Search - Sylvia Sass :: Medea

Thrilling performance

10/26/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was amazed by this little known recording which gives Callas's studio recording of the same a major run for its money. Sass sings superbly, the conducting is rousing, and the recording is flawless. A must have for this underrated opera!"

Should be re-released - a perennial great!

08/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a shame to let this magnificent recording fall out of print! Sass has rarely been better and Gardelli is in top form here. A beautiful performance and recording that should be the first on anyone and everyone's list!"

A good runner-up

Esteban Molina | San Francisco | 08/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"All right, it's not Cherubini's original opera comique version; and I say Thank God for that. I've heard several performances with spoken dialogue and, frankly, they were not peak experiences. I can see why the spoken dialogue became recitatives. A style that can work delightfully for "Carmen" doesn't work at all well for "Medea". Or at least I don't think so, and this is after all my personal "moment"! Without a score, I cannot say whether this recording is utterly complete; but it obviously is a less-edited edition than that which Bernstein/Schippers/Serafin and others used for Maria Callas. In this respect it is certainly welcome for comparison; but, on the whole, I can see why Callas and her conductors did some paring. Unfair to Cherubini? Perhaps. But the result was a much more taut drama that was certainly fair to the story. The cast is always good, and sometimes very much better than good. The sound is good; playing is fine. No complaints there. But I found Sass too past her prime, her voice almost all chest. A good characterization, but she was not at ease vocally and the heavy production made her music seem leaden. And leaden is most definitely not what one needs in the lead of Cherubini's "Medea". So, over-all, 4 stars; but only 3 stars for Sass. It has to be said, though, that voices and the liking of voices is all a very personal matter; so this set might well reward your attention. For anyone who is not set against Callas, for whatever reason, thus far her various sets of "Medea" have to remain untouched by anyone else - including the wonderful Inge Borkh, Leonie Rysanek and Leyla Gencer who all - for various reasons - could not claim success in this role, at least as far as available recordings go [and live performance might have been something else again as well]. It would still be a delight to have a modern challenger to Callas, but it hasn't happened yet. Until then, the Sass set has its merits; but primarily as a tool for comparison, not as a complete success in its own right."