Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo - Pagliacci / Pavarotti, Freni, Varady, Cappuccilli, Gavazzeni, Patanč

Pietro Mascagni (Artist), Ruggero Leoncavallo (Artist), National Philharmonic Orchestra (Artist), Gianandrea Gavazzeni (Artist), Giuseppe Patanè (Artist), Luciano Pavarotti (Artist), Julia Varady (Artist), Mirella Freni (Artist), London Opera Chorus (Artist), Piero Cappuccilli (Artist), Carmen Gonzales (Artist), Vincenzo Bello (Artist), Finchley Children's Music Group (Artist), Ingvar Wixell (Artist), Lorenzo Saccomani (Artist), Ida Bormida (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0000041QR
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,069 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #24 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Freni, Mirella
  • #57 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > M to P

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

This may not be the most dramatically charged of all Cav/Pag combos, but it does star the golden-voiced, sincere, in-his- prime Luciano Pavarotti in both operas, and that's enough for some people. Add to this the lovely Mirella Freni as Nedda in I Pagliacci, and the exciting, underrecorded Julia Var´dy in Cavalleria Rusticana, and quite the dramatic evening unfolds. Giuseppe Patané leads I Pagliacci with vigor and sensitivity to the tenor, who turns in a stunning "Vesti la giubba," and Gianandrea Gavazzeni takes a big approach to the earlier scenes in Cavalleria Rusticana, while keeping the one-on-ones intimately intense. Ingvar Wixell is overparted as Tonio, but Piero Cappuccilli's Alfio is a fine, snarling portrait. A first choice for Cavalleria Rusticana alone might be the recording with Domingo and Baltsa or that with Bjorling and Milanov; for I Pagliacci alone, try Björling and de los Angeles. But if it's The Large One you want, here's the right place. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, June 19, 2004

By 

Sabad One - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo - Pagliacci / Pavarotti, Freni, Varady, Cappuccilli, Gavazzeni, Patanč (Audio CD)

This CD-Box is outstanding. Here you will find Pavarotti at his best, surrounded by other great artists. The few minutes of "Ridi pagliaccio", by itself, is worth more than the full price. When I listen to this CD, or to "La Boheme", or "Turandot", by the same label (Decca), all sung by Pavarotti during his peak years, I cannot avoid finding myself, at some point, with tears in my eyes. If you love opera, you should also own all Puccini sung by Pavarotti in his best years. I think that whatever Pavarotti did or sung in his latest years cannot stain a life of wonderful achievements. And it's beautiful that his achievements will be available for everybody to listen for ages to come.
But beware... After listening to these wonderful Decca-Pavarotti recordings, most live performances of these operas may end up being very disappointing...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why are Parts Missing?, December 23, 2010

By 

A. M. Consoli (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo - Pagliacci / Pavarotti, Freni, Varady, Cappuccilli, Gavazzeni, Patanč (Audio CD)

I was so looking forward to hearing Pavarotti in this memorable role and was so disappointed in finding that Pagliacci begins with the chorus and not the prologe....Why was this not noted? I wish I had read the reviews to realize I was not getting the complete opera. I bought it for the COMPLETE opera not the excerpts that I got. I am very disappointed and am sadly returning it to find the complete opera. Beware those of you who are looking for the complete opera. You will NOT get it here. Although you will be get a masterpiece of music.

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed Cavalleria Rusticana more than Pagliacci, July 11, 2010

By 

Jeffrey F Smith - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo - Pagliacci / Pavarotti, Freni, Varady, Cappuccilli, Gavazzeni, Patanč (Audio CD)

I bought this to hear Pagliacci, but ended up enjoying the other opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, more. The solo vocals on one of the recordings are a bit distant in parts, but otherwise the sound is good. I'm a bit of an opera newbie, but they're both worth a listen.