Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 1.: Introduction: Prelude
2. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 1.: "All'erta! All'erta!"
3. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 1.: "O di Cromvell guerrieri"
4. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 1.: "A festa! A festa!"
5. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 1.: "Or dove fuggo io mai?"
6. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 1.: "Ah! per sempre io ti perdei"
7. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 2.: "O amato zio" - "Sai com'arde in petto mio"
8. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 2.: "Chi mosse a' miei desir il genitor?"
9. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 2.: "Odi... Qual suon si desta?"
10. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 3.: "Ad Arturo onore"
11. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Scene 3.: "A te, o cara, amor talora"
12. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Finale 1.: "Il rito augusto si compia senza me"
13. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Finale 1.: "Cavalier! - "Se t'� d'uopo di consiglio"
14. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Finale 1.: "Son vergin vezzosa"
15. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Finale 1.: "Ferma! Invan, invan rapir pretendi"

Disc 2:

1. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Finale 1.: "Dov'� Arturo?"
2. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Finale 1.: "Oh! vieni al tempio"
3. I Puritani, opera: Part 1. Finale 1.: "Ma tu gi� mi fuggi?"
4. I Puritani, opera: Part 2.: "Ah, dolor! Ah, terror!"
5. I Puritani, opera: Part 2.: "Qual novella?" - "Cinta di fiori"
6. I Puritani, opera: Part 2.: "E di morte Io stral non sar� lento!"
7. I Puritani, opera: Part 2.: "O rendetemi la speme" - "Qui la voce sua soave"
8. I Puritani, opera: Part 2.: "Vien, diletto, � in ciel la luna!"
9. I Puritani, opera: Part 2.: "Il rival salvar tu d�i"
10. I Puritani, opera: Part 2.: "Riccardo! Riccardo! Il duol che s� mi accora"

Disc 3:

1. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Son salvo, alfin son salvo"
2. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "A una fonte afflitto e solo"
3. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Qual suon! Alcun s'appressa"
4. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Fin�... me lassa!" - "Arturo? S�, � desso!"
5. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Vieni, vieni fra queste braccia"
6. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Ancor s'ascolta questo suon molesto"
7. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Cavalier, ti colse il Dio"
8. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Credeasi, misera! da me tradita"
9. I Puritani, opera: Part 3.: "Suon d'araldi?"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147065 in Music
• Released on: 2001-10-09
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .53 pounds

Customer Reviews

Beverly Sills at her considerable best!
Pity poor Beverly Sills! This American diva seemed to be forever a victim of bad timing. After years of performing in relative obscurity with the New York City Opera, she finally achieved "over-night" fame with her dynamic performance in that company's production of Handel's "Julius Caesar" in 1965. But by then Sills was in her mid-30s and her voice was already beginning to lose some of its youthful bloom. In the years following, her decision to tackle roles that lay out of her range taxed Sills' resources to the point where, in less than a decade, her voice had noticeably deteriorated. Unfortunately, her first recording with a major label did not occur until her 1974 release of "La Traviata" on Angel/EMI. That recording was probably the last of her truly satisfying releases. Thereafter her records, although lavishly produced, revealed all too many flaws, including an annoyingly wide vibrato and pinched high notes bordering on hysteria. Sadly, these later recordings are the ones most familiar to a new generation of opera fans and, as a result, Miss Sills' reputation as an artist has been somewhat diminished.

But there was a whole arsenal of recordings made during the late 60s and early 70s that show this remarkable singer at her considerable best. Unfortunately, they were distributed by ABC Records, one of the lesser lights in the industry, and their production values were far inferior to the glossier sound offered by labels like Decca and RCA. Pulled from the catalogue during the 70s, they were remastered and reissued in the early 80s by Angel in an attempt to introduce them to wider audience. But by then many of these recorded operas had to compete with the newer, more sonically satisfying versions starring such singers as Joan Sutherland and Monserrat Caballe.

