Customer Reviews

Verdi - Il Trovatore / Domingo, Kabaivanksa, Cossotto, Cappuccilli, van Dam, Zednik, von Karajan, Vienna Opera

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One had been hearing for years about this production, a live performance of 'Trovatore' prepared by Karajan for Austrian television but never released on video until now. I gather there have been bootleg tapes circulating for years, but I'd never seen one. Karajan, on his triumphant return to the Vienna State Opera the year before, had been treated to opulent conditions. He picked the cast, produced the opera with his own chosen collaborators--Georges Wahkevitch designed the sets and costumes, Robert Stangl did the lighting--and the 1977 series was an unblemished triumph. His cast that time was similar to this one, except that Leontyne Price sang Leonora and Luciano Pavarotti sang Manrico. But that production was not videotaped. The next year he returned to make a television broadcast, in this case with the right to choose the television director, Günther Schneider-Siemssen. This time, however, one of his favorite sopranos, Raina Kabaivanska, replaced Price, and tenor Franco Bonisolli was to sing Manrico. But at the last moment--during the dress rehearsal, in fact--Bonisolli pulled out; accounts vary as to why this was, but legend has it that he was angry that the invited audience did not respond kindly to his third act cabaletta 'Di quella pira.' Be that as it may, Karajan was able to get Plácido Domingo to substitute for the live performance to be broadcast. It had originally been scheduled to be beamed all over Europe, but because the last minute cast change pushed the date of broadcast back by a few days, only Austrian TV carried it. The previous year's 'Trovatore' had been issued as recording, and there is no doubt that it is wonderful. But this one is, in my opinion, even better. Kabaivanska's soprano may not have the richness of Price's (and she doesn't have a trill) but her vocal acting is superior and I would put her up against any soprano singing today; there's no doubt she would meet the competition. As to the rest of the cast, it is impossible to come anywhere close to it these days. Piero Cappucilli is a magnificent, lizard-eyed Count di Luna and has that burnished Verdi baritone that one simply doesn't hear often these days. His 'Il balen' is sensational. Ferrando, in some houses a relatively minor part or at least one relegated to a secondary baritone, is sung by none other than José van Dam! Ferrando's Narrative in Act I is not ever for one moment a bore, as it can sometimes be. Azucena is taken by Fiorenza Cossotto and her voice rings out throughout its range. Further, she is a scarily effective gypsy woman motivated by revenge for her mother's death at the hands of di Luna. Her triumph in the final scene is something to behold. Before that her 'Stride le vampa' gives one goosebumps. Even the minor role of Ruiz is taken by a tenor, Heinz Zednik, who went on to sing leading roles primarily in the German repertoire.

Kabaivanska is a beautiful, slim woman who certainly looks the part; indeed the whole cast is physically attractive. Her singing is nuanced, subtle and yet dramatically pointed when needed. Her pianissimi are breath-taking. The lack of a trill is about the only criticism I can come up with, to be honest. 'Tacea la notte placida' and 'D'amor sull'ali rosee' are marvelous. In the 'Miserere' the voice rides above the chorus with ease; there is an occasional slight under-pitch problem here, but it is of little importance in the drama of the moment.

Domingo, who may be slightly strained in the more dramatic parts of 'Di quella pira' (but not by much, let me assure you), is simply magnificent as the Troubador. 'Ah sì, ben mio' is meltingly sung and his scenes with Azucena and with Leonora are heroically conveyed. Further, his voice has a ring that I had forgotten he had back then. It wasn't long after this that he began essaying some Wagner roles and now I can see why.

Karajan conducts a slightly slower 'Trovatore' than we are used to, although it's nowhere near as slow as Giulini's recording made not long after this. The slow tempo is particularly noticeable, and surprisingly effective, in the Act II finale ('E deggio, e posso crederlo?'). It allows the individual voices to emerge more clearly, and I must say that Kabaivanska's voice rings out as the upper line of this ensemble with thrilling immediacy, partly because Karajan seems to breathe with her. The Vienna State Opera orchestra and chorus are superb, as one would expect, but Karajan seems to get the very best out of them: alert attacks and clarity throughout, dramatically apt acting from the chorus.

The video aspects of this production are not as crisp as we are used to these days. This was 1978, after all, and it is clear that the tape from which this DVD was made had to have some doctoring. There is what I believe to be an electronically-produced scrim effect in Leonora's scene in Act I, but perhaps this was an attempt to cover a somewhat defective tape at that point. None of this is of any detriment whatever, at least to me. The sets and costumes are not only rich and lovely, the whole production is cast in traditional terms: these people and scenes actually look as if they are set in 15th-century Spain--none of this senseless time-shifting so commonly seen these days. The audio is life-like and and modern-sounding in spite of being almost thirty years old. This is a 2DVD set. There are no extras. Subtitles in English, German, French, Italian. 151 mins.

