Bellini - Il Pirata / Aliberti, Frontali, Neill, Reyes, K. Anderson, H. May, Berlin Opera, Viotti

Vincenzo Bellini (Composer), Marcello Viotti (Conductor), Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Orchestra), Lucia Aliberti (Performer), Roberto Frontali (Performer), Stuart Neill (Performer), José Guadalupe Reyes (Performer), Kelly Anderson (Performer), Hermine May (Performer), Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Lucia Aliberti, Roberto Frontali, Stuart Neill, José Guadalupe Reyes, Kelly Anderson, et al.
• Orchestra: Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin
• Conductor: Marcello Viotti
• Composer: Vincenzo Bellini
• Audio CD (February 21, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Berlin Classics
• ASIN: B0000035MR
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,897 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it, this is Bellini at it's best, June 17, 2001

By 

FABIAN E. ROBLES (Bayamon, Puerto Rico (USA) Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bellini - Il Pirata / Aliberti, Frontali, Neill, Reyes, K. Anderson, H. May, Berlin Opera, Viotti (Audio CD)

This recording of Il Pirata is great, Aliberti sings mostly of the time piano, I suppose it's to portray the oppresed Imogene with more innocence. I have a video of the opera with her, and in live her voice is about 4 times bigger than here. It's a very delicate belcanto, with all the high notes written and even more high notes interpolated. And yes, her voice sound as Callas' voice in the middle range sometimes, but her top is very delicate and secure, a colloratura leggera, not a dramatic colloratura as Callas. She renders a very good interpretation of Imogene indeed. The plus of this recording is tenor Stuart Neill, who sings the title role superbly, as no other has. His voice is a very gorgeous and beautiful one, a little lighter than Bruce Ford's. But his high notes... My God!!! The most incisive acutti you will ever hear in a tenor's voice, and he interpolates a lot more than written. He's just fantastic!!! The rest of the cast is very excellent in their roles, specially the baritone's Ernesto. Viotti' conducting is a little slow most times, but he moves it a little more in the cabalettas. Buy this set, you won't regret it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars worth discovering, July 20, 2001

By 

Michel (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bellini - Il Pirata / Aliberti, Frontali, Neill, Reyes, K. Anderson, H. May, Berlin Opera, Viotti (Audio CD)

Il Pirata was the opera that made Bellini known. Though it
cannot compare to Sonnambula, Norma or Puritani, it is still a
highly enjoyable opera. This set offers a very good performance
of the work. Lucia Aliberti has a dark and flexible voice -
ideal for Bellini and capturing the inherant melancholy of his
music - notwithstanding her habit of whispering the text and
some technical insecurities she sings the role beautifully.
She is well partnered by Stuart Neill - he sails through the
difficult part of the pirate with considerable elegance and
musicality. Roberto Frontali and Kelly Anderson offer sturdy
and musical performances. Chorus and orchestra are excellent
and lovingly conducted by Marcello Viotti. Well recorded - an
excellent alternative to the EMI version with Caballe and Marti
conducted by Gavazzeni.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Callas or Caballé... but not bad, July 10, 2008

By 

M. Hall (OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bellini - Il Pirata / Aliberti, Frontali, Neill, Reyes, K. Anderson, H. May, Berlin Opera, Viotti (Audio CD)

It was with great trepidation that I purchased this recording of Bellini's "Il Pirata." Not only had I read the rather scathing reviews of Lucia Aliberti's voice, but I had seen videos of her sing; it wasn't the most optimistic picture, so say the least. I do love this opera, so I decided to give it a go and see what all the fuss was over.

I've listened to the recording several times, and have decided that it isn't quite as bad as some of the reviews are saying. Obviously the voice of Aliberti is not exactly one for the ages; the legacies of Callas and Caballé will remain intact. She does have a beautiful pianissimo with nice shading, but Aliberti tends to overuse the piano- almost as a way to avoid attacking any high notes with the full voice. (Though, the softer singing does make Aliberti's Imogene seem much more fragile than those of Callas and Caballé; there is no Norma-like imperiousness found in Aliberti's portrayal as there is in the latter two.) Her middle registers are somewhat fuzzy, but the vocal power is there, and when she does go for the high notes with the full voice the effect is satisfactory. The similarity to Callas' voice must be noted; unfortunately, Aliberti doesn't have the same dramatic abilities as Callas, and so she can't always pull off the odd noises that her voice makes. Taken as a whole, Aliberti isn't a bad Imogene, though certainly not my first choice for the role.

Unlike the live recording with Callas or the studio recording with Caballé, this Pirata has the benefit of having good male singers. The Gualtieros in the other sets are woefully inadequate, but Stuart Neill has a lovely voice and the high notes/coloratura hold no terror for his voice. Roberto Frontali makes a menacing, if not overly memorable, Ernesto. Kelly Anderson's Goffredo is well sung, as is the Ilturbo of Jose Reyes.

Hermine Rey sings a nicely sympathetic Adele, and the Chorus of the Oper Berlin is quite good. The Berlin Orchestra under the baton of Marcello Viotti is splendid.

Comparatively, this is a decent Pirata with wonderful sound; furthermore, it is only one of two available at the moment. Well worth hearing.