Customer Reviews

Puccini - Turandot / Sutherland · Pavarotti · Caballé · Ghiaurov · Krause · Pears · LPO · Mehta

5 star:		(117)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Turandot, Puccini's last opera, contains some of the most glorious music that he composed. And this performance does complete justice to the music. It is as close to a perfect performance that is possible. Dame Joan Sutherland, who never performed the role on stage, is as cold as ice as the man-hating princess until Calaf wins her heart. At that moment she transforms into a warm hearted lover. Unfortunately I never saw La Stupenda on stage, but I've always heard that she had a rather large voice. Sure, it wasn't as big as Nillson's, and I don't know how her portrayal would've been in the theater. But in the studio she was perfect. Pavarotti also hadn't performed the role of Calaf when this recording was made but he also knew his character well. He is every inch the ardent prince. Ringing voice and all. His 'Nessun dorma' requires no comment. The role of Liu is sweetly and heartbreakingly sung by Montserrat Caballe (who herself sang Turandot). This recording also includes Nicolai Ghiarouv in the small role of Timur. Peter Pears also makes a cameo as the Imperatore. In short: This is the only Turandot recording to own.

Turandot is my very favorite opera and I own most of the Turandot sets out there, including both the Nilsson versions, both of the Marton versions, the Callas one, and even the version with Caballe as Turandot. This one is without question the complete performance. The definitive Turandot, period. At the top of the cast is the great Australian diva Dame Joan Sutherland as the Princess of ice. Her's is a voice that legends are made of, and after listening to her as the ice princess, I can see why. The voice is pure spunned gold, full and Voluptuous from the bottom of the register to highest of notes. Sutherland shows no vocal strain whatsoever, no matter what the music demands. And it is indeed refreshing to hear a warm, gorgeous "Italian trained voice" as Turandot rather than the cold sound of Nilsson or Marton. And not only does Sutherland sings gloriously, she also brings fire and passion to the title role. There is no better Turandot on or off the recording studio. As Prince Calaf, Pavorotti displays the most beautiful vocal line with spectacular high notes. His "Nessum Dorma" will bring chills up and down your spine. Yes, he has to compete with the memory of Franco Corelli and Mario del Monaco, but he meets that challendge with flying colors. Honestly I don't know who is better, Pavorotti or Corelli. The great Spanish diva Monserrat Caballe sings the most heart melting Liu ever and her pianissimo singing is simply unbelievable. There are no other Liu as beautifully sung as her's. Zubin Mehta is one of the finest operatic conductor of our time, and this is his best performance. He brings vividly to life Pucccini's greatest masterpiece. The music here is so beautiful that I get goose pimples everytime I listen to it. As for the recording itself, the orchestra and vocal blend is ideal, presenting the singers and orchestra in perfect harmony, and the sonics are absolutely first rate. This could be the greatest recording of the century, at least for this opera lover.

Joan Sutherland IS the vocal sensation of the century. And she amazes all in this recording as a true dramatic soprano. The gorgeous voice, opulent in tone and gigantic in size is just unbelievable. All notes are shot out of the diva's throat like cannonballs. I am fortunate enough to have heard the great Prima Donna in her prime, and let me say she must be heard in person to be believe. Supremely the vocal miracle of all time. As Turandot, she is not even challenged, in terms of voice, she absolutely soars above the orchestra and chorus with no strain whatsoever. Vocally, no one can touch her. But she also offers amazing fire in this recording, singing with much more passion and sensuous tone than all the other Turandots combined...INCLUDING Birgit Nilsson and Maria Callas. And forget Eva Marton, she screams every note. As Prince Calaf, Pavorotti is ideal. At the time of this recording, Pavorotti had one of the most pure beautiful tenors before the public, and like Sutherland, he has ALL the high notes. Nessum Dorma was his highlight. But I still prefer Franco Corelli's ringing spinto voice. Caballe is ideal as Liu, she uses her perfect bel canto technique to demonstate some of the most awesome pianissimo singing I've ever heard. She is simply a Liu to make you cry. The bonus here, of course, is the glorious music of Puccini. There is not one boring second in this over two hours of magnificent music. The conductor Zubin Mehta, with the help of a PERFECT recording, painted a wonderfully colorful and opulent GRAND OPERA. This is Puccini's MASTERPIECE!! And Puccini, in his wildest dreams would not have imagined a better cast or performance. This is one of the greatest recording of our time.

