Customer Reviews

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia / Horne, Nucci, Ramey, Dara; Chailly [Highlights]

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If any of you have watched Saturday morning cartoons this opera might sound familiar. In fact the Barber of Seville is a classic! Leo Nucci is one of the top opera personalities in the world! His passion for music is unsurpassed! If you are a baby boomer this opera will 100% bring back memories of the good days. I recommend it to any generation!

For starters, Marilyn Horne is in the most beautiful voice I have ever heard her in this recording. She is a great Rosina. Unfortunately, this is not a one-woman opera! Leo Nucci's Barber is second rate at best, mostly because of his poor singing of fast runs and scales. Paolo Barbacini is downright terrible as Count Almaviva. His voice is so hoarse that he sounds like he's been shouting at football games for three days straight. I would advise against buying this compilation because there are a couple of better ones out there. My choice is the one with the riveting Agnes Baltsa, Thomas Allen, and Francisco Araiza. That is one all-around enjoyable performance.

This is almost a great recording. Chailly, Nucci, Horne, Ramey, Dara, the La Scala forces, all are supurb. Tenor Paolo Barbacini, as the Count, however - well, let's assume he was ill during the recording sesssions, because he sounds just awful. The tone is forced, the coloratura is hammered and throaty. The poor man seems to be straining for every note, and the sound is not pretty. For me, at least, this painful performance ruins an otherwise splendid recording. Be warned.