Rossini: Torvaldo e Dorliska Massenet: La Navarraise / Horne, Domingo, Milnes, Bacquier, Zaccaria, Davies, LSO, Lewis ASIN: B00004S3BI Release Date: 2000-05-09

Average customer rating: "Thalberg is the only man who can play the violin on the piano"

Thalberg: Fantasies on Operas by Verdi, Rossini & Bellini Manufacturer: Marco Polo ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Thalberg | Thalberg, Sigismund | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music ASIN: B0000045WY Release Date: 1994-12-13

Tracks:

1. La Traviata de Verdi, Op. 78: Grande fantaisie de concert sur l'opera
2. Il Trovatore de Verdi, Op. 77: Grande fantaisie de concert sur l'opera
3. Souvenir de Ballo in maschera de Verdi, Op. 81
4. Souvenir de Rigoletto de Verdi, Op. 82
5. L'Assedio di Corinto de Rossini, Op. 3: Fantaisie sur l'opera
6. Casta Diva, Op.70

Amazon.com

Piano fantasies on operatic themes were popular in the 19th century, when hearing an opera wasn't a simple matter of turning on the radio. Liszt wrote many of them, and so did Sigismund Thalberg (1812-71), who was once considered a serious rival to Liszt. You can understand this after hearing Thalberg's imaginative piano writing, which weaves these themes into very pleasing and exciting pastiches. Francesco Nicolosi, who is apparently a Thalberg specialist, has actually recorded four CDs of these Fantasies. This is the only one I've heard, and it's a kick, played with a mellow brilliance that suits the music very well. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

"Thalberg is the only man who can play the violin on the piano".......2006-06-29

Sigismond Thalberg's name in today's view of music history is almost exclusively linked with the great pianistic rivalry he shared with Franz Liszt. But Thalberg's life, influence on the composers around him, and the popularity of his music during his lifetime reveals that he had a far more substantial role in music history. Liszt once made a perplexing remark about Thalberg's striking pianistic effects and said he could "play the violin on the piano." Without hearing Thalberg perform, it's difficult to know exactly what Liszt was referring to. However, Thalberg's compositions, especially his operatic fantasias, illuminate all of the cantabile and vocal qualities of Thalberg's piano-writing. Interestingly, Thalberg actually studied singing for five years. This Marco Polo release was not reissued by Naxos, but I feel it deserves five stars for the special first-recorded content and the excellent interpretations. The performances by the stupendous Francesco Nicolosi, the president of the Thalberg International Study Center, are marvelous and without defects.

Modern listeners today might not find much appeal in Thalberg's piano fantasies. Two extreme opinions might be that his music is either superficial or boring. But I would highlight on the fact that his operatic fantasies, like Liszt's later Transcendental Etudes, represent the piano technique and aesthetics of his time. His famous three-handed technique influenced Liszt and everyone after. Beyond that, however, Clara Schumann, Anton Rubinstein, Cesar Franck and even Brahms played these fantasies for audiences. I think this fact reflects the merit of Thalberg's fantasies alone. My five-star rating may be overly generous, but there are three works on this disc that possess such breathtaking music content and exciting pianistic display that four stars doesn't seem enough. I have to immediately praise the glorious piano transcription of Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma. Thalberg's, but better yet Nicolosi's, treatment of this music is so supple and vocal, so balanced between important accompanimental harmonies and the main melodic line, that I can compare the results with the best of Chopin's lyricism.

Thalberg's fantasies on themes from Verdi's operas are cast from the same mold as most contemporary potpourris, but the dramatic atmosphere and the purely superior thematic material makes Thalberg's fantasies engaging music experiences. Thalberg's Grande Fantaisie on La Traviata, for instance, might have the architectonics of a potpourri, embellishing each theme with a wide array of pianistic devices and effects, but Thalberg masks the mechanics with beautiful expressive lines and improvisatory-sounding transition material. The Grande Fantaisie on Il Trovatore is even more memorable, owing much to the melodious themes and unabashed brilliance of Thalberg's three-handed technique. There is a moment of descending notes in the higher registers while the main melody is played in the bass that creates such a scintillating orchestral texture; I'm entranced every time I hear it.

