Search - Juan Diego Flórez, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Jose Guadalupe Reyes :: Rossini: Semiramide

50.000 STARS TO THIS SO LONGING DEFINITIVE VERSION !!!

Douglas E. Braga | SÃO PAULO, SÃO PAULO Brazil | 04/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow!!! I don't believe! Just in my birthday! It's really a birthday's gift I received from Rossini's spirit! Finally, EDITA GRUBEROVA - Goddess of the Universe - granted us with this which I consider the masterpiece of Rossini. God! Forget previous recordings of it. I had the Bonynge's, have the Marin's(wich is marvellous due to him, Larmore, Ramey and Loppardo), but,honestly,this newest cast definitely (and FINALLY!!!)puts this opera in its deserved place on all Rossini's work. Panni's conducting is totally coherent to the situations (Thank Goodness it permits us to delight the ethereal beauty of "Giorno d'Orrore"- Marin's conducting on the contrary).About Manca di Nissa, at first, I missed Horne's high notes but then I understood she has a extremely beautifull voice of contralto. Her Arsace really sounds like a masculine one in her duets with Semiramide and Assur. Juan Diego Flores - well, what can I say about him? He is just in the right place, I mean - beside GRUBEROVA.What a perfect singing! It doesn't matter if he didn't finish Idreno's first aria with the high note.Until there, he shows us he could do it perfectly(all of us know that!).Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is exactly a Samuel Ramey's style bass- What a marvellous voice! I didn't know it until then, and it was a lucky surprise. Now, I have to venerate the greatest STAR - EDITA GRUBEROVA. She (her singing, her interpretation,her SOUL)is EVERYTHING in this recording. Yes, because it's possible for us to feel her soul throughout her performance. She succeeded giving Life to Semiramide's last aria "Al mio pregar t'arrendi" wich I always thought lifeless. This is the real artistry - to change lifeless pieces to beautifull ones! And what about her "Bel Ragio Lusinghier"? For me it hits even Sutherland's because of her characteristic soft high notes.It is Heaven! I had never thought anyone could do it more marvelouslly than Sutherland, but I was wrong - she can. Few times in my life I felt so much happiness for having bought a record. Certainly, this is one of them. The other one was when I bought Jennifer Larmore's Giulio Cesare. Well, that is all. I'm sure you will agree with me. Buy it and definitely love this opera."

A fantastic Semiramide recording!

Armindo | Greece | 11/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the main challenges of this stunning Rossini opera is to find singers, especially male ones who can cope with the difficult florid writing. Well I dare to say that Maestro Panni has found them!



Gruberova was such a pleasant surprise. I'm a great fan but never really believed the Donizzeti, Bellini and Rossini operas were her territory. Well, here she proved me wrong. Her coloratura is as dazzling and effortless as ever plus she manages to create a fascinating character (not the case with other famous Semiramides I'm afraid). I love her mature voice, which still has its distinct "birdy", exotic quality but now sounds gutsier. Her voice makes her Semiramide unique! The big scene is spectacular even if the top note turns unruly. So far, she's my favourite Semiramide!



The Arsace of Manca di Nissa probably pales in comparison to the legendary Horne approach due to Marilyn's stunning florid singing but Manca di Nissa still pulls off a fine, warm performance. The male singers on this set however make it stand out as one of the best recordings of this opera. I can think of no other tenor who could handle the demands of this role better than the celebrated Florez. And if his fantastic singing was more or less expected, I never expected to hear a spectacular bass singing florid passages with the virtuosity of a Rossini tenor. D'Arcangelo is nothing short of a miracle!



This live 1998 recording is a vocal fest and probably the best Semiramide recording you will find but don't overlook the old Sutherland recording and the live ones with Anderson and Horne and my favourite with Devia and Podles.

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