Verdi: La Forza del Destino [Box set]

Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), James Levine (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Bonaldo Giaiotti (Performer), Fiorenza Cossotto (Performer), Gabriel Bacquier (Performer), Gillian Knight (Performer), Kurt Moll (Performer), Leontyne Price (Performer), Malcolm King (Performer), Michel Sénéchal (Performer), Plácido Domingo (Performer), Sherrill Milnes (Performer), Valerie Hill (Performer), William Elvin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Bonaldo Giaiotti, Fiorenza Cossotto, Gabriel Bacquier, Gillian Knight, Kurt Moll, et al.
• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: James Levine
• Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
• Audio CD (July 28, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000009NIX
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,946 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Price, Leontyne

Editorial Reviews

A 1998 reissue, without sound engineering changes, of the 1990 first CD box set release of this historically- acclaimed 1977 RCA recording.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The QUINTESSENTIAL "Forza", March 19, 2003

By 

Donizetti's Kid "ebolene" (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Verdi: La Forza del Destino (Audio CD)

Verdi's "La Forza del Destino" is one of the most difficult of his operas to cast properly. The demands of the music for the 5 principals are quite formidable, and require a command of vocalism that only the greatest singers can offer. It further requires the leadership of an immaginative conductor to bring cohesion to "Forza's" somewhat sprawling score. This recording towers over the others in best meeting the aforementioned 'criteria'. Maestro James Levine demonstrates his mastery of the score throughout, creating intimacy in the more personal passages of the opera (no more so than in the moving Convent Scene), contrasted with the bustling energy of scenes in the countryside and battlefield. His conducting has the "sweep" and verve so neccessary to illuminating and energizing the overall (Russian-influenced?) darkness of this turbulent score. Tenor Placido Domingo is simply the finest "Alvaro" on record. The dark richness and power of his beautiful instrument captures the ever- changing and volatile moods of the tragic, star-crossed lover. Mr. Domingo's great musicality abets the drama, making "O tu che in seno" heart-wrenching. Elsewhere, he is ardent with Leonora, and passionate in his duets with Don Carlo. There is no one better. Leonora is sung by Leontyne Price, the pre-eminent Verdi soprano of the past 30 years. This is one of the diva's greatest roles, and we are able to hear why.
The vibrant and lyrical quality of the Schippers "Forza" (1964) has been replaced with a throbbing, darker, heavier sound in the middle, and a lower voice that's alternately chesty or slightly raspy. Ms. Price's upper voice is sovereign and resplendent. She mixes gorgeous pianissimi with requisite forte high notes that are powerfully intoned. Throughout, the soprano is dramatically alert, bringing desperation and urgency to the Convent Scene, fear and uncertainty to her duet with Alvaro, and
sorrow and lamentation in her justly-famous singing of "Pace,pace mio Dio" ( with its ringing climax),and a soft, hushed intensity to the Final Scene as well. This is a great performance! Baritone Sherrill Milnes has likewise dominated his peers in the Verdi canon. His strong, virile singing of Don Carlo is well-suited to a role that is very monochromatic in dimension, but quite exciting musically. Mr. Milnes' voice here is resonant in the middle, slightly weak in the lower voice, and powerful in his wonderful upper voice (with some obvious strain at times), and he utilizes it with musicality, and a dramatic flair that is often more extroverted than introspective. His duets with Mr. Domingo are thrillingly sung, as is the "Urna fatale/Egli e Salvo" scena. Basso Bonaldo Giaotti is also a specialist in his role of Padre Guardiano, singing with warm, plangent beauty. He imbues his singing with authority, clarity, and strength, providing with Ms. Price, a Convent Scene of unusual conviction. Mr. Giaotti is not any less committed in the more static music of this role, and his firmly-produced bass is one of the finest on record in this music. Mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto rarely, if ever, sang the role of Preziosilla onstage,perhaps because its marginally a principal role, and/or due to its mostly unrewarding vocal demands. Few mezzos really succeed in this daunting music, that requires agility, range, and power. Ms. Cossotto is most admirable in those respects, though her upper voice is clearly taxed by the music in that area, and tonal beauty is only intermittently provided. Still, she is energetic, and, as always with this gifted artist, able to characterize with the detailed, intelligent, and insightful touches of the accomplished singing-actress that defines her art. The supporting and comprimario roles are also well-performed, featuring the outstanding Fra Melitone of bass-baritone Gabriel Bacquier. The John Alldis Choir, integral in this opera, sings gloriously, and the London Symphony Orchestra plays splendidly for Mr. Levine. This "Forza" remains the overall 'winner' amongst its competitors. While individual performances(Callas,Tebaldi,Milanov,Price,Arroyo/Shirley Verrett/ Bergonzi,Tucker/ Warren, Merrill/ C. Siepi, G.Tozzi/ Schippers, Muti) may rival those heard here, the sum of the performances in this "Forza" are unbeatable. Own THIS one!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Genuine Article, March 31, 2000

