Mood: energetic
Topic: 031) Huguenots, Vienna 1970
LES HUGUENOTS Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)
Marguerite de Valois Rita Shane
Comte de Saint-Bris Dimitri Petkov
Valentine Enriqueta Tarres
Comte de Nevers Pedro Farres
Urbain Jeanette Scovotti
Cossé Kurt Equiluz
Tavannes Harald Neukirch
Thoré Ewald Aichberger
de Retz Jaroslav Stanjnc
Méru Ladislav Ilavsky
Maurevert Manfred Schenk
Raoul de Nangis Nicolai Gedda
Marcel Justino Diaz
Bois-Rosé Ewald Aichberger
Deux Demoiselles Waltrud Haas/Unni Rugtvedt
Archer Manfred Schenk
Premier moine Jaroslav Stanjc
Second moine Ladislav Ilavsky
Troisième moine Manfred Schenk
Orchestra & Chorus of the Austrian Radio
Ernst Märzendorfer Conductor
Gottfried Preinfalk Chorus Master
Broadcast February 17, 1971* Grosser Konzerthaussaal, Vienna
There are three available recordings of this opera: A complete performance on Decca with Sutherland and a weak tenor; a cut Italian version live from Scala with Sutherland, Corelli, and Simionato that is thrilling but lacks any sense of French style; and this version, from an Austrian Radio performance in 1971 that cuts about 75 minutes of the opera and has some very weak casting. (Another complete one on the MusiFrance label disappeared long ago.) The good things about this Opera d'Oro set, besides the price, are Nicolai Gedda, who sings Raoul with style, elegance, ringing top notes, and absolute commitment, the leadership of Ernst Märzendorfer, who holds the show together and conducts with a dramatic throb that almost makes sense of the work (and is certainly better than Bonynge), and the Marguerite of Rita Shane, a high coloratura who, while more interested in vocal fireworks than anything else, nonetheless delivers great excitement with lots of interpolated high Ds, Es, Fs and the occasional squeaky G. Jeanette Scovotti is a pert Urbain, also with uninviting, mouse-like high notes, Enriqueta Tarres is a shrill Valentine, and Justino Diaz is terrible as Marcel. The sound is very good. This is for the curious and for fans of Nicolai Gedda, who will not be disappointed.
--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com
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Updated: Thursday, 12 February 2015 9:00 AM CET
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