Repertoire: The IDEAL Verdi Operas
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 พ.ค. 2021
- Verdi composed 26 operas, but if you include revisions and recompositions that number increases by about a dozen. So any IDEAL list will necessary consist of a selection of the most important works. I've managed to trim it down to 15 individual operas, but don't let me stop you from exploring this expressively varied and hugely entertaining legacy on your own. There's a whole world here to discover at your leisure; so take your time, find your favorites and keep on listening!
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I stumbled across your channel last night and watched "inappropriate music" and now I'm back. I am starting to get a little bit more into classical music and sense I can learn a lot here. The presentation and information is excellent, and I think it is great that you always have a smile on your face.
Welcome aboard! I hope you have a great time and learn a lot too.
Wow! despite being an ardent fan of Mahler and Verdi alike, I never noticed how Verdi influenced him with the march sequence of the 3rd and the adagio of the 4th. Thanks for pointing that out!
I made a whole video about it...
You can hear Otello in the 2nd. There are more examples.
Following some of these plots is like listening to my mother in law talk, especially when she changes the subject and you lose track of her "plot" so you don't know if she's going on about a friend, family or someone in one of her lifetime movies. Like opera, sometimes you just have to smile and nod, and hum along to some tunes.
A great list of operas btw, and while there were no surprises, there was a lot of great info as always! While I could add my own favorites like everyone else, the only thing I'll mention here is that Ghiaurov and Talvela in Solti's Don Carlo are indispensable.
So much fun! A grand tour through Verdi's greatest operas. I was pleased to make my first acquaintance with several recordings (and a few operas). Many thanks.
I use to listen to Kleiber Traviata for the Last 20 years: It is vert gorgeous
Thanks for a fantastic channel, it makes a change from just rock and pop channels. 🎶🎵🎶🎵😎
Glad you enjoy it!
I have a confession to make: I happen to enjoy immensely "Un giorno di regno". OK, I said it. What a relief! :-)
A great list; I was especially pleased by your inclusion of Simon Boccanegra and Luisa Miller. I admit to having a soft spot also for I Due Foscari and I Vespri Siciliani (which was the first Verdi opera recording I purchased.) You are right about the need to listen with patience and not rush through his works.
I love Foscari too.
Had a couple of bad days, and this video made me feel much better. Thanks.
I saw Attila at The Met with Muti and Ramey. It was a forceful moment. The best moment was the soprano-aria early in the first part. She
really made it clear that she sang to survive, very powerful.
That is one FINE entrance aria !
Listen, sometime to the Christina Deutekom version.
Serafin's Otello has always struck me as the best conducted recording. I love how in the drinking song you can really hear the changes in texture every time the theme reappears. Also, the timpani in the opening are quite clear. They have a significant countermelody during the big thunderstroke that you rarely hear. Only in Maazel's recording is the part completely audible, but alas, that recording is rather dull overall.
Serafin's Otello is a classic, mainly because of Jon Vickers and Tito Gobbi. But Serafin's tempos were way too slow for me. Probably because he was very old at this point. I actually like the recent recording with Jonas Kaufmann, incredibly conducted by Antonio Pappano. The Santa Cecilia orchestra sounds amazing!
Notice the string flourish at Otello's initial entrance - an arresting moment. Serafin supports his singers strongly.
Great talk. Very informative. You couldn't have concluded the video with a better choice. Abbado's Simon Boccanegra is a knockout ! I also love Il Trovatore and Don Carlo and your recommendations are spot on although I have a soft spot for the Zubin Mehta Trovatore with Leontyne Price. As for La Forza del Destino, another great opera I also recommend Leontyne's Price first recording on RCA with Thomas Schippers. Great stuff indeed.
I can’t stand Karajan, but there is always the exception to those types of statements. He was a great opera conductor. His Aida with Tebaldi is one of my two or three favourite opera recordings.
And even better in Wagner, Strauss, and his earlier Mozart recordings.
David, I’m laughing my ass off with your plot line for Ernani. Everything you say is true as Anna Russell would say. Nothing is better for getting the blood going as early Verdi. Thenkyou for all your hard work. I’m watching all your videos this week. I’m so glad I found you!
And so am I, too !
So glad you chose the Kubelik. Wonderfully conducted and cast
Kubelik Rigoletto
I'm a DFD fan, so perhaps I'm biased, but I love that recording too.
Thanks, Dave. I’m going to have my own overflow room.
Luisa Miller has one of the greatest overtures in opera, as far as I’m concerned. Verdi takes a single theme from Act 3 and builds something absolutely thrilling.
From which opera? la traviata?
@@loganfruchtman953 Act 3 of Luisa Miller (same opera)
Great talk. I would have added one more - the Corsaro with Carreras. It has great childhood memories- and glorious singing by Carreras, Caballe and Norman.
This is the first time I've seen a UFIP up close. Cool!
Glad Simon Boccanegra got a mention at the end, always remember my dad telling me he thought it was Verdi's most melodic opera. Also glad st cecilia orchestra of Rome get a look in, the old recordings may be a little screechy, but what passion! As I'm no opera buff unlike my father I found your short synopsis very useful, thanks!
That Bocanegra is one of the finest opera recordings ever made.
I totally agree with you (for what it is worth) about Otello being a role for a "heldentenor". That's why my favorite is Ramon Vinay (with Toscanini, not necessarily Furtwängler) and James Levine shares my opinion. He was a great Tristan too. In other words, a baritone capable to reach the high notes, and a very capable dramatic actor.
