Search - Puccini, Ricciarelli, Bartoletti :: Suor Angelica

Beautiful sounds, but left me feeling uninvolved in Angelica

S. Bernard | Mesa, AZ | 04/14/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Okay... before all you Ricciarelli fans start throwing figurative stones at my head- hear me out. :)



Everyone in this recording has a lovely instrument (except Rosanna Lippi who is terribly miscast as Suor Genovieffa) and I have always admired (young) Katia and love Fiorenza Cossotto's commanding vocal presence. I bought this on the strength of the reviews here and a small sample of Katia's "Senza mamma."



When she was young, Katia Ricciarelli had one of the most meltingly beautiful instruments out there- I think few people would deny this. Her voice is just as lovely in this recording. If you are looking for beautiful vocalizing with text, this is your version of "Suor Angelica."

Having said that- there is little to no emotion in this recording. In the confrontation with her aunt, "La zia principessa" when Angelica sings, "Ah! Ah! son sett'anni, son passati sett'anni" lamenting over the 7 lonely years she has passed in this convent, Katia throws off the "Ah! ah!" as if nothing has really effected her. Her scene where she sings "parlatemi di lui" she sounds like she's singing about her trip to the grocery store- mind you, I'm not trying to sound harsh, just trying to find words to describe what I heard. She is SO LANGUID at times that it sounds almost like her singing is unsupported and (you guys are gonna hate me) boring.



I will be specific. The 2 low A's (A below middle C) on the phrase "parlatemi di lui-di mio figlio" are breathy and lacking the passionate emphasis they require(there's no alternate note written- a soprano singing this role is supposed to have the low A below middle C up to a high C) and as a result, her lack of power on these notes detracts from the drama. Even if she can't sing that low, what IS necessary (and what the genius of Puccini wrote) is a kind of guttural cry- what little pride she had is sacrificed for her son. You have to believe somewhere in all this that she is a real person- one capable of the outburst she shows her aunt when she says, "another moment of this silence and may you be dammed forever!" Pretty harsh words for anyone, much less a nun. I don't believe listening to this that her Angelica can do that- nor does she. This character, despite her brief time on stage is a 3 dimensional one and requires a singing actress.



At the end when she is singing "Oh Madonna salvami! salvami!" she skips the 3rd syllable on "salvami!" and it's distracting as all get out- not to mention, again, it detracts from the drama. She is singing "save ME" not "save." (this refers not to her last "Salvami" but to the 2 of them at 13:35 of that track.)

I've heard Katia skip words before and while I'm willing to overlook the occasional one for the sake of a nice sound- her overall diction in this is bad and the drama suffers from it. I don't think I'm nit-picking, I'm trying to be specific about the parts of the opera that caused me to give 3 stars. She is our titular character and it is her performance that makes or breaks this somewhat fragile opera. I say fragile because it is a one scene, one woman vehicle and if she isn't completely invested in this woman's story vocally, it will fail or be mediocre and fail to really move the audience.



Fiorenza Cossotto does nice singing as the Princess- she has a very smooth instrument, top to bottom. She does a lot of covering of the sound on some of the lower notes which can sound a little funky, but overall this is a really good Princess.



The chorus and other comprimario roles are adequate- but not much personality. The only one I didn't really enjoy was the Genovieffa who sounds miscast- her voice is too heavy and hooty (no blowfish) for this leggero role.

This brings me to another thing- the sound is a bit inconsistent. There are moments where all the singers sound like they are in a hole and it's a bit echo-y. There are times the orchestra is WAY too loud and Bartoletti's pacing is uneven at times- although I give him credit for not turning the whole opera into a dirge as some conductors do.



Am I still glad I bought this? Yes. It is an historic recording and there are moments of great beauty. That said- the "Suor Angelica" for me is the one with Ilona Tokody from the Hungarton label with conductor Lamberto Gardelli. [...]



Gardelli's conducting is masterful! His pacing is really wonderful- for example: "Addio buone sorelle addio, addio! Vi lascio per sempre! M'ha chiamata mio figlio!" (Goodbye good sisters, goodbye! I leave you forever! My son has called me!") actually sounds like Angelica is excited to leave them and join her son in heaven. Another example is her aria, "Senza mamma" which is usually taken waaaaay too slow so the soprano can make a "purdy" sound. This aria is conversational at first, almost like she's still in shock (the accompaniment mimics this with the 3 chord progression repeated like sobs followed by the breath) and then she comes out of it in "ora que sei un angelo del cielo" (now that you are an angel in heaven) and gives full voice to her desperation. Tokody's Angelica has such pathos in her voice. Her Angelica is believable and tortured - like many of us. As you can tell, this is one of my favorite operas of all time. I have strong opinions about it, but like all of you, love opera and love being able to come here & help people make an informed decision.



Am I anticipating that because I do not concur with the majority here I shall get votes that say I'm not being helpful? Yes. In my attempt to give a helpful review, I have attempted to be dispassionate in my critique about this opera that I am so passionate about! Thanks for reading.

"

The definitive recording ...

Florio | Italy | 12/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd been waiting for this recording to be re-released on CD for over 20 years (I actually wrote to RCA some time ago in an attempt to persuade them to issue the recording on compact disc); in the meantime numerous other versions have hit the shelves, but none of them begin to compare with this. Ricciarelli was at the beginning of her career (1973), and sings effortlessly throughout, with a purity and sweetness that must be the envy of most sopranos. Cossotto is also excellent, and conveys the unforgiving aunt admirably. The orchestra is superb, and the tempi all perfect. If you have never heard this opera before, then buy this recording. As a performance it has never been bettered.

Florio"

Ditto

Michael Newberry | Santa Monica | 12/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like the reviewers above I have waited decades for this Suor Angelica to be published again. I had it on tape.



Ricciarelli is incredibly...delicate, yet she lofts her voice into the heavens with a timber of passion, and with a purity of tone. After hearing her in this role, all the other sopranos, who have sung this or its excerpts (great ones too), sound a little too technical or wooden.



And Cossotto, could not be a more perfect compliment or foil to Ricciarelli--her voice is rich, dark, scary, yet gorgeous--I find Cossotto's role to be the most evil in Opera--their duet is truly haunting.



I am a huge Puccini fan, and I found this recording's lyricism, passion, and beauty to match his genius.



One more point: I love this story. It's a wonderful contrast between of an individual's inner passion for life and the wicked coldness of a sociopath.



In my top ten favorite recordings of all time.



Michael











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