Bottom line: Although I did not comment on the three remaining fantasies, I am enamored with just about all of these works, especially the two Grande Fantaisies of Verdi and the purely transcribed Casta Diva. As head of a quasi Thalberg Society, Franceso Nicolosi is *the* Thalberg performer and his passion for the music comes across in every phrase. Thalberg deserves more attention today, but at least he has a fine champion like Nicolosi.

Average customer rating: An excellent testament to Tebaldi, NOT Rossini TEBALDI SHINES IN THIS ONE!

Siege of Corinth (L'Assedio di Corinto) - Complete Opera Gioacchino Rossini , and Renata Tebaldi Manufacturer: Hardy Classic ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000I7JZ Release Date: 2000-01-18

Tracks:

1. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 1: Vestibolo del senato di Corinto: Coro
2. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 1: Vestibolo del senato di Corinto: Tua figlia m'e promessa (Pamira)
3. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 1: Vestibolo del senato di Corinto: Destin terribile... Oh Ciel! propizio mie preci intendi (Pamira)
4. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 1: Vestibolo del senato di Corinto: Al Mussulman corriam... La data fe rammento (Pamira)
5. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 1: Vestibolo del senato di Corinto: Sinfonia
6. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 2: Piazza di Corinto: Dal ferro del forte... Esecri Corinto il proprio furor.. Guerrieri sorgete
7. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 2: Piazza di Corinto: Duce di tanti eroi
8. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 2: Piazza di Corinto: Trionfiammo Signor!... Oh ciel, fermate (Pamira)
9. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act One: Scene 2: Piazza di Corinto: Ritrovo l'amante... Pamira mi sei resa... L'alma che geme
10. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Two: Padiglione di Maometto: Cielo! che diverro?... Dal soggiorno degli estinti (Pamira)
11. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Two: Padiglione di Maometto: Coro di Greci
12. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Two: Padiglione di Maometto: Sgombra il timor... Potrei lasciar che l'alma (Pamira)

Tracks:

1. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Two: Padiglione di Maometto: Imen le dona...
2. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Two: Padiglione di Maometto: Divin Profeta...
3. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Two: Padiglione di Maometto: Audace shiavo...E mio fratel...Oh sol chi t'adora (Pamira)
4. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Two: Padiglione di Maometto: Corinto in suon di sdegno...Sfidiam della sorte... (Pamira)
5. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Salve, asilo della morte...
6. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Ciel che sara...Signor che tutto puoi... (Pamira)
7. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Sei tu che senti, oh Dio
8. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Celeste provvidenza... (Pamira)
9. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Gia feroce s'avanza...I secoli futuri...
10. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Questo nome che suona vittoria
11. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: L'ora faral s'appressa (Pamira)
12. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Giusto ciel in tal periglio... (Pamira)
13. L'Assedio di Corinto: Act Three: Le tombe di Corinto: Feriam! Feriam! (Pamira)

Customer Reviews:

An excellent testament to Tebaldi, NOT Rossini.......2007-06-14

This is a live presentation of the opera sung by Tebaldi. She is noted as condemning the rendition of the opera sung by Sills and Horne. And although what they sing adds music from the earlier Maometto II (Sills sings two extra arias from it, and two extra from another Rossini work; Horne combines the Act 3 scene of the opera with an aria from Maometto II, and a trio from Maometto II is added after Neocle's big scene in Act 3), nothing is really cut from the opera itself (excepting an alteration in the cabaletta in Act 2 for Sills -- one of her replacement arias, as it has the same melody of the additional aria for Neocle added from Maometto II for the beginning of Act 3, and a part of the duet in Act 2 for Pamira and Maometto II which was written by Donizetti). One must not get the impression that this rendition of the opera is closer to what Rossini wanted. It is NOT. The overture (Sinfonia) does not occur at the beginning, but between scenes I and II of act one, a thing expressly forbidden by the score itself. The scenes are to actually run right together (as in the Sills commercial recording with Verrett). There are many cuts in the music, and although Tebaldi does a wonderful job with the coloratura she does sing, she does NOT sing the most difficult parts of the score. They have been removed, though I really doubt because of her (though she has no real trill, the runs are clean and well done). The male counter-parts in the opera do not sing all their music, nor do they always do it well. However, by no means are they HORRIBLE like so often is the case in Maria Callas recordings of Bel Canto operas.

