The Verdi Project: Ernani

The mature Verdi style emerges in the composer's fifth opera. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A post-horn: the instrument blown by Silva to remind Ernani that it is time to die.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Following the wild success of Nabucco and its follow-up I Lombardi, Verdi was on his way as an established composer of Italian opera. And yet, those operas, while having their positive points, do not yet embody the elements that one thinks of when the name "Verdi" comes to mind. Ernani changed all that. Its premiere at La Fenice, in Venice in 1844 was Verdi's first triumph away from the stage of La Scala and cemented his reputation as Italy's newest opera sensation

The Mozart Project: Così fan tutte

"Boys versus girls in the World Series of love."
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Continuing our proud tradition of graphics that have little to do with Mozart,
here's Tom Hanks and Geena Davis in A League of Their Own.
Image © 1992 Touchstone Pictures/The Walt Disney Company.

Cosí fan tutte  is the last of the three operas Mozart wrote in close collaboration with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. But unlike their preceding collaborations, this opera is an original story by da Ponte, its impetus coming from a phrase in their earlier Le Nozze di Figaro. The title translates loosely as "Women are like that." It comes from the longer phrase "Così fan tutte la belle", uttered by the sarcastic Don Basilio in that earlier opera. Unfortunatly for Mozart and Da Ponte, the death of Emperor Joseph II squashed enthusiasm for their new opera in Vienna, and it closed after only five performances.

A Symphony Should Be Like the World

Some essential Mahler grooves.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Gustav Mahler, out for a walk.

July 7 marked the 155th birthday of composer, conductor and former Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic music director Gustav Mahler. A controversial figure in his lifetime, Mahler is now revered as the father of the 20th century symphonist, a forward thinker whose death at the age of 50 robbed the world of his own unique, driven genius. In celebration of his birth here are my favorite recordings of each of the ten Mahler symphonies plus Das Lied von der Erde, a symphony in all but name.

Recording Review: Dead City, Live Opera

Die Tote Stadt from Frankfurt.

Paul (Klaus Florian Vogt, right) haunted by the memory of his dead wife.
Photo by Barbara Aumüller © 2009 Frankfurt Opera.

With rumors flying around about the death of the CD, I've decided that music reviews on this site will now be labeled recording review instead of CD review.. It's really a matter of nomenclature. 

I upload just about everything I listen to (as high-quality MP3s) and those form the listening experience I write from. It's not a fancy stereo setup, but hey, we're on a budget.

It is hard to believe that this 2009 recording made in Frankfurt is only the third version of Die Tote Stadt in the catalogue. Erich Wolfgang Korngold wrote the opera when he was 19, constructing the libretto with help from his father Julius, a noted Vienna music critic. The composer's most famous work before his Hollywood exile, it is chiefly remembered for "Gluck das mir Verblieb." This sentimental tune shows up in many Hollywood movies, most recently in The Big Lebowski.

Die Tote Stadt is set in Doctor Evil's home-town, the "dead city" of Bruges, Belgium. The town's gothic atmosphere permeates the score, which is written in a lush orchestral style. Korngold stands with Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler as the last heirs to the Romantic tradition in music. But history (specifically the rise of the Nazis and the Anschluss) intervened, and the Jewish Korngold fled to Hollywood. There, he became one of the fathers of film music, which brought personal success but derision from the world of "serious" musicians.

Conductor Sebastian Weigle takes the famous "Gluck das mir Verblieb" as slowly as possible, allowing soprano Tatiana Pavlovskaya to linger over the phrases. The effect is one of Wagnerian longing in this famous tune, drawing out the characters' nostalgia and inner anguish, expressed through this inspired melody. Elsewhere, the giant orchestra is adeptly led in the dance music for Marietta and the phantasmagoric carnival scene in Act II. 

Heldentenor Klaus Florian Vogt is captured here in marvelous voice. He sounds relieved to be free of the strange opera productions of Katherina Wagner's Bayreuth. This is the right voice for Paul, the hapless composer haunted by the memory of his dead wife. He sings the role with great tenderness and understanding, but is also  credible when portraying Paul's rage and confusion when confronted with Marietta. He brings frightening power and pathos to the scene where Paul strangles the phantom of his wife.