P.S. To hear the most amazing display of coloratura singing ever recorded. I give my highest rating to Joan Sutherland's "The Art of the Prima Donna". You will hear vocal miracles in that cd. Definitely the most breathtaking singing ever recorded. You won't believer your ears, what Dame Joan Sutherland does in that recording is superhuman!!!

Being an opera singer and knowing alot of the work and artistry of the performers involved in this endeavor, I was a bit skeptical that it could be pulled off... and boy was I wrong. I am a huge fan of Joan Sutherland. Her portrayals of such roles as Lucia, Semiramide and Linda di Chamonix are likely never to be surpassed, or even equalled on stage. Likewise, this also goes for her non-performed roles, but recorded ones such as Gilda, Marie and now, Turandot. I said to myself, "Joanie singing Puccini?.. what was she thinking." I was happily shocked. (For more of her Puccini interpretations, check out Suor Angelica and a suprisingly beautiful Tosca.) The sweeping dramatic melodic line and her ability to color each individual phrase sets her apart from the rest. Just listen to the phrase "Sì, la speranza che di lude sempre!" in the riddle scene. Never have I heard so much power and richness come out of Joan's voice. It makes the spine tingle. I am not a big fan of Pavarotti, but his portrayal of Calaf is both intense as well as powerfully sung. I only wish that Luciano would become an artist instead of just a singer. Monserrat Caballé's Liu is quite poignant, but lacks the drama necessary in her final aria "Tu che...". Wonderful support is led by Russian bass Ghiaurov as Timur and English tenor Peter Pears as the Emperor, who, at over 70 years of age when this was recorded, displays the same candor and strength that he showed years earlier in roles such as Peter Grimes and the Male Chorus. This is a wonderful recording to have in one's operatic library. Zubin Metha's conducting is very strong and interpretively correct. The only Turandot recordings to rival this one is Birgit Nilsson's live performance with Franco Corelli (a true tenor di forze) from Milan in 1965 and the videotape of Eva Marton and Placìdo Domingo live from the Met in 1988. Check them all out and you be the judge of who is the best "princess of fire and ice."

There has been a debate about which one is the best Turandot recording, this set or the Nilsson/Corelli. I own both recordings. The more I play them, the more I like this set better. I don't understand why people attack Sutherland so much. I respect her for making a choice to expand her repertoire beyond the common bel canto roles. For people who think Sutherland did not have a right voice for Turandot, you are deadly wrong. She was perfect as Turandot in this recording. Her high notes were glorious, round and beautiful. She was also less drooping and her diction was clear. Remember that Turandot is a princess, not a Valkyrie. Although she is cold and insensitive, she is still a woman. Sutherland is the only one on recording who effectively protrays this side of Turandot. Yes, Nilsson was very good in this role but she was more like a warrior than a young princess. Pavarotti may not sound heroic as Corelli but his voice is definitely more beautiful and his phrasing is much better. There is no doubt that Caballe is in every way far better than Scotto. The comment from the previous reviewer that suggest Caballe should switch the role with Sutherland is totally absurd. How on earth would Caballe sound more powerful than Sutherland? In her singing here, we have a beautiful, fragile but brave slave girl. Not to mention her famous pianissmo. I would say her "Signore ascolta" is the best on records. Other singers in the supporting roles are perfect; Timur, Ping, Pang and Pong, so is the chorus. The most important part that makes this recording so outstanding is the conducting by Zubin Mehta. He understands every part of this opera and makes it sound spectacular from the beginning to the end. Please listen to this recording with unbiased ear. Who can ask for anything more?

