Customer Reviews

Puccini: Turandot

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If you are looking for the ultimate studio recording of Puccini's Turandot, look no further. Every opera lover and Puccini fan will not want to be without this miracle of an album. Recorded between 1965-1966, the album was digitally remastered to high quality perfection. The cast is a dream come true - Birgit Nilsson as the Empress Turandot, Franco Corelli as Prince Calaf, a young Renata Scotto as Liu and in the minor role of Pong is Piero De Palma. At this time, all the singers in the principal roles were in excellent shape and enjoying immense success as opera gods of their day. Franco Corelli is considered one of the 20th century's finest tenors, right up there with Enrico Caruso, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavoratti. Corelli had an incredibly dynamic tenor voice, which was used for acting with consummate skill in all of his roles. He was usually paired with Renata Tebaldi and together they performed in the greatest of Italian operas. Corelli as Calaf is the definition of the role. He is romantic, intense, passionate, fighting with all his might against the cold and powerful Turandot, finally conquering her with his love. I have always enjoyed Placido Domingo in the role, and he is to be found in a top-notch production at the Metropolitan Opera with set design by Franco Zefferelli, in which Eva Marton sings Turandot. That is visually the best stage production of Turandot.

Birgit Nilsson was above all a Wagnerian soprano. She made all the great Wagner heroines come to life with great realism and technical perfection - Brunhilde and Isolde are her greatest roles. Nevertheless, being an artist, she expanded her repertoire away from Wagner and into the one heavy role of Empress Turandot. She has no problem singing in Italian, and as the Ice Princess she is believably cold, arrogant, powerful, goddess-like. On stage, she was considered the greatest Turandot of her day. Coincidentally, at the time of this recording, she was quite busy undertaking various projects, among them Brunhilde in Karl Bohm's album of Der Ring Des Nibelungen. Turandot is a powerful diva role, calling for solid and soaring high notes, a dramatic and forceful inflection and a transformation in the end. When she is kissed by Calaf, she is tamed and suddenly a changed woman in love, with a generous nature and with no bloodlust of which she suffered before. I like to think the role ought to be played as if she is under a spell until the spell is broken at the end through Calaf's kiss. Under her spell, she is consumed with rage and vengeance against all men, especially for foreigners such as the ones who killed her much revered ancestor Empress Lo-u-Ling. Nilsson sings the story in the definitive version of the aria "In Questa Reggia". Franco Corelli, a sexy pre-Placido Domingo type, is quite noble in the famous aria which has become the signature and ambition for all tenors- "Nessun Dorma". This is it. The studio recording album that beats all others. I highly recommend it.

I own this recording of Turandot after having been exposed to the opera through a live performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. I am so amazed !! My jaw dropped after hearing the whole performance on two cd's!! This recording is truly sensational! It's really incredible, the definitive version, a Turandot that takes the crown as the greatest interpretation on record. Sadly for opera-lovers, this album is underrated. Most go for Maria Callas edition (inevitably) Joan Sutherland or Montserrat Caballe. Another review mentioned Eva Marton as Turandot in a live performance at the Met when she sang opposite Placido Domingo in a Franco Zefferelli production. While all these have their own value and allure, this one takes home the trophy. Birgit Nilsson was born to sing the role of Turandot. It seems as if the music for the character was written for her alone. She has all the right stuff. Her portrayal is icy, distant, imperious, powerful, intense and finally as she is "conquered" by love, deeply human, warm and loving. She never loses a feminine, girlish sensitivity and vulnerability even as she remains cold and defiant before she is won over by Calaf's love. This is exactly how Turandot ought to be sung. One reviewer said "she's under a spell which is broken with Calaf's kiss". This is a very accurate portrayal and Birgit Nilsson delivers this with dramatic conviction. She is the greatest Turandot ever to grace the stage.

At the Met, in the mid 60's, she was the reigning interpretor of Turandot. She sang opposite dramatic tenor Franco Corelli in productions which became legendary and were always sold out. This recording provides us with a glimpse of what it must have been like at that point in time. Corelli and Nilsson are the power behind this splendid album. They are electrifying, especially in the Riddle Scene and in the Finale. Dramatically, they are singing AGAINST each other in the Riddle Scene (Corelli portrays Calaf as a virile and ambitious man fighting to win her love while Turandot fights to keep him away, fighting temptation with an iron will). In the finale, they sing TOGETHER in a true Puccini love duet because love has conquered all. The dynamic duo of Franco Corelli and Birgit Nilsson should set the bar high for singers tackling these roles today. A tenor singing as Calaf and a soprano as Turandot are up for a big challenge. They are among opera's most difficult parts. The voice must be very high and loud, Wagnerian even, to cut through the big orchestral music and to climax powerfully in various scenes. This album has been digitally remastered from the old LP and is clean, smooth and powerful. Pradelli conducts with high excellence, evoking Puccini's mythical, imperial ancient China with atmospheric and lush melody.