The engineers from Oehms Records are to be commended for bringing out the complexity Korngold's high-calorie orchestrations. A smooth fabric of strings wraps around the listener, ably supporting the vocal line. Brass and timpani are fully captured, including the complex writing for celesta and triangle. Although this is labelled as a live recording, the mic-ing is well forward of the house. An occasional cough or stage noise is audible, but it's not enough to distract from one's enjoyment of the music.

Verdi: The Best of the Galley Years

Erroll Flynn rows the boat in The Sea Hawk.
© 1940 Warner Bros. Pictures

A Look at Five Great Early Verdi Operas.
Giuseppe Verdi was one of the most prolific and influential composers of Italian opera in the 19th century. In the course of a long career, he made advances in drama and orchestration that changed his chosen art form forever.

Verdi called the period from 1842 (the premiere of Nabucco) to 1851 (the premiere of Rigoletto) his 'galley years'. In that period, the composer cranked out fourteen operas. He had to satisfy a hungry public, a wide range of singers, and the capricious, difficult censors who tried to force the composer from Busetto to radically alter his work.

Here's the top five operas from Verdi's galley years. Chronological order.

1842: Nabucco (premiered Teatro alla Scala, Milan)
Verdi's third opera (and first real success) retold the story of Babylonian Captivity as a blood-and-thunder story. The plight of the captured Jews resonated with the Italian people, and the chorus "Va, pensiero" became a de facto anthem of Italian nationalism. Nabucodonosor became a beloved opera, affectionately known by its diminuitive.

• For more about Nabucco, read the Metropolitan Opera Preview page for the opera.

1846 Ernani (premiered La Fenice, Venice)
Early Verdi operas feature a lot of bandits, from the philosophical robbers of I Masnadieri ("The Bandits") to the romantic pirate of Il Corsaro. The most famous is Ernani, created by Victor Hugo and so honorable that he commits suicide rather than marry the leading lady in the last act. But it is also a great opera with a firebrand tenor part that points the way towards the great things to come in Verdi's mature period. Without Ernani, there would be no Trovatore.

• For more about Ernani, read the Metropolitan Opera Preview page for the opera.

1846 Attila (premiered La Fenice, Venice)
One of the few Italian operas with a bass lead, Attila is known for the swaggering sex appeal of its title character. The barbarian invader is presented as a sympathetic anti-hero brought down by the treachery of a rapidly falling Roman Empire. The line "Take all the world, but leave Italy for me" (actually sung by a Roman general negotiating for his life) became a battle cry as Italy moved toward unification and independence.

• For more about Attila, read our review of the Met's 2010 production.

1847 Macbeth (premiered Teatro della Pergola, Florence. Revised version premiered 1865 in Paris.)
Verdi's version of the "Scottish play" is always known by its English title. That oddity aside, this is a straight-up adaptation of the tragedy of an ambitious Scottish laird who embarks on a murderous march to the throne. Macbeth's leading Lady is one of the composer's most memorable creations: bloody-minded at the start of the opera she is ultimately destroyed by her own harrowing guilt. "Va, il tico maladetto!"

• For more about Macbeth, read the Metropolitan Opera Preview page for the opera.

1851 Rigoletto (premiered La Fenice, Venice)
Most Verdi scholars put this story of a hunchbacked jester at the start of the composer's 'mature' period. It could be argued that Rigoletto is transitional, owing much to the operas that came before. The opening features an onstage banda (small orchestra), playing the lilting rhythm that was an early Verdi trademark. The innovative storm scene (with its humming chorus) and the dark climax owe something to I Masnadieri and Macbeth. Rigoletto sums up and ends Verdi's early period, and is the first peak of his genius.

• For more about Rigoletto, read our Recommended Recordings guide.

The Comprehensive Liszt

Bicentennial Brings Five Big Box Sets.

An old-school "Liszt box." This one plays a Hungarian Rhapsody.
Photo from Harp Gallery

2011 marks Franz Liszt's 200th birthday. Had the old gentleman been around for the birth, death, and (occasional, sputtering) revival of the classical music recording industry, he might have been amused to learn of the slew of boxed sets bearing his name and likeness that have issued forth this year.

