What are you listening two?

[Seán]

Giuseppe Verdi
Falstaff Acts One & Two
Sir John Falstaff - Bryn Terfel
Ford - Thomas Hampson
Fenton - Daniil Shtoda
Dr Cajus - Enrico Facini
Bardolfo - Anthony Mee
Pistola - Anatoli Kotscherga
Mrs Alice Ford - Adrianne Pieczonka
Nannetta - Dorothea Röschmann
Mrs Quickly - Larissa Diadkova
Mrs Meg Page - Stella Doufexis
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado conducting.

This is a hugely enjoyable opera. I haven't got a clue what they are singing about as I can't find an English translation, never mind, it is great music, the singing is wonderful, it is beautifully recorded and the BPO are magnificent. This is another one of Maestro Abbado's great achievements.

[fergus]

Giuseppe Verdi
Falstaff Acts One & Two
Sir John Falstaff - Bryn Terfel
Ford - Thomas Hampson
Fenton - Daniil Shtoda
Dr Cajus - Enrico Facini
Bardolfo - Anthony Mee
Pistola - Anatoli Kotscherga
Mrs Alice Ford - Adrianne Pieczonka
Nannetta - Dorothea Röschmann
Mrs Quickly - Larissa Diadkova
Mrs Meg Page - Stella Doufexis
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado conducting.

This is a hugely enjoyable opera. I haven't got a clue what they are singing about as I can't find an English translation, never mind, it is great music, the singing is wonderful, it is beautifully recorded and the BPO are magnificent. This is another one of Maestro Abbado's great achievements.

This should help Seán with all that you need. Scroll down a few pages for the libretto in English....


http://www.operaphila.org/sites/default ... bguide.pdf

[Seán]

This should help Seán with all that you need. Scroll down a few pages for the libretto in English....

http://www.operaphila.org/sites/default ... bguide.pdf

Many thanks for that Fergus. It is a fine document. I am looking for the complete Italian libretto with the English translation, side by side.

[Jose Echenique]

Giuseppe Verdi
Falstaff Acts One & Two
Sir John Falstaff - Bryn Terfel
Ford - Thomas Hampson
Fenton - Daniil Shtoda
Dr Cajus - Enrico Facini
Bardolfo - Anthony Mee
Pistola - Anatoli Kotscherga
Mrs Alice Ford - Adrianne Pieczonka
Nannetta - Dorothea Röschmann
Mrs Quickly - Larissa Diadkova
Mrs Meg Page - Stella Doufexis
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado conducting.

This is a hugely enjoyable opera. I haven't got a clue what they are singing about as I can't find an English translation, never mind, it is great music, the singing is wonderful, it is beautifully recorded and the BPO are magnificent. This is another one of Maestro Abbado's great achievements.

The only problem with Abbado´s Falstaff is Bryn Terfel. Falstaff is one of the greatest roles ever composed: an Elizabethan rogue, a vulgar womanizer, abusive and totally adorable. It´s a peach of a role, but oh, so difficult to sing! Bryn Terfel always seemed a natural for the role, he certainly has the looks and the voice, but sadly something went very bad. Perhaps he was too young and inexperienced, heaven knows, but he misses a lot of tricks. I have seen his Falstaff on dvd and he does much better in latter performances, but sadly at the time of the recording he was not quite ready, and a recording of Falstaff without a Falstaff has a problem. Even in the digital era other recordings are better sung: Karajan recorded the work with 2 of the greatest exponents of the roles of Falstaff and Ford: Giuseppe Taddei and Rolando Panerai, both well above 50 but still in superb voice. Even the early 80´s DG version with Giulini has more seasoned and idiomatic baritones in Renato Bruson and Leo Nucci. On paper the duo of Terfel and Hampson looked tempting, unfortunately it was a disappointment. Maybe that´s why Abbado never recorded Otello, quite simply there was no great Otello around.

[markof]

While still on my Mozart jag - listened to this marvel last night.

To quote Arkiv
"Without qualification, this music is infectious, full of personality and wit and charm and dramatic interest, and in his selection of music from each opera Bernardini’s aim was not to in some way “recreate the dramatic tension of the opera” nor to give a “modern view of the works”, but rather to “build up a well-balanced instrumental suite for concert performance.” And that’s exactly what we get here: the skillful scoring captures all of the color and nuance of the original versions, and the playing, by musicians from some of Europe’s finest baroque orchestras, is a model of exemplary ensemble."

[fergus]

This should help Seán with all that you need. Scroll down a few pages for the libretto in English....

http://www.operaphila.org/sites/default ... bguide.pdf

Many thanks for that Fergus. It is a fine document. I am looking for the complete Italian libretto with the English translation, side by side.

At your service my friend....


http://www.teatroallascala.org/includes ... lstaff.pdf

[fergus]

Very nice Mark; that looks like an interesting one!

[Seán]

Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 9
London Symphony Orchestra
István Kertész

I bought this complete set of Dvořák symphonies for two reasons: because I wanted to listen to music conducted by Kertész and to have performances of symphonies 1 to 5. I have started with my favourite work his Ninth. This is a lovely performance by the LSO. The woodwind sound particularly good almost CPO like. This is hugely enjoyable but I prefer Kubelik's recording with the BPO.

[mcq]

Giuseppe Verdi
Falstaff Acts One & Two
Sir John Falstaff - Bryn Terfel
Ford - Thomas Hampson
Fenton - Daniil Shtoda
Dr Cajus - Enrico Facini
Bardolfo - Anthony Mee
Pistola - Anatoli Kotscherga
Mrs Alice Ford - Adrianne Pieczonka
Nannetta - Dorothea Röschmann
Mrs Quickly - Larissa Diadkova
Mrs Meg Page - Stella Doufexis
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado conducting.

This is a hugely enjoyable opera. I haven't got a clue what they are singing about as I can't find an English translation, never mind, it is great music, the singing is wonderful, it is beautifully recorded and the BPO are magnificent. This is another one of Maestro Abbado's great achievements.

I adore Falstaff.  It's one of the most richly characterised of all of Verdi's works and one of the most rewarding.  It is also the most succinct, most concise example of Verdi's dramatic genius.  It is very funny but, like all farce, there are dark, tragic undercurrents rippling underneath its light, frothy exterior.  However deserving Falstaff may be of his public humiliation, the closing scene is notable for its cruelty and the unabashed glee on the part of the onlookers.  It is Verdi's lasting achievement that he makes us feel compassion for such an outwardly dislikeable character.  The deep, wounding hurt Falstaff has experienced is real and lasting and, whilst he may appear to rationalise the situation as a tremendous jest for all concened,  there is nevertheless a palpable sense of weary desperation and a blinking away of tears as, perhaps for the first time, he sees himself as a rapidly ageing fool whose time has past.

Tito Gobbi's superb characterisation under von Karajan is the most well known but I'm very fond of Geraint Evans' performance in Solti's first version.  I've also greatly enjoyed Rolando Panerai under Colin Davis's direction and Renato Bruson in Giulini's inspired version.  I'm rather more enthusiastic about Abbado's version than Pepe but that is mainly because of the insightful conducting and sense of ensemble than any individual performances.  Terfel was better under Bernard Haitink in a live DVD from Covent Garden.  Perhaps the best modern Falstaff is Ambrogio Maestri.  I'm very fond of a DVD version of Falstaff with Maestri that was conducted by Riccardo Muti at a small theatre in Busseto.  

[Jose Echenique]

Ambrogio Maestri is definitely a born Falstaff, and he looks the role like no other, he is enormous! and of course he does more with the words than Terfel. You are right, Terfel did much better later in life, a great pity he was no not quite there when he made the recording.