Dave hitting the tam-tam reminded me of the opening of old British movies from the J. Arthur Rank Organisation - except that guy was shirtless.
look up "J Arthur Rank logo" on TH-cam
I know what it was!
The story goes that the gong in the Rank film was a stage prop made of plaster of paris, and the sound dubbed.
@@nicholasjagger6557 Makes sense, because that gong is huge and nobody would use a mallet that looks like that. The only one who makes a gong anywhere near that size is Paiste.
Dear David, thanks for a great, informative video. I own some of them on vinyl, some on CD. I will rush to the next record fair in Barcelona for a good hunt of the ones I do not have. Happy musical summer!
You too!
I've been fortunate to live in Chicago and enjoy the highs (and lows) of our own Lyric Opera. But my love of opera extends to my home where my collection of CDs includes all of the Verdi operas you mentioned with the exception of "Attila". While not always in the versions you discussed, I love listening to them again and again, especially "Simon Boccanegra" in the Abbado edition which I agree with you belongs on any list of great Verdi operas.
dear Dave, you were right about the recording of Othello. I'd never heard of that recording before. Well, now I've heard of it and I've already bought it. Thank you.
A well-chosen assortment. I think it's interesting that the the most recently recorded of your recommendations come from the 80's (Nabucco '84 and Luisa '89), while the rest range from the late 70's and back to 1950 for the Falstaff. Although there are still many gifted singers and fine voices around today, there appears to be a serious dearth of big voices who also have the agility and finesse required for Verdi. Reluctant as I am to join the chorus of nostalgic geezers lamenting the Good Old Days, I think it would be difficult-to-impossible today to field a cast able to hold a candle to those on any of the old recordings you mentioned.
I'm glad you chose Luisa Miller as one of your "supplementary" operas. I still enjoy the 1964 Cleva recording with Moffo, Bergonzi and MacNeil
It's curious that the two most recent versions I would consider recommendable are both conducted by maestros whose names begin with "Maa..."
You put it very well. The mid-1950s to mid-1970s were a sweet-spot for fine voices, clear recording, and an ample medium (LPs). Complete Verdi recordings on 78rpms were rather uncommon and many featured just two conductors: Molajoli and Sabajno. They are worth chasing down on DVD for those interested in great voices of the past.
@@georgestern2063 I think there was a loss of Verdi voices, particularly with the rise of earlier bel canto and Baroque opera. I don't know why it should be that even Italy can't crank them out.
agreed on all points..... especially your fondness for that Moffo/Bergonzi Luisa Miller.
David , another wonderful talk . I shall certainly look for those influences Mahler found in Verdi .Traviata must be the perfect opera . Believable plot intense emotions . Just when two people have found transcendent love , society destroys them . All expressed in the most glorious music . Talk about catharsis afterwards . So lucky to have seen the classic Richard Eyre's Covent Garden production . I hope that it isn't mothballed .
My favorite Don Carlo Is the one with Carlo Bergonzi Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Renata Tebaldi and Nicolai Ghiaurov (sp?). Actually it's the only version I know :P. The whole series that starts with King Phillip sitting alone in his study "She never loved me" transitioning to the dialogue with the Grand Inquisitor and ending with the confrontation with Elisabeta combine to be one of the greatest character studies I have heard in opera, and Ghiaurov's performance was simply magnificent and the guy who did the Inquisitor..I think it was Martti Talvela (sp?)... Holy Cow! . The whole recording was great. It was the version we were given to study In a Verdi class I took with Prof. Martin Chusid at NYU Many Years Ago. A great experience. Oh and David Thanks Again for a great video! You rock bro :)
Yes, Talvela sings Grand Inquisitor in this recording
@@Alex-ze2xt Thanks, Alex
Thanks David of your brief suggestions of Verdi’s recording! I seldom attend the opera performance and skip the opera section in the recording stores last 20 years. I try to get the ideal Verdi operas suggested by you. Also I got several copies refer to your video of best picked Puccini & Wagner operas. Will keep on listening, expose different type of categories and enjoying the music.
Nabucco/Lamberto Gardelli
La Traviata/ Carlos Kleiber
Simon Boccanegra/Abbado
Un Ballo in Maschera/Muti
Il Trovatore/Giulini
Rigoletto/Giulini & Kubelik
Macbeth/Abbado
Without fail.........your Verdi picks are almost all NOT in my collection (except 3). I've got some more listening to do. Keep it coming, Dave. Wonderful survey of Verdi.
I thoroughly enjoyed your comment on Traviata LOL the only Traviata I will ever have will be with Cotrubas for obvious reasons my friend no need to go into detail with this one. The Tebaldi & Scotto pics were interesting I must say. Price was born to sing Verdi & Motzart & Aida is Price vice versa. Thank you for this very interesting channel. 💙🎶🎼🎵🇫🇷🍷 Arnold Bourbon Amaral
Mr Hurwitz dude!! You make my day! In between Schwartz im listening to Toscanini’s Verdi! I bet I am the only guy in Massachusetts spreading manure all over his garden listening to Toscanini right now
I think the last great composer was Richard Strauss maybe Williams would love to hear your opinion
My German Shepherd always comes next to me when I play Richard Strauss.
