Verdi: Un ballo in maschera / Domingo, Ricciarelli, Bruson, Raimondi, Gruberova, Abbado

Giuseppe Verdi (Artist), Claudio Abbado (Artist), Plácido Domingo (Artist), Katia Ricciarelli (Artist), Renato Bruson (Artist), Ruggero Raimondi (Artist), Edita Gruberova (Artist), Elena Obraztsova (Artist), Giovanni Foiani (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 14, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000009CMT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,173 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #63 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Operettas

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 14-JUL-1998

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best all-around Ballos!, December 18, 2002

By 

"harrmor" (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Verdi: Un ballo in maschera / Domingo, Ricciarelli, Bruson, Raimondi, Gruberova, Abbado (Audio CD)

Here we are! We have in front of us a truly great recording!
This "Un ballo" should be in every Verdi fan's collector! IT is true that "Un ballo in maschera" has many wonderful recordings. Leinsdorf's (with Bergonzi, Price and Merrill), Votto's (with Callas, di Stefano and the great Gobbi), Muti's (with Domingo as in this one, Arroyo and Cappuccilli), Solti's (with Pavarotti, M. Price and Bruson) and so on. No need to mention all of them here. Every one of them has many good and some bad points. There is not a definitive recording for this work, although many of its recordings come pretty close. As does this one, in my opinion.

Domingo as the tortured by Love Riccardo, gives us an amazing portrayal of the hero just as he did for Muti some years earlier. His voice is in pretty good form, hits with easiness all the high notes and performs wonderfully.
Ricciarelli as Amelia is pretty good indeed. Maybe her voice cannot take the pressure of some high notes but she gives to Amelia a vulnerability that no other soprano (except surely Callas) has given to the role. She is superb and she convinces us for her agony and pain all the time. Her prayer to her husband ("Morro ma prima in grazia") is one of the best all-around.
No need to praise Bruson. He is one of the best baritones ever not only for his rich and wonderful voice but also for his acting skills. He is excellent and not to be missed in this part.
Obrastzova's dark voice suits very well the role of Ulrica, but personally I prefer Barbieri's performance of the role in the Votto set.
The rest of the cast is quite adequate (though I agree that Gruberova is not very happy in the role of the page Oscar) and Abbado's conducting is very well-planned and executed. Indees Barvo to all!
All in all, I must recommend this set to everyone who loves this Verdi's masterpiece.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good Un Ballo, August 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Verdi: Un ballo in maschera / Domingo, Ricciarelli, Bruson, Raimondi, Gruberova, Abbado (Audio CD)

Un Ballo in Maschera is one of Verdi's most wonderful operas and should have gained the popularity as his Big Three. This recording of Ballo is very dramatic mainly because of Abbado's conducting. You can hear every detail of this Verdi's masterpiece. Listen to the whole Act II and you'll understand what I mean. Domingo is perfect as Riccardo. Ricciarelli may not be the most sumptuous Amelia like Price or Arroyo but her characterization is wonderful and comes close to the ideal Amelia. Only Callas is better in communicating the anxiety and despair of this doomed character. Renato Bruson proves again that he is the Verdian baritone of the generation. Obraztsova is a good dark-voiced Ulrica. The only weak link here is Oscar of Gruberova. She does not feel comfortable with the music and lacks the charming in her singing. For this bargain price, it is the best buy of Un Ballo out there.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest all around Ballo, November 26, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: Verdi: Un ballo in maschera / Domingo, Ricciarelli, Bruson, Raimondi, Gruberova, Abbado (Audio CD)

I think the other reviewers are much too severe with Ricciarelli, it's true that she doesn't have the spinto sound ideal for Amelia, but under studio conditions she copes well and is a rather touching and vulnerable heroine. Of course there are greater Amelias like Callas and Price (both of them, Leontyne and Margaret), but Ricciarelli is never less than fine. Domingo is much better here than in the Muti recording, though the last aria still taxes him too much for comfort. Renato Bruson is the commanding Renato, drop dead gorgeous voice, impeccable sense of style> Verdi singing at it's best. I agree though that Gruberova was not at her best as Oscar. As for Abbado, well, this is the finest Verdi conducting since Giulini or possibly De Sabata. His fiery, throughly idiomatic reading would be worth hearing even with a much lesser cast, as it is, I rate it as the all around most satisfying Ballo. If Callas and Di Stefano had only had a better conductor...