Verdi - Aida / Arroyo · Domingo · Abbado

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
What a wonderful surprise! Even fans of Placido Domingo, who has recorded the role of Radames four times commercially (including the acclaimed version with Monserrat Caballé under Riccardo Muti), will be amazed by his fresh voice and complete involvement, under Claudio Abbado's thoroughly engrossing leadership in this live 1972 performance, in very good sound. Martina Arroyo was an underrated Aida, and Fiorenza Cossotto spews rage as the jealous Amneris. Piero Cappuccilli gives us an Amonasro to fear and respect, and Nicolai Ghiaurov, is, as always, the perfect low voice in the ensembles. The La Scala forces are terrific. Dare I say it? This is the best-performed Aida on the market. --Robert Levine

Verdi - Aida / Arroyo · Domingo · Abbado, Music, Giuseppe Verdi, Claudio Abbado, Plácido Domingo, Martina Arroyo, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Fiorenza Cossotto, Piero Cappuccilli, Josella Ligi, Piero de Palma, Luigi Roni, Classical, Classical Music, Italian Romantic Opera, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta

Verdi - Aida / Arroyo · Domingo · Abbado
Average customer rating:

A feast of a live performance

A good night at La Scala

Extremely wonderful recording

Not so fast!

Sonically Sabotaged Aida

Verdi - Aida / Arroyo · Domingo · Abbado
Giuseppe Verdi , Claudio Abbado , Plácido Domingo , Martina Arroyo , Nicolai Ghiaurov , Fiorenza Cossotto , Piero Cappuccilli , Josella Ligi , Piero de Palma , and Luigi Roni
Manufacturer: Opera D'oro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000AFP2
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

Aida: Prelude
Aida: Act One - Se quel guerrier io Fossi !... Celeste Aida
Aida: Act One - Quale insolita fiamma
Aida: Alta Cagion V'Aduna...
Aida: Act One - Ritorna vincitor !...
Aida: Act One - Immenso Ftha...
Aida: Act One - Nume, custode
Aida: Act Two - Chi mai fra gli inni...
Aida: Act Two - Fu la sorte
Aida: Act Two - Gloria all'Egitto...
Aida: Act Two - Marcia trionfale
Aida: Act Two - Vieni, o guerriero vindice
Aida: Act Two - Salvator della patria...

Tracks:

Aida: Act Two - Quest-assisa ch'io vesto
Aida: Act Three - O tu che sei d'Osiride...
Aida: Act Three - Qui Radames verra... O cieli azzurri...
Aida: Act Three - Cielo, mio padre...
Aida: Act Three - Pur ti riveggo mia dolce Aida !...
Aida: Act Three - Fuggiam gli ardori inospiti
Aida: Act Four - L'abborrita rivale a me sfuggia
Aida: Act Four - Ohime !... morir mi sento
Aida: Act Four - Radames! Radames!...
Aida: Act Four - La fatal pietra...
Aida: Act Four - O terra addio...

Amazon.com

What a wonderful surprise! Even fans of Placido Domingo, who has recorded the role of Radames four times commercially (including the acclaimed version with Monserrat Caballé under Riccardo Muti), will be amazed by his fresh voice and complete involvement, under Claudio Abbado's thoroughly engrossing leadership in this live 1972 performance, in very good sound. Martina Arroyo was an underrated Aida, and Fiorenza Cossotto spews rage as the jealous Amneris. Piero Cappuccilli gives us an Amonasro to fear and respect, and Nicolai Ghiaurov, is, as always, the perfect low voice in the ensembles. The La Scala forces are terrific. Dare I say it? This is the best-performed Aida on the market. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A feast of a live performance.......2007-03-29

I agree with those who say this is a great performance. I also have to sympathize with those who are bothered by occasional distortions in the sound. Basically, though, this is a vivid and fully stereophonic rendering of what was surely a memorable occasion. The Munich audience goes nuts for this performance, and they are the ones whose judgment counts. Abbado, more engaged than he usually is in studio recordings, unleashes a demonic performance--Toscanini without the tyranny--and the principal singers deliver beautifully; Domingo, especially, a splendid hero, much less careful than he later became. It's well worth the small expense to get yourself a seat at this immortal concert.

A good night at La Scala.......2005-12-07

I find myself siding with the underwhelmed responses to this Aida. It comes in murky radio sound, and the chorus in particular is sometimes placed well out of earshot. The soloists fare better, and all are accomplished singers, but this was no more than an above average night for any of them.

Domingo is foursquare in 'Celeste Aida,' ending with a clipped high note and no attempt to taper it off as Verdi asks, but he wamrs up as the act goes on. The inferior sound brings out a shrill edge in Cossotto's voice, which is inclined to sound leathery when pushed. Martina Arroyo comes off best, with her warm, feminine tone. She is not an exciting vocal actress, even though she's certainly appealing. One wishes she could find other volume levels besides mezzo forte and mezzo piano.

If only Abbado had a more dynamic view of the score. Things are pretty calm Nile-side. I'd hoped that his live performance would have more blood and guts than his EMI commercial recording; he is actually tamer here. No fear of Solti's braying trumpets or Karajan's epic sweep. If you like careful, detailed conducting better than I do, you may be more satisfied. All in all, a nice night at La Scala but far from an event.

Extremely wonderful recording.......2005-04-25

Unlike some, I have no troubles with the sound of this recording, even on very fine equipment. I guess that is my copy of this work.

