Search - Gaetano Donizetti, Claudio Scimone, Turin RAI Orchestra :: Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore

A perfect l'elisir d'amore. What more can you ask for?

PhantomOfTheOpera | Norway | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of "L'elisir d'amore" is truly a little gem. All singers are vocally in very good shape and it sounds as if they really had a good time recording this opera. It's also a nice change listening to an opera that isn't all "blood and gore".



I love Katia Ricciarelli's Adina. This role suits her singing very well and she sounds glorious. Her voice is crystal clear with a wonderful colouring to it. And she and Carreras are creating the exceptional bliss they're so famous for. In the beginning of the opera she sounds every part the rich and stuck up girl, but little by little she is taken with Nemorino.



José Carreras is singing the part of the simple-minded, young farmer Nemorino who's in love with Adina, but his love isn't reciprocated. Nemorino is one of Carreras favourite roles. And it shows. If you thought Carreras incapable of being funny, you have to think again. I just love the scene where Nemorino buys the magic liquor from Dulcamara and afterwards get a bit drunk on it. Carreras is absolutely hilarious here. This was recorded in 1985 and I'm not capable of hearing the vocal "decline" that a lot of people have been talking about. In my opinion his voice is still out of this world and I wish I could also watch his performance on dvd. But so far I don't think this opera has been videotaped with him in the leading role. An extra word of praise to him because his laughter in this opera sounds very natural. Fortunately he doesn't have this horrible tenor-laughter that you can hear in many older recordings by other tenors and which makes you cringe.



Domenico Trimarchi who's playing Dulcamara is obviously enjoying himself while doing so and Dulcamara comes off as a likeable person. He even sounds honest, so it's no wonder he can fool people into buying his worthless "medication". His voice is dark and rich and not least, it's pleasant listening to.



Belcore is played by Leo Nucci who can be a bit so-so. Sometimes he sounds wonderful, but then he starts shouting like only Nucci can and it makes you cringe. I have to admit that the first few times when I listened to this recording I immediately dived for the skip button before Leo started belting "Tran,tran,tran. In guerra ed in amor" after having listened to the wonderful and funny "Lallarallara... Esulti pur la Barbara" that's sung by Carreras and Ricciarelli. Lately I have found that I can put up with Nucci's singing here in order not to miss out on anything in the opera.



Susanna Rigacci who's in possession of a truly beautiful voice is aptly portraying the village girl Giannetta.



Actually, I think this must be one of the very few recordings where the whole cast is good. The minor complaints about Nucci are easily forgiven when you hear him in other arias. As I said in the beginning, a true, little gem this is."

Delicious L'elisir Recording

Scott Jelsey | Houston, TX United States | 09/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is my favorite L'elisir recording out of many. Carreras perfectly captures the romantic ardour of the not- so- sharp Nemorino, one of the most likeable characters in all opera. His voice has a nice ring to it and he genuinely seems to be having a good time with the character. He plays off Nucci very well - they're really hilarious. Nucci is also in great voice here - a perfect casting choice.

Ricciarelli proves to be a rather viperish Adina, with an edgy quality to the singing. at least before she falls for Nemorino towards the end of the opera. She is also quite humorous in her interactions with Nemorino. When she finally melts to his charms at the end, her voice takes on a much sweeter sound - it's very touching. This is also a very ITALIAN sounding interpretation on all acounts... Scimone conducts with lots of style, never letting things drag out. The digital sound is about perfect. One of my favorite Donizetti recordings."

For Carreras fans only

Irene Adler | Seattle, WA | 04/28/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There are lots of good points about this recording. Mostly: Jose Carreras's luscious voice. The other soloists are good too (except the Giannetta, who sounds too squeaky). Ricciarelli's voice is a bit too heavy, and I don't think she pulls off the comedy very well. Also, her Act II aria "Prendi, per me sei libero" was not very attractively sung (to be fair, it's not a very easy song to pull off).



The biggest fault of this recording is Scimone's limp conducting. There's no pizzazz, no buoyancy to his pacing. Thus, the opera as theatre falls flat. I far prefer Pido's more lively take. If his conducting were even the slightest bit more interesting than the proverbial drying paint, I would recommend it as a good recording. Sadly, this is just a mediocre recital of an over-recorded opera.



There are good points about it, all involving Carreras. For example, this version of the scene in Act I just after Nemorino gets the "elixir" from Dulcamara and gets drunk is probably my favorite rendition on record, thanks to Carreras' charming, funny portrayal.



In short, get this if you love Carreras so much you would buy a box of dirt if it had his name on it."