Verdi Luisa Miller

In Verdi’s career, Luisa Miller occupies a key position. Composed in 1849, it brings the period of the young Verdi to an end.. It is at the threshold, not only chronologically of the fifties; those years which will see the birth, in a single creative outpouring, the astonishing trilogy: Rigoletto, Traviata, Trovatore… Gianandrea Gavazzeni

Luisa Miller is known for a great tenoraria, Luciano Pavarotti often indcluded in his recitals. The hero of the opera played by Francesco Demura shows his fine voice an his dispair of a love corrupted by circumstances in his version of the aria. Maybe of special interest is, that this opera demonstrates something of the mature Verdi's "leitmotive": the affection between a father (a retired soldier) and his daughter, commoners in conflict with a corrupt aristocrasy (a story told with greater concentration and more musical highlights in Rigoletto) - and a caracter, called "Wurm", who is the factotum (a study so to tell for the future Jago in Othello) of the Count, father of the lover of Luisa. The story gets rather complicated, but finds ist grim ending with the dead of the lovers by poison and the respective fathers left in grief.

By Erik Mortensen

This tale of love, disguised nobility, murder, and love lost may sound like any other opera to some. But Verdi's Luisa Miller is a gem of the verismo genre. The gorgeous staging is surmounted only by a cast which includes Marcelo Alavarez, Leo Nucci, Fiorenca Cedolins, and Giorgio Surian.

Gianandrea Gavazzeni is regarded as one of the greatest Italian opera conductors after De Sabata. He was La Scala’s Musical Director from 1961-1968. In this 1981 production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Gavazzeni worked closely with a cast of young singers to present the opera in a new light.

Giuseppe Verdi was born in the little town of Roncole in the vicinity of Parma and spent the longest period of his life in seclusion close to Parma. He died in Milan in 1901. Today, the region of Parma honours its one-time fellow citizen with the international Verdi Festival organized by the Teatro Regio di Parma. Every year, Verdi’s masterworks are performed in the historical theatres of Parma and neighbouring Busseto over 28 days in the autumn…

“Levine's version of Luisa Miller consistently demonstrates his Verdian mastery, and not just in the best-known masterpieces…Not only in Levine's conducting but also in the sets and costumes of Nathanial Merrill's production the attractive rustic element of the piece is effectively brought out.” (Penguin Guide)

All of these are live recordings so the sound is quite variable. The standard square box contains separate soft plastic sleeves in which the cds are inserted. The advantage is that the cds are well protected (minor risk for scrapes compared to cardboard), but there is no information printed on the sleeve since it is made of plastic. There is some basic information printed on each cd (name, composer, cd #, the act/s and the date of the recording). There is also a small 24pg booklet that introduces the box including some photos as well as content description for each disc (opera, singers, time and location as well as a list of the separate tracks). I have been collecting these boxes for a while and always find it worthwhile as there are gems nicely interspersed in these collections. By Moonfish