Therefore it is wonderful news to hear that these ABC recordings starring Beverly Sills are being reissued with brilliant remastering that far exceeds the efforts of the EMI technicians some 20 years ago. And, for my money, this recording of "I Puritani" ranks as one of the most important of these re-releases. This is the kind of role in which Sills excelled and it is easy to see why. She had the vocal range and technique, along with the dramatic insight to do full justice to Elvira. Sills was completely fluent in Italian and it shows here in the nuance she gives to each word. This recording dates from 1973 and although Sills was starting to show signs of vocal decline, she was still, nevertheless, in full control her instrument and delivers a powerhouse performance. Just listen to the final cabaletta "Ah! sento, o mio bell'angelo" to hear an example of sheer joy expressed through singing. Joan Sutherland, in her second recording of this work (made around the same time), sounds heavy and mannered by comparison.

Being a bel canto opera, "I Puritani" demands great singers for all of its roles. In fact, this is the opera that gave rise to the famous "Puritani Quartet" during the mid-nineteenth century in which four of that period's greatest singers became forever identified with their participation in this opera. Therefore, any successful recording of this opera must have four strong principal soloists. Fortunately, Miss Sills is backed up by some of the greatest singers of her era. Nicolai Gedda may sound a little long in the tooth to be the ardent lover, but he was always a stylish and elegant tenor, in many ways more suited to this role than Pavoratti on the Sutherland set. Gedda's lighter voice is more in keeping with the kind of tenor Bellini wrote for, namely one whose upper register was sung largely in head voice rather than from the chest. The high D Bellini scored at the end of "Credeasi, misera!" would have held few terrors for the tenors of his generation. Nowadays, however, this note is usually transposed down to a high C. Both Gedda and Pavoratti make a stab at the D on their respective recordings, with Gedda easily coming off the winner. He produces a far lovelier sound than his Italian counterpart and is able to incorporate the note more seamlessly into the musical line.

The supporting bass/baritone voices of the quartet are given over to Paul Plishka and Louis Quilico, two of the greatest singers of the latter half of the twentieth century. Both men are superb musicians, able to float the elegant Bellini musical line when necessary but still bring the appropriate swagger to their rambunctious duet "Suoni la tromba". The other supporting voices are fine and the chorus is also first rate. Julius Rudel conducts a much more lively account of this score than Bonynge does for Sutherland. Whereas Bonynge seems intent on highlighting the tragic elements of this opera, Rudel never loses sight of the fact that this is primarily a dramatic story with a happy ending. After all, the majority of the first act is given over to wedding celebrations! Even Elvira's mad scene is more energetic, and therefore more convincing, than Bonynge's version.

With a great remastering job that removes most of the annoying echo and hiss of the original masters, it is good news, indeed, to hear that Westminster is planning to release Sills' recording of "Lucia di Lammermoor" early in 2002. Dating from 1970, that recording is an even better example of Beverly Sills in her prime and stands comparison as one of the finest "Lucia's" in the catalogue.

The finest complete recording of I Puritani
It is popular for opera lovers to say that Joan Sutherland, due in large part to her magnificent instrument, sang the best Elvira preserved on records. While I agree that Sutherland had a magnificent dramatic coloratura voice (perhaps the only one besides Maria Callas), I would say that there were several aspects of her singing where some singers achieved or even bettered her. If one were to take Mariella Devia, one of today's greatest bel canto sopranos, as an example, one could find the several places where Sutherland could have improved her singing. Diction and drama were one of Sutherland's pitfalls, and although the coloratura was impeccable, her sense of drama nowhere achieved the ideal balance that say...Maria Callas did in her renditions of the roles. Montserrat Caballe, another golden age soprano, did not possess the coloratura facility to undertake Elvira, and her timbre sounded quite old for the youthful Elvira. Maria Callas is perhaps the greatest soprano to tackle the part, unleashing much of the pathos and passion that most sopranos fail to convey in their singing, but she was supported by a cast that failed to rise to her excellent standards. Sutherland's second recording had nice names in the parts of Arturo, Giorgio, and Riccardo, but their singing was somewhat unidiomatic in the bel canto style, especially Ghiaurov and Cappuccilli in the lower males.

