Search - Vincenzo Bellini, Fiorenza Cossoto Montserrat Caballé, Vincente Sardinero Amadeo Zambon :: Bellini - La Straniera / Caballé, Cossoto

It is a caballe show.

bel canto fan | edmonton, canada | 07/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Caballe is divine here and that alone worth 5 stars in my opinion. Maria Casoni sings exelent Isoletta. Mail singers are just OK and it does not matter.

It is a short opera with lots of beautifull music. There is no libretto, no synopsis, just some description of the story. The plot is one of the silliest you can find in the silly world of the opera and it does not matter.

What you have is a Bellini music, sang with such beauty and expression by Caballe that the rest does not matter.

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DON'T BE A STRANGER TO LA STRANIERA

M.D.Whitehead | London | 09/05/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"POOR BELLINI DIDN'T LIVE TO HEAR WHAT JUSTICE CABALLE HAD DONE TO HIS VOCAL LINE. THE QUALITY OF THE RECORDING SOUND IS FAR FROM SATISFACTORY BUT THE THEN-VERY-YOUNG DIVA'S PHRASING SAVED THE DAY--OR, THE OPERA. COMPARING THE OFF-STAGE ENTRANCES FROM CABALLE'S LIVE RECORDING AND SUTHERLAND'S STUDIO RECORDING, I FOUND THAT ON A GOOD DAY, CABALLE CAN EASILY OUTSHINE THE OZZY SONGBIRD. THE FLOAT OF THE NOTES, THE ECHO EFFECT AND THE PERFECT BREATH CONTROL FURTHER CONFIRM HER RIGHTFUL DIVADOM."

A rare work with Caballe in her prime

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 05/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""La Straniera" is not a mainstream opera; it did not succeed in the same way as its predecessor, "Il Pirata", did, owing to its silly plot and sometimes less than inspired music. It has been intermittently available in various expensive live recordings and as I write, the only other options are a similarly cheap "Opera d'Oro" set with Renata Scotto with an otherwise mediocre cast, and an excellent live, 1993 version with a young Renee Fleming and Gregory Kunde, both in superb voice, with a first class supporting cast in very good stereo sound, conducted by Eve Queler, available for around $42 delivered from Celestial Audio in Australia. I am not a great fan of Scotto but even those who are, might be deterred by the lack of quality in her co-singers and the rough sound, so it's between this set and the Fleming one. Renee is in her fresh, youthful prime, delivering great topnotes and a creamy, seamless stream of tone; Kunde is similarly impressive.



This Gala set is not in the best sound either, but it's not bad for a 1969 performance - perfectly listenable mono without much distortion. The principal women are very good, Caballe floating those trademark high pianissimi and injecting real drama into her characterisation, Casoni singing strongly without any special distinction. I have read complaints about both male singers but I find Sardinero to be his usual dependable self, using his ringing baritone to great effect, and I do not object to the rather unvaried, stentorian tones of the little-known tenor, Amadeo Zambon (who died aged 65 in 2000); he is not subtle but his is a proper Italianate voice. He sings all the notes and produces some good ones as he goes up to compensate for the rather blaring sound in the middle of the voice.



Guadagno is a sensitive, seasoned conductor and oversees what was clearly something of an occasion in New York; Caballe in her prime was a phenomenon despite some of those irritating mannerisms which crept in quite early in her career, such as glottal emphasis and that matronly tone in the middle of the voice; her vocal pyrotechnics are a joy.



As a clincher, there is the bonus of an extended extract from the famous Act 2 duet from "Norma" sung by Caballe and Cossotto in 1970; the sound is muddy but the singing peerless.



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