Here's a quick overview, organized by weight:

Liszt: The Piano Collection 
(EMI Classics, 10 Discs)Various Artists
This is a solid reissue focusing only on Liszt works for solo piano. It features György Cziffra's energetic versions of the Hungarian Rhapsodies, paired with the ruminative Années de pèlerinage from Italian pianist Aldo Ciccolini. The late, eccentric British virtuoso John Ogdon also contributes to this fine set. Sadly, no opera transcriptions are included.

Liszt: Master and Magician: The Masterworks Collection
(Sony Classical, 25 CDs, 1 DVD). Various Artists
This box features all-star lineup of pianists (Vladimir Horowitz, Evgeny Kissin, Jorge Bolet, Van Cliburn) and conductors contribute to this stellar overview set, which digs deeply into the old Columbia Records catalogue. Newer recordings made under the Sony Classical imprint are also included, and the overall effect is a fairly comprehensive look at the long, varied career of Franz Liszt. Some interesting piano transcriptions here, with Glenn Gould's take on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and Schubert songs played by Mr. Kissin. Also includes the Grand Mass and a sampling of Liszt's organ music.

A Liszt Portrait (Brilliant Classics, 31 discs)
Various Artists
A respectable entry with both orchestral pieces, piano music and some choral music--but no Christus. The Brilliant set combines modern performances of good quality, some of them from orchestras and pianists that you may have never heard of, with ten discs worth of historical issues. Some interesting gems here: Maria Yudina playing a set of variations, early Evgeny Kissin performances, Alfred Brendel's Tannhäuser transcription. For the Liszt nut who already has everything else.


The Liszt Collection (Deutsche Grammophon, 34 discs)
Various Artists
Another "limited edition" from DG, this set combines some fascinating out-of-print recordings (Giuseppe Sinopoli conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle in the Faust and Dante Symphonies) with more familiar Liszt works.

The twelve symphonic poems are split between labels, with Solti (Decca) Haitink (Philips) and von Karajan (DG) all contributingto make a "greatest hits" version. Also contains complete reissues of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's invaluable two-disc survey of Liszt liederLazar Berman's Annees de un pelerenage and Roberto Szidon's kick-ass Hungarian Rhapsodies. A good overview with the exceptional sound quality one expects from DG. If the set had included Jorge Bolet's nine discs of Decca recordings it would be hard to beat.


Liszt: The Complete Piano Music (Hyperion, 99 Discs)
Leslie Howard, Piano.
Here it is. The heavyweight champion: Leslie Howard's exhaustive, exhausting survery of all the Liszt piano works, recorded for British label Hyperion over the last three decades, all in sparkling, absolutely perfect digital sound.

This bread-box of a set includes all the familiar works, along with the complete opera transciptions, the symphony transcriptions (Beethoven and Berlioz) and a few fascinating works that may or may not be from Liszt's pen. The decision to include multiple and alternate versions of Liszt works, makes this set an invaluable resource to the serious scholar of Liszt or piano music in general. You may not want to load all of these versions into your IPod, but their scholarly value is beyond dispute.

Retailing at over $300 (though it can be found for less with some effort) this is an investment. But is not an overstatement to call this large, handsome box (which includes a comprehensive softcover book) a veritable gold mine of musical inspiration. And a week's worth of listening if you play the whole set without a break.

We Ain't Goin' Out Like That

A Playlist for the Apocalypse

At Bayreuth, meeting the end of the world requires ridonkulous pants.
Deborah Polaski as Brünnhilde, Wolfgang Schmidt as Siegfried in Götterdämmerung.
Photo © 1998 Bayreuth Festival/Deutsche Grammophon.

In case you've been keeping up with the media (aside from Superconductor) the world is supposed to end tomorrow evening in a giant earthquake--or something. According to Bible number-cruncher Harold Camping, a bunch of people are going to be taken from Earth in the Rapture. The rest of us will enjoy listening to really good music without hearing those people's cell phones ring during piano recitals. Anyway, here's ten works to check out as we all prepare to check out.

10) Wagner: Götterdämmerung (the whole frickin' thing.)
We might as well start off this soundtrack to the apocalpyse with the final opera from Wagner's Ring cycle, which ends with a Germanic vision of the end of the world. Something about a cursed ring thrown into a river, a collapsing castle and 24 giant moving planks on a computer-controlled system just spells doomsday. The Solti recording from 1962 (made in Vienna with Birgit Nilsson and Wolfgang Windgassen) has been the benchmark for half a century.

9) Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (Apocalyptic)
Anton Bruckner's final completed symphony consists of huge slab-like chords of brass and strings, piled in an ever-reaching stairway to heaven as the composer grapples with the infinite. He spent so much time grappling with the Eighth that he never finished the even more ambitious Ninth--a lesson for us all.

8) Berlioz: Requiem
Tremendous orchestral and choral forces are required for Hector Berlioz' setting of the Latin Mass of the Dead. The Tuba Mirum (Last Trumpet) is announced by four offstage brass bands and twelve thundering kettledrums-definitely the soundtrack to some kind of 19th century apocalypse. The message: "God is coming! Look busy!" Colin Davis made two recordings: the first one is the one on my shelf.

7) Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"
The best funeral march ever written stands at the center of Beethoven's first long-form symphony. There are two dozen recordings in the standard catalogue, and another twenty or so that have been deleted by record companies preparing for the end of the world, or their industry as they know it. I like Claudio Abbado's second live recording with the Berlin forces.

6) Verdi: Falstaff
I thought about the Requiem here but a) I already picked the Berlioz piece and b) we all need to lighten up already. Verdi's Shakespearean comedy (and last opera) ends with a gorgeous fugue on the words "All the world's a joke." Not a bad way to go out.


5) Mozart: Idomeneo
If you're looking for an apocalyptic scenario, the prospect of being destroyed by a gigantic sea monster must appeal. Japan's genre of kaiju movies might have been inspired by this Mozart opera seria, where a Greek king runs afoul of the god Neptune and nearly gets stomped on by a giant, unspecified aquatic beast. Music's good too. I like James Levine's recording with the Metropolitan Opera forces and Placido Domingo as the king in deep water.

4) Mahler: Symphony No. 2 Resurrection
Gustav Mahler added a soloist and a chorus to this five-movement opus, which starts with a funeral march and ends with the dead busting out of their graves. Not quite a zombie apocalypse. The second Bernstein recording featuring the New York Philharmonic is a classic.

3) Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14
Part symphony and part song cycle, Shostakovich's penultimate symphony is a setting of 11 poems about death, written for two singers, a chamber orchestra and an unusual percussion section. Try Bernard Haitink's recording with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.


2) Messiaen: L'ascension
Just as the Rapture might send people running through the streets, Messiaen's music with its bird-songs and apocalyptic chords can send listeners running from the concert hall. "The Ascension", a 27-minute piece in four movements meditating on the resurrection of Jesus, is one of his more accomodating compositions. Also worthy: the Quartet For the End of Time, written in the chaos of World War II when the composer was held in the German Stalag-VIII-A prison camp.

1) Strauss: Tod und Verklärung
When Richard Strauss finally died, he commented that the experience was exactly as he had written it in this 22-minute tone poem, composed in his early period. (The title means Death and Transfiguration.) Herbert von Karajan's excellent recording with the Berlin Philharmonic is recommended as your guide to the world beyond.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Die Walküre

This is a preview. The Superconductor review of the opening night of Die Walküre is now online.

A rehearsal image of "The Machine", configured for Act II of Die Walküre.

Photo by Yves Renaud, from a feature in

Architectural Record magazine.

The debut of part II of the Robert Lepage production of Wagner's Ring Cycle features Deborah Voigt in the title role and Bryn Terfel as Wotan. Jonas Kaufmann is Siegmund, singing his first Wagner role at the Met. James Levine is scheduled to conduct the run of performances.

My old music teacher James Kurtz pointed out that Walküre was the first opera in the Ring to involve actual human beings with real emotions after the abtruse world of Rheingold with its gods, dwarves and giants. It also has some of Wagner's "greatest hits", including the "Winterstürme" aria, the Ride of the Valkyries, and the Magic Fire scene. Put those two facts together, and you have one of the most popular operas Wagner ever wrote.

The plot of Walküre concerns an act of incest and adultery between the twins Siegmund (Jonas Kaufmann) and Sieglinde, (Eva Maria Westbroek) the half-human Wälsung children of Wotan  the king of the Gods. The rest of the opera is a chase, with the twins' half-sister Brunnhilde attempting to save them from the wrath of their father Wotan. Siegmund is killed. Sieglinde goes into exile. But the ultimate result of their union: the hero Siegfried, is the title character of the next opera in the Ring.


