Puccini: Turandot

Giacomo Puccini (Composer), Gianandrea Gavazzeni (Conductor), Angelo Mercuriali (Performer), Birgit Nilsson (Performer), Franco Corelli (Performer), Franco Ricciardi (Performer), Galina Vishnevskaya (Performer), Nicola Zaccaria (Performer), Renato Capecchi (Performer), Virgilio Carbonari (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Angelo Mercuriali, Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Franco Ricciardi, Galina Vishnevskaya, et al.
• Conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni
• Composer: Giacomo Puccini
• Audio CD (February 17, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Opera D'oro
• ASIN: B000005ZZZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,617 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Nilsson, Birgit

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Magnificent Performance! 5 Stars all the way!, May 9, 2000

By 

Rod Tierman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puccini: Turandot (Audio CD)

This is a truly first class performance of Turandot. Birgit Nilsson is terrific in the title role, but the real standout is Franco Corelli. His "Nessun Dorma" will take your breath away. Once you hear Corelli sing this aria, no one else will do. This is the way this role really should be sung. I thought the EMI recording of Turandot with Corelli and Nilsson was good, but this recording makes that one pale in comparison. What excitement, which, I feel, is enhanced from the fact that this an actual live performance! The little duet with Turandot and Calaf at the end of Turandot's aria "In Questa Reggia", culminating in a unison High C between the two leads, is nothing less than a phenomenon. As far as Mdme Birgit Nilsson is concerned, what more can I say that others haven't? The role of Turandot belonged to her! "In Questa Reggia" is sung brilliantly, but Nilsson also brings to the rest of the role a regalness and sensitivety that none others have been able to realize. The soprano who sings Liu will literally melt your heart away. The quality of this performance is so fantastic, so Italian, so utterly Puccini one will not notice the slight fluctuation of pitch that occurs at the end of Act 2. Gavazzeni's conducting is excellent, always keeping the performance moving, yet realizing the tender moments like Liu's very touching "Signore Ascolta" masterfully. There are 4 very fine studio recordings of this work with Bjoerling/Nilsson, Corelli/Nilsson, Sutherland/Pavarotti, and Del Monaco/Bork, but this one surpasses them all. All I can say is buy this recording! The performance is unsurpassed and the price is irresistable. Another Five Star production from OPD recordings!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nilsson's TURANDOT sends CHILLS, November 29, 1999

By 

F. Barton "Forrest W. Barton" (Newport, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Puccini: Turandot (Audio CD)

Of course, the RCA complete recording of TURANDOT, with Bjorling and Tebaldi is the ultimate studio version. But this VERY modest priced 2CD set, recorded at La Scala live, is a must have! Corelli is superb in this role, many think he is unsurpassed. Nilsson has much more dramatic icy force, completely in character, from the '59 studio recording. The Liu is an incredible surprise, as I had never heard of her, as she shines! In act two, both Nilsson and Corelli give SO much, that when they hit their high Cs, it sends shivers down your spine, to hear such spectacular singing! I dare you to listen to it just once, IMPOSSIBLE! This performance is a joy from start to finish and should be in EVERY collection, because of the performance, AND the price.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When La Scala was La Scala, June 10, 2002

By 

Paul A. Dunphy (Bogota, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Puccini: Turandot (Audio CD)

Despite their backstage squabbles, throughout the 60s Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli were box office dynamite as the ice princess and the unknown prince who melts her heart. The sound is quite good for a live recording. Both artists are at their peak - Corelli does not exhibit too much of the underattack which would later be his undoing. Nilsson is freer and more brilliant than in either of her two studio recordings. An added plus is the Liu` of Galina Vishnevskaya in her La Scala debut season sounding youthful and poignant (get a load of the crowd's reaction after "Signore ascolta"). Gianandrea Gavazzeni brings out all the nuances of this fascinating score. The balance of the cast is made up of La Scala stalwarts of that era (Zaccaria, Ercolani). The one drawback for me is the chorus which sounds a bit shrill - particularly the upper voices. Whether this is a result of the recording process or not, it still is not enough to detract from a truly exciting performance.