Customer Reviews

Heros

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Little can be said about one of the world's greatest tenors with a singing technique SO good, that allows him to tackle so many diverse and difficult roles even at an advanced age.

This is a compilation of moments mainly taken from his numerous Verdi studio recordings. It's quite representative of his strong and stylish singing considering that, in my opinion at least, his voice was made for the later Verdi tenor roles rather than the earlier, lyrical ones. He's a natural Radames, Don Carlo, Don Alvaro, Manrico, Rodolfo and a defenite Otello. The solo scenes heard here are taken from his first - and least dramatic - recording. The later recorded duet with Ricciarelli's deeply moving Desdemona is by far the best track of this cd! A ligter voice like Bergonzi's or Pavarotti's moves me more in Traviata, Rigoletto, Ballo and Vespri but Domingo sings nevertheless wonderfully.

Besides the fact that Domingo is a rare singer I've also heard many times that he's a pleasant, warm and modest person which not only makes him a great singer but also a great artist!

This is another collection of Verdi arias interpreted by the illustrious and vestaile Placido Domingo and released on the first-class RCA Gold Seal. These operatic tenor roles, more than any other, established Placido Domingo as a bright star in the opera firmament. He himself claimed that Verdi's operas did more for his career than any other composer's repertory. The album begins with two arias from Verdi's Trovatore. Manrico's "Di Quella Pira" is exquisitely sung and dramatically gratifying. Domingo's Manrico does not possess the heft and volume of Mario Del Monaco's portrayal. But Domingo was on a class of his own, a tenor who did not seek to be the loudest tenor in history. He focused on beauty and purity of voice as well as dramatic and emotional impact. His greatest Manrico on record is found on the RCA 1970 recording with Leontyne Price, Sherill Milnes and Fiorenza Cossotto. Manrico is a role that more than any other tenor except Franco Corelli who please me the most. Domingo singing Alfredo's aria "De Mie Bollenti Spiriti" from La Traviata is pure gold. His Alfredo is far by the sexiest and most elegant while at the same time being passionate and masculine. Verdi's less famous operas Luisa Miller and Simon Boccanegra contain lush tenor arias that Domingo delivers with nuance and colorful musical intelligence. His tenor aria from Un Ballo is simply gorgeous. "La Vita E Inferno" sung by Don Alvaro in La Forza Del Destino is yet another masterpiece of tenor reperotire and Domingo is captivating. You can find Domingo's full-length Forza on RCA Red Seal from the mid 70's starring Leontyne Price, Sherill Milnes and Fiorenza Cossotto once again. It is still said that Domingo's greatest Italian role was that of Otello. This is absolutely true. He sang Otello several times beginning in the late 70's. This is the one role that our versatile, irrepressible tenor feared! But he sang the role with a Shakespearean approach and his vocal technique was dark and dangerous, full of passion and intensity. Just listen to this when he sings "Ah! Mile Vite Gli Donasse Iddio!" and "Dio Mi Potevi Scagliar". Unlike other Otello's, like Del Monaco's, he does not rush into jealous madness right away and instead cooly and intellectually slips into a jealous obscession with convincing credibility. A lot depends on the interaction between the baritone singing Iago and the tenor singing Otello, fortunately Domingo was always paired with superb Iagos, notably those of Sherill Milnes and Justino Diaz. Yet another glorious Verdi role for Domingo was Don Carlo. He sang it both in its origianl French version and in the more popular Italian version. His Don Carlos is a true revelation. A perfect balance of lyrical and spinto ability and dramatic thrust. This is Domingo singing roles that are considered his best and every fan of Domingo must own this. Enough said.