Recording Recommendations:
For recommendations for a complete Ring, click here.
For a recommendation of a recording of Das Rheingold, click here.

There are probably more recordings of Walküre out there than any other Wagner opera, for the simple fact that it's the one opera from the Ring that stands alone without being part of a complete cycle. But when it comes to this opera, there are basically two contenders.

Bayreuth Festival, 1966, cond. Karl Böhm (Philips, (currently Decca) 1970)
This is a really special performance, recorded live at the Festspielhaus. What sells it is James King and Leonie Rysanek as an ardent, nearly unbeatable pair of lovers. This is the recording with the famous Rysanek scream: it comes at the end of Act I when Siggy pulls the sword out of the tree.

The later acts feature the solid Wotan of Theo Adam and the great Birgit Nilsson, the one soprano of the golden age of recordings who could sing Brunnhilde, Isolde, Turandot and Elektra and not seem fatigued. Karl Böhm keeps things moving at a lively clip, and the orchestra plays superbly.

To hear what the Ring sounded like in the silver age of Bayreuth, this is the recording to own. The fact that it comes as part of an excellent complete Ring on 14 discs for about $56 bucks should sweeten the deal.

Berlin Philharmonic cond. Herbert von Karajan (DG, 1968)
Karajan's Berlin recording of the Ring is not without its admirers--and I'm one of them. The Austrian maestro has a special touch with Wagner, creating chamber-music dynamics out Wagner's huge set pieces, and making his crack Berlin troops respond with tender, languid playing that makes the first act feel, well, erotic.

This recording boasts a great pair of Walsüngs: Jon Vickers and Gundula Janowitz. For the casting of La Janowitz as Sieglinde, we can thank the confines of the recording studio: the role was far too heavy for this middle-weight soprano to tackle onstage.

The same applies to Regine Crespin, a controversial Brunnhilde (she recorded Sieglinde on the Solti Ring four years before) in a different mold from Nilsson. In the studio she brings a youthful freshness to the young warrior maiden. Thomas Stewart's performance as Wotan is under-rated.

Die Walküre opens April 22.

Old-School Mozart: The 1950 Karajan Vienna Recordings

The Man, the Maestro: Herbert von Karajan. © Universal Classics.

These two recordings of Mozart operas: Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte, rank among the earliest LP recordings of an entire opera in a recording studio. (Decca recorded Die Meistersinger in 1950 with Hans Knappertsbusch, but that's another column.) They are also the first two complete recordings led by Herbert von Karajan, at the start of his long association with the EMI label.

Both of these sets were made in Vienna in 1950. They are from the early days of LP records, and are in mono sound. (Stereo recording was invented in 1952)

As such, they offer the listener the chance to hear the Austrian conductor at his warmest and most innovative.

Vienna Philharmonic cond. Herbert von Karajan (EMI, 1950)

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.
Photo by Fayer © EMI Classics

Le Nozze di Figaro
Figaro: Erich Kunz
Susanna: Irmgard Seefried
The Countess: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Count Almaviva: George London
Cherubino: Sena Jurinac

Die Zauberflöte
Sarastro: Ludwig Weber
The Queen of the Night: Wilma Lipp
Tamino: Anton Dermota
Pamina: Irmgard Seefried
Papagena Erich Kunz

Figaro was made in June and October of 1950. Erich Kunz is a dark-timbred, sardonic valet, who switches over to warm tone in his intimate scenes with Irmgard Seefried's terrific, pert Susanna. Selena Juranac is a fully embodied Cherubino. It is not an insult to say that this trouser role is sung with boyish enthusiasm. The ensembles bloom with warmth, especially in the second act.

An excerpt: Selena Juranac sing "Non s piu cosa son, cosa faccio" 

from Act I of Figaro. © 1950, EMI Classics

George London sings the Count with real menace in the early acts, which melts away at the opera's climax in Act IV. Karajan slows down the tempo for their reconciliation scene, allowing Elisabeth Schwarzkopf to really shine in the final ensemble. She is a marvel here, helped by Karajan's choice of dead-slow tempos whenever she sings.

The Flute was laid down in November of that same year. Karajan takes an even slower tempo here, especially with the three stately chords that launch the Overture. Other key moments in the score: the March of the Priests, the Two Men in Armor scene are rendered in vivid color by the Viennese forces. The choral singing is firm and well-caught.

