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Discussion: Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor - Gergiev

Posts: 7

Post by gavindixon July 29, 2011 (1 of 7)
Good but heavy going. A few reservations about how Italian it all is. Dessay is good, but Sutherland is easier on the ear:
http://www.classical-cd-reviews.com/2011/07/lucia-di-lammermoor-gergiev-dessay.html

Post by hiredfox July 31, 2011 (2 of 7)
Can you not be a little more explicit and helpful?

Post by hiredfox September 4, 2011 (3 of 7)
This is a very fine recording indeed both musically and technically. Stereo presentation is nigh faultless and genuinely conveys the acoustic of the Mariinsky Theatre in such realism that the absence of an eruption of applause at the close leaves the listener feeling somewhat hanging in mid air.

It would be difficult to nominate a gentler less musically dramatic opera than "Lucia di Lammermoor", never-the-less Valery Gergiev handles his players and the soloists with great tenderness and patience throughout with ne'er a tendency to allow rough edges to appear through accelerated pacing. The Maestro is either becoming more sanguine in middle age or is displaying an inner tenderness that is rarely heard. As a result the balance between orchestra and soloists is always completely natural and lines can be followed easily from the libretto. No mean feat for the Russian Soloists especially as the performance is sung in beautifully phrased Italian.

Natalie Dessay is as you would expect outstanding but fully measures her performance alongside her less illustrious (to Western observers anyway) companions.

Overall, a very fine achievement and a very worthy addition to the SACD Opera catalogue. A natural first choice for SACD - are there any others? - as for all recorded performances that is not for me to say, this best left to Donizetti aficionados. Regrets? Far too few to mention

The Mariinsky Project more and more looks like 'Nirvana' for SACD collectors and long may it continue - one has to look no further than the recording team to suggest why and by that I take nothing away from Valery Gergiev and his fine Mariinsky palyers.

Post by hiredfox September 6, 2011 (4 of 7)
Am I the only one to have bought this disc?

Post by Peter September 6, 2011 (5 of 7)
hiredfox said:

Can you not be a little more explicit and helpful?

Have you now seen the link to the review given in Gavin's post?

Post by Peter September 6, 2011 (6 of 7)
hiredfox said:

......The Maestro is either becoming more sanguine in middle age or is displaying an inner tenderness that is rarely heard......

I get the impression Gergiev spreads himself rather thinly - flying about from country to country, running a great number of organisations, he sometimes cuts it fine with rehearsal times and it sometimes shows. What stamina, though!

Post by hiredfox September 6, 2011 (7 of 7)
Peter said:

I get the impression Gergiev spreads himself rather thinly - flying about from country to country, running a great number of organisations, he sometimes cuts it fine with rehearsal times and it sometimes shows. What stamina, though!

Staying on for Ivan Fischer's "Audience Choice" concert on Friday evening at RAH was revealing. Music selected almost at random by the audience was played straight from the scores without rehearsal by the orchestra. The results were very impressive. Of course, the players had performed all these pieces many times over in their careers but otherwise this recreated exactly the situation you describe.

Each piece was note perfect from 'get-go' with section entries crisp and sharp, after literally a few minutes the players also picked up the rhythm - including Ivan I might suggest - and from then on 'bingo' they were 'on it'.

These are professional players of course each one multi-talented and able to scan music straight into their brains - nevertheless, very impressive indeed to watch and helping to explain how flitting maestros can get away with it.

In their defence, playing music off sheets is one thing, playing it ensemble with expression and emotion is quite another; it is this art that prevents a maestro from being redundant.

An eternal fascination for me is how varied an orchestra can be made to sound by different conductors running the same piece.

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