80° Banda Musicale Giuseppe Verdi

Milano, teatro alla Scala, “Don Carlo” di Giuseppe Verdi L’INFANZIA, PARADISO PERDUTO Don Carlo debutta a Parigi nel 1867, cinque atti in francese, opera mai divenuta “popolare” per le oggettive difficoltà legate alla sua produzione, essendo monumentale nella durata, nella partitura e nell’allestimento, poiché richiede masse artistiche poderose e una compagnia di canto vasta e di eccezionale livello per i sei ruoli, principali e principeschi. Don Carlo è un insuperato punto di arrivo nell’evoluzione del linguaggio verdiano, un unicum che non trova corrispettivo in nessun altro lavoro, non in Aida (quasi coeva), la cui partitura è influenzata da stilemi wagneriani ed i cui protagonisti sono compattamente granitici come le statue dei faraoni, mentre presentano una varietà di sfumature psicologiche i protagonisti di Don Carlo, il cui libretto, tratto da Friedrich Schiller, è tra i migliori mai avuti a disposizione da Verdi… FRANCESCO RAPACCIONI

For a few decades now, Fritz Reiner's recording of the Verdi Requiem (one of his rare stereo recordings not made for RCA, and not with the Chicago Symphony) has lurked in the shadowy corners of Decca's catalog, appearing only on budget LPs and CD two-fers. Now, in its latest incarnation as part of the Decca Legends series, it may at last get the recognition it deserves. Reiner's rendition has several things going for it, not least of which are the superstar soprano and tenor soloists.

Verdi's Requiem–certainly one of his most moving, eloquent masterpieces–was written in honor of the great Italian poet Alessandro Manzoni, whom he admired enormously both for his writings and his political outlook. Though its text is the Latin liturgy, it has been called Verdi's greatest opera because of its basically dramatic character, as well as his own ambivalent attitude toward organized religion. Thus, interpretations tend to emphasize its secular or its sacred aspect, though, naturally, the soloists are trained in the Verdi opera tradition.

Passion, loyalty and political conspiracy are the three pillars of Un ballo in maschera (1859), the ‘most operatic of all operas’. Set in XIX century Boston, Mario Martone’s athmospheric production for the Teatro Real in Madrid brings out all the innate theatricality and drama of Verdi’s work. World famous Argentinean tenor Marcelo Álvarez in the role of Riccardo leads a fabulous cast including Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as his love Amelia and Elena Zaremba playing the witch Ulrica. Jesús López Cobos conducts the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance that shows the lyricism and grandeur of this beautiful work, which marries grand opera and opera comique features with Verdi's classical Italian opera tradition.

Antonio Pappano and his Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi with this programme of sacred choral music. The repertoire consists of the Four Sacred Pieces and, with soprano Maria Agresta as the soloist, the 1880 Ave Maria and the original version of Libera me from the Messa da Requiem. Pappano and his forces will perform this programme on 20 July at the Royal Albert Hall for the 2013 BBC Proms.

Giuseppe Verdi: Overtures and Preludes – Berliner Philharmoniker; Herbert von Karajan
Classical | 2 CDs | EAC Rip | 539 MB (3% recovery) | FLAC+LOG+Cue | Complete scans
Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon | Recorded: 1975 | Published: 2001

Karajan was an outstanding Verdi conductor, and his first recordings of Falstaff, Aida, and Otello, as well (later) as his Don Carlo, remain testaments to his Verdian credentials… This collection, however, was recorded before Karajan had eliminated all of the music's rough edges, and while there's lovely playing aplenty, he's also not afraid to make some noise when Verdi requires it. A fine collection, then, of the 19th century's most important Italian operatic/orchestral music. –Editorial Reviews, Amazon.com, David Hurwitz