Customer Reviews

Donizetti - Lucrezia Borgia / Caballé · Vanzo · Paskalis · Perlea

5 star:		(9)
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This is truly one of the greatest bargains available. Opera D'Oro has released many live performances, some of them very valuable, and some of them actually in decent sound, but this is one of their best. Caballe's Carnegie Hall, as well as American, debut, has always been somewhat of a legend. Here one can actually hear why. This performance easily surpasses her studio one. The sheer beauty of voice, her legato, coloratura, heavenly pianissimi, sense of line, and identification with the role are incredible. Her opening "Come e bello" brings the house down, and she actually gets better and better as the night progresses. A must have.
As if this were not enough the Gennaro of Alain Vanzo, much under recorded, especially in bel canto, is nearly as revelatory. The other singers don't quite match up but are quite fine. Perlea conducts excellently as usual. Good sound considering th source. Highly recommended. Could even be your sole Lucrezia Brogia.

First of all, we all must express gratitude to Opera d'Oro for releasing this live recording on their label. Heretofore, it was evidently very hard to find, as stated in the Rough Guide to Opera. To pay so little for such a legendary performance- what a steal.

There are always drawbacks to listening to live recordings versus studio recordings, not the least of which is the person in the audience that feels the need to cough at the most dramatic moments(!) However, live recordings can lend an immediacy that is often missing from studio recordings, and this is the case here. You literally here the audience shift from a tepid, unenthusiastic response in the beginning to roaring applause by the opera's end.

As for Caballe, she blows you away with her arsenal of pianissimi and filati. Caballe is known for her sweet, creamy tone, but she is also capable of great drama, as she expresses in the climatic final scene, where she lifts to the stratosphere.

Of course, Caballe isn't the only star on the stage. Barbie gives a sweet rendition of the organ-grinder-sounding tune "Il Segreto per Esser Felici."

I think that ANYONE with even a passing interest in opera, bel canto, and/or Donizetti MUST buy this recording. You will NOT be disappointed.

This is the performance that pretty well put Caballe on the world stage as a premiere performer. Here is some of the most beautiful singing you will ever hear, and it will be a treasure in my collection as long as I listen to opera. Having sat through many Caballe performances, I have to say that sometimes I wished for a little meaning put into the sound, but much of the time all you could do was surrender to the glorious sound. This is one of those times--listen and marvel. Certainly one of the great live performances of the last 50 years.

If you buy only one Montserrat Caballe CD, better yet, if you buy only one opera CD, let it be this one! The live recording of the performance that shot her into the stratosphere of celebrity, this legendary performance indeed lives up to its repute and expectations. Cliched as it may sound, one really has to wonder if people had been listening at all, as we bear witness to the perfection of Caballe's reading of the title role. How it came to be that she sang for nine years in relevant obscurity before she made it really astounds and boggles. This performance showcases many of the traits of Caballe that we have come to associate, admire and indeed, aspire. The complete mastery of her instrument of molten gold, the lush velvelty tone of exquisite limpid intonation, the disembodied and ethereal floated pianissimi, all these and more are the stuff of which dreams are made of. The moment she makes her entrance, one can literally hear the atmosphere change. As she holds the audience spellbound, one can bear witness to the metamorphosis of an unknown soprano into a prima donne assoluta. Her singing of "Tranquillo ei posa" followed by "Com'e bello" transcends all planes as she moulds each phrase with her innate musicality and brings them off with her supreme technique and gorgeous voice. What really takes the cake is the climax of the scene where she holds on to a top note in pianissimo for a full twenty seconds. This really has to be heard to be believed for despite the whole ensemble singing along and the orchestra going full force, her note is spot on and we have to bow in deference to her legendary breath control. The entire performance takes off from the prologue and closes with a bang, as the entire house erupts. Topping the performance with a blood-curdling scream, Caballe is literally an overnight sensation. The rest of the cast give commendable performances, but I am sure that it would not be denied that it was Caballe that turned the performance around.

As the other reviewers have noted, this is the famous Caballe American debut, and it's as great as its reputation. But I'd like to put in a plug for the fine French tenor Alain Vanzo, who is every bit Caballe's match here. Tremendous both in vocal and emotional power, he sounds rather like a second Corelli. A gold star to Kostas Paskalis, too, for a fine turn in one of Donizetti's less distinguished cabalettas. This recording is easily worth three times the price.

Like one of the comments above, I too have always wondered how Caballe sang for 9 years in Europe and yet had to wait for her American debut to get "the big break". Was Europe tone deaf for all those years? In essence, Caballe, in this performance especially, has it all: beauty of tone, dramatic impact, phenomenal breath control, beautiful pianissimo. Everyone has already said it in the previous reviews. Alan Vanzo, who has to be one of the most underrated tenors of his time, is outstanding. Technique to match that of Caballe's, unstrained from piano to forte. The two of them make this an absolute "must have". I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been in the audience at that performance and to have heard such a beautiful voice, unheralded and virtually unknown. We are ever in debt to Opera d'oro for this release. I hope they find some other blockbusters hidden in their vaults!

And that is Caballe five years later at her La Scala debut! I'm not complaining, I loved this Carnegie Hall performance and I'm sure it brings back sweet memories to people who attended it but I find Caballe sounds a bit too girlish. She is stunning but I felt this Lucrezia needs to mature a bit and that she did. This is already evident in her studio recording just a year later where she is the perfect, patrician Lucrezia. On the other hand I really liked the urgency and spontaneity of this evening. I can also hear a slight anxiety and she even takes an additional breath in "m'odi ah m'odi", which is rather unusual for her but it's all because she's transforming from a talented young soprano into a legend. She doesn't show off her top notes as she did at La Scala but is nevertheless exciting.

