Beauty Scala

Donizetti was, of course, a major beneficiary of the postwar revival of Italian bel canto operas of the early 19th century, which put a premium on vocal beauty and display. In the years since Maria Callas took on work like “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “Anna Bolena,” Donizetti’s 70 operas became the subject of such keen interest that nowadays there remain no undiscovered gems waiting for their first glimpse of daylight in modern times. Yet the situation can easily seem otherwise when a neglected opera like “Gemma di Vergy,” which opened the festival this year, takes to the stage in a revelation…

Claudio Abbado is one of the leading conductors of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He has held a number of prestigious posts, any one of which would be a crowning achievement for a conductor, and his musical presence in both concert and recordings has left an undeniable legacy of excellence. His family traces its roots to a prominent Moorish family expelled from Spain in 1492 and is said to include the architect of the Alhambra. His father was Michelangelo Abbado, a violinist and teacher who gave both Claudio and his brother, Marcello Abbado, their first piano and music lessons (Marcello has gone on to become a pianist and composer). Claudio was educated at the Milan Conservatory, graduating in 1955 with a certificate in piano. ~ Joseph Stevenson, Rovi

Verdi: Aida - Abbado - 1972 (Live Recording)
EAC Rip | APE CUE LOG | 660 MB | BOOK COVER
Classical | 2 CD | Label: Opera D'oro | Release Date: 1998 | RAR 1% Rec. | RS.com

What a wonderful surprise! Even fans of Placido Domingo, who has recorded the role of Radames four times commercially will be amazed by his fresh voice and complete involvement, under Claudio Abbado's thoroughly engrossing leadership in this live 1972 performance, in very good sound. Martina Arroyo was an underrated Aida, and Fiorenza Cossotto spews rage as the jealous Amneris. Piero Cappuccilli gives us an Amonasro to fear and respect, and Nicolai Ghiaurov, is, as always, the perfect low voice in the ensembles. The La Scala forces are terrific. Dare I say it? This is the best-performed Aida.

Kavakos played like a dream eliciting an almost physical pleasure from the trueness of his intonation and the way in which certain phrases, certain chords landed. ~ Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin / Ingo Metzmacher, BBC Proms, The Independent, August 2010

…National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner’s new staging of Verdi’s grandest – and arguably greatest – opera Don Carlo, was the highlight of the 2007/2008 Royal Opera House season. This new production marked Rolando Villazón’s much anticipated, triumphant return to the house. Don Carlo is Verdi’s musical retelling of Schiller’s poem Don Carlos. Set amidst the political, religious and sexual intrigue of the 16th century Spanish court, this epic work is the tragic story of the virtuous young prince, Don Carlo when he is pitted against the powers of a dominant, corrupt society…