Make no mistake. This is the best Turandot commercially available. A brief and powerful musical phrase opens on a town square in ancient Peking (Popoli Di Peking)..as a herald sung by a sonorous bass announces that Turandot will marry the man who answers three riddles. The Prince of Persia tried and failed and is to be executed. Calaf, an exiled Prince, and his father and servant girl Liu are among the crowds (Padre Mio Padre) and Calaf at firsts loathes the seemingly evil Empress Turandot who is so heartless in her command of life and death. But he falls madly in love with her when he sees her in person. Now he is determined to answer the riddles and claim Turandot as his bride. Franco Corelli was a devilishly handsome tenor with a gorgeous voice, capable of a broad palette of tones- romantic, seductive, powerful, intense and soft, loving and pure. He was a tenor's tenor. Very few tenors today match his talents. Immediately after his career, only Placido Domingo successfully filled his shoes in some ways. Birgit Nilsson particularily shines in the Riddle Scene "In Questa Reggia" and "Straniero! Ascolta!" but she comes a long way in a short time from dominant to subdued by the time she sings "E su nome Amor!" at the end of the opera. "And his name is love!" having fallen for the first time in love, which redeems her, breaks the spell and humanizes her.

Critics seem to snub Renata Scotto in this performance. What about Scotto ? Wow. She nailed the role of the tragic and lovesick slave girl with lyrical beauty and heartbreaking pathos. She is LIU as she was meant to be sung and portrayed. In Liu, Puccini meant to harken back to his earlier creation Madame Butterfly. Her arias are pretty much the same style as Butterfly. Though Liu has alawys been considered a minor supporting role, I think that she is the quiet but awesome power that drives the opera. Her death is the turning point and for Puccini, even the climax of the opera. He wrote her Suicide Scene when he himself died. Renata Scotto does justice to the role. Liu is best sung by light, lyrical or spinto voices. Among the better Lius have also included Beverly Sills who during one performance even stole the show even when the great Birgit Nilsson was singing Turandot in the same cast.

This has to be the best recording of Turandot ever made. The singing is magnificent. Firstly, there is one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th Century, Birgit Nilsson in her prime. Her rendition of 'In Questa Reggia' is at once chilling, startling and awesome. There is really no other soprano I have ever heard to compare with her in this role. I've heard the Sutherland recording and La Stupenda is wonderful but she would never have sung this role in an opera house as her voice was not big enough. Nilsson sang Turandot regularly throughout her long career. The only lady who possibly matched her in this role is another Swede named Inge Borkh. Secondly, we have Franco Corelli, who sings so beautifully and with such passion. He is every bit Nilsson's equal. This is really very fine singing and the 'famous' tenors that have followed him are in his shadow in my opinion. Thirdly, Renata Scotto sings Liu with great simplicity, warmth and beauty. You really need look no further. This is the best.

This features an extraordinary recording of Turandot...one of the best available.

All the interpreters are at their prime.
Scotto is a very fragile Liu singing beautifully and emotionally.

Corelli is outstanding!! This is surely one of his best recordings.

Nillson will always remain the Turandot of reference. She is really a princess of Ice at 1st and then melts in the last scene...amazing!!

About the EMI release...I was extremely disappointed. Be sure to own your libretto before buying this CD otherwise you will only get an italian libretto with no translations. However, each act is divided into so many tracks so that you can choose any part of the recording...for everybody's conveniance.

Overall...despite libretto problems...This recording Is A MUST...and not only to Nillson and Corelli's fans.

If one has to ask me to mention one of the greatest tenors ever, Franco Corelli would be on top of the list. And this should be one of the greatest ever recordings which were fortunately registered and passed down to us and with very good sound even. Calaf should be one of the greatest roles which Corelli sung on stage maybe only equalled by the role of Manrico in Il Trovatore, and this recording captures the animal-stamina well known from this fabulous singer. The cast who accompanies him is none the less. Renata Scotto is at her best as the slave-girl Liu' giving a very sensitive performance whilst Birgit Nilsson gives a heroic rendering in the role of the icy Princess Turnandot. Obviously one cannot not mention the great Puccini, for whom generations of opera lovers should be indebted for the ceative power and energy along with immortal melodies only he could give us - and definitely Turandot should be one of his colossal achievements which put great pressure on opera singers.

