Customer Reviews

Verdi: Il Trovatore

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dolora Zajick and Vladimir Chernov are the real stars of this set, and if you are a fan of either, by all means buy this. One would be hard pressed to find performances of these roles truly bettered by any other recording. Chernov's singing is simply fantastic. "Il balen del tuo sorriso" is extraordinary, and the passionate Act 4 duet with Aprile Millo is thrilling. It is with Zajick's Azucena that this "Il Trovatore" finds its truly incendiary moments. She is at turns a comforting mother and a spitting viper, all the while sounding fabulous.

Millo has obviously done her homework. As with her Aida, she seems steeped in the performance practice of the role of Leonora - not an heir to 70s and 80s Verdi sopranos, but rather in the style of Verdi sopranos of the 50s, such as Renata Tebaldi, Antoinetta Stella, and Maria Curtis-Verna. Act 1 starts out with a cautious and somewhat bland "Tacea la notte", and she seems tentative for a while, but as the recording continues the interpretation grows and the voice sounds more secure. Her Act 4 arias "D'amor sull'ali rosee", and "Di te! Scordarmi di te!" are quite fine. There is a lack of articulation in the coloratura passages of the latter, but it is still thrilling.

Placido Domingo's Manrico often sounds pinched and tired. If you are a Domingo fan and he is your priority in purchasing a "Trovatore", buy the Zubin Mehta version on RCA instead. "Ah! Si ben mio" is sung beautifully but, with its break neck spead and high stakes, "Di quella pira" is not successful. The desperate excitement of this aria is captured by James Levine better than many conductors, but Domingo is left in the dust; the final high C is covered by the orchestra, and muffled by the engineering, as if they needed to protect him from an unexposed high note. Domingo is at his best on this recording in the impassioned finale scene.

Anthony Laciura is highly effective in his few lines as Ruiz. James Morris brings a wooly tone to Fernando, and is bettered by basses on some of the other recordings.

Levine's leadership is always competent and musical. There are moments of real excitement - he seems especially inspired in the company of Zajick - yet there are also places that seem just a tad dull. No matter how highbrow one tries to be, it is impossible to deny "Il Trovatore" is one of the silliest operas ever witten, yet Levine approaches it with great seriousness. A bit of melodramtic fun is needed.

Still, this is a perfectly good recording that holds its own with much of the competition. There are other recorded Leonoras and Manricos worthy of the Verdi enthusiast's acquaintance, but this set is well worth the money on the strengths of Zajick and Chernov alone.

The highlights of this recording are the Azucena of Dolora Zajick (who currently owns this role) and, to a lesser extent, the Conte di Luna of Vladimir Chernov. Zajick's voice suits Azucena perfectly, and her interpretation is credible and affecting. Chernov, while sounding a bit leathery and labored (especially in the trills), nonetheless gives an appropriately impassioned performance.

The other leads are acceptable. Domingo and Millo both sound too old for their parts (as does Chernov, but he makes up for it with style) and vocally stiff. There are no big faults in their performances, but not much excitement either. Of course, part of the problem is that they are competing with some truly great recordings, including an earlier one by Domingo himself.

It should also be noted that the second half of "Di quella pira" (one of Verdi's best-known tenor arias) is omitted, and that the libretto provides a translation that misses all of the poetry and much of the sense of the original.

All in all, buy this for Zajick and maybe Chernov. As for the other roles, you could do worse, and you could do much better.

THERE ARE SOME GREAT THINGS IN THIS TROVATORE THAT I LOVE - LEVINE'S CONDUCTING IS OUTSTANDING. DOLORA ZAJICK IS SUPERB AS AZUCENA! APRILE MILLO REMINDS US OF RENATA TEBALDI - HER VOICE HERE IS SPETACULAR AND SUBLIME, SPECIAL MENTION TO HER MISERERE. BY THE WAY, I WAS SO SATISFIED WITH THE MEASURE GIVEN IN THIS PIECE BY LEVINE, HE HAS GOT A MIRACLE OF TRANSMITING A MEDIEVAL SOUND SUNG BY THE CHOIR - FANTASTIC! THIS IS THE MISERERE I HAVE ALWAYS DREAMT TO LISTEN!

This 1991 Il Trovatore from Levine and a cast of Met stalwarts contradicts George Bernard Shaw's dictum that there's nothing to fall back on if the four lead singers in this opera aren't totally heroic and passionate. This isn't a passionate account of Trovatore, but Levine is so expert and musical that the absence of fire-eating hysteria isn't fatal. James Morris sets the tone as Ferrando in the opening scene. He's in strong voice, but his mellifluous account of the gypsy burned at the stake comes across without frissons.

Some critics find Levine's approach too polite, but I think he wanted to give us Verdi's music shorn of excessive melodrama. As much as Trovatore's pot-boiler plot is derided, performers tend to exaggerate its improbabilities by chewing the scenery. Levine keeps everything in due proportion. There are losses, naturally. Aprile Millo's Leonora is almost phlegmatic in hr major arias, and I fear that her vocal shortcomings prompt Levine to treat Millo with kid gloves, easing her through the hard parts and generally adopting relaxed tempos when she is front and center.

