Plácido Domingo - The Gold & Silver Gala / The Royal Opera, Alagna, Gheorghiu, Vaduva, D. Croft, Graham, Villarroel

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Placido Domingo headlines the Gold and Silver Gala honoring London's Royal Opera House's 50th birthday and 25 years of his work there, and introduces opera stars of the future. Angelina Gheorghiu commands attention through her fascinating, aggressive interpretation and sensitive musicality, even if the tone is not always even. Roberto Alagna's pleasing, inherently beautiful voice, part Pavarotti lyricism, part Domingo dramatic depth, titillates the ear, but his musical instincts are undeveloped and need grooming. In the duet from Don Carlos, Dwayne Croft's rich, open baritone does a synchronized swim in the pool of Domingo's dark tenor. Leontina Vaduva's pretty voice, but pretentious phrasing makes for a charmless Norina and a graceless and indelicate Adina. An interesting look into opera's future. --Barbara Eisner Bayer

Plácido Domingo - The Gold & Silver Gala / The Royal Opera, Alagna, Gheorghiu, Vaduva, D. Croft, Graham, Villarroel, Music, Georges Bizet, Giuseppe Verdi, Jules Massenet, Charles Gounod, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gaetano Donizetti, Pietro Mascagni, Fromental Halevy, Teodor Grigoriu, Ernesto de Curtis, Franz Lehár, Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden, Asher Fisch, Plácido Domingo, Roberto Alagna, Dwayne Croft, Angela Gheorghiu, Susan Graham, Leontina Vaduva, Veronica Villarroel, Classical, Classical Music, French Romantic Opera, German/Austrian Classical Period Opera, Italian Romantic Opera, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous Music, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Orchestral, Solo Voice(s) and Orchestra, Vocal, Waltz for Orchestra

Beethoven- Fidelio / Domingo, Meier, Struckmann, Pape, Isokoski, Güra, Youn, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim
Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Change !

Is this really Beethoven's "Fidelio"?

One of two new releases

Beethoven- Fidelio / Domingo, Meier, Struckmann, Pape, Isokoski, Güra, Youn, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim
Waltraud Meier , Falk Struckmann , René Pape , Soile Isokoski , Werner Güra , Kwangchul Youn , Staatskapelle Berlin , and Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin
Manufacturer: Teldec
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Beethoven | Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Overtures | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
Barenboim, Daniel | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances
Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000031X0Z
Release Date: 2000-01-18

Tracks:

Fidelio: Ouverture Leonore 2, op. 72
Fidelio: Nr. 2 Arie - O war' ich schon mit dir vereint
Jetzt, Schatzchen, jetzt sind wir allein: Nr. 1 Duett - Jetzt, Schatzchen, jetzt sind wir allein
Mir ist so wunderbar: Nr. 3 Quartett - Mir ist so wunderbar
Fidelio: Nr. 4 Arie - Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben
Fidelio: Nr. 5 Terzett - Gut, Sohnchen, gut
Fidelio: Nr. 6 Marsch
Fidelio: Nr. 7 Arie mit Chor - Ha, welch ein Augenblick!
Fidelio: Nr. 8 Duett - Jetzt, Alter, hat es Eile!
Fidelio: Nr. 9 Rezitativ und Arie - Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin
Fidelio: Nr. 9 Rezitativ und Arie - Komm, Hoffnung, lass' den letzten Stern
Fidelio: Nr. 10 Finale - O welche Lust
Fidelio: Nr. 10 Finale - Nun sprecht, wie ging's?
Fidelio: Nr. 10 Finale - Leb wohl, du warmes Sonnenlicht

Tracks:

Fidelio: Nr. 11 Introduktion und Arie - Gott! -- Welch Dunkel hier!
Fidelio: Nr. 11 Introduktion und Arie - In des Lebens Fruhlingstagen
Fidelio: Nr. 12 Melodram und Duett - Wie kalt ist es
Fidelio: Nr. 12 Melodram und Duett - Nur hurtig fort, nur frisch gegraben
Fidelio: Nr. 13 Terzett - Euch werde Lohn
Fidelio: Nr. 14 Quartett - Er sterbe!
Fidelio: Nr. 15 Duett - O namenlose Freude!
Fidelio: Nr. 16 Finale - Heil sei dem Tag
Fidelio: Nr. 16 Finale - Des besten Konigs Wink und Willie
Fidelio: Nr. 16 Finale - Wer ein holdes Weib errungen
Fidelio: Ouverture Leonore 1, op. 138
Fidelio: Ouverture Leonore 3, op. 72
Fidelio: Ouverture Fidelio, op. 72