No matter how loud I play it
Well, Douglas. I’m another Massachusetts guy who was spreading loam and weeding while listening to Dave’s Ideal Verdi. And I’ll be doing the same thing tomorrow to whatever is Dave’s presentation du jour. and then I’ll continue with favorite repeats.
Thanks for the great video. I have been looking for it since you did the ideal Puccini operas video and ordered a few of these recommendations including Nabucco and Ernani which I didn't have recordings of. Thanks to the hard core opera lovers out there who buy so many versions of all these operas and dump their rejects back onto the market. I had been looking for a better Rigoletto recording than the one I have on CD and vacillating among the Kubelik, Solti and Bonynge/Pavarotti/Sutherland before deciding they were so cheap I should just order all 3 of them.
Very fine choices. If I may be so bold and add my personal favorite to your list of considerations: Try Bastianini as Rigoletti in Gavazzeni’s 1960 recording. You also get Scotto and Kraus, all sounding marvelous. That’s the one I go to.
@@thomass.9167 Thanks for the recommendation. I may consider it down the road after I've spent some time with the ones I ordered today.
@@thomass.9167 I love that one my friend. Even Scotto sounds great. 💙🎶🎼🎵🇫🇷🍷 Arnold Bourbon Amaral
Wow that was a blast. Thank you so much, Dave.
One of the things that struck me was how few recordings there were that were less than 30 years old. As someone who has loved opera for over 50 years, I have noticed the awful decline in Verdi singing. Of course, as you pointed out, there are many Verdis and the styles range from pure bel canto to something much more powerful. But the basic requirement is to be able to sing beautifully and powerfully and at the same time convey the character effectively. For some reason, the best singing I hear now is often in baroque music rather than in Verdi, where style and vocal finish have been replaced by sounds which often border on the grotesque. Anyway, it is nice to be reminded that there are treasures lying in the vaults and still available.
It is a shame that almost all the Callas complete sets have flaws one way or another. Quite how EMI didn't get a studio version of her traviata in the 50s is one of those strange quirks. Even the sonically terrible, live versions I've heard give a tantalising glimpse of what might have been. Listening to her stoical acceptance of giving up Alfredo in the implaccable face of the patriarchy in Act 2, is to witness one of the greatest moments from one of the greatest singers. What she could find in an apparently simple line was miraculous. Anyway, all great picks, Dave. Thank you.
Dave, where you been all my life? I just purchased the Price and Solti "Aida." I had a not as good version beforehand. Now I am quite pleased. Thank for the recommendation! Also, I saw your Bartok vids and I was amazed. I've been purchasing Bartok music for the past two weeks. And most of my selections got the good seal of approval from you. You have a perfecto channel. I certainly will be staying tune. Thanks! Curt.
Thank you! I'm glad you're finding me useful.
My last three are Les vêpres siciliennes, Attila, and Simon Bocanegra.
By far my most beloved 19th century composer
I'm returning to this video after a few years, and directly after watching your video about overrated performances. You made an excellent point about the British intellectual hegemony when it came to musical criticism and influencing opinions on recordings that may not have been worthy, like the Horenstein Mahler 3. It got me thinking about Alan Blyth and his "Opera on Records" series. While you were talking about the Aida performance, I remembered Blyth saying that he believed that the Callas Aida would be the one people would still be turning to and clutching over time. That recording, while fine, has gone into oblivion and no one ever points to it now as a reference.
Hoping for more opera videos. What about a video about the Prokofiev’s operas? Thank you in advance
With most of his operas, there wouldn't be many alternatives to choose between. I wish someone would record new versions of them, as I think Gergiev's are overrated. I suspect the praise they received was really for the music, which at the time was almost unknown.
Wonderful list! I love great voices most, and especially some from the earlier decades of recording. May I propose a complementary list that contains some marvelous singers that folks may want to get to know as second or third recordings? I will skip Nabucco & Macbeth; I like two recordings with a young Callas, but they are pretty rough going sonically.
Ernani: Mitropoulos (1957; Cerquetti--who made few recordings, but what a voice!--del Monaco, Christoff & Bastianini with a conductor who DESERVES a box!)
Traviata: Ghione (1958; my favorite version with Callas, with apologies to those who just cannot love her voice) or Panizza (1935; Rosa Ponselle one of the greatest of all time and from CT!)
Rigoletto: Serafin (1955: A Callas, Gobbi, di Stefano classic) or Molajoli (1930; Stracciari and Capsir were among the greatest of their generation; they must not be forgotten)
Travatore: Prevateli (1957; Leyla Gencer is one of the greatest under-recorded stars out there. Also has del Monaco & Barbieri)
Ballo: Serafin(1943; Some find Gigli's whinging annoying, but he was called the greatest tenor after Caruso)
Forza: Marrinuzzi (1941; Maria Caniglia, Masini, and Tagliabue, en ecchht Italian cast with a great diva!)
Don Carlos: Stiedry (1952; this is my pick with Bjoerling, but my favorite overall is the Solti 1962)
Aida: Sabajno (1928; Aureliano Pertile was Toscanini's favorite Tenor, Dusolina Giannini was a marvelous American voice, & Minghini-Cattano. Just wow!)
Otello: Cleva (1958; del Monaco--few have ever had a voice this strong or right for the part. The Pristine recording is clean and beautiful)
Falstaff: Karajan (1956; picked a historical recording, so I am switching to a "modern" one with Gobbi and Betty Blackhead in stereo!)
