Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes and YES., May 16, 2000
By A Customer
If you're thinking of exploring baroque opera, this opera, and more especially this recording, makes a brilliant introduction - not too expensive, easily enjoyable, and with great singing all round. But of course, for 5 stars it would need to be more than that... and it most certainly is. This recording rates in my mind as one of the greatest achievements in all opera. Dame Janet Baker is simply breathtaking as Dido - she portrays all the noble tragedy of the part, and I guarantee her aching rendition of the famous lament will raise a few tears. This is undoubtedly her finest recording (rating with the tremendous and foolishly underrated Mackerras Messiah). As for the more controversial portrayals - those of Aeneas and the Sorceress - I personally agree full heartedly with the casting. Herincx 'gruff' manner is in fact perfect for the role, Aeneas is after all a rough and tumble warriorman, is he not? And besides, the A minor recitative at the end of the second act is executed with stunning beauty. As for Monica Sinclair's Sorceress, what a characterful performance! Her somewhat ugly, vicious singing of the part contrasts superbly with the pure nobility of Dido. I suppose it is similar in some ways to Stolze's Mime on the Solti Siegfried - really a matter of taste. Baker, Sinclair and Herincx receive tremendous support from supporting cast and chorus. The chorus is asked to fulfill a number of roles, and all are done commendably. Lewis' direction of the ECO, which though predating the advent of period performance still achieves a lithe and often stirring texture, and Thurston Dart's stylish execution of the harpsichord continuo round out a unsurpassed and faultless performance. A must.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Dido Of All, September 9, 2001
In my not very humble opinion, no one has sung this role better than Dame Janet. For nobility of expression, intensity of feeling, tonal beauty and almost unendurable grief she is unmatched. If you are unaware of the artistry of Janet Baker, this is an excellent place to start your discovery of one of the greatest, and now - sadly - somewhat forgotten, interpretive artists of our time. You owe it to yourself.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Performance Resonating With Emotional Intensity, November 25, 2005
Janet Baker's performance of Dido's Lament is absolutely stunning in its emotional intensity and would be enough to make this performance unforgettable. But there is more to commend this recording. Baker's vocal clarity, and of all of the other characters, is another outstanding feature of this CD. The chorus is first-rate throughout this recording, especially at the end, as they sing, "With drooping wings ye Cupids come, and scatter roses on her tomb . . . " Although another reviewer has commented that he finds Raimund Herincx's voice as Aeneas too gruff, I find powerful, moving, and thoroughly convincing, as when he lowers his voice and sings in a voice that is anything but gruff, "but with more ease could die."
It's true, as one of the other reviewers comments, that there is something about Monica Sinclair's voice and enunciation as the Sorceress that reminds one a bit of the Wicked Witch of the West and gives her performance an air of contrived theatricality, making her supposed malevolence less than convincing. But the other aspects of this performance are so outstanding that this one reservation is not enough to lower my rating below a 5.
The performance of the English Chamber Orchestra and of Thurston Dart on harpsichord are also of the highest quality.
The quality of the sound from this analog recording made in 1961 is outstanding; the sound engineers who have made this 24-bit digital remastering are truly to be commended.
The CD booklet contains photos of Janet Baker and Raimund Herincx, the entire libretto, and two well-written and informative essays, the first by Alan Blyth on Janet Baker, with an analysis of her singing, and the second by one of the original performers on this recording, Thurston Dart (harpsichord), on the story and music of this beautiful opera.
Very highly recommended.
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