Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Berlin Deutschen Oper Chor und Orchester :: Verdi: Nabucco (Highlights) / Sinopoli, Domingo

Highlights From The Greatest Nabucco

03/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album offers excerpts/highlights from the full-length recording, which is also available here at Amazon.com. This is without the most expressive Nabucco, and the recording which best captures the spirit of the work and the composer's idealism as manifested in everything from the orchestration, to the chorus and individual singers. Tenor Placido Domingo stars as Ismaele, the Jewish/Hebrew hero in love with Ferena (Lucia Valentini Terrani). The heavy/dramatic soprano Ghena Dimitrova as the evil daughter of the king, Abigaille and Nabucco, Nabucodonosor the King himself is sung by the great baritone Piero Cappuccilli.



Ultimately, it is the cast that makes this recording the best. But the orchestration, too, is quite 'modern' in its innovative digital remastering, and in its direct impact and thunderous power and colorful dramatic interpretation. Placido Domingo sings a splendid, vocally rich Ismaele, with a restrained and intelligent approach, never as bombastic or intense as some would like it to be, but Domingo was always wise in never pushing himself too far, for that could lead to ruin. He could be passionate, but one has to see it in the subtlety of his passions. It was always with committment and heart and integrity that Domingo performed all his roles. Besides, the star of Nabucco is Nabucco himself, for it's mostly a portrait of this legendary evil king who forced the Hebrews into exile from their native land and had them living as second-class citizens in Babylon. Since Nabucco is the star, it is Cappuccilli who's got a lot of noble and beautiful arias, by far the best in the composition. The most powerful voice in the recording belongs to Ghena Dimitrova (Abigaille), a role she had made her own in the 20th century. Dimitrova had a voice that could shatter a thousand glasses and it is actualy quite unbelievable. No one, not even Birgit Nilsson at her highest, could compare to the intense voice of Dimitrova. Hers was the most powerful female voice in opera. It was higher, darker and heavier than any soprano before or after her. On recording, with digital remastering, it is an explosive sound. She is at her best when we see her in this signature role. There is a Nabucco filmed staged performance dating from the 80's and she is in top shape there. She is here too, though but sadly the arias of hers on here are not the most definative of her character. She is a cruel, jealous and ambitious woman. You can hear more of the great Ghena Dimitrova in recordings of her outstanding Turandot and Verdi's Oberto. Dimitrova also performed a magnificent Norma. This recording is part of the Domingo Editions, but it should be enough material to get you hooked not only into Domingo but the full-length operas of these highlights."