I must say that this set has exceeded my own fairly high expectations. This is a production for the ages.

Strongest recommendation.

Scott Morrison

There is absolutely nothing in this legendary performace of "Il Trovatore" which makes you think "weak", "could be better", "I've heard better" and so on. What you hear and see on this DVD is nearly perfection: amazing live performance of the great bel-canto opera! And as usually, when Herbert von Karajan is a conductor, everything starts with his majesty, von Karajan! I don't think there is a better conductor for "Trovatore" than maestro Karajan. His understanding of "Trovatore" is perfect. I grew up listening to the recording of Trovatore with Karajan, Leontyne Price, Cappuccilli, Bonissolli and Obraztsova and from my childhood I established tremendous appreciation for Karajan in this particular opera. My favorite moment in Trovatore, as long as Karajan conducts it, remains the begning of the second act, dazzling chorus of gypsies. It is incredable: every person on the stage and every instrument in the orchestra must give 200% Forte. So far I have not found better Forte than the one which Karajan can squiz out from a cast and an orchestra. Simply brilliant.
Now lets turn the attention to the principle characters and let's start with Piero Cappuccilli. What can I say? I think he was born to sing Di Luna. This is his role. Nobody sounds more dramatic, passionate and powerful than he does, not even my favourite baritone, Etorre Bastianini. Raina Kabaivanska is excellent Leonora. Well, maybe she is not exactly Leontyne Price, but she is good enough to make you go nuts! She is very powerful soprano and she is indeed great Leonora.
Fiorenzza Cossotto is one of the best mezzo-sopranos of 20th century and this DVD illustrates it. By the end of 70-ies Cossotto was not young, but her voice still sounds fresh, powerful and terryfing (But I still prefer Elena Obraztsova's Azuccena). Placido Domingo is at his peak. He has one not so great note, which would be the high C at the end of the 3rd Act caballeta, but who cares? The rest of Placido sounds really good. His voice is full, reach and very beautiful. And finally Jose Van Dam is "overqualified" for Fernando's role. He is amazing.
So this is must have for anyone who cares about opera. Defenitely on of the best DVD-s you will ever buy.

To make it short: excellent cast from soprano to bass, orchestra and conductor, director and chorus. Domingo is at is best (although I have to admit that I have heard "Di quella pira" better from him but on the other hand, I have heard it worse 90% of the time from other singers as well...), "Ah si, ben mio" is pure heaven. Kabaivanska seems sometimes a bit harsh but her phrasing, her pianissimo is excellent. Capucilli is excellent as we are used to, Ferrando is superbly cast with Van Dam. And all this with the Vienna Philharmonic and Karajan in the orchestra pit... You can feel, see, hear that all performers are enjoing to participate in this event and they surely deliver. You will not regret this purchase.

Overall a great performance but WHY ON EARTH did they cut out Leonore's "Tu vedrai che amore in terra"? There's an immediate jumpcut to Act 4, Scene 2. Was very disatisfied with this, as it is one of my favorite parts of the opera. Also beware, the listing says one disc but the opera is actually split on 2 discs. Kind of annoying if you want to watch the thing straight through with no breaks or interruptions(like me who is an opera fanatic). Fantastic singing from Domingo, he is in top form and I'm glad I bought it for that.

There are so many reasons why this film from the Salzburg Festival in 1977 is the all-time greatest Trovatore ever made. For one thing, Herbert Von Karajan was in his final year as conductor at the Salzburg Festival before taking up a more permanent position as conductor for the Berlin Philharmonic through the 80's. Karajan is conducting with achingly slow tempi as if to bid farewell to what must have been his favorite opera. Years before in 1962, in the Salzburg Festival, he had made it big conducting a supreme Trovatore starring Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli, a performance which was transferred to the Metropolitan Opera as both these singers debut. This Trovatore is blessed with a fantastic and unbeatable cast. Leontyn Price was contractually unavailable to sing Leonora and had sung the role the year before opposite Luciano Pavoratti. Instead, Hungarian diva Raina Kabaivanska, a new star in the opera firmament replaced Price and won great acclaim as Leonora. Kabaivanska's voice is rich, bright and full-lyric with a dramatic thrust. Her Tosca from 1975 opposite Placido Domingo and Sherill Milnes is a legend, and a stunning film shot in Rome. As for her Leonora, she gives us the same radiance as Tosca only with a lazer-sharp Verdi operatic voice. Her Leonora of course lacks the grace and majesty of Leontyne Price, but her voice is beautiful and commanding. Her Leonora is appropriately noble and vulnerable. I thoroughly enjoyed all her big scenas and arias - "Tacea La Notte" "Di quell Amore" "Sul Amore La Rosee" and the grand Miserere Scene. Her death scene is very moving.

