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This recording of Verdi's A Masked Ball was the final opera project of the great German conductor, Herbert von Karajan.
As has often been the case for decades now, Deutsche Grammophon recorded the opera in anticipation of a production at the Salzburg Festival. The opera was recorded between 27 January and 3 February 1989, and Karajan died during the rehearsals at Salzburg, on 16 July 1989. (As an aside, this event caused the debut of Sir Georg Solti at the festival as a last-minute replacement; the performances were then filmed with Solti, and are now available on DVD.)
It's also unusual to have a collaboration between Karajan and Plácido Domingo - one wonders why they didn't work together more often on the basis of this account, which places the tenor role of Gustavo III (the original Swedish version of the opera is used) at the centre of the action. The massive solo scene in the third act is the highlight of the recording, spaciously paced with a beautiful, even tone. His death scene is noble; the duet at the gallows done with a desperate passion. Without doubt, this is the best of Domingo's various assumptions of the role – more intelligent than for Muti on EMI, more thrilling than on Abbado's recording – and now that it is released at budget price in the 'Opera House' series, there's no excuse for not buying this brilliant account of Verdi's most varied mid-period opera.
On first listening, I had doubts about Dame Josephine Barstow's Amelia – just occasionally she can sound a little forced. Subsequently, I've grown to prefer Barstow's Amelia to any other on record since Margaret Price. Instead of the insipidity of some sopranos in the part (for instance, Aprille Milo on the DG DVD of the opera from the Met), we can at last understand why these two men, Gustavo and Anckarström, are arguing over her.
Her sense of fear during the encounter with Ulrica is greater, and though not the purest account imaginable, her Act 2 aria is more intense. In addition, her request to see her son before she has to die, 'Morrň, ma prima in grazia', has all the heart-break that it should; no wonder that her husband gives her what she wants.
Leo Nucci was at his best in the late 80s, and this has to rank amongst his finest recordings. His Anckarström is as lyrical as one could hope, conveying his honesty and dignity on the one hand, and his deep shock at discovering his wife's infidelity with his best friend, on the other; the third act aria 'Eri tu' encapsulates the latter emotion perfectly.
Florence Quivar is the embodiment of the devil as Ulrica, much better than in her Met performance on DVD; Sumi Jo is the freshest-voiced Oscar imaginable. All the smaller roles are sung with purpose, including the luxury casting of Kurt Rydl as Ribbing.
Surely Verdi has never been more beautifully played than by the Vienna Philharmonic on this recording. Karajan sculpts each phrase with enormous care, with even the prelude to the first act leaving an impression on the brain of the beauty of the themes that will form the main conflicts of the opera to come.
A fine cast in its prime, and the final legacy of a great opera conductor. Not to be missed.
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