Forget the Gala label recording...it is junk!
Brett Farrell | Cape May, NJ USA | 11/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For anybody interested in hearing Alessandro Stradella this is the only recording you need. As usual, the Gala label is of poor recording quality with sound that makes most of their CD's painful to listen too (unless you enjoy static and varying sound quality) plus the Gala label recording is edited and missing parts of the score and all the ballet music.
The Capriccio label recording however is missing nothing. This is the complete recording of Alessandro Stradella recorded in a studio in 2004. The sound is superb and so is the preformance. If you hear this recording of Alessandro you will hold this opera in the highest regard. It is every bit as good as Martha and I personally like it better than Die Lustigen weiber von Windsor (which I do adore) and I have no doubt that as soon as you hear the serenade from the beginning of act 1 you will be hooked. This recording of Alessandro Stradella will become one of your most played operas. Every piece is wonderful. There are no bad or boring parts. And as for the included ballets, they are treasures! That anyone could just discount them is a wonder to me.
But that this recording is so pleasing is not surprising for the Capriccio label is known for superior recordings especially of undeservedly neglected masterpieces. Aquire this 2 cd album complete with booklet and libretti in both German and English without hesitation. Though the price is marginally more than the Gala label it is still underpriced for so great a recording.
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