L'assedio Di Corinto (Tebaldi, Pirazzini, Petri, Picci)

Grabación para grandes seguidores de Renata Tebaldi, aquí joven y en un repertorio inusual.Versión muy cortada y con un sonido muy malo.

Despite the fact that Sills sang this opera for both her La Scala debut in 1969 and again for her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1975, no studio or Met recording of it exists with her. What we have is this live recording of the La Scala debut. It's a wonderful performance, but not up to the recordings of her performances in Julius Caesar, Manon or Roberto Devereaux. The opera is later Rossini, and is closer in style to his dramatic grand operas than his earlier more florid music, and in order to showcase Sills' artistry had to be heavily reworked by conductor Thomas Schippers to bring out, and in some cases even create the stratospheric runs and trills that Sills did so well. The tenor lead is also somewhat more dramatic than early Rossini operas call for, but casting Franco Bonisolli seems odd. Bonisolli was a famously tempermental heroic tenor with a ringing top, but without a great deal of agility in his voice. He also tended to shout. His first aria sounds like a collection of barks. While he does demonstrate greater fluidity in his singing as the opera goes on, and does manage in his duets and trios with Sills and Horne, to rein in his voice somewhat, he still tends to sing as if it were the climax of a verissmo potboiler. (He also sings the tenor lead in a recording of La Donna del Lago, which is even stranger casting!) Sills was at the top of her game when this recording was made, and she doesn't disappoint. While other sopranos may have had better natural instruments (Joan Sutherland), few could match Sills for skill and sheer artistry. She was also a great singing actress, and as she repeatedly said in interviews, never hesitated to sacrifice a beautiful sound or tone for dramatic effect if necessary. She also made it clear that she would rather have a shorter, more dramatically effective career than a longer career singing perhaps more beautifully but less excitingly. Marilyn Horne, singing a trouser role, nearly steals the show. Her large mezzo voice, with its robust chest tones, has been described as "having a dash of Worcestershire sauce." She was a true "mezzo di agilita", one who could handle the runs and trills and ornamentation of early bel canto with dazzling brilliance and technique. Her arias on this recording are worth the price of admission alone, and her duets with Sills are simply frosting on the cake. The rest of the cast, including a young Justino Diaz, sing perfectly well if not memorably. American conductor Thomas Schippers keeps the whole thing moving at a lively pace and the energy never flags. The sound quality of this Opera d'Oro recording isn't great, although I don't think it's as bad as a couple of the reviewers. But I do agree that this is primarily an recording for fans of Sills and Horne who are already familiar with their work. For newcomers to the singing one of the greatest American sopranos of the 20th century, I recommend Manon, Julius Caesar, La Fille du Regiment, Roberto Devereaux, or (my favorite) Lucia di Lammermoor.

Pas de problème je suis satisfaite de ce produit que j'ai commandé et qui à parfaitement correspondu à ma demande

I'm not big on live recordings, but this is one of such historical significance that I figured I had to have it. And I was curious. Could Sills really be as marvelous as legend and the other Amazon reviews have said? Well, yes...and then some. OK, she hits one clinker somewhere on the first disc (nobody's perfect), but this is a truly goosebump-inducing performance. Now I get why Sills became the mega-star she did. And the supporting cast (Diaz & Horne in particular) are just as good. Electrifying from start to finish, this is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of 20th century operatic performance -- and those who just want to wallow in thrilling music and splendid singing.

I won't comment on the opera itself or on the quality of the performance since previous reviews are spot on here.I will, however, point out that any prospective buyer should be well aware that the sound quality is much worse than one would expect from the age of the recording.Be warned, but go ahead if sound quality is not a big concern...