Rossini - Semiramide / Studer, Larmore, Ramey, Arévalo, Marin

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
If your priority in a recording of Semiramide is to hear as many of the original notes as possible, this version is a better bet than the famed Sutherland-Horne set. But if it's to hear exciting singin-- at least from the womenfolk--this one suffers in comparison. Soprano Cheryl Studer as the murderous queen and Jennifer Larmore as her unwitting son sing well, and have a memorable blend in their duets, but they suffer in comparison with the classic. On the other hand, it's a shame that the performances of Frank Lopardo and Samuel Ramey couldn't be transplanted to the London recording; they're the standouts here. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Rossini - Semiramide / Studer, Larmore, Ramey, Arévalo, Marin, Music, Gioachino Rossini, Cheryl Studer, Samuel Ramey, Octavio Arevalo, Jennifer Larmore, Julie Faulkner, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Classical, Classical Music, Italian Romantic Opera, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta

Rossini - Semiramide / Studer, Larmore, Ramey, Arévalo, Marin
Average customer rating:

Breathed by Divine Command

Five stars, considering....

The greatest Semiramide on record!

Finally, a thoroughly brilliant Semiramide

Larmore and Studer are both fine in this recording

Rossini - Semiramide / Studer, Larmore, Ramey, Arévalo, Marin
Gioachino Rossini , Cheryl Studer , Samuel Ramey , Octavio Arevalo , Jennifer Larmore , Julie Faulkner , and Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001GIZ
Release Date: 1994-04-12

Tracks:

Semiramide: Sinfonia
Semiramide: Act One: N.1 Introduzione - Si, gran Nume: t'intesi (Oroe)
Semiramide: Act One: N.1 Introduzione - Belo si celebri, Belo si onori (Coro)
Semiramide: Act One: N.1 Introduzione - La dal Gange (Idreno, Coro, Assur, Oroe)
Semiramide: Act One: N.1 Introduzione - Di plausi clamor giulivo echeggia (Coro)
Semiramide: Act One: N.1 Introduzione - Di tanti regi e popoli (Oroe, Idreno, Assur, Semiramide)
Semiramide: Act One: N.1 Introduzione - Reginia, all'ara (Assur, Semiramide, Idreno, Oroe, Coro)
Semiramide: Act One: Recitativo - Oh tu de' Magi (Semiramide, Oroe, Idreno, Assur)
Semiramide: Act One: N.2 Recitativo e Cavatina - Eccomi alfine in Babilonia (Arsace)
Semiramide: Act One: N.2 Recitativo e Cavatina - Ah, quel giorno ognor rammento (Arsace)
Semiramide: Act One: N.2 Recitativo e Cavatina - Oh, come da quel di tutto per me cangio! (Arsace)
Semiramide: Act One: Recitativo - Ministri, al gran Pontefice (Arsace, Oroe, Assur)
Semiramide: Act One: N.3 Duetto - Bella immago degli Dei (Arsace, Assur)
Semiramide: Act One: N.3 Duetto - D'un tenero amore (Arsace, Assur)
Semiramide: Act One: N.3 Duetto - Io tremar? Di te? (Arsace, Assur)

Tracks:

Semiramide: Act One: N.4 Scena e Aria - Oh! me felice! (Azema, Idreno)
Semiramide: Act One: N.4 Scena e Aria - Ah! dov'dov'l cimento (Idreno)
Semiramide: Act One: N.4 Scena e Aria - E, se ancor libero (Idreno)
Semiramide: Act One:Recitativo - Se non avesse e meritasse (Arsace)
Semiramide: Act One: N.5 Coro di donne e Cavatina - Serena i vaghi rai (Coro)
Semiramide: Act One: N.5 Coro di donne e Cavatina - Bel raggio lusinghier (Semiramide)
Semiramide: Act One: N.5 Coro di donne e Cavatina - Dolce pensiero (Semiramide)
Semiramide: Act One: Recitativo - Niene ancor! (Semiramide, Mitrane, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act One: N.6 Duettino - Serbami ognor sido il cor (Semiramide, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act One: N.6 Duettino - Alle pie immagini (Semiramide, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act One: Recitativo - Oroe dal tempio nella reggia (Assur, Oroe)
Semiramide: Act One: Finale I - Ergi omai la fronte altera (Cori)
Semiramide: Act One: Finale I - I vostri voti omai (Tutti)
Semiramide: Act One: Finale I - L'alto eroe (Tutti)
Semiramide: Act One: Finale I - Qual mesto gemito (Tutti)
Semiramide: Act One: Finale I - D'un semidio che adoro (Tutti, l'Obra di Nino)
Semiramide: Act One: Finale I - Ah! sconvolta nell'ordine eterno (Tutti)
Semiramide: Act Two: Recitativo - Alla Reggia d'intorno cauto (Mitrane, Semiramide, Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.8 Duetto - Duetto, Se la vita ancor t'ara (Semiramide, Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.8 Duetto - Quella ricordati (Semiramide, Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.8 Duetto - La forza primiera (Semiramide, Assur)

