William S. Levison | Valdosta, GA United States | 03/25/2001
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I love this opera and own it in many incarnations: the wonderful French version with tenor Leopold Simeneau; Italian with mezzos Podles, Larrmore, Horne and baritone Fischer-Dieskau. All of them offer something special. This performance, however, is a resounding dud. The sound isn't bad by live performance (l971) standards, but Ozawa offers the slowest, dullest conducting I have ever heard. Since the accompanying leaflet offers absolutely no information beyond a plot summary, it's impossible to tell which of the several alternate versions of the opera this is, but in any case much familiar music is deleted, and the singers offer no embellishments to balance the funereal pace. The soloists have their moments, but Verrett is much better experienced on her commercial recording with Fasano and the Virtuosi de Roma (?). I purchased this recording for the unusual pairing of Verrett and the wonderful Stella, but they, as well as the listener, are fighting a losing battle."