Bellini: Beatrice di Tenda

Advantages: Bellini's music. Gruberova, Kasarova, Bernardini
Disadvantages: Morosow

...Among the Bellini operas, Beatrice di Tenda may not be as compelling musically as Norma or La Sonnambula, but it contains some of bel canto's most beautiful tunes and one of the most beautiful trio ever written. THE STORY: Filippo, the Duke of Milan, is married to Beatrice, but covets her lady in waiting Agnese. He plots to get his wife out of the way by accusing her of having an affair with Orombello (whom Agnese loves, but who is in love with Beatrice). Agnese backs the false charge, thinking that if she can't have Orombello then she doesn't want Beatrice to have him either. A few changes of heart follow in the course of the opera, but Beatrice is the constant good gal who gains a moral victory at the price of her own head. This is a live CD recording from a performance in Vienna in 1992 conducted by Pinchas Steinberg and featuring... Read review

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Advantages: Bellini's music. Gruberova, Kasarova, Bernardini
Disadvantages: Morosow

...Among the Bellini operas, Beatrice di Tenda may not be as compelling musically as Norma or La Sonnambula, but it contains some of bel canto's most beautiful tunes and one of the most beautiful trio ever written. THE STORY: Filippo, the Duke of Milan, is married to Beatrice, but covets her lady in waiting Agnese. He plots to get his wife out of the way by accusing her of having an affair with Orombello (whom Agnese loves, but who is in love with Beatrice). Agnese backs the false charge, thinking that if she can't have Orombello then she doesn't want Beatrice to have him either. A few changes of heart follow in the course of the opera, but Beatrice is the constant good gal who gains a moral victory at the price of her own head. This is a live CD recording from a performance in Vienna in 1992 conducted by Pinchas Steinberg and featuring... Read review

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Advantages: Kasarova's personal touch. Virtuosic without showing off
Disadvantages: She doesn't keep singing forever

...any legato line to achieve it. Like her idol, WA Mozart, this gal can operate within the boundary while generating a singing experience that transcends it. The tracks included are: 1. HANDEL: Rinaldo: Or la tromba in suon festante 2. GLUCK: Orfeo ed Euridice: Che faro senza Euridice 3. MOZART: Le nozze di Figaro: Voi che sapete che cosa e amor 4. MOZART: Don Giovanni: Batti, batti, o bel Masetto 5. ROSSINI: La Cenerentola: Nacqui all'affanno/ Non piu mesta 6. ROSSINI: Il barbiere di Siviglia: Una voce poco fa 7. ROSSINI: L'Italiana in Algeri: Amici in ogni evento/ Pensa alla patra 8. DONIZETTI: Anna Bolena: Spossa a Percy/ Per questa fiamma indomita 9. DONIZETTI: La Favorita: Fia dunque vero/ O mio Fernando 10. BELLINI: I Capuleti e i Montecchi: Se Romeo t'uccise un figlio Her repertoire had grown even wider since this CD came out... Read review

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Advantages: Fun and lively comic opera sung in English
Disadvantages: Not in the original language

...The Barber of Seville, Il barbiere di Siviglia is a comic opera full of vitality and fun. Composed by Gioachino Rossini in 1816, it is his most popular opera. Originally entitled Almaviva after the character from the play. The CD released by the label, Chandos as part of its Opera in English Series, on 21st February 2000 presents the opera in full recorded on 2 discs. The CD is available from most good music stores for the price of £17.99. The Opera in English series was launched in 1995 in collaboration with the Peter Moores’ Foundation’s believe that "to enjoy opera to the full, there must be no language barrier”. Rossini wrote the opera as a commission for the manager of the Argentina Theatre, Rome where it was first preformed in the February of 1816. The libretto was written by Cesare Sterbini based upon Beaumarchais' play... Read review

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