Track Listing

1. Preludio
2. S�- Corre Voce Che L' Etiope Ardisca
3. Se Quel Guerrier Io Fossi!...... Celeste Aida
4. Quale Insolita Giola
5. Alta Cagion V'aduna
6. Ritorna Vincitor!
7. Possente, Possente Fth�
8. Mortal, Diletto Ai Numi
9. Chi Mai Fra Gl' Inni
10. Fu La Sorte Dell' Armi A' Tuoi Funesta
11. Su! Del Nilo Al Sacro Lido
12. Gloria All' Egitto
13. Marcia E Ballabile
14. Vieni, O Guerriero Vindice
15. Salvator Della Patria
16. Che Veggo!.... Egli-..... Mio Padre!
17. Atto Ii (Cont'd) - Quest'assisa Ch'io Vesto Vi Dica
18. Ma Tu, Re, Tu Signore Possente
19. O Re- Pei Sacri Numi
20. Gloria All' Egitto, Ad Iside
21. Atto Iii - O Tu Che Sei D'osiride
22. Qui Radames Verra! ... O Patria Mia
23. Ciel! Mio Padre!
24. Pur Ti Riveggo, Mia Dolce Aida
25. Fuggiam Gli Ardori Inospiti
26. Tu ... Amonasro! ..Tu!
27. Atto Iv - L'aborrita Rivale A Me Sfuggia
28. Gia I Sacerdoti Adunansi
29. Ohime! ... Morir Mi Sento! Oh! Chi Lo Salva-
30. Radames! Radames! Radames! Tu Rivelasti
31. La Fatal Pietra Sovra Me Se Chiuse
32. Presago Il Core Della Tua Condanna
33. O Terr, Addio

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #171818 in Music
• Released on: 1998-12-15
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Import

Album Description
In 1961 when this recording was made everyone in this stellar cast was in their vocal prime and deliver what surely must be one of the most thrilling studio performances of Aida ever offered to the public. Conductor Solti's well-considered judicious tempos heighten the power, drama and allure of Verdi's various settings and Decca's vintage stereo sonics still sound great.

Customer Reviews

Price Is The Definitive Aida
While many sopranos recorded "Aida", (to varying degrees of success), Leontyne Price is considered by many to be the definitive Aida of the second half of the 20th century. Indeed, she identified so closely with that opera that she chose it for her farewell performance at the Met in 1985, (with James McCracken as Radames.) And she recorded it twice, once in 1970, with Placido Domingo, Grace Bumbry and Sherill Milnes, and this earlier recording from the early '60s, with Jon Vickers, Rita Gorr and Robert Merrill. Her rich voice is perfectly suited to the music and the role of Aida--lush and heroic, yet capable of the most exquisite tenderness and sweetness.
Both Price's versions are excellent, but I prefer this version. Price's voice was at its peak, without the later heaviness that categorized the middle-range and the ferociousness of the top notes. Her later recording is of an older, more mature Aida--not the young princess that the opera calls for and that she so clearly depicts here.
Vickers was a great heroic tenor, with an almost baritone timbre to his voice, yet with ringing top notes, (or the ability to float an ethereal pianissimo when needed.) He could sing the Wagner heldentenor roles as well as the heroic Verdi roles as well as anyone, and his Radames is an heroic, yet ardent military commander. Robert Merrill was a dark, commanding Amonasro, with a voice that sounds like the father of the young Aida should sound. And not to take anything away from the wonderful Grace Bumbry on the later version, Rita Gorr's Amneris is simply superb. Her duet with Vickers is some of the finest music in the opera.
While Sir Georg Solti is often remembered as a symphonic conductor, he was also one of the premier opera conductors of his day. His pacing of the opera is masterful. This recording is also available in a higher-priced version--but why spend the extra money? It should be in every opera fan's collection.

not to be missed
Generally regarded as one of the best version of Aida on record
the Solti set has indeed a lot going for it - a first class
cast and great sound and now a super-bargain price to boot!!!
Leontyne Price - born to sing Aida - is in her somptuous prime
her voice rich and velvety plus an affecting way with words
and music. Jon Vickers is an appropriately heroic Radames but
also shows intelligence and nuance in his interpretation. Rita
Gorr in magnificent voice is a vehement Amneris while Robert
Merrill's dark and rock solid voice makes for a commanding
Amonasro. Solti conducts with his usual energy - the sound is
great if a little blaring at times - not to be missed!

Yeah, it's exciting, but....
This recording has many things going for it... in fact it may be the best version of Aida availible. But it has one tremendous, inescapable flaw: it doesn't sound Italian.

Price of course is a wonderful soprano, and a perfect Aida, as is most of the cast. Vickers would not be a good choice as Radames for any other performance; but since this is such a dramatic rendition, it works well.

Solti is truly a master at Wagner. Unfortunately he also has the reputation of being a master Mozart and Verdi conductor, neither of which he is. It isn't so much the heavy brass that does it, it's more of a deliberate reading of the score into shorter rhythmic units (think Beethoven) instead of long, lyrical lines. It's interesting and at times very effective. One should realize, however, what it is when making a decision on selecting music. If you normally do not like Verdi, or you are a fan of Solti's Verdi recordings (or Karajan for that matter) you will probably enjoy this recording. I prefer Giulini as a Verdi conductor, although unfortunately he never recorded this work. As far as I know, Chung also has not recorded it, although if he could be persuaded to, he could be a fantastic exponet (he studied under Giulini, and his Othello sounds very reminiscent of the lyrical, clear and fiery readings that Giulini could give).

So what does all of this mean? It is a good, well performed recording--it's just not as good as this Opera has the potential of being. Listening to Giulini's Rigoletto or Falstaff, one can get a sense of the tremendous genius of Verdi, and his very unique qualities as a composer--the dark sonoroties, human passions and bitter irony of beautiful singing but corrupt characters. Solti does not do justice to Verdi's unique genius. It is a very interesting conception, and a fairly thorough one, but it's just not complete. I do think it's worth getting though, and the price is quite reasonable. There are some wonderful highlights, and you may enjoy listening to several of the tracks just as individual 'numbers'. It should be mentioned that there is no libretto included. The older and more expensive set includes a libretto, and is spread onto three discs so that the second act can be divided at the end of a scene, instead of the middle (much in the same way that Madama Butterfly is often recorded). Also one might be interested in a wonderful collection of Verdi Librettos that is sold as a fairly cheap paper back edition--you can certainly get this cd and a copy of the book for cheaper than the full priced set.