Luisa M: (Rossi 1955; I love your choice, but Lauri-Volpi is a voice everyone should hear and not forget)
Simon B: Panizza (1939; with Tibbett, Pinza, Warren, and Rethberg. A MET classic! But I prefer your choice)
Finally, allow me to replace Atila with I Vespri: Rossi (1955; Again, Cerquetti).
Hi, David. I'm most impressed. You have made an IDEAL list of 15 Verdi operas without once mentioning Maria Callas! Bravo to you and nyah-nyah to the obsessive Callasites in the Comments below. You should get some kind of award- - at least the Zinka Milanov award for Fairness in Listening, or the Leontyne Price I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better Award: or something. Keep up the great work and keep enlightening us on everything in opera.
Thank you for an interesting and entertaining review of Verdi's operas. I purchased your recommendation for Un ballo in maschera to hear Birgit Nillson and was favorably impressed! A total surprise for me. The other recording that I want hear is Kubelick's Rigoletto. Mr. Hurwitz, you are full of surprises! My favorite is Sinopoli's recording on the former Philips label. One opera/recording I wish you would have included was Simon Boccanegra, the Abaddo recording. I understand that Verdi did revise that opera which might have placed in the "mature" category. Excellent review nonetheless and I'm sure you had good reasons to not include Simon Boccanegra.
Not sure how I ended up here. These reviews are great!
Well, thanks for dropping in!
i've been listening to classical music and opera since i was a teenager. now i'm in my late 50s, am a critical listener, with hundreds of albums like you, and can tell a good from a bad recording. i've seen quite a bit of your clips here and have immensely enjoyed each and every one of them. i don't read the comments but there really should not be any negative ones (period!), since you're doing a great public service here. there will always be some recording or artist that will not be mentioned, but that's the way it is, so no one should take offense. kudos for setting ground rules! none of your picks are bad at all. in fact, they're better than penguin or grammophone (funny what you said about the british). i like how you start off by giving a little background to the work, before picking the good and bad recordings. you not only made me go back and re-listen to some of my albums, appreciating the subtleties and nuances you mentioned, but you also made me discover new ones that lead me to buy them to add to my collection. your style is very entertaining and often amusing, but it is clear that you know what you're talking about. we're a dying breed since i feel less and less are listening to the classics. so it's so refreshing to see your vidoes. needless to say i'm a huge fan. is there a way to contribute e.g. Patreon, so that you can keep doing this?
Thank you for your comment. You can contribute on TH-cam--there's a link at the bottom of every video, I think.
Macbeth is a masterpiece, to be sure, and I love the old Met/Leinsdorf Leonard Warren/Leonie Rysanek recording on RCA. Bergonzi as Macduff and Jerome Hines as Banquo really carry the guns too, but it's worth a listen for Warren alone.
I would also highly recommend the DG Abbado particuarly for Shirley Verrett
Dear David, thank you for another great video! Since I consider Verdi to be my pet subject, I was inspired by you to put together my own list of ideal recordings. Feel free to tell me I'm wrong, everyone, and change my mind. Keep on listening!
Oberto: Bergonzi, Dimitrova, Panerai / Gardelli
Un giorno di regno: Carreras, Cossotto, Norman, Wixell / Gardelli
Nabucco: Cappuccilli, Nesterenko, Dimitrova / Sinopoli (agree with everything you said)
I lombardi alla prima crociata: Carreras, Dimitrova, Carroli / Gavazzeni
Ernani: Corelli, Arroyo, Milnes, Giaiotti / Schippers
I due Foscari: Bruson, Luchetti, Kalinina / Soudant (Luchetti was a great Verdi tenor)
Giovanna d'Arco: Ricciarelli, Labò, Sereni / Bartoletti
Alzira: Zeani, Cecchele, MacNeil / Capuana
Attila: Giaiotti, Chiara, Luchetti, Carroli / Santi (live in Verona 1985, an amazing cast, just pure fun with the cabaletta galore; the Muti version is good, especially Ramey and Zancanaro, but for me, Chiara and Luchetti beat Studer and Shicoff)
Macbeth: Warren, Rysanek, Bergonzi, Hines / Leinsdorf
I masnadieri: Caballé, Cappuccilli, Bergonzi, Raimondi / Gardelli
Il corsaro: Caballé, Carreras, Norman / Gardelli
La battaglia di Legnano: Corelli, Bastianini, Stella / Gavazzeni
Luisa Miller: Caballé, Pavarotti, Milnes, Giaiotti / Maag (what a cast)
Stiffelio: Limarilli , Gulin, Alberti / Maag (sadly quite underperformed)
Rigoletto: Taddei, Pagliughi, Tagliavini, Neri / Questa (not a fan of Fischer-Dieskau)
Il trovatore: Cossutta, Cruz-Romo, Cossotto, Manuguerra / Muti (tough choice, but young Muti conducts Verdi’s score as written, so e.g. no high note at the end of Di quella pira, and it works great!)