The rest of the cast is first rate. Other reviewers seem excited by the Azucena of Dolora Zajick and the Conte di Luna of Vladimir Chernov. The former has been at the Met forever (she's the Azucena in their newest staging, 18 years after this recording) and she deserves her fame. The latter was hailed as the most promising Verdi baritone of his generation, but then he inexplicably faded. Domingo is thoroughly professional, as always, and in good voice to boot. Manrico is often the lustiest fire-eater of all, but not this time.

In all, given the fine orchestral playing and Sony's bright, clear digital sound, I can see why Levine's account is considered outstanding in some circles. I agree but am withholding the last star because of Millo's good-enough but not thrilling Leonora -- it would be unfair to Callas and Leontyne Price to pretend that she is anywhere near their equal.

When I bought this recording, I had a hard time deciding which Trovatore to buy. All opera buffs recommend the Price/Domingo/Cossotto version, but I wanted something fresh, something without Domingo. Well...It's hard to stray from Domingo, seeing that he owns this role, and I would recommend that fans of Domingo should buy the previously mentioned version. But if you are a fan of Dolora Zajick, add this opera to your collection. She is the new Azucena! As Verdi wanted, Azucena is the center of attention in this opera, and to me, the reason for this recording is to show off Mrs. Zajick in this role (you should hear her Amneris and Eboli).

It is true that Millo and Domingo sound too old for their parts. At first, I didn't like Millo's voice, but her breath control is amazing. I've seen her on DVD singing Aida. Her voice is HUGE, so singing live is where she shines.

As for Chernov, he sounds great and very masculine. Morris is one of my favorite Bass voices and shows off his vocal agility with style. Add this one to your collection!! I'm glad I did!

Despite its obvious brilliance, Il Trovatore has the reputation of being a slight step backward from Rigoletto in Verdi's development of "music drama." I find that term useful as a description but pointless as a criterion of evaluation. From the outset this opera exhibits the military-camp feeling of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots and Bellini's I Puritani. It then introduces the alienated Gypsy witch Azucena, equivalent to Meyerbeer's use of the preternatural in Robert le Diable. To me this affinity of setting between Verdi and Meyerbeer is more significant that all the talk about the difference between Meyerbeer's grand opera and Verdi's development of music drama. As late as the 1990s Philip Glass was still concerned about achieving the true character of music drama; but the plain fact is that all operas have been music dramas from Monteverdi's Orfeo to the present. The formal distinction among recitatives, arias, choruses, duets and ensembles simply means a different sort of music drama from the kind practiced by mature Verdi and Wagner.

All plotted works combine an element of flowing continuity with discrete passages and distinguishable characters. If absolute continuity is the one thing needful, the characters themselves might as well be broken down into a mass of soulless protoplasm or evolving animal-stuff. In Il Trovatore Verdi gives a dramatically distinct setting, emotional character and diction to Azucena; and the result is spellbinding in a way that operas such as Pelleas et Melisande or Jenufa cannot begin to rival. Dogmatic talk about the desirability of continuous music drama is nothing but the application of evolutionary dogma to opera where it does not belong. If Verdi and Wagner chose to emphasize continuity, that was there privilege; and it clearly affected the results of fine works such as Otello and Parsifal. But the excellence of these works does not alter one whit my appreciation of Lully, Rameau, Gluck, Mozart, Paisiello, Cherubini, Rossini, Weber and Meyerbeer.

This is the finest Trovatore of the modern age. To compare, you would have to go back, way back. Levine is a real Verdi conductor and aware of the drama and the structure of the music, he never fails to allow the singers to sing, voices to bloom, while all the while keeping the drama and the music moving and compelling....The orchestra is like a diamond in a headlight...Gorgeous strings with a real one voice feeling in the orchestral pieces, the winds particularly elegant and haunting in the prelude to the D'mour Sull'ali rosee...a very difficult opera played with panche and expertise. The chorus turns in a very Italianate reading... Placido Domingo sounds round and mature with a wonderful Verdi line.A virile and pleasing Manrico. A surprisingly long High C in Di Quella Pira doesn't steal from the beauty and legato from the Ah Si Ben Mio before it. There is no modern equilvilant for Millo's Leonora...You have to go back to Milanov to understand it's importance. There is no one active today with that much correct Verdi color, style, nuance, and those breath taking piani.The voice is even and luxurious from top to bottom, no breaks, with a brilliant gleaming top and a lush warm middle, preequisites for a real Verdi voice. She rivals with the best on disc and is superior really to anyone else in her vocal category. Listen to the floated lines in the Convent Scene for a first gift and the whole of Tacea La Notte is a treat for any Verdi lover. The real reason this disc is gold is the D'mour sull'ali rosee...., a masterpiece of Verdi style and we are in the 90's but transported back to the Golden Age! Chernov's voice has never been beautiful, so you must know this is a drawback, but he has the line and color to verify Verdi status and his Il Balen is a perfect example of legato and style.The Duet with Millo is particularly fine.Zajic is a wonder. The voice in person slays me, often on record you get the feeling of a huge beast not happen in it's vinyl cage. However with that caveat, this is a fabulous portrayal full of bite and rage and pathos. For anyone who liked or even understands the real Verdi Style, with beautiful and exciting voices....this one is a must have for you.