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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Poor Man's "Madam Butterfly" . . ., February 4, 1999
This review is from: Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Audio CD)
What a find this is: A two-CD set containing the entirety of Puccini's opera, "Madam Butterfly", for 4 bucks! I only wish some of the songs were provided for listening, so that customers could hear the quality of the production. Admittedly, I am not an expert when it comes to opera. But, no one should suspect that because the set is cheap, the music is also questionable. On the contrary, this version of "Madam Butterfly" by the Sofia National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Mr. Rouslan Raychev, is excellent. I would recommend this collection to anyone who can't afford the pricier versions out there. I was very pleased with my purchase.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very worthwhile performance, April 12, 2001
This review is from: Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Audio CD)
Anna Tomowa-Sintow was the reigning lirico-spinto soprano for several years. This Butterfly finds her in generally good voice, and her characterization is quite credible. In the crucial final act, however, her diction disappears and the high passages, instead of portraying a woman in profound distress at the unfairness of her treatment by her so called "husband", come off as being simply over-wrought. They diminish the sympathy the listener has for the character. Aragall is a tenor that I have seen in several roles, and in many venues, and have, frankly, usually not been much impressed. He is, however, an excellent Pinkerton. The real pleasure in this recording for me is Alberto Rinaldi, the Sharpless. Just listen to the scene between Sharpless and Butterfly as he tries to read Pinkerton's letter to her. You will never, I think, hear a more real and poignant portrayal and exchange between these two characters. It is all the more touching because before and after this scene Tomowa-Sintow is all grand gesture and scenery chewing. This five or ten minutes is worth a whole bunch of more celebrated Butterfly recordings.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best dirt-cheap opera recordings anywhere, April 4, 2000
This review is from: Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Audio CD)
To be absolutely candid, this performance is not equal artistically to the classic Karajan recording with the Vienna Philharmonic. On the other hand, the Karajan set isn't ten times as good, but it is ten times as expensive. This set is enhanced by very respectable performances from Anna Tomowa-Sintow, who coincidentally has sung (as I recall) in the Beethoven 9th for Karajan, and from Giacomo Aragall. The rest of the cast is at least adequate,as is the orchestral playing and conducting. The body of orchestral tone is not unlike that of a typical opera orchestra, if not quite as opulent as a full symphony orchestra. The recording quality is very good indeed, unlike typical super bargain recordings. There is a brief synopsis but no libretto; this in itself is better than many EMI Seraphim and DGG Classikon releases which have virtually no documentation. I enjoyed this performance so much that I snapped up a few more issues from this company - there's a Carmen, La Traviata and Aida too. At this price, nobody will feel they paid too much. Recommended.
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