An understanding of Rossini's style is completely ignored, but at this time, no one really knew HOW to perform a Serious Rossini Opera. All they knew about were his comedies. There are no embellishments to speak of (and we know they were sung, no matter what many reviews of the various Sill's version say, for the singer Laure Cinti-Damoreau, who created the role of Pamira in Paris in the French version of the opera, not an Italian preparation, like this version is based on, left us a very detailed notebook of not only her embellisments -- all approved of by Rossini, and some even written for her by him -- but all those sung by the other characters; her notebook also contains the variants of other operas by many other composers that she sang during her career).

The sound quality is simply HORRIBLE. The singer who sings Maometto II actually is not even audible during the finale of the opera (where it is so important to HEAR his statements make to Pamira as she commits suicide). But, even with the world's worst sound, I really enjoyed listening to this recording.

I gave it only 3 stars, not because it is such a terrible singing job, but because the sound is so terrible most of the real interesting affects called for in the orchestra are not audible, and because of the edition of the opera sung. So many cuts were made many fine introductions and postludes were lost, and that spoiled the entire affect that was to be created by those scenes (the most glaring is the loss of all the introduction in the second scene of Act I, that Turkish chorus leading to Maometto's aria; The aria itself is also heavily cut, but in nearly all Italian versions, there is an entire middle section of the aria left out, and a very beautiful section it is; I believe the only recording of it is in a "live from Lincoln Center" performance honoring Rossini's birthday and is sung by Samuel Ramey).

Cuts of that period were NEVER done to improve the music, but simply to cut time. And in this case, we see a very butchered opera where the real intent behind the music is lost. Yet, even with all those cuts, most very poorly thought out, the opera does hold together and is exciting.

As for the singers, firstly, one must accept this is NOT the French version of the opera, the part of Neocle has been returned to a Mezzo-soprano, as was done when it was brought to Italy in Italian in the beginning (Donizetti was the one who prepared this version of the opera, and to date, the opera is always published with both the Tenor vocal parts and the Mezzo vocal parts together for Neocle; one can see exactly the differences between the two versions, and in Neither version is the part overly ridden with colorature, that is why the arias from Maometto II were added in later presentations of the opera, a very ordinary serviceable mezzo could sing it easily, but the tenor version is written very high, which would make it a strain for most tenors today). The singer who sang Neocle did a fine job. She was nothing special. There is nothing exciting about her, but there is nothing bad either. She is good at what she does, and that is about it. I felt NO development of character (and Neocle does develop as a character much more than the original Calbo does). Her voice, DOES, however, blend well with Tebaldi when they are required to sing in thirds during duets and trios.

All the men sang well, at least the music left in the score they were required to sing (again, the most difficult was often cut), but the man who sang Maometto really sounded TOO OLD to be a dashing hero (and he is, after all, the LOVE INTEREST in the opera), and the part of Cleomene was very obviously NOT a comfortable fit to the man who had to sing it. But this said, neither singer was bad. They were very enjoyable. The miking was horrible, and you could tell lines and parts of lines were lost.

All the very minor roles were well sung considering they have no real important music to sing, but every singing did a wonderful job with what they had.

Now for the discussion on Tebaldi herself, as she is the real reason this opera has been reissued. I found her voice "driven" at times too much. She reminded me of TOSCA more than Pamira. Though she did get through the coloratura, it really held no meaning. She really didn't know how to phrase it so it took on color, or a meaning, or an intent. It was well-sung vocalizes. She doesn't have the finess of Callas at all when it comes to shaping cadenzas or shaping a very decorative line. All she does is sing them fairly accurately and for the most part, well. She is not alone in this aspect, as NONE of the singers had a clue how to shape a line of coloratura and make it MEAN something. And none of them had a clue how to make it fit into the feeling of the piece. Rossini wrote those scales and trills for a reason, and they MEANT something, they pushed forth the emotions of the words. All that was lost.

