Bellini - Norma / Caballé · Vickers

Vincenzo Bellini (Artist), Montserrat Caballe (Artist), Jon Vickers (Artist), Josephine Veasey (Artist), Agostino Ferrin (Artist), Gino Sinimberghi (Artist), Marisa Zotti (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Opera D'oro
• ASIN: B000000UOB
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,635 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #25 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Caballe, Montserrat

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Norma, opera

2. Norma, opera

3. Norma, opera

4. Norma, opera

5. Norma, opera

6. Norma, opera

7. Norma, opera

8. Norma, opera

9. Norma, opera

10. Norma, opera

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Norma, opera

2. Norma, opera

3. Norma, opera

4. Norma, opera

5. Norma, opera

6. Norma, opera

7. Norma, opera

8. Norma, opera

9. Norma, opera

10. Norma, opera

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A WELL WEATHERED PERFORMANCE, June 22, 2000

By 

Shawn Chua (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bellini - Norma / Caballé · Vickers (Audio CD)

This recording has catapulted into legendary status not only for the intensity of performance but also the conditions in which it was made. On that fateful evening in Orange, the Mistral blew in and threatened cancellation of the performances. However, Caballe managed to press on for continuation and for that, we are eternally in her debt. This performance showcases Caballe in the title role, in which, she commits the best reading in her career. Indeed, it was Callas, herself perhaps the greatest Norma, who even heaped praises on the performance. Despite the sub-standard quality of the live recording, we are still able to take in the full splendour and magnificence of Bellini's masterpiece. From start to end, the orchestra delivers flawless accompaniment to the voices of the soloists who give commendable performances. Caballe appropriately takes full credit for the success of the evening. Her rendition of the characters trials and tribulations is well fleshed out by her voice of immaculate phrasing and stentorian power. In wrath, in passion, in plea, in surrender, her every note is tinged with a sublime ecstatic quality. She is well partnered by both her Pollione and Adalgisa, who aid and abet in the duets and scenes. The performance is whipped into a frenzied pace and climaxes, sending the evening into close, with the entire audience erupting with jubilation. Indeed, this was a night the stuff of which legends are made . . .

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ave Montserrat!, September 14, 2000

By 

J. Anderson (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bellini - Norma / Caballé · Vickers (Audio CD)

Caballe considered this to be THE performance of her career, that blustery night in Orange, and while this recording doesn't offer the inestimable vantage of the filmed version, there is enough glory here to end any further idle speculation over naming the greatest interpreter of the role of Norma! More finely attuned than Sutherland's Norma (where Caballe sings Adalgisa), with transfixing work from Jon Vickers in the prime of his enormous gifts, this is the 'Norma' of the ages. There will certainly never be another like it! Caballe's 'Casta diva' is hung like the stars - singing so laden with a divine patience, pathos, and musical presence that one can scarcely breathe! Of all of Montserrat Caballe's recorded versions of this aria (and there are many), this is without question the most breathtakingly cultured in its beauty and profundity; it is exalted, and truly is one of the very few genuine masterpieces of recorded operatic art. The fioratura is spun down from the open sky, it had no precedent, and indeed for all time will surely have no echo. This is singing that Maria Callas, for all that her contribution shall remain, never even dreamed, as indeed Callas herself to the credit of her humility understood, sending to Caballe, as she did late in her life, the earrings she wore on stage during her own assumptions of the role. When shown the video performance of this recording, Maria Callas, in perfect Callas-esque understatement, merely remarked "ah, but they have made her look too beautiful." But of course she knew that this performance was so very much more. Caballe doesn't sing, she incarnates. Throughout the whole of her performance, Montserrat Caballe is as inspired as are the fierce winds insistent. Veasey's Adalgisa comes at times as almost coarse simply because it must stand arrayed against the divine virtues of Caballe's Norma. Patane is always a perfect companion at the podium, though there are moments when the orchestra seems to fail the singing- rhythmic indiscretions mostly, of course outdoor performances tend more often than not to rupture cohesion along these lines. But these are insignificant quibblings. One must not even air them, I think, beside the majesty of Caballe's accomplishment. This recording is an ineffacable, ennobling, and overpowering human artistic achievment. It is impossible to adequately praise it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Great, But..., May 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bellini - Norma / Caballé · Vickers (Audio CD)

The music is beautiful, and the artists do an excelent job as described by the other reviewrs, but the recording itself leaves alot to be desired. The orchestra is miked very well, but the singers sound like they are recording in a tin can. I thought after reading the above reviews that the internet samples were flawed, but the cd sound just like them. It is a shame because it is a beautiful opera, and the performances are excellent. Once I got over the disappointment of the voices, I enjoyed listening to the opera.