Document

  1987
    September 1987
        Opera
                Verdi Aida.

Verdi AIDA. Leontyne Price (sop/ Aida); Jon Vickers (ten/ Radames); Rita Gorr (mez/ Amneris); Robert Merrill (bar/ Amonasro); Giorgio Tozzi (bass/ Ramphis); Plinio Clabassi (bass/ King of Egypt); Mietta Sighele (sop/ Priestess); Franco Ricciardi (ten/ Messenger); Rome Opera House Chorus and Orchestra / Sir Georg Solti.

Decca (Full price) (LP) 417 416-2DH3 (three records, nas: 152 minutes). From RCA SER4538/40 (7/62). Notes, text and translation included.

Selected comparisons

Abbado (12/83) 410 092-2GH3

Muti (1/87) CDS7 47271-8

I had been looking forward to rehearing this well-known set, expecting it to be a strong rival on CD to the two versions listed above. In the event I came away somewhat disappointed, although I realize that for many younger collectors this performance must have a historic interest now that none of the principals is any longer active in opera. The main drawback has little to do with the musical side of things: it is simply that CD emphasizes the blatant nature of the recording. Right from the start the brass blare out at you uncomfortably; it is as if you were sitting right next to the trombones, rather than in a comfortable seat in the stalls, and throughout the orchestra tend to be too prominent. That only calls attention to Solti's somewhat wilful way with the score. His direction is undeniably exciting but often at the expense of stable or flowing tempos. In a word he is too volatile.

Leontyne Price was certainly one of the most exciting Aidas of the past 30 years in purely vocal terms, but I now find that beside Caballe (Muti/EMI) and Ricciarelli (Abbado/DG) her somewhat thick tone and indeterminate articulation of consonants vitiate the purely sensuous pleasure to be derived from her glorious tone as such. She is at her considerable best in Act 3 where, with Vicker's vital and thoroughly individual Radames at her side, the performance really catches fire. Already in "Celeste Aida", one has admired the virility and wonder of Vicker's singing; by Act 3 that sense of anguish and commitment in his voice come through ever more strongly. Against that must be set his indifferent Italian and his tendency to scoop. He doesn't sound so 'authentic' as Domingo in the rival sets above, but as intense and more individual of utterance.

Gorr is a regal, impassioned Amneris, quite as effective as Cossotto (Muti) and infinitely superior to Obraztsova (Abbado). The set is almost worth acquiring for her contribution alone (why didn't she make more records?). Merrill is a sturdy Amonasro; the basses are poor. So in the end I could not recommend this version above Muti's, although I pass up reluctantly much of the singing of Price, Vickers, and above all, Gorr. There is a perceptive new essay by Kenneth Chalmers in the booklet, placing the opera in the context of Verdi's other works in the genre.

AB



		I had been looking forward to rehearing this well-known set, expecting it to be a strong rival on CD to the two versions listed above. In the event I came away somewhat disappointed, although I realize that for many younger collectors this performance must have a historic interest now that none of the principals is any longer active in opera. The main drawback has little to do with the musical side of things: it is simply that CD emphasizes the blatant nature of the recording. Right from the start the brass blare out at you uncomfortably; it is as if you were sitting right next to the trombones, rather than in a comfortable seat in the stalls, and throughout the orchestra tend to be too prominent. That only calls attention to Solti's somewhat wilful way with the score. His direction is undeniably exciting but often at the expense of stable or flowing tempos. In a word he is too volatile.



		Leontyne Price was certainly one of the most exciting Aidas of the past 30 years in purely vocal terms, but I now find that beside Caballe (Muti/EMI) and Ricciarelli (Abbado/DG) her somewhat thick tone and indeterminate articulation of consonants vitiate the purely sensuous pleasure to be derived from her glorious tone as such. She is at her considerable best in Act 3 where, with Vicker's vital and thoroughly individual Radames at her side, the performance really catches fire. Already in "Celeste Aida", one has admired the virility and wonder of Vicker's singing; by Act 3 that sense of anguish and commitment in his voice come through ever more strongly. Against that must be set his indifferent Italian and his tendency to scoop. He doesn't sound so 'authentic' as Domingo in the rival sets above, but as intense and more individual of utterance.



		Gorr is a regal, impassioned Amneris, quite as effective as Cossotto (Muti) and infinitely superior to Obraztsova (Abbado). The set is almost worth acquiring for her contribution alone (why didn't she make more records?). Merrill is a sturdy Amonasro; the basses are poor. So in the end I could not recommend this version above Muti's, although I pass up reluctantly much of the singing of Price, Vickers, and above all, Gorr. There is a perceptive new essay by Kenneth Chalmers in the booklet, placing the opera in the context of Verdi's other works in the genre.