Rossini - Armida / Fleming, Kunde, Francis, Kaasch, Fowler, D'Arcangelo, Gatti

Rossini - Armida / Fleming, Kunde, Francis, Kaasch, Fowler, D'Arcangelo, Gatti Artist: Gioachino Rossini , Daniele Gatti , Renée Fleming , Gregory Kunde , Jeffrey Francis , and Bruce Fowler, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Jorio Zennaro Donald Kaasch
Label: Sony
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 3


UPC: 074645896823
EAN: 0074645896823
ASIN: B0000029L0


Release Date: 1994-10-04

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Tracks:

  1. Armida: Sinfonia
  2. Armida: Act One - N. 1 Introduzione: 'Lieto, ridente oltre l'usato' (Coro)
  3. Armida: Act One - N. 1 Introduzione: 'Ah! no: sia questo' (Goffredo)
  4. Armida: Act One - N. 1 Introduzione: 'Arditi, all'ire' (Goffredo, Coro)
  5. Armida: Act One - Recitativo: 'Si, guerrieri' (Goffredo)
  6. Armida: Act One - N. 2 Coro di Paladini: 'Germano, a te richiede' (Eustazio, Goffredo, Coro)
  7. Armida: Act One - Recitativo: 'Signor, tanto il tuo nome' (Armida, Goffredo, Idraote, Eustazio)
  8. Armida: Act One - N. 3 Quartetto: 'Sventurata! or che mi resta (Armida, Goffredo, Idraote, Eustazio, Coro)
  9. Armida: Act One - N. 3 Quartetto: 'Or che faro?' (Goffredo, Armida, Eustazio, Idraote, Coro)
  10. Armida: Act One - N. 3 Quartetto: 'German, se togli al campo' (Eustazio, Idraote, Goffredo, Armida, Coro)
  11. Armida: Act One - N. 3 Quartetto: 'Per me propizio il fato' (Armida, Eustazio, Idraote, Goffredo, Coro)
  12. Armida: Act One - Recitativo 'Cedei, guerrieri, e ver' (Goffredo)
  13. Armida: Act One - Recitativo: 'Opportuna e la scelta' (Eustazio, Gernando, Armida, Idraote)
  14. Armida: Act One - N. 4 Aria: 'Non soffriro l'offesa' (Gernando)
  15. Armida: Act One - N. 4 Aria: 'E questi son gli allori' (Gernando)
  16. Armida: Act One - N. 4 Aria: 'Viva Rinaldo!' (Coro, Gernando)
  17. Armida: Act One - Recitativo: 'Sorte ci arride' (idraote, Armida)
  18. Armida: Act One - Recitativo: 'Principessa, sei tu!' (Rinaldo, Armida)
  19. Armida: Act One - N. 5 Duetto: 'Amor... possente nome!' (Rinaldo, Armida)
  20. Armida: Act One - N. 5 Duetto: 'Vacilla a quegli accenti' (Rinaldo, Armida)
  21. Armida: Act One - N. 5 Duetto: 'Ah! non poss'io resistere' (Rinaldo, Armida)
  22. Armida: Act One - Recitativo: 'Ecco il guerriero, il duce' (Gernando, Rinaldo, Coro)
  23. Armida: Act One - N. 6 Finale primo: 'Se pari agli accenti' (Rinaldo, Gernando, Armida, Coro)
  24. Armida: Act One - N. 6 Finale primo: 'Che terribile momento!' (Armida, Rinaldo, Coro)
  25. Armida: Act One - N. 6 Finale primo: 'Deh! se cara a te son io' (Armida, Rinaldo)
  26. Armida: Act One - N. 6 Finale primo: 'Vieni, o duce, punisci l'errore' (Coro, Armida, Goffredo, Rinaldo)
  27. Armida: Act One - N. 6 Finale primo:

Tracks:

  1. Armida: Act Two - N. 7 Coro di Furie: 'Ala voce d'Amida possente' (Coro)
  2. Armida: Act Two - Recitativo: 'Sovr'umano potere' (Astarotte)
  3. Armida: Act Two - N. 8 Coro: 'Di ferro e fiamme cinti' (Coro, Astarotte)
  4. Armida: Act Two - N. 9 Duetto: 'Dove son io!' (Rinaldo, Armida)
  5. Armida: Act Two - Recitativo: 'Mio ben, questa che premi' (Armida, Rinaldo)
  6. Armida: Act Two - N. 10 Finale secondo: 'No; d'Amor la reggia e questa' (Armida, Rinaldo, Coro)
  7. Armida: Act Two - N. 10 Finale secondo: 'Canzoni amorose (Coro)
  8. Armida: Act Two - N. 10 Finale secondo: 'D'Amore al dolce impero' (Armida, Coro)
  9. Armida: Act Two - Ballo: Marziale
  10. Armida: Act Two - Ballo: Andante
  11. Armida: Act Two - Ballo: Allegro moderato
  12. Armida: Act Two - Ballo: Vivace - 'Tutto spira d'Armida all'aspetto' (Coro)

