Cappuccilli

Placido Domingo has recorded the role of Otello commercially three times (maybe four–who’s counting?), and each has something to offer. This performance, opening night at La Scala, 1976, when Domingo had been singing the role only slightly more than a year, is the most thrilling and most vocally secure. If it lacks the ultimate in insights and tragedy, it’s hardly empty: even at this stage of his career, Domingo could find the intelligence in each role he sang. His growing impatience with Iago in Act 2, his barely-controlled rage with Desdemona in Act 3, and his towering sadness in the final scene are all the work of a superb singing actor. In addition, the sheer vocal splendor is something to revel in; rarely thereafter were the high notes so brilliant.

Tout le monde connaît Les Noces de Figaro selon Giulini ? Le studio de 1959 chez Emi peut-être, mais sûrement pas ce rare concert du 6 février 1961, joyau de poésie et de vivacité où se surpasse une distribution de rêve.

This Lucia was recorded in 1970, when Beverly Sills was at the peak of her vocal and dramatic powers. She had been singing the role of Lucia on stage for six years, and she knew the character. Here is a manic-depressive who is slightly crazy from the start, and Sills's embellishments to the vocal line (and there are tons of them; hardly a line is left as written), mostly composed especially for her, are always at the service of the drama. She is a far cry from the chirpy Pons and Peters (and even Sutherland, whose just-plain-singing of the role is unmatchable, but who was never all that interested in building character) and comes closer to Callas, but without the great Greek soprano's huge palette of colors or, for that matter, vocal limitations. Sills is gloriously fluent in the coloratura, the high notes are impeccable, and her reading of the words is truly involved and involving.

Herbert von Karajan was head of the Berliner Philharmoniker from 1956 until his death in 1989. In addition to countless orchestral recordings, he created some immortal opera recordings: '' Don Carlos '' is one of these opera recordings that have since become historically significant: In 1986, the Salzburg Easter Festival was staged by an internationally top-class soloist duo (José Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Ferrucio Furlanetto and Piero Cappuccilli ) on legend Karajan with the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Salzburg Concert Choir.

Otello, Verdi's last tragic opera, was the result of his very successful collaboration with Boito, the librettist who adapted the original Shakespeare play with masterly skill. Otello, a tragic story of love and intrigue, is considered by many to be one of the greatest of all Italian operas. The great singers of the world have always taken part in seasons at the spectacular Arena di Verona. In this recording, Otello is sung by the Russian tenor Vladimir Atlantov, rightly famous for his interpretation of the title role. The role of Desdemona is sung movingly by Kiri Te Kanawa, and the wicked Iago is slyly conceived by leading Italian heroic baritone Piero Cappuccilli. "Vladimir Atlantov, a wild, bold Otello whose thundering voice could have filled twice the space of the Arena." - Il Tempo

It is good news that these brilliantly remastered recordings are being reissued. Sills' "Lucia" is what most collectors have been waiting for because it's not only one of her best performances, it stands as one of the best overall recordings of "Lucia" in the catalogue.
-By "browcliffe"-

Bellini’s penultimate opera was received unenthusiastically at its premiere in 1833, and has never attained the popularity of Norma. Early this century it disappeared completely until revived in 1935, as part of the centennial commemoration of the composer’s death. In recent years, its tragic heroine, the wife of a Milanese duke, falsely accused of infidelity and executed at her husband’s command, has been portrayed by such notable bel canto specialists as Joan Sutherland, Leyla Gencer and June Anderson. This dramatically vigorous and well-constructed work contains some of Bellini’s finest and most characteristic melodies, among them a ravishingly beautiful trio, ‘Angiol di pace’. Its neglect for so many years is difficult to comprehend.

What does it say that of the six available videos of this opera, the two best were made in 1958 and 1978? Something about the Verdian style and grand Verdi voices, I'm sure, but I'll leave the details to you. The Price/Giacomini performance from the Met is a pretty boring affair, the Urmana/Giordani perfectly acceptable but thrill-free, and the Gorchakova/Gergiev/St. Petersburg original version is both in another class and not particularly idiomatic. Both Hardy DVDs–the '58 from Naples with Tebaldi and Corelli, and this one, from La Scala in 1978, present the opera as the "real thing"..

–Robert Levine

Out of all Italian verismo operas, Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier is one of the few of lasting popularity that is still performed regularly on major opera stages worldwide. This 1981 production features a stellar Plácido Domingo in the title role and a classic staging by Otto Schenk, making for one of the finest readings of the opera. Andrea Chénier was an overwhelming success when premiered at La Scala in 1896 and first performed in Vienna in 1926, returning to the stage whenever a truly great tenor was available to tackle the demanding title role. Gabriela Benacková and Piero Cappuccilli lead a strong supporting cast in this tragic love story set during the times of French Revolution.