Verdi - Aida / Arroyo · Domingo · Abbado
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CD Details
Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 1998-08-25
Music Label: Opera D'oro
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Aida: Prelude
- Aida: Act One - Se quel guerrier io Fossi !... Celeste Aida
- Aida: Act One - Quale insolita fiamma
- Aida: Alta Cagion V'Aduna...
- Aida: Act One - Ritorna vincitor !...
- Aida: Act One - Immenso Ftha...
- Aida: Act One - Nume, custode
- Aida: Act Two - Chi mai fra gli inni...
- Aida: Act Two - Fu la sorte
- Aida: Act Two - Gloria all'Egitto...
- Aida: Act Two - Marcia trionfale
- Aida: Act Two - Vieni, o guerriero vindice
- Aida: Act Two - Salvator della patria...
- Aida: Act Two - Quest-assisa ch'io vesto
- Aida: Act Three - O tu che sei d'Osiride...
- Aida: Act Three - Qui Radames verra... O cieli azzurri...
- Aida: Act Three - Cielo, mio padre...
- Aida: Act Three - Pur ti riveggo mia dolce Aida !...
- Aida: Act Three - Fuggiam gli ardori inospiti
- Aida: Act Four - L'abborrita rivale a me sfuggia
- Aida: Act Four - Ohime !... morir mi sento
- Aida: Act Four - Radames! Radames!...
- Aida: Act Four - La fatal pietra...
- Aida: Act Four - O terra addio...
Music reviews of Verdi - Aida / Arroyo · Domingo · Abbado
Music Review: Extremely wonderful recording
Rating: 5 Stars
Unlike some, I have no troubles with the sound of this recording, even on very fine equipment. I guess that is my copy of this work.
I found it to be a very vital recording of AIDA and I judge it firstly by a very refreshing discovery: the first act trio, when Radames, Amneris, and Aida sing together (just after Celeste Aida). For once this music is clear and precise. Each part is clearly heard and nothing sounds muddy or out of tempo. I have another live recording with Domingo and Tomowa-Sintow, and this little introductory trio is total mush, as it is in most recordings (including the studio ones). Either Aida is singing so loud nothing else comes through, or it just sounds like a bunch of mush. Here, we are treated to extremely clear sound, each part clearly and completely sung, and the balance between voices and orchestra such that nothing is lost.
Some complain of the quicker tempi, but if one compares many life recordings of this work, the tempi are not that bad. It seems in performance Aida is conducted a bit faster than in the studio. I have found that none of the subtle moments are lost, nor are any of the nuances blurred.
The singers are exceptional. Arroyo is so underrated as a singer, especially in this role, and for once we actually get to hear what made her voice so special. Her voice has never been captured well in any of her studio recordings, and often sounds completely uninvolved and lifeless. Well, that is definitely NOT the case when hearing her live. She is very involved in the role, even adding to it (after all, Aida is not that well developed of a character, she is either pining away for home or for Radames, and well, we really don't get much more out of her, and for most singers that is about all we hope to get; Arroyo at least adds more depth even to those limited elements of character). She makes the duet with her father memorable. Some may complain that she doesn't sing a pianissimo high C in the O Patria Mia aria, which she doesn't (few singers have, and only one has followed Verdi's instructions, and that was Zinka Milanov; all others either sing it all forte, or they do as Caballe and sing the entire passage in super delicate pianissimo, which is not what is asked for in the score; one sings the line piano and gradually crescendo until the C itself, which is then sung not piano but rather delicately then faded away, Verdi requires the singer to NEVER rush the line either, few Aidas have ever rushed it). Yet, to my ears, who really cares. Like the high B flat at the end of Celeste Aida, there is not a tenor in a thousand who has ever sung it pianissimo as required by the score, not even Caruso. No one ever gripes about that, so why gripe about it in this aria. Even the great Callas never sang it pianissimo.
Domingo is finally an involved Radames, to me. I have all his studio recordings of this work, and even though he sings them all exceptionally well, they are not always that involved to me. The voice is great, but something seems to be missing. Usually he is very involved in all his singing, so I wondered what it could be. It is possible that that is the rebalancing of the engineers that cause that? However, in live performance he is anything but uninvolved. He is super, and I would venture to say, this is by far his best recording of the role. The live performance with Tomowa-Sintow is equally exciting, but this one is just that much better.
I have to admit that Cossoto has never been my favorite Amneris, though she is super in the role. I have seen her live a number of times, and the voice is wondrous and full of emotions, but she is about as wooden in the acting department as Pavarotti. I guess I really loved this performance because I didn't have to watch her perform the role. For once I could just let her voice carry me away with all the wonderful acting imaginable (that I would never actually witness on stage) and I could imagine her listening to the judges in the judgment scene (which is very distracting when watching her, for she seldom gives any indication she is even listening, it all appears like she is just counting her measures so she comes in on time) and imagine her horror at the sentence, and her desperate anger when Radames is led away. One seldom sees that when she performs, but when listening to her sing the role, one is instantly drawn to what should be happening before our eyes.
The other singers were more than adequete, they were wonderful and involved. Yes, this is an Aida where everyone sings the high notes and really lets them fly, but they sing all the notes and fill them with all the wonder, feeling, and involvement possible making this a really exciting evening.
Now the conducting, to me, has nothing to be ashamed of either. Abbato is a marvel. As I said, his tempi are quicker than some, but his reading of the score is very detailed and filled with delicate treasures and masterful supporting of the singers and the chorus. The balance is wonderful and inviting. He is not just accompaning his singers as some conductors, nor is he overshadowing them with his own vanity (like Karajan is so fond of doing, the star of any of his performances is not the composer, but the conductor himself, and that is what he wanted it to be), rather, he is there creating something touching and memorable with them.
Is this the best recording of Aida out there? I really don't know, but of all the recordings I have (which include many live recordings, including those with Maria Callas) I would rate it quite near the top of the list, and definitely on the short list if I were to choose 5 of my recordings to be included on that list.
Description of Verdi - Aida / Arroyo · Domingo · Abbado
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.What a wonderful surprise! Even fans of Placido Domingo, who has recorded the role of Radames four times commercially (including the acclaimed version with Monserrat Caballé under Riccardo Muti), will be amazed by his fresh voice and complete involvement, under Claudio Abbado's thoroughly engrossing leadership in this live 1972 performance, in very good sound. Martina Arroyo was an underrated Aida, and Fiorenza Cossotto spews rage as the jealous Amneris. Piero Cappuccilli gives us an Amonasro to fear and respect, and Nicolai Ghiaurov, is, as always, the perfect low voice in the ensembles. The La Scala forces are terrific. Dare I say it? This is the best-performed Aida on the market. --Robert Levine
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