By 

J. Luis Juarez Echenique "pepechenique" (Mexico City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Verdi: La Forza del Destino (Audio CD)

I can't believe this set is 25 years old! It only seems like yesterday...but yes, this recording belongs to a long gone era when Verdi operas still could be cast with great singers. Everything pleases in this recording. Don Alvaro is easily Domingo's best Verdi role. His handsome dark tenor was made for this music, perhaps Bergonzi has an even better sense of line, but all-around, Domingo is the best Alvaro ever recorded. Sherill Milnes was in imposing voice in 1976, though Ettore Bastianini and Giorgio Zancanaro are more musical and interesting. Milnes anyhow, is never less than excellent. Since I just love Leontyne Price, I think she was still stupendous in the mid-seventies, though there is no denying that her voice was even more ravishing in 1964 when her earlier recording with Thomas Schippers was made (for her alone, another must have). Gabriel Bacquier and Fiorenza Cossotto are matchless as Melitone and Preciozilla, none better. You even get Kurt Moll as Calatrava! Levine may not be Mitropulous, but his conducting is first rate. Yes, all around, this is the best Forza del Destino.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best recording of La Forza, despite a few flaws, January 7, 2007

By 

The Cultural Observer - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Verdi: La Forza del Destino (Audio CD)

La Forza del Destino, despite the several attempts to immortalize it on disc, has a discography devoid of any perfect recordings. It is an extremely complex work, with several extremely beautiful and exciting moments, and it is also very difficult to conduct and cast. The five principles needed for the opera require a mastery of Verdian singing, especially for the roles of Leonora di Vargas and Don Alvaro. The conductor is also faced with the challenge of setting the proper moods for the different setting that the opera takes place in. If the score is not as sophisticated as Aida, then La Forza is at least one of the most difficult scores to manage through due to the complex atmospheres Verdi requires of the conductor.

On to the recording's cast. I think no other recording of this Verdian masterpiece features such an amazing cast. Placido Domingo sings a definitive Alvaro with the passion and drama needed plus a voice in its most beautiful prime. I would say that after Corelli, he is my choice for Alvaro. Sherrill Milnes sings a Carlo with the venom needed and the vocal acting to make the role a memorable performance. I think that after Carlo Tagliabue, he is the ideal Don Carlo. Preziosilla is taken by the very charismatic and iron-lunged Fiorenza Cossotto. A truly memorable performance. Bonaldo Giaiotti isn't as ideal as Cesare Siepi in the role of Padre Guardiano, but his voice has all the gravitas needed and he sings the role quite well. Kurt Moll is luxurious casting in the small role of the Marchese di Calatrava, and Melitone is endearingly sung by Gabriel Bacquier. This brings us to the somewhat small weakness of the set--Leontyne Price's Leonora. Her high notes are radiant, the artistry is simply ravishing, and her sense of drama as the doomed Leonora is impeccable. However, her nonexistent lower register is problematic, especially in a role which often brings the voice down to those notes. Her diction is somewhat problematic too in this recording, with several of her vowels becoming "American". That aside, she is one of the most compelling Leonoras on disc, second only to Maria Callas as the doomed Vargas. I think the other Leonora of my choice would be Renata Tebaldi.

Levine conducts an energetic, exciting, and true-to-the-score rendition of Verdi's score. If there ever were an ideal conductor for this opera, it would be Levine at this stage of his career. He sweeps through the score with the necessary passion and gravitas which make this opera such a favorite among Verdians.