Search - Vicente Sardinero, Gaetano Donizetti, Julius Rudel :: Donizetti: Roberto Devereux

A strong case for "pirate" recordings

klavierspiel | TX, USA | 10/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Donizetti's Roberto Devereux is the third and final opera of his so-called Tudor trilogy, based on the entanglement of Queen Elizabeth I with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. The plot plays fast and loose with facts, though no more than most "historical" operas. The music is not consistently as engaging as that of Lucia or some of his other operas, but it is certainly worth hearing, especially when sung by two vocal superstars of the caliber of Montserrat Caballe and Jose Carreras, both at or close to their vocal peaks in 1977, when this live performance was recorded.



One can worry about the ethics of releasing such a performance for general public consumption. Nevertheless, it is hard to argue against it when Caballe never recorded this role commercially, and when the performance is as incandescent as it is here. The diva is in sumptuous voice, floating her trademark pianissimi and spinning long phrases with seemingly endless amounts of breath. Her sense of vocal drama also gives the lie to the frequent rap that she cared for nothing except making beautiful sounds--in fact, she is not hesitant to rasp in chest voice or even snarl when the situation calls for it. Carreras is in ardent, fresh voice as well. They are well supported by Susan (Suzanne?) Marsee and Ferruccio Furlanetto in other roles, and Julius Rudel provides plenty of orchestral excitement. The sound quality is perfectly listenable.



In sum, this is a recording every lover of bel canto opera ought to have. As an embarrassment of riches, the Gala release offers bonus tracks of highlights from another performance of the opera by the very under-recorded Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer, from 1964 in Naples. It is fascinating to compare and contrast the two sopranos in the same role."

Excellent cast and exciting performance!

Armindo | Greece | 08/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although not Donizetti's best opera, with a good cast Roberto Devereux can offer a lot of excitement! The audience of this 1977 live performance certainly enjoyed such an exciting evening. Montserrat Caballe is caught here just before her voice started to become sharper and less beautiful. This live recording proves that Caballe was anything but a dramatically uninvolved singer. She's not afraid to scream and use her chest voice. Neither Sills, nor Gencer sound so committed to the drama in their recordings. And as always, when there's need for soft, elegiac singing like Elisabeth's first cavatina, nobody rivals Montserrat! Strangely for her, she struggles a bit with the "Vivi ingrato" in this recording. I've no idea what she was doing on stage at that moment but she has sung this aria perfectly on other occasions. She immediately recovers however and gives a shocking finale! The audience goes crazy!Most Roberto Devereux recordings have a great Elisabetta and mediocre Roberto, Sara and Nottingham but NOT THIS ONE! You really must hear Jose Carreras in this recording. Now here's a tenor who perfectly justifies the title of this opera! The power and beauty of his youthful voice are intoxicating! And listen how he phrases...amazing! The other male roles are also luxuriously cast. Sardinero and the young Furlanetto are wonderful. As Sara, Susan Marsee sings well - I like her high notes - but Donizetti obviously gave the best tunes to his Elisabetta. The sound of this live recording is very good. No surprises from maestro Julius Rudel. The set also has highlights from a R. Devereux recording with Gencer in the title role. She copes better with Elisabetta's florid music but is less dramatic than Caballe."

A superb double issue from Gala

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 07/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, have no fears concerning the quality of the sound here: good, clean mono with minimal distortion on top notes and loud passages, a very well behaved audience and an excellent balance between voices and orchestra which preserves the atmosphere of a live performance. After the initial pleasant discovery that the sound is more than acceptable, comes the second agreeable surprise: Susan Marsee's strong, pliant mezzo, with excellent top notes and a wholly engaged characterisation. I was previously unfamiliar with this stalwart of the New York City Opera and am impressed by her quality; in fact, the supporting singers are invariably excellent, which is not always the case in festival performances - although Furuccio Furlanetto is so young here that his beautiful bass voice lacks gravitas as Cecil. Three Spaniards head the cast and all are in their prime; it is quite absurd of previous reviewer M. DeClercq to call Caballé "awful". There are one or two discoloured top notes, forgivable in a live performance but she is not only in fine voice, but quite unafraid to take risks and make some "ugly" sounds in order to bring her character alive. The trademark floated pianissimi are a dream. Carreras, too, sings meltingly and reminds me why, before his illness and the assumpion of rôles too heavy for his lyric instrument (shades of Di Stefano?) encouraged forcing, he was, alongside "the other two", the foremost tenor of the 1970's. Sardinero has a fine, dark baritone similar to Paolo Coni or Piero Cappuccilli. Rudel's conducting is flexible and affectionate, the orchestra perfectly fine. I don't think the music itself is always top drawer Donizetti compared with his finest works but there is enough here to satisfy any aficionado of 19C Romantic opera.



Comparisons with Gencer (in the welcome bonus tracks) are odious if you use them to denigrate either great singer; both are wonderful in their own way: Gencer has the edge for individuality and drama, Caballé for sheer beauty of sound, yet neither is a slouch in either department. The selections have been made to give us the bulk of Gencer's part and you can hear just why she was such a favourite with Italian audiences and wonder afresh why the big recording companies never employed her, especially when she was the closest thing we ever had to a successor to Callas. Compared with Carreras, Roberto Bondino (according to the notes, one of few tenors to make the switch from professional footballer) is a bit crude with a fast vibrato that occasionally mutates into a tremolo and he has none of Carreras's plangent fullness of tone, but he is committed and competent. The sound is really good for 1964, not inferior to that of 1977.



This is a great set; so much packed on to two well-filled CD's. Gala must be congratulated for once gain uncovering two superb performances and making them available, pleasingly packaged (at a bargain price on Marketplace) - but why do they insist on putting two discs in a full-size jewel-case, given that there is no libretto? (They do, however, provide good notes containing cues, biographies and a very intelligent essay by Paul Korenhof.) I always save shelf space by putting Gala sets into slimline cases - they might as well do that for me!"