Customer Reviews

Donizetti: Anna Bolena

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

 

 

Leyla Gencer has been along with Callas and Caballe, one of the greatest defenders of Donizettis work this century - here she takes over from Callas in the second run of performances at la scala - she is wonderful and has an angel type quality in her voice, here she sings without her customary dramatic stamp of the sixties and early seventies. Simionato is good also - but I feel Giovanna is better sung by a soprano. To hear gencer at her finest get her recording of Maria Stuarda -

I love Gencer's voice and the way she uses it. She is one of the few sopranos who have sung all three Tudor Queens and unfortunately she is not represented in any studio recording I am aware of. She is a bit like the combination of both Callas and Caballe. Her voice is more secure than Callas and her emoting is colorful like Callas. Her voice is probably not as firm as Caballe but is more dramatic. This Anna Bolena is comparatively well recorded. It is not as good as most studio recordings but it has no audience noise. For a live recording, it is very good. Gencer is in full command of her role here. Simionato is a great artist and she never disappoints. Other singers are good and orchestra is fine. If you like Gencer, I don't think you should be without this recording. If you don't know Gencer, this is a good introduction.

Leyla Gencer was a talented Turkish soprano who dazzled audiences in the World War II Era. It was Gencer who first revived the Donizetti Tudor Queen Trilogy beginning with Anna Bolena, his first major success. Anna Bolena was followed by Maria Stuarda (Mary Stewart) and Roberto Devereux whose star soprano is the feisty Queen Elizabeth. Anna Bolena would have been buried forever without the efforts of such singers as Leyla Gencer who started it all (30's and 40's) Maria Callas (50's) and Beverly Sills and Joan Sutherland (60's).

Leyla Gencer's voice is suited for bel canto and for dramatic roles. Her voice is deep, dark, with generous chest register. In Anna Bolena, Leyla Gencer showcases a lot of the beauty and dynamics to her voice. Note the variety in her characterization. The first act arias "Come Inocente Giovine" and "Non Va Sguardo" showcase lyric legato and florid coloratura. The duet with Jane Seymour is an excellent confrontation scene, both sopranos (sometimes Jane Seymour is sung by a mezzo) have tense, dramatic lines. Finally, Leyla Gencer manages to impress listeners with her powerfully delivered Mad Scene and Execution Finale. The arias "Al Dulce Guidami" and "Cielo a mie lunghi spasimi" are melancholy, beautiful and satisfying. Henry the 8th is sung by a talented bass and his character comes through dramatically as a vengeful and tyrannical villain. The musical orchestration is crude, primitive considering it is a 30's or 40's recording but effective and powerful.

Although I appreciate and love the art of Leyla Gencer, I enjoy Beverly Sills in the role of Anna Bolena. Her studio recording of Anna Bolena is available on Amazon in a seperate cd or part of the Donizetti Tudor Queen trilogy box set. Beverly Sills' vocal assets are incredibly expressive in her role and she is a lot more satisfying as far as drama. Her performance is Shakespearean. However, Leyla Gencer does a spectacular job as Anna and I feel she even surpasses Maria Callas in her own performance and her studio recording of the 50's. This is a must have for rare opera collectors and fans of Leyla Gencer.

This breaks form for me: the awarding of a single star. The sound quality here is finally that bad: it sounds as though the master tapes did not hold up at all well in the years between their recording and this remastery. I bought this as my introduction to Callas, and it only disappointed deeply. Callas had, as I have come to discover, a lovely voice...this becomes lost in this recording, though. There are both better versions of Anna Bolena, and better introductions to Callas (Opera d'Oro actually has a pretty nice Callas compilation, as does GALA).