La traviata: Callas, Valetti, Zanasi / Rescigno (Would have gone for Cotrubas, but it has Domingo…anyway, here’s one Callas managed to record)
Les vepres siciliennes: Guelfi, Di Cavalieri, Filippeschi, Neri / Serafin
Simon Boccanegra: Cappuccilli, Ghiaurov, Freni, Luchetti / Abbado (Luchetti beats Carreras in this repertoire)
Un ballo in maschera: Bergonzi, Nilsson, MacNeil, Simionato / Solti (just great)
La forza del destino: Price, Tucker, Merrill, Verrett / Schippers
Don Carlos: LoForese, Siepi, Bastianini, Cerquetti, Barbieri, Neri / Votto (Worth it for the Inquisitor duet only, it doesn’t get better than Siepi and Neri)
Aida: Callas, Tucker, Gobbi, Barbieri / Serafin
Otello: Atlantov, Vishnevskaya, Klyonov / Svetlanov (Atlantov was the last great Otello, this is a young Atlantov in 1969)
Falstaff: Taddei, Colombo, Alva, Barbieri / Serafin (Taddei is just perfect for this part)
Thanks for the great list!
"Horrible Families of the Great Composers" by David Hurwitz. When's it coming out? :*)
I appreciated your words about Rigoletto. Without having really listened to it, I always figured it was just an over-popular, corny opera with great tunes, but when I saw it onstage, I was amazed at how beautifully crafted it is. Very tightly structured, and every number a perfect musical encapsulation of the dramatic moment. A stunning work.
I was wondering when you'd pick up on that one. It's a very tempting project except that their awfulness is usually so boringly similar in nature.
Dave. Have you made a video about Verdi’s String Quartet? I would love to hear your comments about the work.
Thanks, Dave, for a great talk. For the first time I have all the recordings you mentioned and agree with most of what you picked. But, I prefer Muti in Ernani and Karajan in Un ballo in maschera. I might pick Abbado in Falstaff but Toscanini is great too and has, as you mentioned, historical link to Verdi.
Good stuff! I am hooked on your presentations, enjoying them all. But I must note: You picked Wagner's birthday to offer us Verdi? All good and enjoyable as usual. So I suppose on 10 October we will get Wagner?
I don't care about birthdays. I had no idea and never would have noticed.
Bravo! Re Traviata there are no discussions: C. Kleiber - end of story.
Dave, you said that the new Pappano recording was great. Were you referring to the 5-act French version available on both CD and DVD, or to the DVD of the 5-act Italian version?
CD.
Wow, I had not heard the Nillson, Bergonzi, Solti "Un Ballo In Maschera" so I listened earlier today. First the orchestra really does nail this and I love the singing.
How many tam-tams do you own?
I don't know. A couple of dozen?
I can’t seem to find the Toscanini recording of Falstaff - what one or two alternatives would you recommend?
In case Dave doesn't see this and respond, he had very high praise in a previous video for Abbado's Falstaff on DG with the Berlin Phil from around 2000 with Bryn Terfel as Falstaff. I have it and like it very much. It is available very cheap used.
The Toscanini Falstaff is very classic, although there have been a lot of good efforts. Two schools-- the 'stress the long line' version, and the 'bounce up and down'. But AT fuses the best of both even if there are other choices. Favorites: early Karajan. The Salzburg Toscanini is very different and worth hearing for Stabile and the Vienna Phil. The Solti video is good; can't comment on his later one with Berlin. I never really clicked with Bernstein and his followers (Levine, et al). But I may try again.
I found another Mahler in the first act of Luisa Miller, the first scene in Walter's castle, basses and cellos cut a very similar figure to that at the beginning of the fifth movement of Mahler's second. What you think about Luisa MIller? The version with Cabelle is georgeous.
Dave, Gramophone gave a poor review to the Sinopoli recording of Nabucco, primarily because of Sinopoli's stop-and-go tempi. They preferred the Lamberto Gardelli recording, with Tito Gobbi in the title role and Elena Suliotis as Abigaille. Have you heard this Gardelli recording, and what did you think of it?
Yes, I have it. It's much less exciting, but it was the best option before Sinopoli came along.
I like your Lohengroan...
Thank you.
To start with: that‘s the most beautiful tamtam-sound I ever heard. That would be the instrument for „Das Lied von der Erde“.
Now, Verdi: I have nothing to add concerning the 12, with the exception that I know, how good Toscanini is in „Falstaff“, but I prefer Bernstein, because of his drive, the flexibility of his tempi and the chamber music-like clearness of the orchestra. If I where a conductor, I would try to perform that marvellous work just so.
But I differ in the 3 additional works - not with „Simon Boccanegra“, which is one of my most loved Verdi-operas, but with the other two. One of my favourites of early Verdi is „I Lombardi“. I like the energy of this piece, the harsh sound of wind and brass, written without any sophistication (it seems). I would plead for the fresh and lively recording of Lamberto Gardelli.
And then there is „Les vêpres siciliennes“, which became more and more one of my Verdi-jewels, because it‘s, in my opinion, one of his richest scores, including the belcanto of earlier periods, the italian form of musikdrama and that great symphonic piece, called „ballet“, and, of course, I would recommend the recording by Riccardo Muti, because it‘s dramatic and very straightforward.
I was agonizing over the Vespers--but I like the RCA if only because if features Martina Arroyo, one of the truly great Verdi sopranos, and sadly underrepresented on disc.
@@DavesClassicalGuide That I well understand...!
