Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Lamberto Gardelli, Orchestra of the Vienna Opera :: Verdi: Nabucco (Highlights)

The Nabucco to which all others are measured!

07/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So far, the best Nabucco on disc. First and foremost its leading soprano, Elena Soulioti is heard here at her very best! I really couldn't get enough of her glorious, powerful, yet beautiful voice not to mention the pathos with which she performed! Many accused her of trying to imitate Maria Callas and though Elena does use some of Callas' tricks, chest notes for example, her instrument has something Callas never had: beauty. Elena nails the high notes perfectly and right after that, she sings warmly and gently (Ben io t'invenni...Anch'io dischiuso un giorno). The "salgo gia del trono aurato.." follows and offers unrivalled excitement! Like Elena IS Abigaille there is no doubt that Gobbi IS Nabucco. In spite of the fact that he recorded the role somewhat late in his career one can still hear what a great actor he was! Listen to his duet with Abigaille "Deh perdona" and you can feel the chemistry between them. He enriched each role with his special touch and Nabucco was no exception! The rest are also great but this is a Souliotis-Gobbi show! Conductor Gardelli is superb and adds this Nabucco to his famous, supreme early-Verdi recordings (mostly available by Philips) On the whole, this is the definite Nabucco recording that should be in every opera collection. These highlights will make you want more!"

Enjoyable

zhaow | 09/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"why is it that great artists always seem to produce their most enjoyable works when they are young? off the top of my head i can think of wagner with 'the flying dutchman', dickens with 'pickwick papers', shakespeare with 'taming of the shrew', and so on. 'nabucco' is verdi's contribution to that list. it has a decent story, great melodies, and an irepressible energy that announces to the world that a new lion has arrived on the music scene. gobbi is his usual incisive self, and the soprano is a revelation: she sounds so much like maria callas! her voice is not as nuanced and colored as callas', but it's less shrill, more beautiful in a generic way. a good recording of a very enjoyable opera."