Tracks:

Semiramide: Act Two: N.9 Coro, Scena e Aria - In questo augusto soggiorno (Coro, di Magi, Oroe)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.9 Coro, Scena e Aria - Ebben, compiasi omai (Arsace, Oroe)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.9 Coro, Scena e Aria - In si barbara sciagura (Arsace)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.9 Coro, Scena e Aria - Su, ti scuoti: rammenta chi sei (Oroe, Coro di Magi, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act Two: Recitativo - Calmati, Principessa (Mitrane, Azema, Idreno)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.10 Aria - La speranza piu soave (Idreno, Cori)
Semiramide: Act Two: Recitativo - No: non ti lascio (Semiramide, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.11 Duetto - Ebben, a te: ferisci (Semiramide, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.11 Duetto - Giorno d'orror! (Semiramide, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.11 Duetto - Madre, addio (Semiramide, Arsace)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.12 Scena, Coro e Aria - Il di gia cade (Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.12 Scena, Coro e Aria - Ah! la sorte ci tradi (Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.12 Scena, Coro e Aria - Deh! ... ti ferma ... ti placa ... perdona ... (Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.12 Scena, Coro e Aria - Que' Numi furenti (Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: Recitativo - Oh! nero eccesso (Mitrane)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.13 Finale II - Un traditor (Coro di Magi)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.13 Finale II - Qual densa notte! (Arsace, Oroe, Assur, Semiramide)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.13 Finale II - Al mio pregar t'arrendi (Semiramide, Arsace, Assur)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.13 Finale II - L'usato ardir (Assur, Arsace, Semiramide)
Semiramide: Act Two: N.13 Finale II - Ninia, ferisci! (Oroe, Assur, Arsace, Semiramide, Cori)

Amazon.com

If your priority in a recording of Semiramide is to hear as many of the original notes as possible, this version is a better bet than the famed Sutherland-Horne set. But if it's to hear exciting singin-- at least from the womenfolk--this one suffers in comparison. Soprano Cheryl Studer as the murderous queen and Jennifer Larmore as her unwitting son sing well, and have a memorable blend in their duets, but they suffer in comparison with the classic. On the other hand, it's a shame that the performances of Frank Lopardo and Samuel Ramey couldn't be transplanted to the London recording; they're the standouts here. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Customer Reviews:

Breathed by Divine Command.......2006-09-28

This is my favorite Rossini opera and one of the best recordings I have ever heard. The work demonstrates that, without changing his basic style, Rossini could abandon comedy for a serious plot in a dignified setting. The impression I get is that Italian cultural Catholicism serves as a bridge back to the theocratic world of ancient Mesopotamia. The work offers a heroic plot bottomed in a powerful sense of the authority of organized religion. The overall effect is analogous to Verdi's Aida set in ancient Egypt; and I prefer Semiramide because it is free from the taint of elegiac collapse that colored most European serious music in the wake of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde after 1865. Rossini's comic brightness turns into heroic brightness; and his "temperament of a hack" does not diminish the grandeur of the work at any point. By coincidence, perhaps, the main theme of the overture resembles our evangelical song "Take Time to Be Holy." Instead of taking its time Rossini's muse charges ahead but on the wings of a presuppositional religious consensus. As in Aida a characteristic Italian word of the libretto is "nume," a word for a god suggestive of authoritative spiritual power as in the inscription of Raphael's allegorical figure of Poetry-- "Numine afflatur," "breathed by divine command."

Five stars, considering...........2005-12-20

Yes, Sutherland's voice is built for coloratura, but I believe that Studer is more what Rossini had in mind for this role. (Moreover, I'd rather not have her husband conducting her, but that's another review.)

The DVD with Anderson/Horne/Ramey/et al is worth it because there is a dearth of recorded Semiramides (as well as staged ones). My big quarrel with Anderson is her stiffness, both physically and vocally. That said, she does get all the notes right. And the production is only opulent (even if the costuming, while stunning, flies in the face of the time-frame).