Tracks:

  1. Armida: Act Three - N. 11 Duetto: 'Come l'aurette placide'
  2. Armida: Act Three - Recitativo: 'Oh quanto, amico'
  3. Armida: Act Three - N. 12 Coro di Ninfe: 'T'inganni' - 'Qui tutto e calma'
  4. Armida: Act Three - Recitativo: 'Fuggite, inferni mostri'
  5. Armida: Act Three - N.13 Duetto: 'Soavi catene'
  6. Armida: Act Three - Recitativo: 'O mio Rinaldo'
  7. Armida: Act Three - Recitativo: 'Amico, inoltra il pie'
  8. Armida: Act Three - N. 14 Terzetto: 'In quale aspetto imbelle'
  9. Armida: Act Three - N. 14 Terzetto: 'Vedi qual reo governo'
  10. Armida: Act Three - N. 14 Terzetto: 'Unitevi a gara'
  11. Armida: Act Three - Recitativo: 'Dov'e... dove si cela?'
  12. Armida: Act Three - Recitativo: 'Sia lode al ciel'
  13. Armida: Act Three - Recitativo: 'Ed e pur vero?'
  14. Armida: Act Three - N. 15 Finale terzo: 'Se al mio crudel'
  15. Armida: Act Three - N. 15 Finale terzo: 'Dove son io?... Fuggi!
  16. Armida: Act Three - N. 15 Finale terzo: 'E' ver... gode quest anima'

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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Burning fury!!!!.......2002-04-13

In August 1992 I was working at the Rossini Opera Festival and I was very excited to meet Anna Caterina Antonacci who was supposed to sing Armida,one of my favourite operas.On August 1 around 12:00 pm. I receive a phone call from Antonacci's agent,cancelling the preformances. i was so disappointed I felt like crying,but we did have a double,her name was Renée Fleming a young and almost unknown american soprano.She was there the next day and rehearsed the aria "D'amor al dolce impero" at the piano. I must confess that loving Antonacci so much I had a prejudice against this young soprano,but when she opened her mouth it was like listening to a miracle, the beauty of her voice,her incredible technique and her amazing grasp of the Rossini style left me speechless and astonished. Needless to say she was wonderfull throughout the hole score and the preformances were flabbergasting,it was fortunate that they decided to record one of them so that everybody can enjoy this masterfull interpretation. After Callas' preformances in Florence in 1952 it seamed as though we had lost the real Armida voice,Christine Deutekom sang the part in the sixties,June Anderson in the eighties and Cecilia Gasdia recorded it in 1987 but each of these singers failed in recreating the true Rossini style.Armida is Rossini's third neapolitan opera wrote for his future wife Isabella Colbran one of the greatest opera divas of her time; born a contralto she gradually turned into a soprano and this switch left her with a very large vocal range and an incredible vocal agility. This particular vocal organization was to influence every opera wrote for her(10 all together,9 for the "Teatro San Carlo" in Naples and Semiramide wrote for the "teatro la Fenice" in Venice. Armida is probably one of the most difficult roles in opera history,the soprano is the only female role in the opera,she's almost always on stage and her voice is asked to run up and down the scale constantly with terrifying two octave jumps. The results achieved by Fleming in this live recording are astonishing excpecially considering she was at the beginning of her career,if you love Rossini and female voices you can't miss this Armida,pain,anguish,fury,cruelty,every emotion is portrayed with such artistry that the listener is thrown into a magical exceperience that will leave him speechless.If there is anybody who hasn't heard it yet I hope that this review will convince him. The rest of the cast is outstanding,Kunde is a valid partner for Fleming and Giorgio Gatti always finds the right tempos and the right atmosphere. Enjoy,enjoy,enjoy!!!!!
Adam Lorenzetti

5 out of 5 stars Best Available Recording.......2002-01-09

This is a live performance recording so it suffers from a certain amount of over resonance. That aside this is the one to get.

