Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Riccardo Muti, La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra :: Verdi: Overtures and Preludes

A tasty plate of early-to-middle Verdi curtain raisers

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 06/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Muti, with his driven and straight-faced "objective" style of conducting, has never been my man, but he has to be given credit as a Verdi specialist. His early reputation was built on scrupulously following the written score and cleaning up musty performance practices at La Scala. That shows in this colleciton of Verdi preludes and overtures--half middle-period chestnuts, half early and rare--where we get clean lines, precise ensemble (maybe a bit too precise; one thinks of the U.S. Marine cORPS Band every once in a while), and an authentic feeling for a night at the opera.



This last is rare on recordings. For a long time the best competition came from much grander ensembles like the Berlin Phil. under Karajan. It's refreshing for once to come closer to the real La scala, Verdi's home theater, with the pit band's leaner, crisper tone."