Otello Karajan

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

Giuseppe Verdi: Otello (Dramma lirico in quattro atti) – Mario del Monaco; Renata Tebaldi; Aldo Proti;
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor; Wiener Philharmoniker; Herbert von Karajan
Classical | 2 CD | EAC Rip | 678 MB, 3% recovery | FLAC+LOG+Cue | Scans | RS links
Publisher: Decca | Recorded: 1961 | Published: 1987

This is a definitive performance of Verdi's great opera based on Shakespeare's play. Del Monaco rises to artistic heights with Karajan's superb support. There is much subtle singing from him as well as the stentorian power he is known for. Tebaldi is unmatched as Desdemona. The RCA recording with Serafin is good with a gripping performance by Vickers and Rysanek but the Rome Opera Orchestra is not at the same high level as Karajan's Wiener Philharmoniker. - from Amazon.com

This recording has never received the respect it has deserved. The sound has been cleaned up and it is a Culshaw production with the VPO. It is fairly early in Karajan's career so the mannerisms that people fault him for are not so much in evidence. Del Monico is in great voice. This role needs an Italianate voice which is why I have never warmed to Domingo performances of the role. A great deal.
-By Grant C. Creeger-

Herbert von Karajan directed this film of Verdi's Shakespearean masterpiece as well as conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. As the tragic Moor of Venice, arguably his greatest role, Jon Vickers (in the words of critic David Cairns) "commands both the notes and the moral grandeur of the part… And he has the aura of greatness - greatness of heart, of bearing, of musical and dramatic conception". Mirella Freni is a heartbreakingly lovely and fragile Desdemona, while the fine English baritone Peter Glossop plays the villainous Jago.

When Renata Tebaldi sang Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello at London’s Covent Garden in 1950, it was her first operatic performance outside Italy. It was also the role in which she made her last appearance on the opera stage, at the Metropolitan Opera New York in 1973. Between these two performances she made close to a hundred stage appearances as Desdemona, not to mention two studio recordings with Alberto Erede and Herbert von Karajan. It was Arturo Toscanini who coined for her the moniker “voce d’angelo” (voice of an angel). She made her highly acclaimed debut as Desdemona at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955 and from that moment on made New York the focus of her life.

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

Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophie Kalogeropoulou), was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and, further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina ("the Divine one").