Placido Domingo's Manrico is an experienced portrayal. He had sung the role numerous times in his career and he has an excellent studio recording on RCA Opera Treasury label opposite Price, Milnes and Cossotto. His Manrico is debonaire, spiritual and passionate. He is especially striking in his duets with Fiorenza Cossotto's Azucena and in his scenes with Kabaivanska's elegant Leonora. Domingo echoes Caruso in his "Di Quella Pira". He looks great and his voice is at his best, marked by squillo high notes, stentorian exclamation and dark lower voice. I don't want to say much about Fiorenza Cossotto because I always find her performances shrill, melodramatic to a fault and just plain lousy. Her mezzo voice lacks the thrill and grandeur that such mezzos as Grace Bumbry, Shirley Verrett, Dolora Zajick and in older days Giuletta Simionato possessed. Her Azucena is witch-like and ok character-wise but her voice is just never been a pleasure for me to hear. I overlook her flaws only because I am so in love with Kabaivanska and Domingo's portrayals in this film.

Now Piero Cappuccilli was a true baritone in the grand manner. His voice was loud, lyric and earthy. He had charisma and genuine dramatic integrity. His Count Di Luna is appropriately evil and powerful. This film makes a fine tribute to his art. Cappuccilli died only a few months ago this year. Among other acheivements include Verdi's Macbeth, Amonasro from Aida, Scarpia and other fine roles. He is one of the great baritones of his day - unfortunately no one knows it as he was so underrated in a time when Sherill Milnes was reigning. I find him BETTER than Milnes.

Overall this is a terrific Trovatore. The sets are rather inexpensive and it shows (they look like cheap water paintings almost) but the costumes are accurate to this "Don Quixote" time as I'd like to call it. Domingo and Kabaivanska look great in their costumes. The music is wonderful, the plot is dramatic enough to serve as material for a soap opera - Gypsy avenges her mother's death by having the Count who is his brother kill him unknowingly for a rivalry to win Lady Leonora's hand. This opera is still popular and it is a staple of Verdi singers.

This interpretation of Verdi's "Il Trovatore" is probably the most complete and masterful performance of all time. Placido Domingo, as Manrico, the Troubadour, shows his great versatility and acting ability. His ability to trill ranks with the best. He is equally compelling with both Kabaivanska and Cossotto. Cossotto, the fiery gypsy who has raised Manrico, takes ones breath away with her dynamic acting and singing. Van Dam, and Cappuccilli are both in splendid voice and entirely believable in their roles. The great Raina Kabaivanska, in the role of Leonora has no equal. What others may write of her performance, pales in the words of the inimatable Maestro Herbert von Karajan. These are his exact words, "(Raina Kabaivanska's) interpretation, both from vocal and artistic point of view, shall remain forever a model of artistic perfection." Who needs further proof of her magnificent Leonora? If you love opera, this is a must have video and/or DVD! G. K. Brown, DMA

The biggest complaint I have heard thus far about this performance is the excruciatingly slow tempo. If you listen to Giulini's recordings (most notably his set with Domingo and the Orchestra dell Academia di Santa Cecilia), he did much of the same as he got older. An even better example would be a comparison between Riccardo Muti's '77 Trovatore with Maggio Musicale in Florence, to that of his performance twenty years later at La Scala. The young Riccardo was brash, boisterous, and flashy (very Neopolitan). After a lifetime in Milan, the Toscanini copycat became much more precise, exacting every note as the composer intended. So, I doubt that `taking it slow' has anything to do with lack of stamina (Levine at his ripe old age could perform an entire Ring cycle without skipping a beat...so to speak). Familiarity is the crux of any piece from a performers' point of view, but can threaten a blasé approach from the outset if they don't constantly try to find new ways to interpret the work. This is precisely what the true masters of music making do, as is very evident in this DVD recording from one of the greatest.

This is clearly Karajan's triumph. With world class musicians at one's disposal, it's easy to get results on demand. However, these are Viennese musicians, and they don't stray from routine so easily. Getting them to play at nearly half the requisite speed must've been quite an undertaking in of itself, but this allowed the maestro to wring out every ounce of passion from the score. The attention to detail becomes prominent with each articulate stroke, carefully built dynamics, and well paced singers.

It would not be the first time that Placido Domingo had been asked to stand in for an "ailing" tenor, but this time the blessed event had been captured on video for posterity. This production was all the better for it, and the audience rewarded the (then rising) star with applause that went on for nearly three minutes after his rendition of 'Ah si, ben mio'. Coming from a young Domingo, his pianissimos weren't quite as polished as they are now, and his 'di quella pira' displayed a few strained (and flat) high notes, but even his off performances outshine the best of his peers.

