SearchsearchUseruser

Verdi: Otello - Foster

Verdi: Otello - Foster

PentaTone Classics  PTC 5186562 (2 discs)

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Opera


Verdi: Otello

Nikolai Schukoff (Otello)
Melody Moore (Desdemona)
Lester Lynch (Iago)
JunHo You (Cassio)
Carlos Cardoso (Roderigo)
Kevin Short (Lodovico)
Luis Rodrigues (Montano)
Helena Zubanovich (Emilia)
Leandro César (A Herald)
Gulbenkian Orchestra and Chorus
Lawrence Foster (conductor)


The opera Otello by Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito not only represents the outstanding result of an intensely fruitful creative collaboration between composer and librettist, but also one of the most important core works in the opera repertoire. With his musical setting of Shakespeare’s play, the composition of which took him several years, Verdi also achieved a new level of quality within the framework of his operatic oeuvre. His path was resolute and consistent, leading him away from structured numbers of arias, recitatives and ensembles, and towards the through-composed, large-scale dramatic form. All this based on the timeless literary foundation of Shakespeare's play.

This drama is supported by music that, especially in the depths of the orchestral scoring, subtly penetrates the psyche of the characters, without ruthlessly dissecting them. Music that, despite its magic of its refined tones, never brushes aside the greatest priority of the Italian opera: the human voice. In Otello, Verdi succeeded in forging his own path to “music-drama as a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk,’ as a perfect synthesis of action and music.”

Leading the prestigious Gulbenkian Orchestra in this ambitious studio recording is the dynamic and experienced conductor Lawrence Foster, who has previously made impressive recordings of other operas for Pentatone: a highly praised recording of Strauss’s Zigeunerbaron (= gipsy baron) and Getty’s Usher House. The singers of the three main roles – Otello, Iago, and Desdemona – already met in 2014 for the Pentatone complete recording of Getty’s The Little Match Girl.

Melody Moore, Nikolai Schukoff, and Lester Lynch recorded these roles for the first time. First and foremost, Melody Moore, who is one of the most promising American singers of her generation. In her first recording of an Italian opera for Pentatone, she demonstrates that her truly youthful dramatic soprano voice is able to flawlessly continue the pure Italian tradition of a Renata Tebaldi. The Austrian tenor Nikolai Schukoff once again widens his professional range, singing the demanding title role of Otello with ardent intensity – for the first time, by the way, in the production at hand. As his abysmally evil opponent, the American baritone Lester Lynch matches him in vocal intensity.

Support this site by purchasing from these vendors using the paid links below.
As an Amazon Associate HRAudio.net earns from qualifying purchases.

bol.com
 
jpc
Presto

 

Add to your wish list | library

 

1 of 2 recommend this, would you recommend it?  yes | no

All
show
Recording
show
hide
DSD recording

Recorded at the Grande Auditório of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, in July 2016, DSD 64fs

Executive producer & recording producer: Job Maarse (Polyhymnia International B.V)

Balance engineer & editing: Jean-Marie Geijsen (Polyhymnia International B.V)

Recording engineer & editing: Lauran Jurrius (Polyhymnia International B.V)

Assistant recording engineer and SACD authoring: Leendert van Zanten (Polyhymnia International B.V.)

Language coach: Matelda Cappelletti

Stage manager: Jorge Freire
Comments (2)
show
hide

Comment by Waveform - October 10, 2017 (1 of 2)

Presto Classical has updated the look of the online shop - and it looks great!

Comment by hiredfox - October 14, 2017 (2 of 2)

Absolutely! First class job from them which others would do well to follow....