This is silly. An entire world of famous opera critics all chose this Turandot as the standard for all others yet we still get attacks on Joan Sutherland.
The nominations of Nilsson, Marton, or even Callas as the better princess are understandable, but they just didn't deliver as ideally as a bel canto prima donna.
I can see the Nilsson nomination. Her voice is gigantic, and her high notes are reliable. But this is a recording. It doesn't matter how huge her voice is, she just doesn't have the warm heart of true womenhood when she is transform to a woman in love.
As for Marton. All she does is shake her head to form a "false" vibrato as she screams her head off to try to deal with the high tessitura. And she has one of the most unpleasant sopranos I've heard in quite a while. Then there's one of my favorite divas, Maria Callas. But her Turandot didn't work either. The diva sang terribly and had tremendous difficulty with the high tessitura and intonation.
Now to whom the majority of the finest critics in the world and most opera buffs agreed as the quintessential Turandot. The surprising Dame Joan Sutherland. I've enjoyed Dame Joan as Lucia and Norma for many years, but a Turandot? Heck,yes!
I don't know if it's Mehta's coaching, or her husband's. But Dame Joan has pulled off a true tour de force. A grand Turandot with sumptuous tone, powerful high notes, and the ability to convince us that the heart of a cold princess can turn into a plain woman in love. And she does it with such a luxuriuous dramatic soprano sound that she converted me, a pure Puccini nut, into a believer. I wonder what would have happened if she went for Tosca. Could she have dethroned Callas as Floria Tosca? That is unlikely, but dame Joan certainly had the right tone of soprano to sing Tosca. But we'll never know.
Pavarotti is without criticism as the Prince Calaf. He sounds youthful and heroic with just a touch of a big ego. The Nessum Dorma is his signature, and no one can sing it better.
Caballe as Liu is equally superb. She uses her remarkable pianissimo vocalism and pathos to melt our hearts as the doomed slave girl. Yet there were moments that she was about to upstage Sutherland. Luckily, the diva holds back and sings with just the right amount of melting tones to make the balance of Turandot and Liu believable.
Certainly Zubin Mehta's conducting is just pure magic and the sound of Decca's sonics are unbeatable.
All in all, a glorious Turandot with not one major flaw I can think of.
This makes this one of the greatest opera recording I own. One that I can compare with my Tosca with Callas, the Butterfly with Freni/Pavarotti, the Aida with Price/Vickers, and the Giulini Don Giovanni.

Yes, Sutherland may not be a dramatic Soprano in the tradition of a Birgit Nilsson. But by the miracle of the recording studio, she meets Turandot's formidable challenges with flying colors. Her's is a Turandot who not only offers big, lusious tones, but great passion. The Big P is of course, excellent in the role of the unknown Prince, hitting all the high notes with ease. And we have the great Monserrat Caballe singing the definitive Liu. I cannot believe the shameful one star rating given by one listener. Perhaps he or she does not like Sutherland and Pavorotti. Let me say that this Turandot is one of the all time best selling operatic sets, and has thrilled countless opera fans ever since it's introduction in 1972! If it isn't anything short of great, it would not have it's legions of fans, critics and consumers alike. Furthermore, it has introduced our daughter to the wonderful world of Puccini. It is perhaps our favorite performance of a favorite opera. The sound of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the gorgeous sound of Sutherland, Pavorotti, and Caballe, plus the thoughful conducting of Zubin Mehta makes this set truely special and a must have for every opera lover.

This is the best Turandot in the catalog that I have heard.

The are numerous reasons that for that...the singers, Zubin Mehta, the orchestra, and the spectacular sound of the recording.

First, the singers - Sutherland, Caballe, and Pavarotti.
Joan Sutherland has one of the most beautiful voice in the world at the time of this recording. She has an amazing range that goes all the way to the G above high C. It is a huge voice that is almost the size of a Wagnerian dramatic soprano with the warmth of a spinto. The diva's gorgeous tone is world famous as well as her percision and technique. True, she has never sang the role on stage. But in the recording studio she is ideal for Turandot.

Puccini wrote the role for a Italian train type of soprano known as a spinto soprano. Spinto sopranos typically have soaring large voices that are warm and smooth in tone. True, the role of Turandot calls for a unusual type of spinto soprano that borders on a dramatic soprano. but He certainly didn't write it for a Wagnerian(German)dramatic soprano because he wanted a rich "Italian" sound for Turandot.