“The Sicilian Vespers” is a wonderful piece, and I too like the Muti version. I also treasure my off-air recording of the first night of that production at La Scala, when Merritt and Studer were both booed mercilessly in the final act, sometimes (in the case of Merritt) while he was actually singing. Hugely disrespectful of course, but indicative of the emotional extremes to which live opera can - thankfully - drive us. The radio commentator thought that the claque was annoyed by the choice of non-Italian singers for the two leading roles, but I would add that Merritt’s falsetto singing sounded quite odd from a singer who is described (on Wikipedia) as a “baritenor”, and that Studer sounded (understandably) tired and hence strained in the bolero.
Your pick for Trovatore is also mine. For Macbeth, my choice is the Abbado recording, largely due to the presence of my favorite mezzo, Shirley Verrett, who is a great Lady Macbeth. She also appears in my choice for Luisa Miller, along with Anna Moffo, Carlo Bergonzi, Giorgio Tozzi, Cornell MacNeil, and Ezio Flagello, conducted by Fausto Cleva on RCA. Nabucco is one of my two favorite Verdi operas (the other being Rigoletto) and I am partial to the Gardelli recording with Tito Gobbi and Elena Suliotis. There's also a 1960 highlights disc of Nabucco from the Netherlands, notable mostly for Anita Cerquetti's portrayal of Abigaille.
Ah, Anita Cerquetti, the nightingale of the Rome DMV!
Dave, can you please list 5 operas by any composer that you cannot live without? I'm just starting to appreciate opera and want to know the grand daddies.
Re Verdi’s plots, look at the bright side-without them we wouldn’t have had Gilbert and Sullivan.
Bringing out and Ideal Verdi list on Wagner’s birthday, oh the irony!!!
Most of the Parsifal fanatics don’t have time to argue amongst each other, mainly because they’re organising an angry mob against that one weird Director who decided to completely change the setting from the seat of the Grail, to a post-apocalyptic mental hospital, in outer space!
Wouldn't the normal production be the exception nowadays?
One weird director? As far as I can make out there are dozens of the buggers! They've spread from Germany to Vienna and the Met. Somebody needs to build a wall!
I'd like to get into Verdi's operas, though I don't really have the shelf-space for it! Unfortunately, a lot of these deluxe opera sets produced by major labels (which actually include the libretto) are no longer in print.
Same goes for Puccini, e.g. Mehta's Turandot is no longer in print.
Unbelievable!
Dave, most enjoyable :) I hope you're not mad at me for my remarks about Webern and Feldman. I love Verdi and I collected the second attempt by Universal to put out all his operas (including that fascinating one set in Peru!) But all of your choices are fabulous and I do have the Toscanini recordings as well. I'm no expert but I haven't heard anyone make the Verdi/ Mahler connection so clearly and it should make anyone think and rethink. Kudos to you in standing up to the general trashing of Fischer-Dieskau in this sort of thing. Like we'd be so lucky these days! I met him (and his wife Julia) once at the Edinburgh Festival and they were absolutely charming. I'm slightly surprised you didn't include Simon Boccanegra, which in its revised version is surely one of the most striking Verdi scores. But I know you'd have recommended the Abbado recording for this. Or maybe you wouldn't have?
" I hope you're not mad at me for my remarks about Webern and Feldman." I can`t find these remarks among the comments here?
You must not have listened to the end of the video because the Abbado Boccanegra was the last one he covered.
@@Don-md6wn Thats my fault as I assumed he was doing them in sequence!
@@soavemusica hmm they are there under the Webern episode from a few days ago
@@murraylow4523 He included Boccanegra in his miscellaneous group of 3 at the end because the revisions make it hard to classify into one period.
This is amazing. I have virtually every recording on this list and as an out of fashion FD nut, I am so pleased to see an American praise his Rigoletto. It is a stunning choice. Good call for the Muti Macbeth but worth noting that the 2cd set leaves some alternative arias out from the LP set. Can't fault your choices, especially the Cotrubas/Kleiber Traviata and I differ only by preferring the Mehta Trovatore and the other Bergonzi Ballo, the Leinsdorf. Really unpretentious video and the Mahler connection is a revelation and a calling out of Mahler snobs who never listen to the sort of music that Mahler conducted. Thanks for such a great video and allowing Fischer-Dieskau to sing Italian opera with intellect.
DFD’s best Verdi role, I think, is Rodrigo in Don Carlo. He can Bergonzi balance well in the duet on the Solti recording. And in the 4th act ensemble before o Don fatale, his lighter quality works better for tracking the voices in the ensemble
Dear Dave,
I think I should write here my list of ideal recordings just for the sake of comparison of this great music.
(I write the operas where I find myself strongly disagree with you. but it's a matter of taste) and I would like to hear your opinion
Ernani - Sutherland, Pavarotti : Bonynge
Macbeth - Callas, Penno, Mascherini : De Sabata
Rigoletto - Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes : Bonynge
La Traviata - Sutherland, Bregonzi, Merrill : Pritchard
Il Trovatore - Tebaldi, Del Monaco : Erede
Un Ballo in Maschera - Pavarotti, Tebaldi : Bartoletti
Aida - Corelli, Nilsson : Mehta
Otello - Tebaldi, Del Monaco : Karajan
what do you think about this list?
I think if you like it then it's fine. You have to enjoy your choices.
@@DavesClassicalGuide can’t agree more, thanks for your videos! They are absolutely great!!
