Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore [Box set]

But perhaps it will always be considered among critics as second best to the version with a young, fresh-voiced Pavarotti and supreme soprano Sutherland. That recording has gone down in history as one of the best out there, and it's obvious why. Pavarotti has really never been equalled in the Donizetti repertoire as well with other composers, and especially when he was in his prime. And there's no doubt that Sutherland's rendition of Adina is perfectly sung, even though one will hear her famed problem with diction, especially in the quieter parts of the recitative. But as far as I care, that's of little consequence.

As for this recording, we find an older-sounding Nemorino, yet still easily believable as the hopeful lover. And what better choice for a young, beautiful woman than the always gorgeous sounding Kathleen Battle. I was happy to hear that her light lyric tones are always heard with the louder voices and orchestra, which I was somewhat worried about. But, as I found out, it was stupid of me to worry. I absolutely adore Battle's Adina. So perfect is every note, phrase, and word. The character comes through brilliantly as one would hope. Pavarotti is well in character, even if we don't hear youth in every note... His "Una furtiva lagrima" still sounds heartfelt and beautiful though.

The other singers are a nice compliment to the star power of the two main characters. Dawn Upshaw plays the character of Adina's friend Giannetta with conviction, and does a fine job. The only qualm is that she sounds a little too much like Battle as far as voice quality goes, but that's my pickiness coming into play. And as for Enzo Dara, I'm listening to him right now tell the peasants about the elixir and its wonderful properties in the "Udite, udite, o rustici." Although the voice isn't as fantastic as other Dr. Dulcamaras performed out there, he's done extremely well with the character, and I enjoy the interpretation. And what's this about Leo Nucci not being up to par, as another reviewer points out? My view is that he sounds in finer voice than Mr. Dara... His Belcore is first rate, and seems well planned. Overall, a fine supporting cast in my mind.

The Met Chorus is always world-class, and sounds this way with the experienced conducting of maestro Levine. The orchestra is at certain points not quite in synch though(as in the final scene and quartet "Andiam Belcore" where the strings aren't quite making the tempo in one passage near the end), but in the majority of the recording are playing fantastically.

So there's my opinion on this recording. I tried to point out all the necessary info, while comparing it to the earlier version, and giving an alternate view on Mr. Nucci. As a final note, I gave this recording 5 stars knowing that it isn't the perfect "L'Elisir," but needing to raise the overall rating into the 4.5 range, where I believe it merits to be. That's it.

I hope those who buy this CD set enjoy it as much as I do.

Donizetti's comic L'ELISIR D'AMORE is one of opera's enduring favorites. It's a work that can be buffoonish when performed on stage, but recorded versions cut out the antics and give us Donizetti's enjoyable score. This set has so many excellent qualities going for it, it's nearly perfect. It has an all star cast, led by one of opera's greatest conductors, and includes the orchestra and chorus of one of the world's greatest opera houses. Is there any other recording worth considering? Yes and no.

Its strengths include a stellar cast led by Luciano Pavarotti and Kathleen Battle. This is not Luciano Pavarotti's first attempt at recording this work. He did so nearly twenty years earlier in a wonderful set with Joan Sutherland as Adina. While his voice is somewhat darker in this set than it was in the Sutherland set, Pavarotti is one of the best male Donizetti singers. On stage we would not believe Pavarotti is a love struck young man. If anything the cover makes him look like a dirty old man, but I find his interpretation nuanced and in many ways stronger than his earlier rendition and certainly more nuanced than some of his television forays into the work. I love Kathleen Battle's Adina. Her voice is perfect, she sings with great clarity, and each time I listen to it I realize what a loss her departure from the opera stage has been. We also get a young Dawn Upshaw as Giannetta in one of her few complete opera recordings. James Levine is, well James Levine which means the orchestra is in top form as is the Metropolitan Opera Chorus.

The only criticism leveled against this recording by many and I would tend to agree would be the lower range male voices of Leo Nucci and Enzo Dara as Belcore and Dulcamara respectively. I will not say they are the reason to avoid buying this set as some reviewers have said, and I don't find them so horrible that I'd avoid it. The problem is that some of the great recordings of this work have basses and baritones that give the work a personality. Often times the lower roles were written with comedic intentions, and the basses and baritones often became comic figures and took liberties with the score. In comparison the interpretations of Nucci and Dara are rather dull, but Pavarotti, Battle, and Upshaw carry the recording and their strengths cover the weaknesses of this set.

I'm not sure this is the recording of the ages. The earlier Sutherland Pavarotti collaboration would probably earn this title. My favorite is the first LP set I owned with Rosanna Cartieri as Adina under the direction of Tulio Serafin. Now before I sound too pretentious, I will admit I purchased it not because of its quality and my great taste. It was a budget recording for about six dollars and I was a broke high school student who just discovered opera and wanted as many sets as I could afford. Still, I love the Pavarotti-Battle set, have had many hours of listening pleasure from it, and highly recommend it.

Kathleen Battle is the most beautiful Adina on disc, Pavarotti is not at his best, at least not in such way with Sutherland, Dara's exquisite Dulcamara and Nucci doing his best. Something strange is Levine's recordings; the taste of his conducting is full of energy, and that's great.