Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Plácido Domingo, Mirella Freni :: Verdi: Otello

A dream come true

Part-time 1L | Columbus OH | 05/08/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I stumbled upon this recording by accident, and yet it has become my favorite recording of Otello. Domingo is spectacular; Freni is unparalleled. But in their studio recordings, Domingo has been paired with less than great Desdemonas (I never quite understood Levine's obsession with Renata Scotto), and Freni's Otello, Jon Vickers, just doesn't sound right to me--too Germanic, I think. This is the only recording that has Domingo with Freni. But there's more: Kleiber conducts a thrilling Otello; he conducts this opera as if he owns it. Piero Cappucilli is wonderful as Iago and brings the house down with his Credo. Vocally, he's an extraordinarily good match for Domingo and Freni. Finally, even though this is not a studio recording, but rather a live recording from La Scala, the sound is exceptionally good. I recommend this Otello without reservation."