For me this recording is one of the most important historically - the cast is top noch and even the reading of Francesco Molinari-Pradelli is a one of the best I heard on record. EMI has managed to give us a good sound - well balanced and clear for this 1966 recording. Definitely with Corelli as Calaf divine as ever, it should be a must for all Opera lovers.

If a serious opera fan were to aim at understanding what Turandot was all about, then he should turn to this studio recording showcasing the gargantuan voices of the late Italian tenor and the Wagnerian legend Birgit Nilsson in the leading roles. Undeniable powerhouses such as these would never disappoint when it comes to rendering a scene from this beautiful Puccinian swan song of an opera. From Maestro Corelli's first note (Padre! Mio Padre!) to his last, every moment where his voice is captured will amaze, stun, and even evoke feelings of awe for such a magical voice. As Herbert von Karajan said, "his was a voice of thunder and lightning, of fire and blood", so we would agree when we listen to the vocal dynamics executed by this amazing tenor. Surprisingly, he also has the ability to sympathize with the role, something quite uncommon with the singing of so many overrated tenors today. His was a Calaf of stubborness, of passion. No other Calaf before him or after could ever give such an excellent insight into the character as Corelli did, and for this reason it is a MUST that you make this album a part of your collection. Pavrotti wouldn't even come close to the interpretive high notes that Corelli could bellow out and EXPRESS well too. And what of Birgit Nilsson? She was an excellent Turandot vocally, with all the tricks needed to make Turandot appear icy. Although she doesn't have Maria Callas' ability to color every word and phrase with a whirlwind of emotions, her vocal fache and her timbre were exactly what this role needed. Stunning high notes, great vocal acrobatics, and really, she is so much better than Joan Sutherland who turns Turandot into a phaser trill coloratura feat. Renata Scotto may not be a Caballe Liu, but she is heartfelt and touching as well. And, at this price, who wouldn't buy such an amazing record? Might I add that the live versions with Corelli and Nilsson at La Scala are also stunning and even more amazing? If you want exciting and bloody long high notes, go to the live ones.

I was never an opera fan, less an Italian opera fan, and even less a Puccini fan. This recording is astounding. Incredible cast and phenomenal playing. The music is lush, fascinating, and exciting.

My advice, if you're getting into opera--look seriously at older recordings. Fancy sound is swell, pretty perfect voices are wonderful, but hell-for-leather recordings like this (which I honestly haven't found in recent history--and believe me I've looked) are what will cinch it for you. I believe it's the change in culture we're hearing, and here let me chart that change for you: think Jackie Kennedy at the Paris Opera House. Now think of Paris Hilton. This is what has become of just our young sophisticated socialite culture. Across the board it's pretty much the same decline. Who genuinely believes in Puccini any more?

I saw Corelli toward the end of his career, back in the days when the Metropolitan Opera toured the country each spring. He was Romeo and, in his mid-fifties, made my then-19-year-old heart beat faster. He was a wonderful singer, and romatically convicing to boot. In "Turandot", he is at his best, singing a role so challenging that few tenors attempt it, except the absolute best. His singing is ringing and virile, but also has grace and nuance. This role, I think, defines his abilities as not other does. Treasure it.

It's hard to imagine a better Turandot recording than this. The principals are just great, of course; but as an added bonus, the entire recording is crystal-clear (you can hear EVERYTHING) and the fortissimo passages are unbelievably sonorous. PLUS, the drama moves at a good swift clip: never a dull moment here. This certainly must rate as one of the best recordings of ANYTHING, opera or no.

Birgit Nilsson is probably the best Turandot ever. It seems like the role was made for her. Here, her cold, steely timbre, which can sometimes be a bit unpleasant in Wagner's operas, perfectly suits the icy Chinese princess. Her loud, high notes are thrilling, and she portrays the character very effectively. Corelli also fits his role of Calàf hand in glove. His enormous, even, gorgeous voice is heard to huge advantage in this opera, and his "Nessun' dorma" makes Pavarotti's sound pathetic. Needless to say, Nilsson and Corelli blend fantastically in the climaxing duet (though it is rather obvious that they are singing against rather than with each other). Renata Scotto is great as Liù - her voice is in its prime here, before it developed its ugly wobble. Giaiotti does not have a very pleasant voice for Timur, but he does OK. Molinari-Pradelli is not quite in Mehta's league on the much more famous London set, but he's more than adequate. Anyone seeking the definitive recording of "Turandot" need seek no further.