Customer Reviews

Donizetti - L'elisir d'amore / Cotrubas, Domingo, Wixell, Evans, Watson, ROH, Pritchard

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

 

 

This is an excellent recording of Donizetti's exquisite comic opera, capturing and expressing the darker themes underlying all the fun. Placido Domingo is a simple and wistful Nemorino manipulated by circumstance; his "Una furtiva lagrima" overflows with hopeless longing. Ileana Cotrubas is at the height of her vocal power as Adina; the characteristic plangency and focus of her singing adds a more sympathetic edge to an essentially selfish character. She negotiates the coloratura passages with ease and displays a breathtaking bloom and purity of sound in the upper register. Veteran character baritone Geraint Evans is a sly and knowing Dulcamara; the thoughtful nuance of expression that he brings to his singing amply compensates for some harshness of tone. Ingvar Wixell is a pompous Belcore; the voice is fresh and brimming with energy; his rapid even vibrato adds a wonderful texture to ensemble numbers. Lillian Watson is a puckish Gianetta; the chorus sings well, and John Pritchard leads the orchestra with zest, joy, and attention to the shadowy side of this most accomplished farce.

I am writing about the other reviews of this recording. I have the original on disc so I can't speak of the CD quality. But I found this version to be a fresh interpretation, so different from all the other Elisirs. "Una furtima" lagrima is the only part of the opera that does not fit Domingo's (beautiful) voice. But there is much more to this opera than just that "coffee table" aria. He may not sound like anyone else in the role, but he sounds devastatingly rich and exciting. The duets are thrilling and Cotrubas is in magnificent and expressive voice. It's too bad that only past versions are used as benchmarks in reviewing a newer one.

Domingo does not sound like Pavarotti (thank God !!!) and Cotrubas on this recording sounds the way she did in her best live performances. The recording (originally quadraphonic) is pristine (at least in the original disc) and it was recorded with care (in 1978). All in all, an unusual version of Elisir that HAD to be recorded.

Estamos ante una gran version del 'Elissir', con un muy buen sonido y un cast de gran calidad, encabezado por la Adina de ILEANA COTRUBAS, que esta simplemente fantastica: la voz es bellísima y las coloraturas son impecables. El Nemorino de PLACIDO DOMINGO cuaja más por su caracterizacion psicologica del papel que por su voz, que aqui no es la mas apropiada, aun así, está notable. Como el sargento Belcore, INGVAR WIXELL ofrece una interpretacion muy belcantista, muy acertada. Y el Dulcamara de GERAINT EVANS esta muy bien cantado, aunque le falta un poco de comicidad. LILIAN WATSON canta sin problemas a Gianetta.
La Orquesta y el coro dirigidos por JONH PRITCHARD suenan muy bien, y todo esto consigue cuajar una gran version de esta obra. Muy recomendable.

A pity that such cast and means do not yield better results. Cotrubas is as always the lovely singer but Domingo is at his coarsest, the voice unbearably throaty and the vocal acting as false as a $3 bill. The rest of the cast and conducter give a routine performance, which is not worth their reputation.

I got this recording from a Borders store for under $17, so I'm not sure why this is listed as being so expensive here...

All the parts in this recording are sung beautifully, and each note is carefully articulated (which may be a good or bad thing, depending on your taste). Even Gianetta (the bit-part) sounds lovely.

Overall, this isn't a bad recording at all. I felt it was worth the 17 bucks to experience a different take on an old warhorse. I think it's a good alternative for people who don't like Pavarotti. I think Domingo's Nemorino is just as good as Pavarotti's (though neither can hold a candle to my all time beloved Alagna), so if you're worried that Domingo's too heldentenor to pull off a light comic role, you can at least put that concern to rest.

Ileana Cotrubas's voice is heavier and thicker than that of Kathleen Battle, but smoother and more polished than Angela Gheorgiu's. So in terms of timbre, I think she might be my favorite so far. But she's not as lively as Gheorgiu, which takes away from her performance.

