Verdi: Il Trovatore Roberto Alagna
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CD
- Release Date: 09/17/2002
- 2 Disc Set
- Sales Rank: 82,137
- Label: EMI CLASSICS
- UPC: 724355736024
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Verdi: Il Trovatore
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Editorial Reviews
From the brief orchestral introduction, played here with electric intensity by the London Symphony under Antonio Pappano, one is immediately swept up into the dark drama of Il Trovatore. Pappano's conducting is taut and full of atmosphere -- even the silences are meaningful -- but, of course, as Caruso once pointed out, Trovatore requires "the four greatest singers in the world." Whether or not operaphiles want to bestow this ultimate superlative on each the four principals here, their performances are indisputably world-class. Listen to the sense of restless, rapt passion Angela Gheorghiu brings to Leonora's first aria ("Tacea la notte placida"). It is a brilliant bit of vocal characterization, and beautifully sung, too. Larissa Diadkova, the Azucena, pushes her voice a bit hard, but she captures the gypsy's wild personality very convincingly. And while at first it seems that Thomas Hampson's innate nobility will make the Conte di Luna seem a bit too sympathetic, the baritone lets the anger simmer until it boils over in Act II. But it is Roberto Alagna who will bear the closest scrutiny, as the sweet-voiced tenor is moving into more demanding repertory with Manrico. And how does he do? Well, he indulges in a few verismo-style sobs in "Ah sì, ben mio," and one feels he doesn't quite have the strength of sound for such dramatic music, but his tone gains in strength as the aria progresses, and he phrases with such feeling and a real sense of spontaneity that one forgets about a few stylistic misdemeanors when the result is so engaging. No, his "Di quella pira" is not as easily thrilling Pavarotti's, and here the voice does seem to be at its maximum throttle, but it is still an exciting performance -- thanks, also, to Pappano's dynamic conducting. This may not be the ultimate Trovatore, then, but it is the best version since Mehta's 1969 set for RCA (with Price, Domingo, Cossotto, and Milnes), and that's saying a lot. Andrew Farach-Colton, Barnes & Noble
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