Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Fidelio (highlights)

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

 

 

It seems curious that Birgit Nilsoon and Leonard Bernstein, at the very height of their respective fame, should make a radio boradxast of Fidelio form rome. After all, they could have headlined at the greatest opera houses in the world (but never did, so far as recording is concerned). Both are in great form, and the mono sound form 1970 is listenable, with the voices close to the microphone, as per usual in broadcasts. Bernsteindoesn't exceed his DG recording form Vienna, and Nilsson doesn't recapture the excitment she showed under Maazel on Decca. Even so, these are great artists and what they do is worth a listen.

Orchestra and chorus are decidedly second-rate, and the rest of the cast consists of the unknown Sojess doing a respectable job as Florestan and everyone else chewing up the scenery. There's a slapdahs feeling about this performance, and Fidelio is one opera that one should hear in toto, not in chunks. Those drawbacks keep me from giving this interesting CD a higher rating.

While I'm no judge of Fidelio recordings, I found that the quality of this recording distracted from whatever enjoyment I would have found from listening. Recorded live, this recording has a hollow, distant sound the almost hides the orchestra and dulls the soloists.

The only real value of this disk is due to its being (I think) the only Fidelio highlights disk available on Amazon (I have seen others in stores, including one from Karajan). Unless you must buy a Fidelio highlights disk here, I would not recommend buying this one.