Sir Geraint-Evans makes a more than respectable pass as Dulcamara: nothing spectacular but pleasant enough.

The short-coming of this recording is that there's too much of a studied air to the entire production. Everything, from the coloratura to the crowd-noise, feels very deliberate, which I feel takes away from the light-heartedness of this opera.

People who should buy this:
- People who hate Pavarotti
- People who who love the opera and want to experience more performances.

CAST: Placido Domingo, Ileana Contrubas, Ingvar Wixell, Gerard Evans, Lilian Watson - Royal Orchestra of Covent Garden, John Pritchard conductor.

This studio recording attempts to capture the beauty and liveliness of Donizetti's brilliant comic opera "The Elixir of Love" which deals with a peasant's consumption of a love potion to win the heart of a beautiful girl. To be fair, this recording is beautiful and good for what it is, but there are at least two recordings which surpass this one. Placido Domingo sings beautifully, of course, and his devotees will definately enjoy his performance as Nemorino. He has total command of the famous aria "Una Furtiva Lagrima", his Italian diction is faultless, his sense of the music is right, he sings with passion and sensitivity, coming a lot closer to singing it the way Enrico Caruso did in the turn of the century. But this bein said, everything else he sings prior to the final scenes are wrought with some difficulty. Early and mainstream Bel Canto was not Placido Domingo's forte, and definately not Donizetti (and God forbid Domingo sang Rossini). The art of bel canto is a tricky one. Bel canto tenor leads should sing with a mixuture of lyricism and even coloratura. Domingo's heroic/dramatic voice is no where near the way a bel canto tenor should sound like. Remember, Domingo has sung Puccini and even Wagner. He has problems with the high-flying portions of the music to the arias. He is, nevertheless, in character and acts the role of Nemorino quite well, even living it. He is wholly convincing as a young man in love, especially because Domingo's voice tends to exude passion. But if you want to hear Nemorino the way it should be sung, try the recording which features Luciano Pavarotti as Nemorino, in which he is paired with the Adina of Kathleen Battle, or try Jose Carreras singing opposite Katia Ricciarelli. Of the two, I prefer Carreras as Nemorino, for it is the most satisfying, really. Pavarotti has command of the bel canto repertoire (despite all his other successes his strongest repertoire was always Donizetti). This one's strictly for Domingo fans.

As for Ileana Cotrubas, she, too, has problems with the role of Adina. The role is definately a lyric-coloratura part, and although she can sound girlish and sweet, she is nevertheless in bad vocal shape. This repertoire is also not suited to her voice. This role was honey in the vocal chords of Joan Sutherland, Kathleen Battle and Katia Ricciarelli. In Miss Cotruba's chords the sound is affected and strained. She does however sing well with Domingo and their scenes together are magic. She is better as Gilda, as Violetta (both roles she sang opposite Domingo in recordings)and even as Micaela (another role she sang opposite Domingo in the Teresa Berganza Carmen). Again, you have to be a fan of Cotrubas to get this recording.

Ingvar Wixell sings wonderfully, and he is perhaps the best singer in this group. His voice is opulent, rich, grand and has a keen sense of musicianship. Sir Gerard Evans has a bass voice to die for, though it clearly lacks the luster that Wixell has. Perhaps this recording disappointed me because Sir John Pritchard is a conductor who conducts with an austere and mechanical British manner. This opera is of course innately Italian and should have more flavor, passion and liveliness.

'bel canto' it's not only a question of beuty voices. Both main performers have beauty voices but this a opera they don't need to record or even perform, especially Domingo, because is not into their repertoire. In opera is always, very, very important to have the right type of voices for each role beacuse if don't, like in this recording, everything sounds false. If you want to hear Domingo and Cotrubas togheter try with his 'Traviata' under Kleiber conduction. And think about this...do you really like Placido Domingo's voice?