Search - Gioachino Rossini, Nino Sanzogno, Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Palermo :: Rossini: Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra

Unbalanced microphone placement hurts a great opera

03/14/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The music is wonderful, the voices very good, but the microphone placement is unbalanced. While there isn't any static or other background noise, the microphone is closer to the orchestra than to the singers, so to hear the singers well you have to have the music a bit too loud. Still a good buy at the price."

A Dream For Hardcore Fans Of 40's Diva Leyla Gencer

11/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The reviews which preceed my own have complained that the sound to this recording is in terrible condition and a nightmare. They express their dissatisfaction with the microphone placement. One has to remember that in the 30's and 40's (the World War II Era) both recorded Mono LP sounds and stage performances were primitive and not as dynamic as they sound today. Perhaps THERE WERE NO MICROPHONES the singers could use to enhance their voice. Leyla Gencer had to rely purely on her own natural voice and the orchestra, as crude as it was, had to work around her voice. Leyla Gencer was a Turkish soprano with an incredibly deep mezzo voice. Her voice was so deep and dark that it can come off as masculine and even menacing. Mezzo sopranos have thus been used as villains in several operas. To hear Leyla Gencer is an amazing experience. Her generous chest voice resonates with superior skill than even Maria Callas. In this obscure opera, which I might add, Leyla Gencer was the first to revive, Rossini strays from his standard comedies and explores melodramatic grand opera. The story is about Queen Elizabeth in love. It is a subject that was done to death in the early 19th century - in dramatic plays and in two of Donizetti's operas- Maria Stuarda and most prominently in Roberto Devereux. The bel canto stamp is on this. There are beautiful melodies, a large amount of parts for chorus, and arias for the Queen that showcase her mezzo and coloratura techniques. Leyla Gence is weak in the coloratura portions. For a more satisfying, well-rounded mezzo-coloratura soprano as Queen Elizabeth, look for the studio recording that features Jennifer Larmore, who has no trouble with the high-flying coloratura. But Leyla Gencer is a classic legend and does a spectacular performance overall. She has real power and commanding stage presence. Audiences of the 30's and 40's were overwhelmed by her dynamic performances. She could take on roles that most sopranos cringed and cowered at - Lucrezia Borgia, which again Leyla Gencer was the first to revive and the three Donizetti Tudor Queens Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Queen Elizabeth in Roberto Devereux. In the 70's, Beverly Sills would follow in Leyla Gencer's footsteps by performing these roles. I'm quite sure Beverly Sills held Leyla Gencer in high esteem and was her inspiration for her performances which she emulated. So get this recording if you are a hardcore fan of Leyla Gencer. You won't regret it even if the sound is ghastly, not advanced nor excellent quality. Kudos. Five Stars all the way."

Great performance of a mediocre work

madamemusico | Cincinnati, Ohio USA | 07/15/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Gencer was a great soprano all right, but NOT of the 1930s and '40s as the previous reviewer stated...she made her debut in the early 1950s and sang until the early 1980s. Therefore the poor sound here is just the result of EXTREMELY bad miking!"