Nicolai Ghiaurov, Piero Cappuccilli, Mara Zampieri
Piero Visconti, Josef Hopferwieser, Alfred Sramek
Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper
dir: Giuseppe Sinopoli
Orfeo d'Or 2003 C601032I 2 CD stereo D.remastered (Exc. sound)
Rec. live at the Wiener Staatsoper, December, 21 1980
[cue & flac; cover, inlays, booklet & disc scans]
Review
"I have not always been complimentary about Orfeo's live recordings from the Vienna State opera. The sound quality varies as does the level of performance.... This Attila, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli at his premiere appearance there in 1980 is something else again.
...The leading roles are fiendishly difficult but posed no apparent problems for this cast. Nicolai Ghiaurov sings the title role with effortless ease, combining stentorian power with a gentle ease
fullness when necessary. Mara Zampieri is an astonishing Odabella. Her opening lines take her up to a high C then through a descending whirligig of coloratura down two octaves to a b below the staff. Her power is undiminished throughout this role, her voice is huge and at the same time capable of great delicacy and sweetness. She reminds me of Anita Cerquetti who also had an enormous voice with a fire-eating middle and low-register but capable of delicacy and subtlety. ...
Piero Visconti is a new tenor for me. I don't understand why he was so overlooked by recording companies ... His Foresto is excellent, though a little nasal when he has to ascend high and loud. It's a killer role like the rest. He does a fine job.
The real star of the show, however, is Piero Cappuccilli's Enzo. His final aria 'È gettata la mia sorte' ends on a high B-flat above the treble staff! This is incredibly high for a baritone. His performance receives an unprecedented ovation from an ecstatic audience that demanded an encore, and they got it! This sort of pandemonium has only happened on one other occasion on a recording from Vienna and that was at the end of Christa Ludwig's 'Entweihte Götter!' from Lohengrin in which the audience bursts into cheers. Something that is not supposed to ever happen in a Wagner performance. Cappuccilli's encore is every bit as thrilling as the first go-round.
The sound on this set is wonderful, just like a studio recording, only it has that live energy and tension that is never captured in a pasteurized studio environment. The audience applauds and shouts after several of the solos and ensembles.
...If you aren't sure about early Verdi and want to be convinced then get this recording. Highly recommended to all Verdians..."www.amazon.es- pekinman