Search - Andrea Mineo, Franco Ruta, Gaetano Donizetti :: Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia

A Wonderful Bel Canto Opera

Steven Muni | Sutter Creek, CA USA | 06/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lucrezia Borgia was first produced in 1833, 18 months after Donizetti's comic masterpiece, L'elisir D'Amore. The music is quintessential bel canto, dominated by the title role, which needs a firebrand soprano to do it justice.

There are two studio recordings, this one made in 1965, and another one 12 years later with Joan Sutherland, Giacomo Aragall, Marilyn Horne, and Ingvar Wixell. While that is a stellar case, this recording is the benchmark.

Montserrat Caballe was 32 when she made this recording, shortly after she revived this opera in a concert production at Carnegie Hall, and was never in better voice. Shirley Verrett was one of the great mezzo-sopranos, and her performance in the trouser role of Orsini is just riveting. Enzo Flagello was a regular at the Met in the 1960s, and sings a robust and solid Alfonso.

But the revelation here is the soaring voice of the woefully under-recorded Spanish tenor Alfredo Kraus. He was a member of a rare and dying breed--a true "tenor di grazia", a high-flying lyric tenor able to spin a supple legato as well as hit the high Cs and Ds. With perfectly secure and seemingly effortless technique and wonderful phrasing, his duets with both Caballe and Verrett are simply magical. One realizes why many critics consider him one of the finest tenors of the 20th century. Listening to this opera will let you understand what bel canto truly means, and what all the excitement is about. If you enjoy bel canto opera, then this recording is a MUST HAVE."