Search - Charles Gounod, Jacques Delacôte, José Carreras :: Roméo et Juliette / Carreras, Wise, Rydl

Great night at the Liceu

tenor_in_training | 05/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As most opera fans know, O'Oro is a hit or miss deal when it comes to recording quality. While there are many wonderful irreplaceable and unmatchable performances, they are often all but ruined with awfully loud hiss or coughs. But when there is an exception, such set becomes an unbeatable bargain and a must-have in any collection. And this is exactly the case here. Sure, the performance is 'live' January 1983 at Barcelona's Liceu (before the fire), and there are some noises. Fortunately, they are easily forgiven due to the splendid performance recorded here. I first need to single out the brilliant rendition of Romeo's role by José Carreras. This role is written in long flowing phrases, not unlike Verdi's romantic roles, but there are even more moments when a singer needs to use mezza voce or engage in passionate declamation. Romeo is on stage most of the time, there is plenty of action which moves even quicker than in composer's famous "Faust". The star of José Carreras shone incredibly bright that evening, his vocal powers at their highest and he was totally immersed in the role. I also would like to add that he even looked like Romeo if you look at the pictures of that period. His "Ah, leve-toi, solei!" is a hymn to first love and all-conquering youth, even better than his studio recording with the same conductor Jacques Delacote. Notably, he executes the finishing b-flat in blazing triumphant full voice as opposed to the studio's soft mezza voce. His Juliette, Patricia Wise, is easily imagined as leading Gilda, her voice has pleasant "girlish" quality to it, which is very important since her character is but a teenager. Her waltz song, notorious for its difficult passages, something Bellini might have written, is well done, aside from minor breath shortage, resulting probably from actually dancing at the moment. She flies through the rest of the part with sparkling agility. Particularly beautiful is Act II duet "O nuit divine!" quite possibly the best you'd ever hear.Enrique Serra's Mercutio sounds older than the character is supposed to be, where's Nucci when you need him? But his voice is rich and powerful, still appropriate for his macho character. Frere Laurent gets majestic treatment by none other than Kurt Rydl, one of the leading bassos of our time. I haven't heard of the singers taking up the secondary roles, but I found Conrad Gaspa's voice ideal for Tybalt. I just can see the hotheaded youth clutching his sword at all times, looking for a fight. He makes sure his every word has an arrogant insulting metallic quality to it. Jacques Delacote is attentive to emphasize the vocal beauty of the score rather than it's orchestral intricacies; it is very appropriate because this opera is really a singing play. At the intimate romantic moments (and there are plenty) the strings just softly warm up and never take overpower the singers.I understand Opera d'Oro plans to release more of what used to be Legato's recordings. On my wish list, then, is Mefistofele with Ghiaurov, Don Carlo with Vickers, and La Traviata with Carreras and Scotto. Perhaps some of these wonderful historical recordings can be cleaned up and released with libretti and artists' pictures? This one too comes only with good but short program notes by Bill Parker. Overall, this set is a great bargain and wins over most other sets including pricey studio recordings."

A romantic Roméo

PhantomOfTheOpera | Norway | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I haven't been able to track down a studio recording of Roméo and Juliette that features Carreras as Roméo, so I'm hanging on to this live recording with all of my life. And even though the sound isn't too good (I think perhaps I would rate the sound to 3 stars....) I can easily put up with that just to be able to hear Carreras singing "Ange adorable", "Ah, lève-toi, soleil" and "Salut! tomebeau! sombre et silencieux". A good tip though is to put on your headphones while listening to this recording. I've found this to "concentrate" the sound which in my opinion improves it somewhat.



When I first listened to this recording I thought there was someone in the audience that wasn't able to keep his mouth shut during the performance. But after I listened more closely I discovered that this person actually is the prompter, which I find quite amusing. So this is indeed a very "live" performance and if you're allergic to any sound that doesn't come from the singers, this is probably not the recording for you. But then again, are you prepared to risk loosing out on a fantastic night at the opera?



Patricia Wise who's one of the top mezzos in the world is singing the part of Juliette. It's pure pleasure listening to her singing. Her voice is wonderful and crystal clear. Her duets with Carreras are full of emotions. One of the highlights here are "Ange adorable" and "Nuit d'hyménée".



José Carreras singing on this night in January 1983 is just divine and I never tire of hearing his arias over and over again. His "Ah! lève-toi,soleil!" gets a "Bravo" from the audience and a very well deserved one that is. His voice is golden with that underlying sensual tone. He's singing with his usual ardour and pours all of his passion into each aria and the outcome is outstanding. No one surpasses him when it comes to stirring emotions.



This opera is incredibly beautiful and romantic; it's as if the music is just floating away, going on forever and ever. Apart from the aforementioned arias there are plenty of other arias creating moments of pure bliss.



The supporting cast of this opera are also great, except for Gertudes voice that sounds somewhat unpleasant when transferred to disc. But perhaps it has something to do with the sound on this live recording.



My only real complaint with opera D'Oro's recordings are their constant lack of libretto. However, the libretto with English translation you can find on the internet. So, like I've said earlier, the joy of hearing Carreras sing the part of Roméo overcomes the flaws of this recording. Highly recommendable."