One of the very best recodings of an off beat opera!
Daniel G. Madigan | Redmond, WA United States | 01/14/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Everything shines and sparkles on this set. The singers are absolutely first rate in every department, and the music! Buy this beautiful opera and play it for years!! Goldmark did not compose enough for us, nor did these singers record enough."
Another neglected delight
Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 08/31/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The only thing I knew from this opera before I bought the full recording was the famous "Magiche note" aria by Caruso, with its perfect legato and concluding falsetto note of unearthly beauty. In this performance, Siegfried Jerusalem sings the aria (in its original German "Magische toene") vey well indeed, if not with Caruso's distinction and rounded tone. But there is much other wonderful music in this opera, including some exquisite arias for the three principal women and some grand ensembles. The cast consists of a roster of the finest singers from the Hungarian State Opera in 1980 - and they are really, really good: rich basses, a powerful baritone and agile sopranos. The exception is the technically competent mezzo Klara Takacs who is nonetheless shrill and acid up top, and thus spoils her duets with Solomon.There are echoes of "Parsifal" and "Aida" - and it has a good, melodramatic, biblically fanciful plot. It's a much better option than the cheaper but inferior Gala live recording (see my review), being a studio recording (but not lacking excitement), sung by superior voices."