Decca Legends: Verdi: AIDA

Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Carlo Bergonzi (Performer), Cornell MacNeil (Performer), Giulietta Simionato (Performer), Renata Tebaldi (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Carlo Bergonzi, Cornell MacNeil, Giulietta Simionato, Renata Tebaldi
• Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
• Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
• Audio CD (September 14, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00001IVQW
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,831 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thrilling Recording, February 1, 2000

By 

Jaime J. Weinman (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decca Legends: Verdi: AIDA (Audio CD)

The main virtues of this recording are already mentioned in other reviews: the brilliant orchestral playing, and the singing of the four principals. The singing isn't perfect--Tebaldi is a bit past her best (most noticeably in the notoriously difficult high note in "O Patria Mia"), and Bergonzi doesn't have the vocal heft and force of an ideal Radames. But overall, it's as strong a cast as can be found on any AIDA recording, with special mention going to the brilliantly sung and characterized Amneris of Giulietta Simionato. What makes the recording controversial is the sound.

For one view of producer John Culshaw's sound-balances, you can read the thoughtful and intelligent review below mine. But to my ears, the orchestra does not overpower the singers--rather, the singers are simply not placed unnaturally close-up, which is what happens in most operatic recordings. Instead the singers are kept at a fair distance from the microphones, allowing for something closer to an opera-house aural perspective. Yes, when the orchestra plays very loudly the singers can be difficult to hear, but that's exactly what would happen in the theatre (no one singer is loud enough to overpower a full orchestra). But there's no lack of power from the singers when needed; once you adjust your expectations--i.e. don't expect the voices to be placed far forward and the orchestra way backward--the glory of these voices comes through loud and clear. One tip: this recording needs to be played loudly to make its maximum (thrilling) impact--the opera-house balances tend to make the most sense at full opera-house volume.

Culshaw's stereo staging plan is complex and quite brilliant, with movement not only along a horizontal plane but also from front to back (so that Bergonzi sings the recitative to "Celeste Aida" from the back of the "stage," and then steps forward to sing the aria). I feel it enhances the feeling of a real performance going on.

Karajan's interpretation is large-scaled, lush-sounding, somewhat stately, going for epic pageantry rather than dramatic propulsion. It's certainly not the only way to do "Aida," but it's a legitimate way, and since this is Karajan before his descent into self-indulgence (in the mid-'60s or thereabouts), he makes it work. I wouldn't say that this should be your only "Aida"-- the Solti version is a strong contender among stereo sets, and the monophonic RCA/Perlea version has some wonderful things in it. But this is certainly an "Aida" like no other, and I think it's great.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still a favorite, November 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Decca Legends: Verdi: AIDA (Audio CD)

This was the very first recording of AIDA that I ever listened to. I was a kid at the time, and I borrowed it from our public library (they lent records then, now it is CD's). I was overwhelmed by it. The one thing I did find weird was figuring out how to set my volume control, for the orchestra could be so soft you couldn't even hear it, then the next minute explode so loudly that the speakers buzzed.

Even in this wonderful remastering of the opera, I still find the orchestra has too much variation in sound between soft and loud. That is the way the conductor saw it (and he would get even worse in a later recording with Freni and Cararras). Still, the orchestra is a lush beautiful sound that simply drips with excitement and romance. Karajan in not my favorite conductor, and never has been. He does make the orchestra "sing" but he is often so wrapped up in small details he obscures the whole. Still, in this opera he is wonderful (even if the dynamics are a bit over the top).

Tebaldi is wonderful, and it is quite easy to see why she pleased so in this role. Some people have said she was past her prime when she recorded this role, and they base that on the fact her high notes (the legendary high C in O Patria mia) were less than free. Though Tebaldi has some ravishingly lovely high B's and especially B flats, she was never secure on a high C. Sometimes it came beautifully, but more often than not it had its problems. Yet, judging an entire role on one note is a bit much. If that were the case, then her rival, Maria Callas, never sang any roles successfully, for there is not one recording or performance she ever did where every note, even the high ones, was without some effort or flaw (yet, we know the impact and the artistry of this magnificent singer, and how she brought drama and music to her singing). Tebaldi's characterization is less vivid than some would enjoy, but if one really looks at the character, AIDA is a rather bland person. In one scene she bemoans wishing her lover succeed in war against her people, then in another she bemoans her homeland she will never see again. She has some rivalry between with the Princess of Egypt, but her real character always seems to just be floating between love of a man and her homeland. AIDA, as a character, is no where near as developed as Amneris.

As for Bergonza, well, he is a wonderful Radames. Some would say he is a bit too distant from the heroic person he is portraying. I don't agree. I feel he is quite heroic when needed, but if we look at the role, most of his worries are about the woman he loves, and making sure the woman he doesn't love (who has the hots for him) doesn't find out. Excepting a very dramatic recitative that opens the opera, and a declaration at the end of the third act, most of his music is intimate, and dealing with very personal feelings. I think Bergonza's sound is just perfect for communicating these special intimate feelings.

What most people often forget is AIDA is NOT a pagentry opera. The only "real scene of pagentry" is the one scene at the end of the second act, and even then, most of the feelings of the main characters are their very private feelings about love, and who loves them. AIDA is a very intimate opera dealing with the very intimate feelings of people. I feel that most of the singers captured these feelings very well, and Karajan infused the orchestra, in spite of all its grandeur, with as much of this romantic intimacy as possible.

There are many recordings out there of this opera (I myself own quite a few of them, from historical live recordings to many different studio recordings by most all the famous AIDAS out there) and no matter how much I love those recordings and no matter how much fine artistry there is to admire (and there are tons of things to admire in the other recordings), this one still holds that special place in my heart. It is well worth the money, and the time to listen to.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MY FIRST OPERA RECORDING REMAINS MY FAVORITE, June 4, 2004

By 

Gregory Freeze - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decca Legends: Verdi: AIDA (Audio CD)

My parents gave me this recording of AIDA for Christmas in 1971 when I was thirteen years old. I was already a pianist but was instantly bitten by the "opera bug" and listened to the complete performance while following the full orchestra score so many times that it had to be replaced several times. It affected the course of my entire life by introducing me to grand opera and caused me to seek out as many other recordings of operas and singers as I could find and, as a result of this, I became a successful tenor, vocal coach, and piano accompanist. This is the recording that I would recommend over all others to introduce young people to grand opera. Renata Tebaldi's performance is the most beautifully sung interpretation of the title role out of the dozens of recordings which I have heard. Her interpretation is the best in terms of communicating the drama through voice alone and she gives priceless lessons in phrasing and tone color throughout--even while coping gorgeously with Karajan's ridiculously slow tempo for "O Patria Mia" which causes the aria to lose its rhythmic impulse and makes the ascent to high C unreasonably endless. I also love the beautifully sung Ramphis of Arnold Van Mill. An artist who made very few recordings, he creates a character of subtlety and mystery through great musical insight and the most uniquely beautiful and mellow bass voice which I have ever heard. Eugenia Ratti as the Priestess in Act One Scene Two creates absolute magic in her brief appearance. Her singing of this short but crucial part has never been approached on any other recording and is magically enhanced by the care given to her contribution by the London/Decca engineers.