Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra :: Verdi: La forza del destino

One of the great historic performances

R. M. Simmons | Mississippi | 05/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This historic recording proves that the 1950's in Italy were indeed a golden age of incredible singing. The recording also testifies to the fact that the legendary status of the principal artists and conductor featured here is indeed justified. That such an assembly of talent was captured in live recording on this particular evening is a matter for rejoicing. This is simply one of the finest recorded performances ever. Each passing decade will place this recording closer to Verdi's actual time and more and more remote from the present, and quite probably this is the performance by which all subsequent performances of Forza will be judged for perpetuity."

Amazing performance, gimmicked sound

Maxwell Paley | Belmont, Ca. | 06/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Love the performance. Tebaldi at her shimmering, sensuous best - beautiful in sound and dramatically alive. Even Del Monaco less strident than usual, but brilliant when wanted. Hate the sound - fake stereo that has the "core" sound all the way on the left with fake reverb in the center and right channels. If you have a preamp that lets you play only the left signal through both speakers (who does anymore?) you may be OK, but a good "regular" mono issue would be vastly preferable."

Getting the best of this famous La Forza

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 04/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although the reviews have accumulated here for the Archipel version of this acclaimed 1953 La Forza, Amazon Marketplace also sells the better-sounding Foyer version, which is in honest mono. Hard as it is to do, auditioning either set before buying is very desirable: this is muffled AM-radio mono, with a decent frequency range but hardly any detail in the orchestra and chorus. You're basically focused on solo voices, applause, coughs, and lots of stage noises. Fro many aficionados these drawbacks are part of the game with pirate recordings, but newcomers might be shocked.



On the whole, I agree with the die-hard fans. Tebaldi, Del Monaco, and Mitropoulos are in top form and keep the opera moving from scene to scene (not the easiest thing to do in a work which sprawls and often becomes shapeless on stage). Del Monaco, although innocent of soft singing, doesn't blare or rant -- this is one of his best recorded performances musically. The Decca studio version with Tebaldi and Del Monaco from 1958 is by no means an also ran, despite the fact that Molinari-Pradelli can't match Mitropoulos. To counter that, we get far better sound, a superior orchestra, and real precision in the execution. The two leads aren't in the same voice as they are here -- both have hardened -- and there's not as much excitement overall, yet the Decca remains the best La Forza among studio productions, in my opinion.



I've seen this performance listed among Top 10 opera pirates several times, so I guess the eager public has made its decision, with which I mostly agree."