Which leaves us to this recording. Beverly Sills was one of the most underrated sopranos of the 60's and 70's. While it was true that she didn't have the voice of Sutherland (but then again, who did?), she exuded a charisma onstage that often escaped the Australian songbird. She also had a great sense of drama and a youthful voice and a coloratura skill that matched Sutherland's note for note, and to add to that, her embellishments were often well suited to the musical writing. Although I love Maria Callas' Elvira in the sense that her mad scenes have never been approached by any soprano in terms of pathos and gravitas, Beverly Sills imbues them with a sense of drama that is different from Callas but keeping with Italian melodramma. If you listen to her opening lines to the Polonaise to her first mad scene and then the second mad scene and the closing scene, you will find several vocal lines that sound perfect for Elvira's taxing music. I find her to be an ideal Elvira, and if Bellini were alive today, he would probably find Sills to be an ideal interpreter beside Giulia Grisi and Maria Callas. She is girlish, innocent, naive, playful, sad, and mad--everything that the role asks for.

Her Arturo is Nicolai Gedda. Although he doesn't have the dulcet voice of Pavarotti, I find him more involved with the text than the great Italian tenor. He certainly sings all of Bellini's music with a grace and style that Pavarotti did not have, even if he did have the more ideal instrument. Gedda also was more passionate and charismatic, and was a perfect foil to Sills' Elvira than Pavarotti was in the live recording the two singers had together. He sings the high F in full voice, a feat thought to be impossible, but he did it anyways. It sounds strange, but then again, how many male singers have you heard doing that note without sounding like a girl? Even I have not heard Juan Diego Florez attempt that note before (I'm sure it's fabulous), and the one I heard from Pavarotti and William Matteuzzi sounded strange too! Imagine di Stefano doing a high F!

Louis Quilico was one of the greatest baritones of the 60's and 70's who failed to achieve the fame of baritones in his repertoire. He appeared in a recording of Manon with Cotrubas and his singing there was pure heaven! Here, in this recording, he sings with much grace in the part of Riccardo, keeping in with the bel canto line without straying away from the beauty of the drama. A truly wonderful interpretation, and one that I prefer to Gobbi's viper or Cappuccilli's (wow, that man has so many letters doubled in his name!) cobra. A gentleman of an interpretation, if I should say so myself.

Paul Plishka...marvelous Giorgio. This artist did not dominate the world scene like Ghiaurov did, but what a bass he was! He was a great singer, and he did much of his work with Levine and the New Yorkers, although he did work occasionally with Muti and in some parts of Italy. A truly formidable yet understanding, compassionate Giorgio. The two singers are able to bring much of the grandeur to the duet "Suoni la tromba!". A truly magnicent supporting cast!

Julius Rudel is one of the greatest bel canto conductors I've ever heard, and this recording makes me wonder why he never achieved the fame that a second-rate conductor like Bonynge did. Bonynge was probably famous only because he was the husband of Dame Joan, and his performances were often affected with LAAANGUIIIID tempi. His Norma literally bores me, and although I adore the singing, the conducting is abysmal. Rudel brings much life to the music, and we can here this same treatment of the music from his Anna Bolena and Manon with Sills from the same label. This truly is a great recording, and I would place this Puritani on top of the list if you were to buy one.

An Outstanding "Puritani"!
I find it fruitless for reviewers who dislike the quality of certain voices to trash their recordings. One may not care for Sills'voice, but that doesn't mean that they can't write a constuctive review rather than writing something silly like "Beverly Shrill".

I've never been a big fan of Callas, but I don't trash her recordings. In fact I find great artistry in them even thought I may not care for the voice.

That being said, I find this recording of "I Puritani" to be possibly the best committed to vinyl (and now CD). Sills handles the coloratura better than any of her counterparts and she gets to the root of the role of Elvira playing her as the unstable creature that she is. She gives dimension to a character that is very easy for a singer to give no dimension to. She OWNS the mad scene!

Gedda is fantastic here. He was often overshadowed by other tenors (i.e. Pav). He doesn't always get his just reward in the history of recorded music, as the case here. But he holds his own against Pav and perhaps even outshines him.

The overlooked Paul Plishka is another delight on this recording.

Julius Rudel conducts the opera at a rapid, yet clean pace - unlike the second Sutherland recording led by Bongynge which is deathly slow. Chorus and ochestra here are in fine shape too.

This is the "Puritani" to judge all other by - whether you like Sills' voice or not!