Customer Reviews

Verdi: Attila (Bonus CD)

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This is an excellent recording of a Verdi opera few people know. It was first performed at the MET only in 2010, the opera Riccardo Muti chose for his (overdue) house debut. That production left a lot to be desired because of the strange, un-Verdian approaches of the director, costume designer, and set designer, but it was musically about as good as you can get these days and showed off the vigorous young Verdi. This recording made some years ago is even better and highly recommended. I don't much care for EMI's penny-pinching approach to notes and libretto: they are supplied on a "bonus" CD and you print them out yourself. You won't be disappointed in the performance, I promise.

"Attila" comes form Verdi's "galley years" of the 1840's, when as a young man he threw himself into producing a series of crowd-pleasing blockbusters while gradually introducing musical innovations which permitted greater psychological insight and profundity than mere "oompah" rhythms allowed. I know of only three studio recordings of "Attila" and it is to this day rarely performed, although it strikes me as almost as melodic, dramatic and entertaining as its close cousins "Ernani" and "Nabucco", especially when performed as well as it is here. Gardelli recorded a flawed set for Hungaroton which can be discounted, but he and Muti, the conductors of studio recordings from Philips in 1973 and EMI in 1989 respectively, are Verdi specialists; both know how to drive the action forward yet still give their singers space to make their points, and both are masters of early Verdian style.

Thus choosing between the two depends very much upon personal taste in voices and a weighing up of the many advantages, and few disadvantages, of both sets. The sopranos, Cristina Deutekom and the Cheryl Studer, in fact sound very similar, with fast vibratos, a slight tendency to tremulousness and a really edgy, nervy dramatic flair which successfully captures the volatile and rather unpleasant Odabella. Both cope very well with the sweep and range of the part, so not much between them. Similarly, both Sherrill Milnes and Giorgio Zancanaro are thrilling, truly Italianate baritones with the heft, range, ping, legato and upper extension to encompass the demands of the role of Ezio. Both choruses and orchestras are exemplary; nothing between them, either.

However, there is more to think about when considering the singers who take the eponymous bass role and the comparatively small (as in "Nabucco" and "Macbeth") tenor parts. As is so often the case, Ruggero Raimondi has a beautiful line and inflects the text intelligently, but compared with Samuel Ramey, lacks the weight and gravity of voice which the latter artist brings to Attila. As for Shicoff and Bergonzi, the younger artist turns in one of his more impressive performances, but the unadorned line of his singing and rather unremitting nasal tone compare less favourably with Bergonzi's elegance and individuality. Having said that, signs of deterioration in Bergonzi's basic vocal quality are already creeping in, in the early 70's, and he manages less sheer gusto than Shicoff.

So in the end you must go with your own preference, but neither set disappoints. Both rise to the big numbers and the ensembles are especially rousing. As chances to hear it live are relatively few, any Verdian should own one if not both of these two recordings. Unfortunately, in this re-issue EMI is pursuing its irritating, cheese-paring practice of supplying the libretto on a "bonus disc" instead of in immediately readable form.

I had never heard Attila until a few months ago, when the Met aired Riccardo Muti's performance on their Saturday broadcast. I immediately set out to find a recording, and did the obvious thing, buying the Muti CD on EMI with the La Scala orchestra, with Cheryl Studer as Odabella, Samuel Ramey as Attila, Neil Shicoff as Foresto, and Giorgio Zancanaro as Ezio. The recording dates from 1989 and was all round better musically than the Met broadcast. No complaints!

It was my learning that there was a live recording with Mara Zampieri conducted by Sinopoli that led me to buy a second recording a month or so later. A few years ago I had never heard of her, but because I admired Sinopoli's Strauss and Mahler I thought I would try out his Verdi, and bought his Macbeth. And that's how I discovered this great singer. She does not disappoint as Odabella. It was Sinopoli's debut at the Vienna State Opera; he was only 34 at the time, and it made him a star overnight. The audience is wildly enthusiastic, and with good reason. This recording has a sense of occasion that provides the extra frisson. Attila might be considered minor Verdi--he was only 33 when he wrote it--but I find it irresistible, a work of genius, even if not fully formed. Good as Muti is, I wouldn't be without Sinopoli's great recording. Both are highly recommended.

A really good deal 3 phenomenal opera CD's and it didn't hit my wallet very hard at all. This set includes some of the all-time classics such as Verdi's Attila by Ricardo Muti, and 2 Massenet operas, Werther and Don Quichotte. This is a fantastic release and I am proud to add this to my growing opera collection.