Search - Antonio Salieri, René Clemencic, Ambra Vespasiani :: Salieri: Axur Re d'Ormus

If you REALLY want to hear Salieri...

Talia | Santa Fe | 05/31/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Axur, Re D'Ormus." Libretto written by the same team that brought us "The Marriage of Figaro." Has to be good, right? Surely Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (who wrote "The Barber of Seville" and "The Marriage of Figaro" as well as many other lesser known plays) and Lorenzo Da Ponte ("Cosi Fan Tutte," "Don Giovanni," as well as the version of "Figaro" most non-French speaking people know) will not fail us?
The story is this: The semi-evil king Axur arranges to kidnap the wife of his supposed friend, Atar. This causes stuff to happen.
Oh, did I mention this recording [isn't good]? It seems to be from a live performance, so you can hear people coughing and moving around in the background. Also, Eva Mei doesn't seem to quite have the voice for Aspasia. Another mark on the [garbage] factor comes from the conductor. I think the occasional "music swells" or "music goes faster than it did an hour ago" might have helped.
But you will buy this CD. You know why? Because it is the only full-length Salieri opera availible! They could have cast it with Bea Arthur as Aspasia and hired a chimpanzee to do the conducting because they know this is the only Salieri you can get and so you HAVE to buy it!
Oh, to top it all off; there is an included libretto but no English translation. There is an atrociously misspelled translation of the plot summary, though.In short: musically, this is a step up from "The Rustic Cavalier" but still ranks below "Don Giovanni."
Plotwise, it is better than "The Magic Flute" but nowhere near as good as "The Marriage of Figaro" (But then again, what is?)"

Poor Salieri!

Robert Kim | USA | 08/23/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First Salieri gets knocked with the absurd story that he murdered Mozart, now he gets this. Axur, re d'Ormus, was considered one of the finest operas of the eighteenth century. I must say that it is a rather nice opera. Musically, it is rich with appealing melodies, nice (and sometimes not so nice) harmonies, and a characteristic charm that only classical-period music has. That was the good...the ugly is the recording quality itself. It was a live performance, but this is no excuse! I have other CDs of live performances and none of them stink like this one. But then again, this is the only recording of Axur around (that I know of), so you sort of have to buy it. I enjoy it for its novelty value. An fair opera (nothing divine like Mozart, quirky like Haydn, or lyrical like Cimarosa), but a terrible recording. I gave it an extra star because they had enough guts to actually record poor old Salieri."

Salieri Revindication

Santiago Barcon | Mexico city | 03/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I should agree with the comments of the two previous reviewers, but in my opinion this CD deserves 4 stars:



1.- The singers are up to the task.

2.- Recording besides the problems is clear and allows to fully enjoy the opera.



An yes, you should buy it and enjoy Salieri.



Santiago Barcón

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