Customer Reviews

Leoncavallo: Pagliacci

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This is one of the finest rcordings of Pagliacci ever!! The two show stoppers here are Carlo Bergonzi and Herbert von Karajan. First of all, Bergonzi is perfect as the tormented Canio. He literally makes the tears leap right off of the grooves on this recordings. In "Vesti la Giubba" he delivers a performance of a man whose whole world has just fallen down around him and in the second act aria "No Pagliaccio non Son" portrays a man totally at the end of his rope. One other point of interest to me on this aria. Bergonzi literally soars up to his B flats here. Not straining like so many other Tenors are want to do. Bergonzi also realizes a certain lyricism in this role that only a few like Bjoerling, Gigli, and Di Stefano were capable of (the original Canio, Fernando De Lucia, was really a more lyric Tenor). To me this is a perfect performance of Pagliacci. Von Karajan's tempi are perfect and his phrasing with the orchestra is exquisite. When I first heard Taddei's Tonio I didn't much care for it, but the more I listen the more I have grown to like, yea even love, it. Taddei delivers, what I consider, a very Gobbi like performance, which I feel is truer to the realization of this character than, say a Warren, Milnes, or MacNeil. Joan Carlyle is a very fine Nedda, though not in the same league as de Los Angeles or Callas, but very compelling nonetheless. Rolando Panerai sings very well, if not a bit too robust, in the lyric baritone role of Silvio (my favorite is still Robert Merrill in the Cellini/Bjoerling/De Los Angeles recording). This recording not only possesses the great Tenor voice of Carlo Bergonzi, but also the equally wonderful lyric Tenor voice of Ugo Bennelli in the role of Beppe/Arlequino, who sings the role with a beauty and ease unequaled by any other Tenor, on any other recording. A perfect recording of I Pagliacci, and certainly the best of the stereo recordings (Bjoerling, Gigli, and Di Stefano are all mono). Now if DGG will only rerelease the accompanying Cavalleria Rusticana that was originally coupled with this recording! You simply must buy this recording!!!

I bought this recording relying on the fact that there is not a single bad performance in DG's 'Originals' series and I was not let down. I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the disc all in one sitting, and when the piece was finished I could do nothing but sit there in awe. I strongly reccomend this recording of Pagliacci. The sound is great, the performances are moving, and the overall effect is absolutely overwhelming!

This is a great recording. I, generally didn't consider buying any Italian recordings with Bergonzi. He has a great voice but he sounds like a helden tenor. I'd sell my house to hear him sing Siegfried or Othello live.But his voice is truly Italian and purely verrisimo here. I almost leveled the house when he sang "non, Pagliaccio, non,son." Guiseppe Taddei sings a beautiful Prologue. He can sing beautifully, comically,and in a moment he is almost mephistofelian, as in the scene with Nedda. Karajan is simply the best. In his day I'll bet they had to have an act of Parliament to limit his curtain calls. Now if only I could find the DGG double recording, with Cavalleria Rusticana.

This is one of my favorites opera recordings, and for me the best Pagliacci recording ever made. Among many virtues, Carlo Bergonzi. I always considered him one of the finest italian tenors, and under Karajan when he unleashes Canio's hurricane the result is chilling. Truly a great Bergonzi for a great Pagliacci.

I can't believe it! Karajan never conducted a performance like this one. This is so different from other Karajan recordings. Karajan conducts the most exciting Pagliacci ever recorded. He must've assimilated his conducting to a new style. This is the fastest bell chorus ever recorded next to the naxos recording which might cost the same amount of money. At times the pace could be extremely fast and at other times the pace could be extremely slow. This is like recordings of modern music. Karajan's conducting is like Julius Rudel's on this recording of Pagliacci. The bell chorus sounds as it never sounded before. What a shame that nobody ever conducts like Karajan except for Alexander Rahbari.

How can anyone prefer Carlo Bergonzi in the role of Canio to Giuseppe di Stefano?! Bergonzi's voice, even in the supposedly top form, as on this recording, has way too much vibrato to admit of purposeful emotional characterization. He always sound half-hysterical because his voice shakes so bad; so when he needs to sound hysterical, there's no effect! The best Pagliacci to buy is, by far, the Callas/di Stefano 1954 version, also featuring Tito Gobbi, Rolando Panerai, and Nicola Monti.