Amazon.com

This interesting new Fidelio--one of over a dozen available--has a couple of things going very much in its favor, and a couple against it, too. A great pro is the leadership of Daniel Barenboim, who wrings from the orchestra and chorus fabulous playing and singing; just on a symphonic level, this is worth hearing. Barenboim also paces the work sensibly--those who do not like huge, glacial performances of this opera (i.e., fans of the superb Klemperer or various Furtwängler readings) or the "new school" of Beethoven conducting that seems to prefer racing through his music (occasionally in Gardiner or Harnoncourt) will welcome the inner tension Barenboim deeply understands in the music as well as his sympathy for his singers. This set grew out of a live performance in which all dialogue was cut and replaced, at times, with a flashback narration by Leonore. Here we get only the music Beethoven composed with no dialogue at all; the text Leonore spoke is printed in the accompanying booklet. It's not enough--one misses some dialogue, however brief and abbreviated, between numbers. This seems like a set of highlights without any. The quality of the soloists varies: Soile Isokoski and Werner Güra make a nice pair of youngsters; René Pape's Rocco is exactly the right combination of toady and good guy and he sings gloriously, and Falk Struckmann draws Pizarro villainously and manages his way around the difficult music. Domingo's Florestan is handsomely sung--almost too Italianately beautiful at times--but well thought through, and if not quite on the Jon Vickers level, certainly not terribly far away. Waltraud Meier's career continues to astonish. This pushed-up mezzo with an ugly tone has intelligence and passion in her voice, but the sound is curdled. Doesn't anyone notice that she sings off key and harshly half the time? So, a mixed bag: Domingo and Barenboim fans will need this, but it's like getting only a part of Fidelio (Barenboim, by the way, begins the opera with the Leonore Overture No. 2; an appendix includes the other three overtures Beethoven wrote for this work), and Meier is outclassed by every other Leonore on CD. Why not go for the recent Halasz reading on Naxos? It's good, it's cheap, and there's just enough dialogue to keep the plot intelligible. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Change !.......2000-04-21

I have ignored all the warnings concerning this recording, and decided to buy it, only because i have much appreciation to Daniel Barenboim's musical taste, and to Waltraud Meier's singing. It is true, it isn't an ordinary Fidelio. The dialogues (which are quite boring anyhow) are missing, and the main singer (Leonore- sung here by Waltraud Meier) doesn't seem to fit to the role THEORETICALY. But thought it seems like a failure, the recording is simply outstanding. The singers reach new levels, Falk Struckmann's Pizaro is amazingly strong. Domingo's Florestan is a bit too soft, but that brings more beauty to the role. Waltraud Meier's Leonore, is amazingly inteligenty interpreted. Many reviewers say that Meier doesn't have the vocal capabilites to sing Loenore. Well, it isn't an ordinary leonore, and it certainly isn't very gentle. But it is amazingly strong, full of true emotions, and the singing is beautiful. I reject the reviews saying Meier is singing off key. Don't forget it is a studio recording, if something went wrong, you should rely on Daniel Barenboim as a conducter, and Waltraud Meier as one of today's greatest interpreters to fix it. I give this recording full 5 stars. I find it astonishingly good !

Is this really Beethoven's "Fidelio"?.......2000-04-02

There are regrettably few excellent recordings of Beethoven's only opera--Bernstein's recording is almost comically misguided, Solti's conception was good but neither Behrens nor Hoffmann could live up to the demands he creates, Jessye Norman is a superb, dignified but largely ineffective Leonore thanks to the various failures of the other soloists on Haitink's reading (with the notable exception of Kurt Moll...where would German bass singing be now without Kurt Moll?). On this new set, Barenboim has an acceptable grasp on the score--one can only imagine what a Carlos Kleiber or Valery Gergiev could do with this score in the recording studio. Frankly, Placido Domingo continues to astound me. As Florestan, there are some small signs that the voice is aging, but the tone is still beautiful and in wonderfully pristine technical control. Bravo! Despite her decent contribution to Domingo's earlier "Samson et Dalila," Waltraud Meier here is imprecise and exasperating. It is a pity that a singer with such obviously prodigious dramatic intentions could not have been granted a voice of more appropriate proportions. "Abscheulicher" is a vocal grasp at a straw entirely out of her reach. The voice is coming apart at the seams. Only through Domingo's committment and dedication is the "namenlose Freude" duet saved. All in all, this is a set for every individual who feels that the most important contributions to "Fidelio" are those of Florestan. As Beethoven seemingly did not feel thus, perhaps this is best left to Domingo's already impressive discography of diverse roles.

One of two new releases.......2000-02-23

Beethoven lovers take note: there are two new "Fidelio's" available, neither of which is perfect but both of which are quite good in their own ways.

The from Naxos (8.660070-71) follows the last revision and uses the "Fidelio" Overture, followed by the Gilbert & Sullivan-like duet. It also has just enough dialogue to let you follow the plot, provided you read German, since there is no English translation of the libretto. The offering from Teldec (3984-25249-2) uses the "Leonore No.2," followed by Marzelline's aria and then the duet. It omits the dialogue entirely, based as it is on a Chicago production that had the Leonore narrate the plot between her entrances. The booklet inconveniently supplies these notes in the introduction and not in the libretto, which is tri-lingual in case you need a French as well as an English translation of the German.