Vanzo is one of the most elegant tenors and this recording proves how neglected this stylish singer was. He's got the legato, the thrust and the phrasing to make a great Gennaro, at least equal to Kraus. His warm voice blends in magnificently with Caballe's. Berbie's Orsini has got an attitude that reminded me of Oscar in Ballo in Maschera. Paskalis is at times a bit rough and I'd expect Don Alfonso to be slightly more noble-sounding but considering his character, an occasional snarl seems appropriate.

Perlea made cuts, most notably the spectacular finale which is disappointing but the NY audience hasn't got a clue about the opera's score anyway so it doesn't affect them. His conducting I found a bit indifferent but the singing is good enough to compensate.

On the whole, a beautiful, legendary performance. Bel canto would never be the same after this night.

Source: Live performance recorded at New York's Carnegie Hall, April 20, 1965.

Sound: On the whole, good to very good. Some voices occasionally slide away a little bit, but that is the nature of live recordings. I find the orchestral sound to be pleasing, if not as icily precise as some digitally-oriented enthusiasts might wish. The audience is generally well-behaved, inflicting very few annoying grunts and coughs. Premature applause floods over the final bars of the performance. Opera d'Oro is often a crapshoot with regard to sound. This recording is a winner.

Text: No score is conveniently available to me, but from the boasting about the completeness of Sutherland's "Lucrezia Borgia," I deduce that this version comes with cuts. I don't especially care. There is plenty here to enjoy.

Documentation: No libretto. The plot is very briefly summarized. There is an offhand reference to a triumph by Caballe, but nothing about any other performer. The orchestra is not identified. Fairly unusually for Od'O, the track lists identify characters who are singing and provide track timings.

Format: Disk 1, Prologue and Act I, Scene one, 52:43. Disk 2, Act I, Scene two and Act II, 65:02.

Forty years ago, the world of opera that lay between "Die Zauberfloete" and "Rigoletto" was a forgotten wasteland to a degree that is hard to credit today. "Lucia," "Il barbiere" and 'L'elisir" were the regular repertory works. "Normas" were scattered here and there, along with some dutifully offered "Fidelios" and a few tentative "Sonnambulas." I remember Metropolitan Opera broadcasts in which poor old Milton Cross struggled manfully to justify presentations of such moldy oldies as "Ernani" and "The Daughter of the Regiment." This performance of "Lucrezia Borgia" is one of the landmarks in the reclamation of the lost world of bel canto. It yielded a new repertory and a new soprano, one who could be mentioned in the same breath with Callas and Sutherland.

"Lucrezia Borgia" is a prima donna opera and Montserrat Caballe is very much that first lady. Caballe was wonderfully equipped with a lovely voice, warm tone and awesome technical skills, all brilliantly on display in this recording. She also offered an intensity and edge in this performance that sometimes eluded her in subsequent recordings. The Caballe legend is that she entered Carnegie Hall an unknown and came out a star. The tale may be a little shaky in the harsh light of objective fact, but this recording demonstrates that there is some truth in it.

It is my impression that special care was taken to present both the soprano and the opera in polished form, hence one of the all-too rare appearances of Alain Vanzo, the excellent but scandalously under-recorded and under-appreciated French tenor. Vanzo was in fine form, singing with admirable authority, elegance and tone.

As the record of a significant occasion and for hugely impressive singing from the soprano and tenor, this set fully deserves a five star recommendation.

Nevertheless, this recording falls well short of being an ideal performance. "Lucrezia Borgia" is not a two-singer opera. The composer provided good stuff for the seconda donna and the baritone. The second lady has a pants part, the tunefully indiscreet Mafio Orsini, Lucrezia's enemy. The baritone portrays that enduring operatic staple, her jealous husband. Jane Barbie is Orsini, and Kostas Paskalis, the husband. Barbie and Paskalis are prime examples of the sort of people absolutely vital to any opera company. They are the ones who have the music, the words and the staging down pat. They are the ones who are expected to keep the piece going when chaos overwhelms everything else. You might describe them as operatic utility infielders. Competence and professionalism they had, but they came up short on brilliance. From the positioning and structure of Orsini's music, it is clear that the seconda donna is supposed to shine. She has, in fact, an opportunity to dominate at least two scenes. Barbie, misses both opportunities. After her big number in the prologue, she earns that grim thing, a round of polite, half-hearted applause. So, too, with Paskalis. He struts and frets without incurring any particular notice. The rest of the cast, even less discernable than Barbie and Paskalis, are mowed down by poison in job lots.

Donizetti handles this tale of Renaissance revenge with predictable style, grace and musicality. The opera sounds good, no question of that. Donizetti's plot, however, has wandered away from his comparatively genteel customary haunts into craggy Verdian uplands. Donizetti extracts beauty from his libretto. Verdi, on the other hand, would politely have thanked the librettist for this present text as a first draft and then have made the poor hack's life a misery by incessant demands for stronger situations. What a meal Verdi would have made of this, what an in-your-face opera!

Esta es la representación que dió fama internacional a una grandísima cnatante que llevaba 9 años en el anonimato. Escuchando la grabación se da uno cuenta de porque sucedío esto. Todo es magnífico en el canto de Caballe: legato,pianissimos, filados a la par que una técnica de canto con un control demoniaco del fiato unido a la belleza sinigual del timbre. La cantante supo crear un clima mágico a lo largo de la velada y ahí esta el resultado. Una maravilla.