This set features essentially the same cast (with the subtraction of Ms. Schwarzkopf and the substitution of Wilma Lipp as the Queen of the Night.) And it's a good one. Anton Dermota and Ms. Seefried are an engaging, ideal pair as Tamino and Pamina. He really sounds panicked in "Zu hilfe," and his fine characterization continues throughout. She is warm in "Bei Mannern", reunited (temporarily) with her Figaro, Erich Kunz, now in the role of Papageno.

Mr. Kunz may be no match for later bird-catchers (the role became a favorite of lieder singers in the stereo era) but he is bluff and good-natured. (I'd love to hear him in the opera's comic dialogue.) Ludwig Weber is an authoritative, but not authoritarian Sarastro. This recording captures the Wagner veteran in fine form just before the re-opening of the Bayreuth Festival the following year.

Both recordings feature the Vienna Philharmonic in top post-war form, playing with warmth and their unique, characteristic timbre. And despite being six decades old, the engineering is excellent, from the rattling tone of the timpani to the warm tone of the singers. The distinctive Vienna brass and wind are also captured with clarity on these CD remasters.

There are a few drawbacks. Figaro is missing ALL of the recitatives, which means you have to know the opera to follow the plot. The same goes for Zauberflöte, as no attempt is made to record the spoken dialogue between scenes. A libretto is helpful when listening if you don't know the operas.

Recording Recommendations: Five Fabulous Figaros

Hermann Prey as Figaro. Album cover © 1968 Deutsche Grammophon.

As I am slowly working my way through Brilliant Classics' Complete Mozart Edition, I thought this would be a good time to talk about one of the greatest comic operas ever written, Le Nozze di Figaro. With many recording on the market, it can be confusing for the consumer, especially since those great havens of wisdom--record stores--are disappearing from our urban landscape faster than Kathleen Battle from the Metropolitan Opera roster. Better yet, none of these are full price recordings, except for the Gardiner, which is due for a cheap-o DG Collector's Edition reissue one of these days.


Anyway, to launch a new semi-regular feature here at the blog, we are going to look at five recommended recordings of this great opera, in chronological order. Next week, we'll do another. And so on. Enjoy!

Vienna Philharmonic cond. Erich Leinsdorf. (Decca 1955)
Studio recording.
The heavyweight champion. Finally given a proper CD mastering in 1999, this effervescent performance by the senior Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic is anchored by a phenomenal cast, which includes Hilde Gueden, Cesare Siepi and Fernando Corena. And did we mention the Goddess of Vienna, Lisa della Casa, radiant yet mournful as Mozart's Countess.




Chor und Orchester der Deutsches Oper Berlin cond. Karl Böhm (DG, 1968)
Studio recording.
With Hermann Prey as Figaro and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Almaviva, this German-flavored recording has a pair of very strong leads. Rich comic timing, crisp, nimble performances and a great Mozartean at the helm. A loveable Figaro and the first one I reach for. And with a cast that includes Gundula Janowitz, Edith Mathis and Tatiana Troyanos, can you blame me?


Drottingholm Court Orchestra and Chorus cond. Arnold Östman. (L'oiseau-lyre 1988, now Decca)
Live recording.
Originally pressed on Decca's now-defunct period label L'oiseau-lyre this was the first Figaro on period instruments. Östman is a sure hand at the podium, leading his radically reduced orchestra and a fresh cast (featuring future superstar Barbara Bonney) through a complete performance of this opera. Includes an appendix with the often cut arias for Basilio and Marcellina in the final act. A marathon Figaro but a satisfying experience. Currently available (with three of Östman's other Mozart recordings) as a super-bargan box set from Decca.

1994: English Baroque Soloists cond. John Eliot Gardiner. (DG Archiv 1994)
Live recording.
Gardiner's fussy, quicksilver conducting dominates this live recording made at the Theatre du Chatelet and filmed for release on VHS and DVD. In fact, this was one of the first opera DVDs released by DG back in 2000. The recorded debut of Bryn Terfel as Figaro, alongside a strong cast of future stars that includes Rodney Gilfrey and Alison Hagley. Pamela Helen Stephen is an excellent Cherubino. Hillevi Martinpelto gives an emotional, carefully weighted portrait of the Countess, the perfect, irresistible compliment to the macho bluster of the two male leads.

