About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

It was Enrico Caruso, the legendary tenor, who claimed that Verdi's Il Trovatore requires "the four greatest singers in the world." No recording has quite met that impossibly high standard -- although a live broadcast from the 1962 Salzburg Festival with Leontyne Price, Franco Corelli, Giulietta Simionato, and Ettore Bastianini comes pretty close. This Sony set was also made live, in performances at Milan's famed Teatro alla Scala in December 2000, and while no one would claim that Barbara Frittoli (Leonore), Salvatore Licitra (Manrico), Violeta Urmana (Azucena), and Leo Nucci (Il Conte di Luna) are the greatest singers of our day, they make a fine quartet. Frittoli is steadily making her reputation as a first-class Verdi singer, and her appealing combination of tender vulnerability and steely strength is one of the principal joys of this performance. Licitra's budding career has been bolstered by the support of Riccardo Muti and veteran soprano Renata Tebaldi. He certainly does have an unusually handsome and healthy-sounding tenor voice -- a highly rare commodity these days -- although it must be admitted that Manrico's shoes are still a tad large on him, at least for operaphiles who still have the sound of Corelli's interpretation ringing in their ears. Still, it's an impressive debut, and you can be sure we will be hearing much more from him. Urmana is a persuasive Azucena, with her dark, muscular tone. Nucci is a bit past his prime, though he warms up to give a stirring performance of "Il balen" in Part Two. The real star of this show, however, is the fiery Riccardo Muti. Verdi may have had viewed conductors with suspicion, but one imagines he would have appreciated Muti's dramatic spirit as well as his scrupulous adherence to the score. The La Scala orchestra plays beautifully for him, even in the face of some daringly fast tempos. There is some applause and other audience noise, but the recording has wonderful presence and clarity. Andrew Farach-Colton, Barnes & Noble

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