No one can gypsy the way Fiorenza Cossotto gypsies, and here her Azucena flairs with terrifying ferocity. Some bemoan Karajan's apparent inability to make his singers move on stage, but directing Cossotto to sit rigid before a fire during 'stride la vampa' had a chilling effect (thanks to some brilliant lighting). Her thrilling duet with Manrico in act 2 is one of the highlights of this perfomance. Piero Cappucilli seemed somewhat diminished as Conte di Luna, and as uninterested in Manrico as he was unconvincing in his pining for Leonora. Still, he's one of the better Counts out there (maybe he was feeling ill?).

Raina Kabaivanska had the unenvied task of filling one of the many roles that Maria Callas held sway over for generations, but the Bulgarian diva did her role justice. Although her acting was somewhat stiff, she sang with athletic reflexes and a vocal flexibility to match (some might say surpass) that of her much younger counterpart, Domingo. Since this is a Karajan production, even the smaller roles receive first rate performances, most notably those by Jose van Dam and Heinz Zednik. The sets were very simple and straightforward, in what some might consider a `traditional' presentation. Again, some very effective lighting maintained an eerie ambience throughout.

This is possibly one of the best accounts of Il Trovatore available. If not for the superior orchestra, or the omnipresent Domingo, then the momentous occasion alone (given this was Karajan's last run with the troubadour) should be more than enough reason to see this stellar production.

I bought this DVD specifically because of Cossotto, who is my all time favorite mezzo. What I got was a video of a Trovatore that is as good as it can get. In fact, I would rate this as the best opera video I have seen. Domingo, Cappuccilli, Cossotto and Van Dam are sensational. Kabaivanska, while not as good as the fore mentioned singers, is still far above most Leonora's. If you are only going to buy 1 opera video, make it this one. A true gem, absolutely flawless.

Excelente adquisición para todo admirador de la ópera verdiana. Los cantantes se desempeñan todos en forma extraordinaria. Un Domingo joven, fogoso, lleno de pathos y con un timbre especialmente hermoso, entrega sus arias en forma óptima. Lo mismo cabe decir de la gran Fiorenza Cossotto, que une a su poderoso instrumento vocal una maravillosa capacidad de interpretación. Todas sus intervenciones son también en óptimo nivel. ¡Que gran voz la de Piero Cappuccilli! Un cantante sobrio y de gran eficacia. También brilla a gran altura. La Kabaivanska, no tiene la misma soltura que los anteriores, pero su entrega es de gran profesionalismo. Lamentablemente su sangre eslava le impide demostrar la pasión del personaje y tampoco tiene un gran fiato, pero logra no desentonar en un elenco de gran envergadura. El joven van Dam, muestra ya su bello timbre. La orquesta de la ópera de Viena, bajo la dirección de von Karajan, logra una entrega de gran profesionalismo y eficacia. La puesta en escena está muy bien lograda, a pesar de la oscuridad que su desarrollo fundamentalmente nocturno exige. Si Ud. quiere tener un muy buen Trovatore, sin duda la opción es ésta.

Il Trovatore is my favorite Verdi score. I previously owned the Met version with Pavarotti and found it nearly unwatchable because of the stiff acting. After deciding to expand my DVD collection recently, this von Karajan version of Trovatore was at the top of my list - largely due to the reviews listed here. I knew the tempos would be slow and was prepared for some unimaginative staging. Even so, this had to be the biggest disappointment of any opera DVD experience I've had so far.

Herbert von Karajan was clearly a master conductor. But he should not have tried his hand at directing. His direction consists of the lack thereof. The singers do not emote, nor do the move. They are frozen statues whose eyes dart to the pit and back more than in any other opera I've seen. As a huge Domingo fan, I was shocked by his breathy, severely off-pitch delivery (though the audience went nuts for him). I have never seen Raina Kabaivanska before, but she was awful (in her case, the audience was not as forgiving). She had moments of beauty, but she literally screamed for her dramatic high notes. Her voice cracked several times. She too faltered on pitch several times. Piero Cappuccilli has a perfect baritone, but he was the worst actor over all. In fact, he didn't even attempt to emote. He could have been singing the phone book! Cossotto began unimpressive in her vocals, but grew stronger. However, she also cracked and screeched a couple of her high notes, including the final note of the entire opera, which put a damper on things. At least she understood what it means to portray a character - I appreciated that.

The highlight of this performance - by a mile - is the opening sequence with Jose Van Dam. The staging, lighting, and delivery gave the promise of a moody and insightful night of opera. But that promise is not fulfilled; this DVD is not recommended. I will probably sell mine.