My ideal list (stereo-studio-recordings):
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO - Schippers 1964
FALSTAFF - Bernstein 1966
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA - Leinsdorf 1966
ERNANI - Schippers 1967
OTELLO - Barbirolli 1968
IL TROVATORE - Mehta 1969
AIDA - Leinsdorf 1970
MACBETH - Gardelli 1970
RIGOLETTO - Bonynge 1971
LA TRAVIATA - Kleiber 1977
One of my favorite Verdi operas is the 1981 revision of SIMON BOCCENEGRA which many might not choose or are even familiar with. By 1881 Verdi was a fully matured master & the changes he made from the original more than 20 years before resulted in a masterpiece on par with his best works, IMO. Aside from IL LACERATO SPIRITO it is not known for its familiar or popular arias & the title character does not even have one but the musical & dramatic structure are compensation enough, I feel. There is the COUNCIL CHAMBER SCENE at the end of Act 2 that is a truly monumental moment. Another is the incredibly moving recognition scene between Simon & Amelia that, I feel, is the most moving father/daughter duet that Verdi ever composed. The Violetta/ Germont scene is of comparable quality but has no such familial connection between the two characters. I felt that since SIMON BOCCENEGRA is relatively under appreciated by the public that it needed a boost since so far in the above commentary I have yet to see it referred to.
I agree with you. Thank you for the plug.
Dave, as I see this video for what it might be the third time already, I was thinking about recordings of Rigoletto, and (after some research) was surpised to see that Karajan didn't do a comercial recording of the work (apparently did not even conduct it after 1929). Being that Karajan took pride on recording anything and everything, why do you (and the rest of the comment section) think he left such a masterpiece out??
I wouldn't recommend the Bernstein Falstaff with DF-D in the title role: he's brilliant in it, but one of the sopranos is out-and-out slightly flat in the glorious Windsor woods nymph-elf-and-fairy attack scene (and for most of the rest of the recording, too, to be honest). It's ear-wincing. I long ago consigned it to my overflow hard disk and now prefer the Karajan 1956 recording, with the likes of Gobbi, Luigi Alva, and Elizabeth Schwarzkopf. In general, I found it interesting to see how many of your top recommendations were from the 1970s or earlier. It seems they stopped doing good Verdi blockbuster recordings around the dawn of the 1980s! Anyway: that Simon Boccanegra was the very first CD I ever purchased, and I agree it's a scorcher :)
I miss Vespri! I love that music and unfortunately it's badly served on disc. Maybe someday...
Petition for Dave to sing Va Pensiero 😂
I’d sign it!
@@mercedes932 Ummmmm........
I absolutely love the Kleiber Traviata. But the studio tuned high C from Domingo at the end of „Annina donde, vieni“ is so embarrassing...Why didn‘t he just transposed this? It‘s not shameful, if you can‘t sing a high note. Just don‘t fuzz around with it.
True!!
That’s why I prefer the Sutherland Bergonzi one! The singing there is absolutely superb
Sutherland Bergonzi?
@@francoisjoubert6867 yes yes.
I’m sorry, I confused it with Sutherland cioni one, live recording from 1964.
You’re right. Sutherland bregonzi - isn’t it just superb?
It is one of my go-to Traviatas. After the Callas Lisbon and London recordings. I also have a soft spot for Sutherland 2 - which is how I got to learn the opera, on LP!
Great list as always, David. But I have to disagree with you on Don Carlo. For me, the liability of the Giulini recording, great as it is, is the Phillip/Inquisitor duet. I don't want to mention names, but the bass playing the Inquisitor was mediocre at best. For that reason primarily, I have to put Solti's version above it. Not only because his cast (Bergonzi, Tebaldi, Fischer-Diskeau and Bumbry) I feel is equal to Giulini's, but the aforementioned duet with Nicolai Ghiarurov and Martti Talvela is second to none! Absolutely thrilling!
Fair enough. I don't disagree, but I still feel Giulini has the edge for both conducting and sonics (and the women).
Live Scala 1968 (Abbado conducting) also has Ghiaurov/Talvela. Abbado is the one to get if you are looking for smokin-hot live Don Carlo, par none.
Agree you re: the basses but both Tebaldi (past her prime) and Fischer-Dieskau (completely miscast) are no match for Caballe and Milnes on the Giuliani.
Giulini! Not that ...other ..."person".
I'm glad you mentioned Cheryl Studer. I've always enjoyed her voice. I'm not sure what happened to her though. She seems to have just evaporated.
Her voice certainly did. She was a great favorite in Munich, and after the major labels imploded and she sang herself raw she contented herself basically with a regional career in Germany, singing bit parts and mezzo-soprano roles, with the occasional recital or musical theater appearance. She also teaches and gives masterclasses.
Thanks for the update. Sounds like some unfortunate circumstances and perhaps lack of good self-care ruined her career.
@@markmiller3713 I don't think her career was ruined, exactly. She knew she was overextending herself, but as she said to me when I asked her about it--basically--the labels are going nuts making records, I may never have another chance to sing these roles, and if it's not me it will just be someone else, so why not just do it? She had a point.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I’ve always liked her Salome with Sinopoli
I have a very soft spot for 'I Due Foscari': it has a very distinctive 'watery' (Venetian) tinta. No masterpiece, but extremely beautiful.
I think it's a terrific piece--colorful, as you say, and compact.
To me, this is perhaps the saddest of all operas
With that tam tam you look like a masonic gran maestro..great, as usual!!
Interesting quote of Thomas Mann, many thanks. Sadly, that comment of yours only appears in my notifications. Perhaps it was not considered relevant, whereas this one was, in which case the moderation would be rather heavy-handed.