There is a "best" recording around if you're lucky enough to find someone who taped it (I'm hearing it as I write and I apologize for bringing it up, but...). Semiramide is Nelly Miricioiu, who is superb, although if you want fiery ornamention, you need to look elsewhere. Daniela Barcellona is the Arsace, her voice something dark and wonderful although not so flexible as Horne, perhaps a shade better than Larmore, although I have no quarrel with any of these Arsaces. Gregory Kunde is Idreno, Michele Pertusi, Assur -- both are accomplished. I could pick away, but this IS the best of the lot and not even commercial. It is live from Geneva, 1998, conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti.

I'm sure I'm going to get a slap somewhere on my body for mentioning this recording; I can handle it. Just be on the lookout for it and ask your opera friends, etc.

Nancy Eckert

The greatest Semiramide on record! .......2005-04-16

Although the presence of the Sutherland-Horne set outshadows this recording of the Babylonian queen, I would inarguably declare that this recording is the supreme rendition of Rossini's last opera seria. True, the two main prima donnas of the former recording have vocal facilities that are the stuff that Rossinian dreams are made of, but Studer and Larmore could hold themselves well against these two vocal giants. Studer sings the murderous queen with Rossinian brilliance and drama and excellent diction! And even if Larmore doesn't have the gutsy, manly qualities of Marilyn Horne's voice, handles the coloratura and the lines of Arsace amazingly well. And then there are the prime male singers--Frank Lopardo and Samuel Ramey. These two vocal miracles can easily outsing the tenor and the bass starring in the other recording by Joan Sutherland, and they both sing with the proper style required by Rossini's music. The conductor, Marin, conducts this performance exponentially better than Bonynge ever could--with passion and Rossinian style! Which one would I recommend? I really don't know...if you are a fan of Dame Joan, get her Semiramide recording, but admittedly, I would look to this first because it showcases Rossini's last Italian opera at its musical best (and complete too!).

Finally, a thoroughly brilliant Semiramide.......2005-04-14

Note-complete and very well sung, I doubt that Rossini's Semiramide has received a better performance since the days of Grisi and Lablache. This was Rossini's last Italian opera, and his greatest, grandest opera seria. A truly grandiose performance was very much needed, and here it is!

No, it's not a very Italianate performance. Cheryl Studer's carefully placed voice and well-supervised Kopftöne suggest a very high-level performance in 19th Century Vienna or Dresden rather than Venice or Milan, and Larmore, whose plummy "I-have-a-hot-potato-in-my-mouth" timbre reminds me of Risë Stevens, will never make me forget the unique Marilyn Horne; but both singers have good voices and brilliant techniques, and they really reach the heights in the famous duet Giorno d' orrore, which Adelina Patti and Sofia Scalchi used to turn 19th century heads with.

Excellent as the women are, their contributions must be seen in contrast with the never-to-be-replicated Sutherland/Horne performance on DECCA. That recording's male cast, however, can't hold a candle to this one, and this is where this DGG production hits a bull's eye. Sam Ramey is simply superb as Assur, turning every Rossinian phrase with an authority and a vocal grace that have to be heard to be believed. Lopardo, though not perhaps a star, sings Idreno's unbelievably difficult, florid obstacle courses with real brilliance and, again, vocal grace: if it can't be made to sound easy, it is no use trying it. WHAT singing!

Ion Marin is a fast-and-steady modern metronome, not as "blatant" or "callow" as he has been portrayed in the English press (the fact that this recording was made in London, but does not involve any English individuals, a plus in my book, probably irritated some of their notoriously patriotic critics) but I do prefer Richard Bonynge's more sensitive, more romantic, more expressively molded phrasing on DECCA. Marin, however, is leading an absolutely note-complete performance, and sometimes one does feel a need to just get on with it! He has, at any rate, a faultless cast going at full steam.

The recorded sound is good, and the English orchestra and chorus are thoroughly competent. A MAJOR accomplishment.

Larmore and Studer are both fine in this recording.......2003-12-19

This recording of "Semiramide" is note-complete and features a stunning cast of opera singers. Cheryl Studer is a fine Semiramide and Jennifer Larmore is a great Arsace. Samuel Ramey is a fine Assur with wonderful coloratura. Both Studer and Larmore have fine coloratura techniques and can stand beside Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne as the murderous Babylonian queen and her son. While Studer has a smaller and less luscious voice than Sutherland has, her diction is noticeably clearer than Sutherland's. Larmore's coloratura technique is clearer than Horne's and she doesn't machine-gun the coloratura like Horne does. Also, her lower register is far more pleasing than Horne's.

Get this recording while it is still available.

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