In recitatives, her DRAMA was more than apparent. At times, she was a little TOO HARD for what the character is intending, stressing words to the point of sounding angry, when in context she is not angry (when Maometto refers to her father) but divided thinking of her love (whom she chose over her father and country) and her father (whom she really loves). At times she sounded like she had to "push" the voice to just get to the F at the top of the clef. Yet, we did hear some of her wonderful high pianissimo that really were meltingly beautiful.

Based on how she sang this role, I can easily see why she stopped trying to make her mark in this type of music. Though she sang it well within the context of her talent, there were many others who were far better at this type of music than she was. They knew how to breath life and drama into the plastic lines of the music. She really was not great at that at all. Even later in her career with such music as in Mephistopheles by Boito, or even in Trovatore, she never really makes any of the florid music do much. She is better in Traviata, but still, florid music is not where she shines, no matter how well she sings it.

This recording is a testament to the wonderful talent that was Tebaldi, and it was a talent that needs no apologies or excuses. She was vastly talented, very musical, deeply dramatic, and intensely emotional. She just needed to find the music that was the best fit for her abilities, and well, this opera and this style of music, was NOT that fit. Though I agree with the former reviewer who stated that she could sing coloratura with the best of them (and she could), it was not this style of music that really brought out the best in her talent. I am very glad this recording is out there. It is a very acceptable "alternative" to the more elaborate one sung by Sills (though, like with all Maria Callas recordings of bel canto operas, not a testament to the opera itself because of the wayward way the cuts were made). It is a great revelation as to the career and talent development of a wonderful artist now gone. It really is a treasure to listen to, to enjoy, and to imagine what it was like to have "been there" during the performance. It is well worth having in any collection of Rossini operas.

TEBALDI SHINES IN THIS ONE!.......2000-05-27

This opera by Rossini, recorded LIVE in 1952, gives us a tremendous opportunity to hear Tebaldi do a coloratura role -- to PERFECTION! While the Hardy release "Fernando Cortez" gave us an early peek into her spinto powers, this opera proves that at her early stage, she could sing coloratura with the BEST of them. Thanks to Hardy, we are finding many recordings that were available before only on badly made tapes.Sills and Horne did this opera, but it cannot compare to this! Tebaldi's voice is remastered to perfection, and the entire opera is a new-found joy to me, with it's many melodic arias, and superb singing from the ENTIRE cast.To imagine this singing duplicated today is impossible. All the more reason to buy it, and hear what REAL voices were like. It's no secret that Tebaldi considered Naples her second home, the first being the MET. So in every Hardy release we get her in a great environment, great cast, and a most appreciative audience! This opera was and is new to me, but I will enjoy it forever. VERY attractive packaging, singing, and remastering. During this time of Tebaldi's career she was into revivals, and this is just one.Hardy has told me that many more releases are planned. I can hardly wait! However hearing the incredible Tebaldi do tremendous coloratura and spinto in a single performance is more than worth the price of this 2CD set! Perfection.

Meditation Music:

1. Mahler, Mahler and Friends
2. Margarethe: Opernquerschnitt in deutscher Sprache
3. Martin y Soler: Una Cosa Rara
4. Mascagni: I Rantzau
5. Mascagni: Lodoletta
6. Massenet - Grisélidis / Command · Larcher · Dasnoues · Courtis · Viala · Henry · Treguier · Sieyes · Fournillier
7. Massenet: Sapho
8. Monteverdi: Il Ritorno D'Ulisse In Patria / Garrido
9. Mozart: 18 Great Arias
10. Mozart: Der Schauspieldirektor (Complete Version)

Meditation Music

meditation music

Meditation Music

Very Best of [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Schubert arr. Reger: Orchestral Songs

New Fashions: Cries & Ballads of London

Music: Swings & Roundabouts [Import]

Private Press [Box set] [Import]

Runaway [CD-single] [EP]

Opaline [Import]

Son of Evil Reindeer

Silver Brainwaves [Import]

Pulse (Brick Slipcase) [Live]

Spirals: The Berlin Concert

Paseo Latino

Nacional Cuarta [Import]

Fluorescent Jellyfish

Live at Nick's NYC