Each set has a good Florestan in Gosta Winbergh (Nax.) and Placido Domingo (Tel.). In general, the Naxos cast is lighter voiced with a good Leonore in Inga Nielsen and a more than adequate Pizzaro in Alan Titus. The only sour note is the terribly sounding Fernando (Wolfgang Glashof) who seems to have been given the part because someone owed it to him. And how good it is to hear the deep bass of Kurt Moll as Rocco.

The Telarc set has Domingo, I think, to thank for its existence, and he is splendid. The rest of the cast is fine, except--and this is fatal--for Waltraud Meier, who used to sing mezzo and does not seem up to the demands of the title role.

The Naxos set has the Hungarian Radio Chorus and Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia under Michael Halasz in a nicely paced, (again) somewhat lightweight but very enjoyable rendering. On Telarc, we have the chorus of the Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin and the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim, who plays as an appendix the other three overtures Beethoven wrote for the different versions of this work.

Tracks:

Il Lamento Di Federico
O Paradis
Recondita Armonia
Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz
Rondine Al Nido
Core 'Ngrato
Torna A Surriento
Granada
No Pueda Ser
L'Improvviso
E Lucevan Le Stelle
Nessun Dorma
Finale Medley: Maria/Tonight/'O Paese 'D 'O Sole/Cielito Lindo
Finale Medley: Memory/Ochi Tchorniye Caminito/La Vie En Rose
Finale Medley: Mattinata/Wien, Wein, Nur Du Allein/Amapola/'O Sole Mio
Encore: 'O Sole Mio
Encore: Nessun Dorma

Amazon.com Essential Recording

If you plan to get just one recording of the three tenors circus, this is the one to have, made when their now tired act was still fresh and new. All three perform both classical and popular material, all three have a few solo numbers particularly apt for showing off what is unique about them, and all three work together smoothly in the international pop medley at the end, when Luciano Pavarotti hams up "O sole mio" and the other two imitate him. José Carreras lacks Plácido Domingo's power and Pavarotti's tonal splendor, but he has some of the best material and he does it justice. His selections include standard operatic arias, Neapolitan song ("Core 'ngrato"), and the all-time Spanish favorite, "Granada." --Joe McLellan

Plácido Domingo - The Gold & Silver Gala / The Royal Opera, Alagna, Gheorghiu, Vaduva, D. Croft, Graham, Villarroel

Average customer rating:

Plácido Domingo - The Gold & Silver Gala / The Royal Opera, Alagna, Gheorghiu, Vaduva, D. Croft, Graham, Villarroel
Georges Bizet , Giuseppe Verdi , Jules Massenet , Charles Gounod , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Gaetano Donizetti , Pietro Mascagni , Fromental Halevy , Teodor Grigoriu , Ernesto de Curtis , Franz Lehár , Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden , Asher Fisch , Plácido Domingo , Roberto Alagna , Dwayne Croft , Angela Gheorghiu , Susan Graham , Leontina Vaduva , and Veronica Villarroel
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Eaglen, Jane | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Gheorghiu, Angela | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Bel Canto: Arias by Bellini & Donizetti; Roberto Alagna

ASIN: B000002RY9
Release Date: 1997-07-08

Tracks:

(Carmen) Prelude - Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House
(Le Cid) O Souverain - Placido Domingo
(Don Carlos) E Lui!...Desso... - Placido Domingo/Dwayne Croft
(Faust) Avant De Quitter Ces Lieux - Dwayne Croft
(Carmen) Parle-moi De Ma Mere - Roberto Alagna/Angela Gheorghiu
(Don Giovanni) La Ci Darem La Mano - Placido Domingo/Susan Graham
(Don Pasquale) Quel Guardo Il Cavaliere - Leontina Vaduva
(L'amico Fritz) Suzel, Buon Di - Placido Domingo/Veronica Villarroel
(La Juive) Rachel, Quand Du Seigneur - Roberto Alagna
(Valurile Dunari) Muszica - Angela Gheorghiu
Tu Ca Nun Chiagne - Roberto Alagna
(L'elisier D'amore) Caro Elisir Sei Mio - Placido Domingo/Leontina Vaduva
Gold Und Silber-Waltzer - Placido Domingo

Amazon.com

Placido Domingo headlines the Gold and Silver Gala honoring London's Royal Opera House's 50th birthday and 25 years of his work there, and introduces opera stars of the future. Angelina Gheorghiu commands attention through her fascinating, aggressive interpretation and sensitive musicality, even if the tone is not always even. Roberto Alagna's pleasing, inherently beautiful voice, part Pavarotti lyricism, part Domingo dramatic depth, titillates the ear, but his musical instincts are undeveloped and need grooming. In the duet from Don Carlos, Dwayne Croft's rich, open baritone does a synchronized swim in the pool of Domingo's dark tenor. Leontina Vaduva's pretty voice, but pretentious phrasing makes for a charmless Norina and a graceless and indelicate Adina. An interesting look into opera's future. --Barbara Eisner Bayer