Joseacute Carreras Sylvia Sass Matteo Manuguerra - Verdi Stiffelio Carreras Sass Manuguerra Ganzarolli ORF Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Vienna Gardelli (34 tracks) +Album Reviews

A great recording of an underrated masterpiece

11/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is still the best (it was the first) studio recording of this little known Verdi tunefest. Wonderful arias and duets, full of melody and drama. Carreras is in fine voice, and lovely young diva Sylvia Sass sings with her usual incisive, sensitive and powerful soprano. Her big aria in Act Two is not to be missed. Everyone should have this CD in their collection. It's a wonderful ensemble recording."

Another sublime Lamberto Gardelli early Verdi recording

Armindo | Greece | 05/28/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Philips has done a wonderful job with Verdi's early operas. This set is another example. Jose Carreras during the 70s was a perfect tenor for early Verdi operas. The voice was sublime (among the best) and the characterisation vivid. If only he had avoided the heavier roles! I'm happy that we have the Stiffelio, Corsaro, Simon Boccanegra, I Due Foscari, La Battaglia di Legnano, Un Giorno di Regno recordings to remember his greatness. Sylvia Sass as heard here, makes me wonder why she didn't record more in the 70s; a genuine powerful dramatic voice (many wrongly accused her of imitating Callas). Manuguerra and the rest of the cast could perhaps be better but this doesn't reduce the value of this recording. What I always like with Gardelli's conducting is that he allows the singers to perform and does not overpower them with his orchestra (like Karajan for example). On the whole, an essential recording for Verdi collectors."

Viva Stiffelio!

PhantomOfTheOpera | Norway | 09/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This opera was by another amazon reviewer called "Verdi's little known tunefest" and I have to say it's hard coming up with a better description. Unjustly it has been living in the shadows of more famous operas written by Verdi. For those completely unfamiliar to Stiffelio I can assure you that the opera is packed with beautiful arias from beginning to end and this recording is also blessed with superb singers.

Recorded in 1979, this opera captures the singers in their prime. I belong to the group of people who maintain that Carreras was still in his prime by the end of the 70s and this recording serves as a proof to that. His voice is as glorious as ever; powerful and able to spinning notes of the finest quality. He really puts his mind and soul into the interpretation of the role as the minister Stiffelio. In my opinion no one can beat this performance. As always he evokes emotion like nobody else.

The Hungarian born singer Sylvia Sass is a wonderful Lina, the wife of Stiffelio who's an adulteress. Around the time of this recording she was being heralded as the new Callas and after listening to her singing the role of Lina, you'll have no problems understanding why. Her arias are beautifully sung; it's pure pleasure listening to hear. No unsubtle screaming coming from her, I can assure you.

I have to admit that I hadn't heard of Matteo Manuguerra until I came upon this recording. He gives a convincing performance as Lina's father and his arias are beautiful. The rest of the cast are also adequate.

The story in this opera is built on a timeless issue - infidelity, and even though people looked differently upon this matter back in the days of Verdi, we can still relate to the problems it causes between Stiffelio and Lina. Stiffelio's jealousy and anger that seems to eat at his heart is also easily understandable. All in all this makes the story interesting both listening to as well as watching. A dvd of the same opera with Carreras still in the main role as Stiffelio is available at amazon. Both are worth while."

Forgiveness of Sin

Lorenzo Moog | Seattle, WA USA | 12/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This opera, "Stiffelio" (1850; Trieste), Verdi's 16th, with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, was to make a great deal of complications for the composer. The story of a married Protestant minister forgiving his wife of adultery, from the pulpit, and in front of his congregation was more than the censors of the Imperial and Royal Directorate of the Police could bear, even though Piave's libretto had been initially approved. A mangled version of the story was presented and went through several Trieste performances to a warm reception and decent reviews and was then withdrawn. La Scala wanted to stage it however Verdi sent a list of conditions to Ricordi which forbade any alteratiopns to the final scene. La Scala passed. Six years later Verdi was to re-write the opera as "Aroldo" and probably gave little further thought to "Stiffelio". In any event while all of the chaos aound "Stiffelio" was going on Verdi was busy with his next opera, "Rigoletto".

How surprised Verdi would be to know that in the 20th Century his put upon and failed opera would find its way back into his repetoire. And for good reason, it is a beautiful work and gets a great performance in this 2CD set from Philips, a studio recording from Vienna, 1979. There is a book with a synopsis and libretto in Italian and English and is recorded with excellent technical quality. Other reveiwers have adequately discussed the quality of the singing which is uniformly excellent. Carrares is superb in the title role and Sylvia Sass earns her chops as a very stylish and dramatic Verdi singer. All of the cast are very good as well as the ORF Chorus. Lambert Gardelli gives a powerful interpretation of the score, masterfully conducting the ORF Symphony. The story of the wayward wife and the put upon minister is quite simple but Verdi builds on the drama of Piave's libretto with a very masterful composition. I agree with an earlier reviewer who lamented the endless rounds of "la Traviata" and "Aida" when there are so many other high quality Verdi operas to choose from, "Stifellio" included. If you enjoy Verdi you will find this under-performed work a delight. Placido Domingo will be conducting Stiffelio at the Met in spring 2010 and hopefully a recording will result. This set? Highly Recommended!"

What a terrific singing cast!

Abel | Hong Kong | 11/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I fully agree with other reviewers of this item that the protagonists in this recording are nothing short of being sublime.

There are some singers whom we have not heard much of since this recording - Sass and Manuguerra, two wonderful singers and interpretors of Verdi (Manuguerra still have 'Nabucco' recorded for Muti). Sylvia Sass has a beautiful timbre in the league of Mirella Freni, but it does not appear that she enjoyed Freni's longevity in vocal terms. She is absolutely ravishing in this recording.

Manugeurra as Verdian baritone could be said to be on par with Piero Cappucilli, though of course he did not enjoy the latter's fame.

Last but in no way the least, Jose Carreras in the title role.

There are consistent cries for 'bigger' voices in Verdi's operatic heroes, and Carreras isn't a 'big voice'. But then, so what? Carreras' voice has all the flexibility needed at that stage of his career. The power of expressiveness already takes care of every possible vocal requirements of this role. Both Carreras and Sass are able to bring out ALL the dramatic demands of their roles by their singing. Manuguerra offers a wonderful support in the role of Lina's authoritarian father.

For the sake of truly first class Verdian singing, this recording must not be missed."

Search - José Carreras, Sylvia Sass, Matteo Manuguerra :: Verdi - Stiffelio / Carreras · Sass · Manuguerra · Ganzarolli · ORF Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Vienna · Gardelli

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