Customer Reviews

Verdi: La Forza Del Destino (Complete)

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Get this today...too bad it's not DDD, but this recording is terrific...all the voices are splendid...especially Herlea, Slatinaru, and Spiess...Herlea's baritone voice is so powerful yet supple, and of uncommon beauty, he is one of the most arduous baritones of all times, and should really rank up there with Gobbi, Capucilli,Warren , Zancanaro, Tagliabue, and Wixell...Slatinaru's Leonora is amazing...her arches on her first aria are gorgeously rendered...Spiess, who (oddly) never got REALLY famous sings commendably too, with sense of urgency, and outstanding phrasing...the orchestra struggles at one or two instances , but by in large this is one of my favorite Trovatore's (I have the Schippers, Bonynge, Bartoletti, and Leinsdorf)...you can't go wrong with this, and who knows how long it will still be available...

Given that this set is available on Marketplace very cheaply indeed, it's worth buying even if you are merely curious. Please take my word for it that it's worth it for the glorious baritone of Nicolae Herlea alone but also as an engaging performance of the opera as a whole, presenting the Romanian State Opera as a company with strength in depth at the time of the recording of this studio broadcast in 1970. The sound is excellent ADD. Neither the orchestra nor the conducting is of the finest quality, Litvin being really rather leisurely and deliberate, but he is clearly in sympathy with the music and the drama doesn't drag. The chorus is lusty and the soloists often outstanding - and I am not just talking about Herlea, who must surely have possessed one of the most beautiful post-war baritones. Ludovic Spiess had a hefty, slightly strenuous spinto tenor and despite a tendency to gulp was good enough to attract Karajan's attention to sing at Salzburg, serve as principal tenor in Zurich and enjoy an international career in the major opera houses. He sings an impassioned, stentorian Alvaro but is not without subtlety. His fifteen year international career was cut short by damage to his vocal cords. Soprano Maria Nistor-Slatinaru had a major voice very reminiscent of that of Sylvia Sass; she had a smoky timbre, evenness throughout her range and could sustain a considerable breadth of phrase even though the voice spreads on top notes. The rest of the cast is excellent, including two first rate basses and a characterful baritone as Melitone; the only dubious singing comes from a rather laboured, matronly Preziosilla - a role I never much enjoy in any case.

I have many versions of this epic opera but will still find room for this one on my shelves as it is a good ensemble recording featuring some major voices headed by Herlea.