Search - Gioachino Rossini, Claudio Abbado, La Scala Theater Orchestra :: Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri

The orchesta sounds fine...

Howard G Brown | Port St. Lucie, FL USA | 08/26/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

".. and if this were a symphony, I'd give it 4 stars. This is not a symphony. I'm giving it 2 stars only to encourage Opera d'Oro to continue bringing us GOOD recordings at these bargain prices. This is not one of them. The singers are barely audible. It hardly deserves a single star. I feel cheated.



I don't intend to swap this at my local CD trading post; I can't bring myself to pass this on to an ususpecting collector. It's heading for the trash can.



Live and learn

"

OK performance, but problem recording

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 07/05/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Source: Live performance at La Scala, May 15, 1975.



Cast: Isabella - Marilyn Horne; Lindoro - Luigi Alva; Mustafa - Paolo Montarsolo; Taddeo - Enzo Dara; Elvira - Margherita Guglielmi; Zulma - Laura Zannini; Haly - Alberto Rinaldi. La Scala Orchestra and Chorus. Claudio Abbado, conductor.



Documentation: No libretto. Short summary of plot. Track list identifies characters singing and provides timings.



Sound: The sound of this recording is consistent with miking placed amid the audience, close to the rail of the orchestra pit, and more or less centered on it. The effect of this is that the audience is very nicely captured. Fortunately, they are generally quiet, speaking freely only during the bursts of applause. Sonically speaking, the orchestra is right in your face, while the singers are distant and dimly caught. The depth of the orchestra pit serves as an all-too effective barrier to the voices of the singers.



I was once fortunate enough to see Marilyn Horne perform Isabella on stage. She was brilliant and very funny. On any recording limited to just the sound of her voice, much of her performance is lost, and so it is here. Horne sings with intelligence, understanding and stunning vocal agility. I am impressed by Horne, but as a matter of purely personal taste, I find the timbre of her voice problematic. The fact is, when I hear her, I immediately think counter-tenor, not mezzo or contralto.



This recording conclusively demonstrates that the audience at La Scala did not share my reservations. In fact, it preserves a classic case of diva adulation. The audience is there to cheer Horne, but they are generous-spirited enough to offer tepid acknowledgment to the mortals sharing the stage with their goddess.



The tenor is Luigi Alva. I often find him to be lacking in fire, but he is always an impressive technician. He sounds uncharacteristically inconsistent in this performance, but in some set-piece arias he is very fine. The Scala audience is restrained, at best, in acknowledging him.



All the singers sound distant and they are regularly drowned out by the orchestra. This is particularly true of the big ensembles. Longish vocal passages are simply inaudible behind a wall of orchestral sound. Rossini's wonderful first act finale is reduced to commonplace, even dull. The Mustafa, Taddeo and Elvira are not impressive, but it is difficult to determine whether that is because of their own failings or that of the recording.



Overall, unbalanced sound recording converts what might have been a fine performance into something that is barely satisfactory. Three stars.



FOLLOW-UP NOTE, OCTOBER 2005: Opera d'Oro has another version of this opera, a live broadcast from 1969 with Berganza and Bruscantini. At the very least, that performance equals this one while its sound quality is vastly better."

A Real Disappointment

J. Manghisi | New York, New York USA | 11/11/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I wanted a second recording of this opera, and bought it on the fly, figuring the Abbado version was a surefire addition. The other reviewers are sadly right on the money. One of the worst recordings I have heard in quite some time. The voices are muffled at best, and frankly, it sounds as if it was recorded in 1955, not 1975. La Scala and Abbado, wonderful cast, just a real pity."