Puccini - Edgar / Scotto, Bergonzi, Killbrew, Sardinero, OONY, NYCO Children's Chorus, Eve Queler

Giacomo Puccini (Artist), Opera Orchestra of New York (Artist), New York City Opera Children's Chorus (Artist), Eve Queler (Artist), Renata Scotto (Artist), Carlo Bergonzi (Artist), Gwendolyn Killebrew (Artist), Vicente Sardinero (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002595
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,549 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #17 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Scotto, Renata

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Edgar, opera: Act I: Qual Voce Lontano (In The Distance)

2. Edgar, opera: Act I: O Fior Del Giorno (O Flower Of The Morning)

3. Edgar, opera: Act I: Già Il Mandorlo Vicino (Already The Nearby Almond Tree)

4. Edgar, opera: Act I: Ah! Ah! Ah! Tu Qui? (Ah! Ah! Ah! You, Here?)

5. Edgar, opera: Act I: Ove Fosti Stanotte? (Where Were You Last Night?)

6. Edgar, opera: Act I: Questo Amor, Vergogna Mia (I Want To Reject And Forget)

7. Edgar, opera: Act I: Tu Il Cuor Mi Strazi (Your Are Tearing Out My Heart)

8. Edgar, opera: Act I: Che Fu? (What Happened?)

9. Edgar, opera: Act I: T'arresta! (Stop)

10. Edgar, opera: Act I: Or Dunque, Addio! (Now Then, Good-Bye!)

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Edgar, opera: Act III: Introduzione (Introduction)

2. Edgar, opera: Act III: Requiem Aeternam! (Eternal Rest!)

3. Edgar, opera: Act III: Addio, Addio, Mio Dolce Amor! (Good-bye, Good-bye, My Sweet Love!)

4. Edgar, opera: Act III: Del Prode Edgar (The Name Of The Valiant Edgar)

5. Edgar, opera: Act III: V'è Alcun Fra Voi (Are There Any Among You)

6. Edgar, opera: Act III: D'ogni Dolor (Of All My Sorrow)

7. Edgar, opera: Act III: Voglio Passar! (I Wish To Pass)

8. Edgar, opera: Act III: Bella Signora (Beautiful Lady)

9. Edgar, opera: Act III: All'armi! All'armi! (To Arms! To Arms!)

10. Edgar, opera: Act III: E' ver! (It Is True)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Recording, August 14, 1999

By 

James Walters (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puccini - Edgar / Scotto, Bergonzi, Killbrew, Sardinero, OONY, NYCO Children's Chorus, Eve Queler (Audio CD)

I really enjoy this recording of Puccini's second opera. The cast is very good, and Queler conducts the ochestra well. There is some beatiful music in this opera. It is'nt Puccini's most exciting opera but there are some musical moments that must not be passed by. Fidelia's aria at Edgars mach funeral for example is beautiful, Scotto sings beautifully here. Bergonzi is solid throuhout the whole opera, and also has a nice aria. The rest of the cast does a stellar job as well. If your a Puccini collector you must this opera to your collection

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How has this been overlooked?, February 20, 2006

By 

James G. Kilbourne (Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Puccini - Edgar / Scotto, Bergonzi, Killbrew, Sardinero, OONY, NYCO Children's Chorus, Eve Queler (Audio CD)

What an amazing piece of work! The young Puccini was much more Wagnerian in vision, but less of the master theatre man he was to be. In LeVilli and Edgar, he battles with rewards of the soul vs. those of the flesh. The music is rhapsodic, immense- inspired. If I had never had heard the name Puccini and stumbled upon this music, it would be one of handful of great works that I would turn to again and again.

The libretto is no masterpiece, but it isn't as bad as some imply. The music is heroic, sublime..some of his greatest.The music is a masterpiece. Someone HAS to perform this onstage.

In this live performance, Bergonzi is wonderful, despite missing one of the most intensely dramatic high C endings in opera. Scotto is at her best; totally involved, singing some of the most glorious soprano music you could ever hope to hear.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the Completist, January 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Puccini - Edgar / Scotto, Bergonzi, Killbrew, Sardinero, OONY, NYCO Children's Chorus, Eve Queler (Audio CD)

One can already see where Puccini was headed when listening to Edgar- still, one is glad that his taste in libretti or perhaps his ability to get a decent one improved after this one. The story is completely ridiculous, even for an opera. The fact that the bad female character is named Tigrana and the good female character is named Fidelia tells you what level of literary sophistication you're dealing with.

This is more of a number opera than Puccini wrote later, with arias and even a old-fashioned Verdi-style quartet. The baritone gets a very nice aria, but the soprano gets the best one, "Addio, mio dolce amor" that Leontyne P. recorded on her Diva album, and for some insane reason Renee Flemming did not record on her latest album.

The recording quality is good and you shouldn't be scared away by the fact that it's live. Bergonzi sings like a champ, and Scotto is triumphant in the big aria-- they try their best to invest the 2-dimensional characters with some life. Queller conducts well, but without as much dynamic thrust as you want- but really, the libretto is awful and Puccini still had much to learn about constructing a good piece of theater. Things get sloppy and unfocused in Act 4- it sounds as though they ran out of rehearsal time.