Right next to Rigoletto, Traviata, and Trovatore, Verdi composed Stiffelio--a peculiar story (about a Swiss evangelical pastor and his relationship problems), but much of the music is on a par with the other three contemporaneous operas, at any rate to my hearing
Agreed, and it's actually a good story.
For the record, It’s Ezio the baritone, not Forresto, who says Leave Italy to me
Nabucco: Gobbi with Gardelli.
Ernani: Muti with Freni and Domingo live
Macbeth: Leinsdorf; Warren, Rysanek
Rigoletto: Callas Gobbi DiStefano, Bergonzi’s refinement is a detriment Traviata: 1962 Scotto recording on DG with Gianni Raimondi and Bastianini who are absolutely phenomenal and shes absolutely on fire in the best way imaginable. Off the beaten path choice, but it’s worth listening to, better than her later recording.
Trovatore: Corelli, Merrill, Schippers
Ballo: Leinsdorf; Bergonzi Price
Forza: Early Price, Tucker Merrill and Schippers
Don Carlo 5 act French: It’s GREAT in French and it has the duet that was cut that Verdi recycled as the lacrymosa in the requiem. I love that the new recoding is 25 years old
I think Giulini isn’t at his best, it has too many moments that lack dramatic tension and you can’t do that in such a long piece.
Aida: Price, Solti, Duh
Otello: Del Monaco, Tebaldi and Karajan (best storm ever)
Falstaff: Gobbi is awesome. Enough said.
Il Corsaro: Gardelli, Carreras, Caballe, Jessye Norman. great tunes, great singing, SOOO much fun!
Luisa Miller: Moffo. God she had a great voice.
I Vespri Siciliani: Great singing, awful plot, another one where they die at the end in a blaze of glory.
Arroyo (so underrated) Domingo, Levine
Also worth hearing, Callas and Erich Kleiber live. She just steals the entire show.
Whoops! Foresto says "Leave Brooklyn to me!"
@@DavesClassicalGuide Next year in Brooklyn?
I’m probably on the minority, but I’ve always preferred the 4-act version of Don Carlo. It starts straight to the point (or tragedy), has a more compelling aria for Don Carlo, and it isn’t as boring as the five-act version. I dunno… I think it’s a case of a happy accident. For the 4 act version, a great live recording features Franco Corelli and Gundula Janowitz, conducted by Horst Stein.
Both are more enjoyable than the ("more authentic") French language version with the inevitably tedious ballet (demanded by the French)
Should be Gustav III.
Same difference.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Not for us: he and hus mom introduced Culture to Sweden!
Big difference.
Gustav the second started the thirty years war and it was not he that ended it. Gustav the third introduced opera in Sweden.
I want to know who the 5 people are who drop by to dislike these videos. My strategy is not to watch channels I don’t like, but maybe I’m missing out on the thrill of being outraged. They should start their own channel of reviews of Hurwitz reviews. It would be like a channel where Hurwitz reviews period instrument records of the Beethoven Ninth.
Except that I'm right and they would not be.
😆 I listened to some of Suzuki’s period instrument Ninth, which you pilloried in your review, and you’re right, that one is bad. I was thinking about acquired taste, which is by definition what an art form is. If you hear a symphony played, how can you know if the performance was good, or poor, or mediocre, or great? Only by having heard many other performances, so that you have sufficient frame of reference and can compare it to your memory of them. That’s not say that someone who doesn’t know symphonic music might not enjoy their experience the rare time they hear it, but without having acquired sufficient frame of reference it’s not possible to grasp what the performers were trying to do, or how successfully they did it, or how apt those choices were. The performers were speaking a foreign language that you don’t understand, even if you enjoyed hearing them speak it. So I think that’s a problem in talking about how good or bad music is. Someone who hasn’t acquired the ability to judge says, “I enjoyed it,” then the next guy says, “That was the wrong way to interpret that kind of music, though,” and the first guy says, “What kind of snob are you? If I enjoyed it, then it’s good.” They’re talking about two different things. To be very honest, I can see that I was being that first guy in some cases when I’ve heard you critique certain performances. For example, Hogwood’s Haydn cycle was my first experience of many of those symphonies, and in some cases Hogwood’s are still the only performance of specific Haydn symphonies that I know. Perhaps I liked them only because of Haydn’s contribution to those records, despite Hogwood having failed for his part. But how do we know when we disagree because one of us is better able to judge and one is not, and when it’s legitimate difference in taste?
Del Monaco is almost never fun🙉
Sorry but I had to stop when he wasn’t even sure if Nabucco was Verd’s 2nd or 3rd opera!!! (It was his third)
A for accuracy. D for priorities.
Wow were SOOOO impressed. NOT!!! 💙🇫🇷🎶🎼🎵🍷 Arnold Bourbon Amaral
So you missed the best bits
Well, when it comes to the plots or texts, you could regularly say silly and pathetic, all made worse by the theatrical directors of contemporary enlightenment, and the school of resentment, and the toilets on stage, but the music, the music. With recordings, it`s so nice to avoid the directors, and thanks to the beauty, they may sing phone books, or cannoli recipes. Whatever, my eyes are closed, anyway.
A very fine point indeed. Violetta in jeans just isn’t the same.
That's pretty much what Dave says as well in the video too, you're preaching to the choir 😅