La Petit Bande cond. Sigiswald Kukijen. (Brilliant, recorded 1998)
Currently available in the Complete Mozart Edition, Brilliant Classics
This is a finely-balanced recording that is currently available as part of the mammoth Complete Mozart Edition from Brilliant Classics. Recorded in Belgium, it features period playing of exceptional clarity and beauty from Le Petit Bande, and a cast of mostly unknown singers that excel in the opera's complicated ensembles. Well-recorded and well performed, with excellent choral singing. When the audience applauds at the end of Act I, it's a pleasant shock as there is little stage noise.

The Big Man's Best (And Worst)

Luciano Pavarotti.
Photo by Judy Kovacs.

Pavarotti on Disc: The Good, The Bad, and the Cheesy.

The impact of Luciano Pavarotti's death is still being felt in the operatic world. It's hard to believe he passed away just over five months ago. Yet with all the scandal and weeping, not enough has been written about Pavarotti the recorded artist, who made some truly fine opera recordings before he died. Here's a quick sampling:

Mascagni: L'Amico Fritz (cond. Gianandra Gavazzeni)
This Covent Garden recording of a rarely performed pastoral comedy by Mascagni features the great tenor in full flower. Worth hearing just for the "Cherry Duet" between the young Pavarotti and Mirella Freni. And at 93 minutes, it's over before you know it.

Verdi: Rigoletto, (cond. Richard Bonynge)
A classic Rigoletto that makes up in singing what it lacks in dramatic spark. (I like the Sinopoli and Giulini recordings better.) But it does have the dream cast of Pav, Sutherland and Sherril Milnes in the title role. As in the theater, Pavarotti makes the most out of "Quest o quella" and "La donna e mobile". Both arias sound better in their dramatic context, anyway.

Puccini: Turandot (cond. Zubin Mehta)
This isn't the best Turandot on the market, but Pavarotti and Sutherland's Beijing showdown (with Montserrat Caballe as Liu) is one of their best recordings. This is a thoroughly satisfying Turandot and the best place to hear the great tenor sing "Nessun Dorma". Once again, dramatic context keeps the big tune from becoming a cliché.


Rossini: Gugliemo Tell (cond. Riccardo Chailly)
Rossini's final opera is criminally neglected today, mostly because no tenor can sing the role of Arnold without having an apoplexy. This is a long, slow opera that is tough on the singers. The duets with Caballe are sublime. His solo arias are even better. This gorgeous recording captures Pavarotti towards the end of his prime period, and offers a showcase for some of the best technical singing that he ever did. Great stuff.

Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier, (cond. Sir Georg Solti)
Just a cameo here, as Pavarotti takes the small role of the Italian Tenor from Richard Strauss' most famous opera out for a spin. This single aria, which embodies everything Strauss hated about Italian tenors, shows the listener everything that was good about Pavarotti's remarkable voice.

There are some recordings out there that are for the libraries of completists, apologists, and record company executives. In other words, avoid these:

Verdi: Otello (cond. Sir Georg Solti)
One can only wonder what motivated Pavarotti to tackle the the single most difficult tenor role in the Italian repertory. (Greed? Hubris? Rivalry with Placido Domingo?) No amount of studio trickery can make Pav into Otello. No wonder he ruined his voice.

Bellini: Norma (cond. Richard Bonynge)
Pavarotti is fine on this recording. The culprit is Sutherland, who was way too old to sing the title role in this opera in the 1980s. Get her earlier recording with Marilyn Horne.

Verdi: Don Carlo (cond. Riccardo Muti)
This is from the infamous attempt Pavarotti made on this grandest of Verdi operas at La Scala. He cracked noticeably on the opening aria, "Io lo vidi" and it was downhill from there. A complete and utter mess with a bad supporting cast. Happily, it is also available on DVD--so you can see the overstuffed Zeffirelli production in all its questionable glory.

Verdi: Il Trovatore
Manrico proved to be Pavarotti's Waterloo on CD. Both recordings, one with Bonynge and Sutherland, and a later one with Zubin Mehta, are to be avoided at all cost. If you want to hear this opera properly sung, get the del Monaco recording, or better yet, one with Franco Corelli or Carlo Bergonzi.