Customer Reviews

Adolphe Adam: Giselle

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall a fine CD version of this beloved ballet (created in Paris in 1841) by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under Richard Bonynge. Other conductors may have offered more characterised or atmospheric performances (Fistoulari, Karajan, Tilson-Thomas), yet this well-recorded double CD set from Decca gives us the complete score, including many repeats usually omitted in the current ballet performances.

Giselle was the first great Romantic ballet and it has deservedly remained in the mainstream ballet repertoire since its premier both because most great ballerinas love to dance the title role and also because of the extraordinary beauty of its music. There have been several fine recordings of Giselle but many are abbreviated, whereas this recording is complete. Furthermore, I have never heard Giselle conducted as beautifully as Richard Bonyge conducts it on this recording. If you love great ballet music, or simply great music from the Romantic era, I beg you to acquire this version of Giselle while it is still available.

Richard Bonynge elicits mixed feelings as a conductor. There have been many criticisms of his technique, not without justification. Nevertheless, he is a fine musician who knows his scores and how he wants them to sound. He achieves fine results when paired with an orchestra sympathetic to his aims. His many fine ballet recordings, of which this is one, have been great additions to the catalog. He has said that Adolphe Adam is his favorite composer, and this recording bespeaks great affection on Bonynge's part. It is uncut, the first time I have heard the score this way, plus with a few common interpolations by other composers. The orchestra plays with tenderness or gusto as required. The early digital 1986 sound engineering holds up pretty well, with good detail and dynamic range, and with only a touch of steeliness to the violins. Because of the Urtext attributes of this recording, it would be very hard to recommend another in its place. As good as some of the highlights recordings are of Giselle (and I once had a stupendous record by Jean Martinon), the full score really demands to be heard, especially in such a fine performance.

This is an awesome CD with music added from the original score that has been missing for decades. It is different from other recordings that we are used to hearing, but it is unique and interesting with a great sound. Very expressive!

This particular recording was recommended by Jim Svejda, author of The Record Shelf Guide, and previous host of a classical music radio program in Minn. It's not a recent recording,but I'll rank it as the best without question. I really wanted a LP recording, but the sound on this CD is perfect. I'm surprised a CD can sound so great. I think I could listen to it all day and not get tired.