Verdi: Macbeth [Import]

Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), John Matheson (Conductor), BBC Concert Orchestra (Orchestra), Christian du Plessis (Performer), John Tomlinson (Performer), Jonathon Robarts (Performer), Kenneth Collins (Performer), Ludmilla Andrew (Performer), Michael George (Performer), Peter Glossop (Performer), Prudence Lloyd (Performer), Richard Greager (Performer), Rita Hunter (Performer), Roger Heath (Performer), Sue Slade (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Christian du Plessis, John Tomlinson, Jonathon Robarts, Kenneth Collins, Ludmilla Andrew, et al.
• Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra
• Conductor: John Matheson
• Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
• Audio CD (January 13, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Opera Rara UK
• ASIN: B0000DJEQA
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,681 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A more complete Macbeth, December 23, 2007

By 

N. Freidin "Melomane" (Huntington, WV) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Verdi: Macbeth (Audio CD)

I agree wholeheartedly with the reviews of R. Levine and R. Payne. Here we have Verdi's first try at a Shakespeare tragedy, Macbeth, premiered in 1847, with more music, more interraction between the principals, closer to the original intent of the play, than in the later revised 1865 score. The vacillation and weak resolve of the future king, and the machinations of his scheming consort, are given more prominence in this version, making the finale that much more tragic, and closer to the source than the later, abridged, rendition.

All the principals are excellent. Peter Glossop (Macbeth) and Rita Hunter (Lady Macbeth) provide exciting dramatic performances; and John Tomlinson (Banquo) and Kenneth Collins (Macduff) are equally convincing in their roles. All are immensely believable characters. The orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, under John Matheson, play with feeling and dramatic pace.

Verdi had a life-long fascination with Shakespeare's works, starting with Macbeth (1847), and finishing, close to the end of his own life, with Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893), his two masterpieces. A King Lear was in the works, but that was not to be, regretfully, considering his very personal interest in father-daughter relationships (e.g., Nabucco, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, Aida, etc). This recording of the original version of Macbeth is a worthy tribute from one great genius to another.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Verdi's first thoughts a must for Verdi lovers!, January 26, 2004

By 

Ronald F. Payne (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Verdi: Macbeth (Audio CD)

I second Robert Levine's recommendation. Better paced than the Dynamic label recording of the original "MacBeth", the Opera Rara recording also features a lavishly illustrated libretto. A must for Verdi fanatics.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historically fascinating - and an excellent souvenir of some great singers, March 30, 2009

By 

Ralph Moore "Ralph operaphile" (Bishop's Stortford, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Verdi: Macbeth (Audio CD)

If you speak French, I suggest that you disregard M. Declercq's absurd and discourteous rant; this recording features some of the finest British voices of the 70's and 80's in an enterprising account of the earlier (1847) version of a perennial Verdi favourite. The set has both great artistic and musicological interest and makes a fascinating comparison with the revised 1865 version - the one invariably performed today. Fans of the late Rita Hunter might have fond memories of her stunning performances in Wagnerian roles; she had a voice of formidable size and laser-like penetration and here applies it tellingly to create a truly demonic Lady Macbeth - exactly as Verdi wanted it: "the voice of a she-devil". Peter Glossop, also recently deceased, never had the juiciest Verdi baritone but he used his sizeable voice judiciously and expressively; his breath control rivals that of Cappuccilli and despite a certain dryness of tone really inhabits the character of Macbeth. The supporting cast is strong, especially the under-rated and under-recorded Kenneth Collins, who had a real spinto Verdi tenor; I retain a vivid aural memory of his impressve Manrico in the ENO "Il Trovatore" and here he makes a plangent Macduff. John Matheson's conducting is lean and incisive, the chorus more than adequate.

This is now available on Amazon Marketplace much more reasonably than its original issue price. It makes an excellent supplement to a modern recording of the later version such as that by Abbado with Cappuccilli and Verrett.