The Armida story has been made into nearly twenty operas. The Rossini is one of the last. It was a very popular libretto in th 18th century with works by Lully and Haydn. After Rossini only Dvorak wrote a major Armida opera again.

This piece is famous for requiring five or six tenors. Some of these parts only appear in one act so they were written to be doubled in performance. However it is also true that at the oppening performance the bass was ill and his role was covered by one of the tenors. Therefore if you don't like tenors - like say Richard Strauss - stay away for this opera.

The tenors here are all quite good. They have lovely voices, good muscianship and can sing the notes. This hasn't always been true. On the Callas recording Mario Fillepeschi, and Gianni Raimondi (both excellent in other repetoire) are lost in the fioratura.

Gregory Kunde is especailly noteworthy. He sings the Nozzari role altough he has a very different voice from Chris Merritt the Nozzari specialist.

The lead tenor part does not have an aria although some of the secondary tenor parts do. Kunde is a high note specialist. Most tenor voices thin out somewhat as they ascend. For example Pavarotti or Corelli had great success with there high notes but these notes were connected to their lower voice. There are a few others who have voices that explode into the high notes. Examplea include Leon Esclais, Pierre Duval, and even Franco Bonisolli. Kunde has this kind of voice. Down in the regular tenor range he sings very well but he sounds like a routine Mozart tenor or even a comprimario. Above the staff he hits some kind of a resonant node. He sounds better on a high C than a middle C. He is a very fine musician also.

Fleming is stupendous. I had no idea she could do this material this well. The opera is about 50% Armida and 50% all those tenors. Fleming dominates the procedings. This is a tour de force role. It is much bigger than say Semiramide. There is no seconda donna with whom to share the stage. Everything rests on the soprano. No one else today could match this performance.

5 out of 5 stars Rossini: Armida.......2001-02-17

I attended these Pesaro performances, and wish to inform potential buyers that the set preserves in fine sound really remarkable performances from all the principals of one of Rossini's most demanding and individual Neapolitan operas. On buying the CD's I wondered if my memories of the live performances had been true to form, and all I have to add is that they were thrillingly confirmed! When the vocal demands of this work are considered, the beauty, virtuosity and stylish panache of the singers deserve all the bravos they can get!

2 out of 5 stars Glorious Flemming, rotten performance.......2000-10-17

I am lucky enough to have two versions of Rossini's Armida, this one and one recently re-released conducted by Scimone with Cecilia Gasdia. The alternative puts the Gatti version in the shade.

The main weakness of this performance is rather leaden conducting by Gatti. This is not helped by having a rather nondescript orchestra and chorus. Furthermore, none of the eight male roles is sung with distinction. The recording, made over a number of live performances, is marred by a very large number of stage bumps etc., and by a lack of focus on the principals. This is particularly the case for Renee Flemming who is usually miked in a remote and cold form.

The glory of the set is Flemming's spectacular singing, but it is not enough to overcome the other weaknesses. She does have a glorious voice, even when badly recorded, and her devoted admirers will undoubtedly want this record of a remarkable performance. Those looking for a satisfactory overall production are better advised to get the Scimone-Gasdia version.

4 out of 5 stars ON HALVOR'S PERSONAL FAVORITES LIST.......2000-09-01

The singing in this live performance is awfully good; the entire cast goes the extra mile to bring this interesting opera by Rossini to life. For example, listen to Renee Fleming--this is beautifully produced operatic singing, a voice you could easily fall in love with, especially in the lower register. Here, she is lush, voluptuous, and very musical. The Rinaldo, Gregory Kunde, is simply first-class. I would like to hear more of him. Another one of the six tenors in this opera is Donald Kaasch in the role of Goffredo. His voice is powerful on top, with an expressive midrange. However, he affects the idiosyncracy of "scooping" up to higher notes by as much as a fourth, a habit that is unsatisfactory. (If I were his voice coach, I'd get rid of that affectation post haste. It's annoying.) Another no-no that all of the soloists are guilty of is the embellishment of second stanzas of cabalettas. This is a practice Rossini loathed. (I don't mind a high C at the end in the exuberance of performance, though. There are plenty here.) The rest of the tenors and a couple of basses are just fine, and the orchestra and chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna are led in a very lively performance by Daniele Gatti. This recording is high up on Halvor's Personal Favorites List and would probably be on yours, too. Four thumbs up!

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