Verdi - Un Ballo in Maschera / Leech, Crider, Chernov, Zaremba, Bayo; Rizzi

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Music reviews of Verdi - Un Ballo in Maschera / Leech, Crider, Chernov, Zaremba, Bayo; Rizzi

Music Review: An underated performance provides a different interpretation
Rating: 4 Stars

A good deal of the negative criticism of this recording centered on soprano Michele Crider as Amelia. There have been many great interpreters of Amelia committed to record: the great dramatic thrust of Maria Callas (Votto, EMI), the creamy vocalisms of Martina Arroyo (Muit, EMI) and Leontyne Price (Leinsdorf, RCA), and the thrillingly idiomatic singing of the underrated Maria Curtis-Verna (Questa, CETRA). Tebaldi and Nilsson (both DECCA) have their champions also. All of these recordings are mid- century, the latest being Arroyo in 1975. Since then, many sopranos have thrown their hats into the ring as Amelia, but none have given us a portrayal to rival these classic predecessors. Michele Crider will not erase memories of these great divas either, but she holds her own in the role with greater success than most other recent, more celebrated, singers. She possesses a voice very suitable to this role in weight, color, and tessitura, with a lovely tone very much akin to Arroyo. Crider does have a wide vibrato and occasional minor technical lapses, but far too much criticism has been directed here. Recording can not capture all the beauty of her live performances, and her voice is not as naturally phonogenic as some, but her recordings do yield much, making them well worth a listen.

Richard Leech lacks the star power of such current luminaries as Alagna or Cura, and he does not make the opera a "Vehicle" in the manner of Pavarotti or Domingo. What he does do is carry the dramatic weight of the opera - as Riccardo should - with a consistently lovely, nuanced, and musical performance.

Vladimir Chernov is possibly the finest Verdi baritone of our time. His performance here is always vital and ringing with beautiful tone, and he gives an interpretive approach that maintains freshness while keeping with tradition. His version of the showpiece "Eri tu" emerges as one of the finest on record.

Elena Zaremba's dark and tremulous mezzo is well suited to Ulrica's music and she makes the most of her brief appearance. She contributes more eccentricity than some, more famous, singers have risked in the role, although some listeners will quibble with her register breaks. The versatile Maria Bayo, as Oscar, provides lovely singing and is appropriately charming and effervescent.

Carlo Rizzi's "Ballo" is not the brooding and stark affair provided by most other recordings, and listeners ingrained in that approach could be reluctant to go along for the ride. Rizzi at the helm maintains a crisp, light touch, infused with lyric emotion. This is not overblown grand opera style Verdi, but rather the approach one might associate with the early romanticism of Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Verdi's Bel Canto predecessors. The interpretation is at turns campy, frolicsome, and touching - like the music itself. The booklet notes point to "Ballo" as a comic opera with black edges, as a scherzo with a tragic outcome. This is indeed what this recording delivers.

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