Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
VERY DIFFERENT - VERY REFRESHING - AND I LOVE IT!, 24 Nov 2008
I live in the United States, where this recording won't be available until February 24th, but I was so excited when I heard about it, I decided to order it from Amazon in the United Kingdom. I'm a bel canto opera guy and while I certainly respect the opinions of my British counterparts, I am unable to come to the same conclusions as they. While I admit that there are times when Bartoli seems to aspirate in her vocal lines, I find that it adds to the childlike innocence of Amina. Whatever the case, she sings her two big numbers in the same key as Callas and Sutherland, but instead goes downwards for some of her embellishments. She never touches a top E flat, but then again neither did Cecilia Gasdia when she sang Amina in Chicago. I find Bartoli's singing very beautiful, lyrical, and am impressed by her embellishments which go down to low A flat (which Callas also did in 1955 under Leonard Bernstein). Nor is this the first time I've ever heard a "mezzo" sing this music - Marilyn Horne sang the final scene at a concert in Chicago in the 1970's --- to great effect. Florez requires no defense whatsoever. He's got the extreme top notes, and his voice is of great beauty. Together, I find his duets with Bartoli to be the ideal. I find this performance to be a valuable addition to my bel canto discography, and can now finally understand how sopranos like Malibran and Pasta sang this very intricate role. I'm not even sure that Bellini ever wrote any top E flats for the soprano in this opera to begin
with. Callas and Sutherland, of course, put them in, and both were wonderful. However, in both cases, they were not favored by a tenor like Florez. Nicola Monti, who partnered Callas and Sutherland (on her first studio recording)was lyrical and flowing, but was definitely short on top.
On Sutherland's second studio, Luciano Pavarotti made Elvino sound like a bull in a china shop ---- much too heavy with virtually no nuance. Thus, I feel that Florez is arguably the best Elvino on any "Sonnambula" recording (not that there have been that many!). I'm forever grateful to Decca for recording this opera in this fashion with these singers. It's a fresh approach, with variants not previously heard. I have no problems with the sound, and will probably find myself listening to this set again and again.
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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely - yet somewhat unsatisfying, 12 Nov 2008
I adore Cecilia Bartoli's voice and her intelligence and musicality. Listening to her is almost unfailing delight.
But this is the first time - ever - that I must write of being disappointed by her performance.
I would like to begin by saying that this recording has many lovely things about it. Florez is meltingly superb - what a beautiful tone he has, and he phrases so intelligently! D'Arcangelo is stunning - it seems he's able to sing any sort of role at all. The chorus & orchestra all do a fine job.
But the recording quality itself is a little problematic. Bartoli's voice is recorded so far forward and with such a resonant "wet" sound that it seems not to be part of an opera... but rather like a soloist superimposed on top of all the other singers and instrumentalists. In the duet work between Bartoli and Florez, this leads to quite a disconcerting effect, which is not helped by the different approach Bartoli and Florez have to the running passages in which they should be together. Florez sings the phrases with fine legato - Bartoli over-exaggerates and chops up the phrases.
Bartoli, in fact, for the first time that I can remember has simply failed to engage me in this recording. I felt bewildered by the "ham" in her singing - it almost sounded as though she were trying to imitate Fleming in bel canto. So many sobs and sighs stuck ONTO the singing line and turning the phrases into little bits instead of coherent exhalations or contemplations...
I was so taken aback by this, and so upset by NOT being fully immersed in the loveliness of the singing (for I don't mean to imply that Bartoli isn't singing frequently with great beauty in this recording), that I and the friend with whom I was listening stopped the recording and put on the Callas Sonnambula recording... and o cielo, we knew our memories hadn't deceived us. THERE was the liquid and the feeling and the character and her emotions... there it was. When Callas sang bel canto, the sighs were IN the timbre of the voice. They were not pasted on as an addendum or embellishment. When Callas sang a character, she WAS that character - and while Bartoli has always in the past created characters in her singing, I just could not feel she succeeded in this particular role.
And when Callas sang the duet work with her tenor, it worked with a cohesiveness and sincerity that was lacking in the new Bartoli recording.
I don't know what on earth has led the beautiful Cecilia Bartoli to eschew the reality of her previous performances with this synthetic one. I do know that it's one of the most disappointing recordings I've heard for years - but that is primarily because my hopes were exceedingly high for this.
Four stars because, in spite of the melodramatic over-acting, it is still beautiful - and Juan Diego Florez is a miracle.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not up to the competition, 7 Dec 2008
Like one of the other reviewers, I live in the US and ordered this set from the UK - not because I was so anxious to have it, but simply because it was cheaper (no longer the case). That's not to say that I didn't await its arrival with some considerable expectation of pleasure. I regret to say that I was disappointed with this offering.
I greatly admire Miss Bartoli and have most of her recordings. In this one she isn't up to her usual standard. She's usually such a thoughtful and intelligent artist that she may have simply spent too much time thinking about this role. To say that it is studied would be kind. "Contrived" would be a more accurate term. I've not heard so many gasps and gulps on a recording since the last time I listened to Richard Tucker. (Sorry, Tucker fans.) Miss Bartoli's singing here is overtly, and overly, emotive. The result is a porcelain-doll preciousness that I find distasteful.
I'll also level some criticism at the erratic conducting of maestro de Marchi. His tempi at times have a lugubrious slowness that ill fits the gentle pathos of this opera. At other places there are sudden accelerations that almost jar the teeth out of one's head. The first act chorus "In Elvezia non v'ha rosa" starts at a pleasant pace but the speed nearly doubles at the words "e innocente tortorella." Granted, I'm looking at the standard Ricordi score, not the critical edition on which this recording is based, and there's no presto subito, or even accelerando, instruction here.
These points are too bad given the otherwise high quality of this recording. I agree with the other American reviewer that Juan Diego Florez is probably the best Elvino on record. But, who buys a recording of "Sonnambula" for the Elvino? Like another reviewer, I agree that Miss Bartoli and Mr. Florez don't blend well together. It sounds almost as if they recorded their duets at different times and in different places and a sound engineer spliced them together. (The booklet indicates that both duets are transposed, as are other scenes which feature both Amina and Elvino.) When individual tracks are available for download, I'd suggested getting Elvino's Act II scene and skipping the rest of this set.
However, I don't mean to say that the contributions of the basso and seconda donna are negligible. Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is splendid as Count Rodolfo, as is Gemma Bertagnolli as Lisa. Mr. D'Arcangelo has a rolling basso cantante voice that's beautifully suited to this role. The role of Lisa is given to a proper seconda donna in this performance rather than relegated to a squeaky soubrette. Actually, when available, you may also want to get the Act II quartet "Lisa mendace anch'essa!" Even the comprimarios cover themselves with glory. It really is too bad that the leading lady and the conductor let down the rest of the show.
For, make no mistake about it, this is Miss Bartoli's show. The "special edition" book is full of portraits of Miss Bartoli that are just as contrived and precious as her singing. The cover photo is a good example. There are many more. There are also the usual portraits of all the rest of the singers with the notable exception of the tenor. The last page of the book has the only photo of Mr. Florez, with Miss Bartoli, and even his pose shows he's second fiddle to the female.
I truly wish that I could give this recording an enthusiastic recommendation. I regret that I can't. With so many other fine recordings of this opera available, this one simply isn't up to the competition. My favourite studio recording remains Joan Sutherland's first take, now available at a budget price. Similarly budget priced and highly enjoyable are the recordings on the Naxos and Arts labels. If you don't mind dated sound and traditional cuts, you can't do better than the live 1957 Callas performance from Cologne.
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