Search - Giuseppe di Stefano :: Singers Series (Dig)

Surprisingly Good Late Di Stefano

Jon M. De Benedictis | Fairfield, CT United States | 12/18/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I just received this disc as a Xmas gift from a coworker. I was a little skeptic when I saw that most of the dates of the recordings were from the early 1960's. It's, unfortunately, the rule of thumb with the great Di Stefano: anything recorded after say 1958 or 1959, is deemed questionable. Much like, say Carreras: anything from the mid-eighties on won't provide the thrills and splendor of his earlier recordings.
Needless to say, this disc surprised me. Though the voice at this point had lost most of its ring and glow, the passion that Di Stefano puts into his singing and his diction remain unparalleled.
Many of the tracks here are not Di Stefano's stadard repetoire, but he excels at just about all of them. The real highlights are, oddly enough, the two arias from OTELLO. This was a role Di Stefano performed just once on stage, to mostly negative reviews. Hearing these two pieces is a revelation. In my opinion, his singing here is second to only Del Monaco and, perhaps, Domingo. One truly feels Otello's rage, torment, and jealously in the first aria, and his remorse and tragic defeat in the second. If nothing else, these two arias make the disc worth while.
As far as the other tracks go, it's pretty solid. Though he fails at "O Paradiso" from L'Africana, the LUISA MILLER aria and, particularly, the aria from Leoncavallo's LA BOHEME, are worthwhile.
Still, nothing can top early Di Stefano when the voice was fresh and ringing. To truly hear him at his best, get the live, 1955 LUCIA DI LAMERMOOR on EMI, with Callas, or, try locating the famed live FAUST from New Years Eve, 1949 at the MET. It's available as an import through HMV.COM. That's a must for any Di Stefano fan."

Excellent Recording and Performance

J. Poss | Pahrump, Nevada | 04/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I agree with most of the review by Jon M. De Benedictis below regarding this recital by the passionate Guiseppe Di Stefano. I was very pleased with the recorded sound of this CD mostly from 1961. Very detailed with a nice ambience from the recording venue. Much of Giuseppe's ringing tone is still in evidence here. In fact, I would say only one note sounded a bit unattractive. I highly recommend this CD as well as those noted by Jon M. De Benedictis."