Search - Wolf-Ferrari, Carreras, Milnes :: Wolf-Ferrari - Sly / Carreras, Milnes, Cantarero

Really not so great

Julian Grant | London, Beijing, New York | 05/22/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This opera appears to be having a vogue as a vehicle for, how to put it tactfully, tenors in their declining years - Domingo is about to try it at the Met - and Carreras has been performing it at a variety of opera houses. This recording is taken live from a performance in summer 2000 at Barcelona. Taking a theme from Shakespeare's Prologue to 'The Taming of the Shrew', librettist Forzano prepared this tale of Christopher Sly initially for Puccini, who rejected it. Sly falls asleep dead drunk at a lowly inn, only to wake up in the grandest finery, victim of a practical joke.It all ends badly - and doesn't really add up, emotionally, dramatically or musically.Wolf-Ferrari's music in this opera could be described as 'characters in search of an author' - it despatches the dramatic events efficiently enough, but with a lack of personality, or of real command of pacing.The invention, occasionally arresting, is in general short-breathed and fails to take wing where you would expect. The review in 'Gramophone' magazine mentions that the first act could almost be worthy of 'Falstaff' or 'Gianni Schicchi' - well, I beg to differ - there is more invention in 30 seconds of 'Falstaff', or 2-3 minutes of 'Schicchi' than here. The strange third act, almost totally a monologue for Sly, doesn't satisfy as a culmination: a work that starts out darkly playful suddenly becomes pure melodrama and this strikes me as faulty story-telling and inconsistent characterization. 'Sly' undoubtedly is a vehicle for a star tenor, and Carreras does sing with burnished tone, insight and great nobility (perhaps too much for a drunken sot!)and there are not too many high-lying forays that expose him. Sherrill Milnes retains his distinctive timbre, and does what he can with a role that yields diminishing returns, but comes a cropper whenever he ventures above the stave. Isabelle Kabatu as Dolly was perhaps exciting live, her thick timbre doesn't seems to record well and can be harsh and unlovely, though she seems to improve in the last act. Some of the cameo parts, mainly in the first act, are atrocious! The singers portraying John Plake and Rosaline - well, the latter almost sounds like a send up; don't they hold auditions in Barcelona? The orchestral writing is often austere, and some exposed passages don't bear scrutiny in this performance. Perhaps live, in the presence of a star performer this work can be compelling, but I don't rate it an interesting listen on CD."

Carreras-Intelligence triumphs over vocal decline!

Emma de Soleil | On a holiday In Ibiza, then back to the UK for stu | 03/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A mesmerizing portrait by a still mesmerizing tenor! A gem of an opera, if you can, get the video too. It's AMAZING!"