Search - Bellini, Ricciarelli, Luchetti :: Bellini: I Capuleti e I Montecchi / Bellugi

The most romantic Capuleti...young Ricciarelli is ravishing!

Armindo | Greece | 02/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't confuse this performance with the 1990 Capuletti that is available with Ricciarelli and Raffanti. Here we are in 1973 and at the time this was probably the most beautiful voice on the operatic stage.



Giulietta is exactly the type of role Ricciarelli was born to sing. Her voice had an innocent, fragile quality that graced the Bellinian line like no other. It remains a distinctly Italian voice however and this brings the recitatives to life. Scotto was Italian too but the edge of her voice made her hardly an attractive character. Ricciarelli might sing less high notes but the beauty of her singing is captivating.



This is an old-fashioned Capuleti performance which means we get two tenors. Both Luchetti and Merighi have elegant voices and especially Luchetti sounds wonderful as Romeo. Shame that he too would be tempted to sing heavier roles when he was so expressive in this fach.



You can really hear the love and romance between this Romeo and Giulietta and this is what makes this performance uniquely Bellinian. Minor roles are also cast well and maestro Bellugi controls the Fenice forces gently allowing the beauty of the music to shine. The sound isn't perfect but listenable nevertheless. One of my favourite Bellini recordings!



"