Search - Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Mario del Monaco, Tebaldi :: Verdi - La forza del destino / del Monaco · Tebaldi · Siepi · Bastianini · Molinari-Pradelli [Highlights]

Best Commercial Rec. of "Forza"

Leonard Tillman | New York | 05/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With all the fine recorded performances of Verdi's melodramatic masterpiece, this one, after over 4 decades, still remains supreme. The warm, rich spinto-soprano of Tebaldi, the sometimes gruff heroic-tenor of Del Monaco(for sheer power, equaled only by Corelli & by Melchior himself-among tenors) but in this performance, at his finest,- & most splendid of all (to this reviewer) that greatest of baritones(with the sole exception of Merrill), - Ettore Bastianini in his monumental performance as Don Carlo di Vargas. The other roles are also filled by legendary singers at their respective bests (including the great basso, Siepi as Padre Guardiano). Altogether, an unforgetable listening experience to enjoy time and again!"

Please give us the FULL recording!!!!

04/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always been highly skeptical of the fanatic devotion that some fans have to some singers. I hear the fans go on at hysterical pitch and wonder what all the fuss is about, or why they get so worked up over an opera singer.However, Tebaldi is one singer whose following I understand. Her recording of La Wally knocks me out, and her Fanciulla del West sends me into orbit; but this Forza has left me gasping for breath. Listen to "Madre, pietosa Virgine" and you'll know what hysterical devotion feels like. This is one voice that could make an atheist believe in God: the gorgeous tone and seamless legato as she sweeps up these famous phrases is something purely angelic. Take Tebaldi at her absolute peak, del Monaco in a role that requires his kind of power and not the refinement he usually lacks, Siepi who had one of the most gorgeous bass voices ever heard anywhere and you have a full recording that the world cries out for (as opposed to another uninspired Boheme)."