This rules out Nilsson, she is too cold and edgy for Turandot. Sutherland, on the other hand, is pure velvet. Her top notes are world known for their power and accuracy, and she is at her best here. The extremely high tessitura poses absolutely no challenge for her. And unlike Nilsson who uses basically one volume(forte to fortissimo) and no emotions(she is dead cold), Sutherland uses varying dynamics(piano to fortissimo) and emotions in her voice to make Turandot human, instead of just a singing machine. She is also completely on pitch while Nilsson is sometimes sharp.

The young Pavarotti has the honey sweet sound and ego to sing Calaf. His perfect tenor has no problems with the tessitura and he makes child's play with Nessum Dorma. He is the best Calaf on record and that includes Corelli who scoops too much. Bjoeling voice, however beautiful, is too small and thin even in the studio to do Calaf justice.

Enough has been said about Caballe's famous phrasing and pianissimo to make her the quintessential Liu. I can't think of a single soprano in the past or present that can touch her complete performance of the tragic slave girl. Yes, Tebaldi, Scotto and Price are all great. But next to the definitive interpretation of Caballe, they're all just second best or less.

Unlike what some people think, opera is not just voice, the orchestra is also very important, as well as the conductor. Zubin mehta and the London Phil Orchestra paints the most dramatic and colorful picture of ancient China-both the barbaric and ugly side as well as its excessive opulence. His competitors falls short of that, in my opinion.

Finally, the recorded sound of this Turandot is second to none. It is absolutely state of the art. You can hear everything, from the softest triangle to the thunderous climaxes. It rivals the finest digital recordings that I've got, and I'm an audiophile

So, all in all, this Turandot is the almost undispute standard for all others. Ignore the Sutherland bashers who hates the Australian diva because she is the only soprano who can rival Callas or Nilsson as the "Voice of the Century".(We all know
about the Sutherland/Callas, Tebaldi/Callas politics)

In conclusion, almost all of the opera recording guides I've read consider this to be the definitive recording of Turandot. If you read all the reviews of the amateur critics here, you'll find that over 80% of them feel that this is the Turandot to get.

Pay special attention to the feature "was this review helpful to you" (yes or no) option at the end of each review. Notice that whenever someone writes a mean spirited review of this opera, they are voted down by "NO" by with unique feature. Notice also that all the negative reviews of this Turandot have many, many "no votes" next to it. Meaning most fans disagree with the negative review. Also notice when a positive review is posted, the "was this review helpful to you" feature is ovewhelmed by "yes" votes. This reveals that the vast majority of the opera fans here adore this Turandot and disagree with the bashers.

Judge this Turandot by it's reputable and incomparable merits. Listen to it yourself and be thrilled. Just ignore the disrespectful comments of the jealous and immature "critics"

Ever since it's debut in 1972, this has been one of Decca's best selling operas. There is a very good reason for this. It has everything to make it superlative. It is also the people's choice for the definitive Turandot. It outsells its competitions by a landslide.

Turandot is not just an opera that Puccini wrote for the greatest singers in the world. It just happened that the three major roles in it are so difficult that only the most accomplished tenor and sopranos can even dare to attempt them. And I dare say that the team of Sutherland, Pavarotti, and Caballe more than meet the challenges of Puccini's vocal obstacles. In my opinion, all three of the major singers in this Mehta Turandots outsing its competition of Nilsson/Corelli/Scotto, and even the Nilsson/Corelli/Scotto.

But without a great conductor and orchestra, Turandot would just be another opera with catchy tunes. Here we have Mehta and the LPO, just how much better can you get than that?

And finally, the other great Turandots, namely the ones with Nilsson/Bjoeling/Tebaldi, and Nilsson/Corelli/Scotto can not touch the spectacular sound that the talented engineers of Decca has done. An operatic recording with audiophile sonics that sounds like you are in the action. The choruses are more rousing, the climaxes are more powerful, and from the softest notes to the loudest fortissimi, the sound that comes out of your speakers are simply breathtaking. With the other Turandots, especially the Nilsson/Bjoeling, you get static, tape noise, and no dynamics.

With credentials like that, how can the other Turandots compete?
Trust me, this Turandot is sublime.

Joan Sutherland is a great Turandot. Pavorotti is a great Calaf. Caballe is a great Liu. This is the best Turandot out there.
To get an accurate judgement of this legendary set, read all the reviews - not just one by someone who obviously is very immature.