I found it to be a very vital recording of AIDA and I judge it firstly by a very refreshing discovery: the first act trio, when Radames, Amneris, and Aida sing together (just after Celeste Aida). For once this music is clear and precise. Each part is clearly heard and nothing sounds muddy or out of tempo. I have another live recording with Domingo and Tomowa-Sintow, and this little introductory trio is total mush, as it is in most recordings (including the studio ones). Either Aida is singing so loud nothing else comes through, or it just sounds like a bunch of mush. Here, we are treated to extremely clear sound, each part clearly and completely sung, and the balance between voices and orchestra such that nothing is lost.

Some complain of the quicker tempi, but if one compares many life recordings of this work, the tempi are not that bad. It seems in performance Aida is conducted a bit faster than in the studio. I have found that none of the subtle moments are lost, nor are any of the nuances blurred.

The singers are exceptional. Arroyo is so underrated as a singer, especially in this role, and for once we actually get to hear what made her voice so special. Her voice has never been captured well in any of her studio recordings, and often sounds completely uninvolved and lifeless. Well, that is definitely NOT the case when hearing her live. She is very involved in the role, even adding to it (after all, Aida is not that well developed of a character, she is either pining away for home or for Radames, and well, we really don't get much more out of her, and for most singers that is about all we hope to get; Arroyo at least adds more depth even to those limited elements of character). She makes the duet with her father memorable. Some may complain that she doesn't sing a pianissimo high C in the O Patria Mia aria, which she doesn't (few singers have, and only one has followed Verdi's instructions, and that was Zinka Milanov; all others either sing it all forte, or they do as Caballe and sing the entire passage in super delicate pianissimo, which is not what is asked for in the score; one sings the line piano and gradually crescendo until the C itself, which is then sung not piano but rather delicately then faded away, Verdi requires the singer to NEVER rush the line either, few Aidas have ever rushed it). Yet, to my ears, who really cares. Like the high B flat at the end of Celeste Aida, there is not a tenor in a thousand who has ever sung it pianissimo as required by the score, not even Caruso. No one ever gripes about that, so why gripe about it in this aria. Even the great Callas never sang it pianissimo.

Domingo is finally an involved Radames, to me. I have all his studio recordings of this work, and even though he sings them all exceptionally well, they are not always that involved to me. The voice is great, but something seems to be missing. Usually he is very involved in all his singing, so I wondered what it could be. It is possible that that is the rebalancing of the engineers that cause that? However, in live performance he is anything but uninvolved. He is super, and I would venture to say, this is by far his best recording of the role. The live performance with Tomowa-Sintow is equally exciting, but this one is just that much better.

I have to admit that Cossoto has never been my favorite Amneris, though she is super in the role. I have seen her live a number of times, and the voice is wondrous and full of emotions, but she is about as wooden in the acting department as Pavarotti. I guess I really loved this performance because I didn't have to watch her perform the role. For once I could just let her voice carry me away with all the wonderful acting imaginable (that I would never actually witness on stage) and I could imagine her listening to the judges in the judgment scene (which is very distracting when watching her, for she seldom gives any indication she is even listening, it all appears like she is just counting her measures so she comes in on time) and imagine her horror at the sentence, and her desperate anger when Radames is led away. One seldom sees that when she performs, but when listening to her sing the role, one is instantly drawn to what should be happening before our eyes.

The other singers were more than adequete, they were wonderful and involved. Yes, this is an Aida where everyone sings the high notes and really lets them fly, but they sing all the notes and fill them with all the wonder, feeling, and involvement possible making this a really exciting evening.

Now the conducting, to me, has nothing to be ashamed of either. Abbato is a marvel. As I said, his tempi are quicker than some, but his reading of the score is very detailed and filled with delicate treasures and masterful supporting of the singers and the chorus. The balance is wonderful and inviting. He is not just accompaning his singers as some conductors, nor is he overshadowing them with his own vanity (like Karajan is so fond of doing, the star of any of his performances is not the composer, but the conductor himself, and that is what he wanted it to be), rather, he is there creating something touching and memorable with them.

Is this the best recording of Aida out there? I really don't know, but of all the recordings I have (which include many live recordings, including those with Maria Callas) I would rate it quite near the top of the list, and definitely on the short list if I were to choose 5 of my recordings to be included on that list.

Not so fast!.......2004-09-23

Listening to this "Aida," I am reminded of an old story that an Italian opera fan told a critic once. "We Italians no care if the performance is correct, or subtle, or dramatic," he is supposed to have said. "We just care about do they belt the high notes."

This is indeed one of those performances. Everyone "belts the high notes," and they do so with panache, but somehow in the bargain "Aida," and true drama, go by the wayside. Overfast tempi and lack of subtlety are hallmarks of this performance, even though Arroyo sings much better here than she did on her commercial "Aida" recording (with Bergonzi) and Cossotto actually sings with feeling. Dynamics markings and note-values constantly suffer under the onslaught of forte singing. Even with Eva Gustavson (the worst Amneris on record), the Toscanini "Aida" is nowhere as roughshod as this!

I still recommend Milanov-Barbieri-Bjorling-Warren-Perlea on RCA. And you know what?? The more I hear that "Aida," the more I'm convinced that it's better than ANYONE'S, even Toscanini's.

Sonically Sabotaged Aida.......2004-07-29

Yes, this is a great performance, and I'm not going to explore what most listeners have already found out for themselves. What amazes me is the plaudits this recording has received regarding its sound quality. On a high resolution system, this recording is a disaster. When the music is in its quieter moments, the fizz of distortion is startling; in the louder moments there is a dramatic and unpleasant volume increase, and even though in these louder parts clarity and tonal bloom improve somewhat, the haze of distortion around the singers does not. For a mid-price reissue, Opera D'Oro has not done its customers any service. The slipcase, artwork, and libretto cannot balance the unpleasant sound; nor can the fine performance, for that matter, which is a real shame. This is great singing utterly sabotaged by the sonics. Just what are the reviewers who have complimented the sound listening with or through?

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