Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Overture
2. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Piano, pianissimo, senza parlar
3. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Ecco ridente in cielo
4. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Ehi, Fiorello
5. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Mille grazie, mio signore
6. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Gente indiscreta!
7. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. La ran la le ra...Largo al factotum
8. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Ah, che bella vita!
9. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Non è venuto ancora
10. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Le vostre assidue premure
11. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Se il mio nome saper voi bramate
12. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. Oh cielo!
13. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 1. All'idea di quel metallo
14. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Una voce poco fa
15. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Sì, sì, la vincerò
16. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Ah, disgraziato Figaro!
17. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Ah! Barbiere d'inferno
18. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. La calunnia è un venticello
19. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Ah! Che ne dite?
20. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Ma bravi! Ma benone!
21. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Dunque io son
22. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Ora mi sento meglio
23. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. A un dottor della mia sorte

Disc 2:

1. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Finora in questa camera
2. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Ehi, di casa, buona gente
3. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Che cosa accadde, signori miei
4. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Fredda ed immobile
5. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 1. Scene 2. Ma signor ... ma un dottor
6. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Ma vedi il mio destino!
7. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Pace e gioia sia con voi
8. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Insomma, mio signore, chi è lei?
9. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Venite, signorina
10. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Contro un cor che accende amore
11. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Bella voce! Bravissima!
12. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Quando mi sei vicina
13. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Bravo, signor barbiere, ma bravo!
14. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Don Basilio! Cosa veggo!
15. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Che vecchio sospettoso!
16. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Dunque voi Don Alonso
17. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Thunderstorm / Gewitter / Tempête
18. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Alfine eccoci qua
19. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Ah, qual colpo inaspettato!
20. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Ah, disgraziati noi!
21. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Insomma io ho tutti i torti
22. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Act 2. Di sì felice innesto

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9264 in Music
• Released on: 2004-06-01
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Customer Reviews

Lively, Idomatic Performance at a Bargain Price!
Recorded in 1975 and recently re-issued at a bargain price, this recording of "Barbiere" is hard to beat for sheer, sportive fun, with everyone involved sounding like they're enjoying themselves. Here you have Sills, Milnes, Gedda, Renato Capecchi, and Ruggiero Raimondi, all at the height of their respective powers, and the young James Levine, all bounce and go with the first flush of success, conducting. How to pick highlights from highlights? Well, how about Milnes with a "Largo al Factotum" to rival Merrill and Ruffo's recordings for sheer abandon? And then there's Gedda, with the most feather-light "Ecco, Ridente" I have ever heard. Alas, the recording includes a synopsis, but no libretto. No real loss, though, when you consider what you're getting for the price: A vibrant performance full of fun and great music-making.

A Misfire
On paper, this looks like a dream cast, but the reality proves unfortunate. BVeverly Sills, Nicolai Gedda and Sherril Milnes are some of my favorite singers, but here, Sills sounds fatigued (though her "Un Vene Poco fa" is charming and winsome), Milnes misses the finese of Figaro, and Gedda, sad to say, sounds old and tired. Renato Cappecchi is a miscast Bartolo, but Raimondi is an imposing Bartolo, if without the nuances that Zaccaria brings to the role or the sheer glee Ramey and Montarsolo do. Levine's tempi are plodding, and Fedora Barbieri shows up in a cameo as Bertha, compleatly ill-equiped. If it were not for Sill (who can do no real wrong) and Raimondi, I wouldn't even bother looking at it. 2/5

A charming, humane, thoroughly enjoyable Barbiere
In much the same manner that Lucia Popp forever standardized Mozart's Königin der Nacht, Beverly Sills redefines the role of Rossini's capricious Rosina. Her crystalline coloratura voice washes over "Una voce poca fa" with brisk, windswept ease. It is a mystery why any listener would prefer a mezzo-soprano, such as Teresa Berganza, despite the fact that the role was fashioned for a denser voice. (Agnes Baltsa is likely the most delightful deep Rosina on record.) Nicolai Gedda's mellifluous voice provides the ideal characterization for Rossini's vigorous youth, the Conte d'Almaviva. "Ecco, ridente in cielo" and "Se il mio nome saper voi bramate," the role's osciallating cavatina and sensual serenade, shine with two characteristics which often clash during tenor performances: stylistic perfection and taste. Sherrill Milnes is, without a doubt, the finest Figaro recorded since Robert Merrill. The Verdian baritone exhibits atypically droll flare during "Largo al factotum," especially during the aria's feverish repetition of "Figaro." He and Gedda harmonize flawlessly during the duet "All'idea di quell metallo"; his voice also complements the radiant Sills during "Dunque io son ... tu non m'inganni?"

Fernando Corena possessed the most pristine and genuinely humorous interpretation of the cranky Dottore Bartolo. Renato Capecchi, a buffo bass whose range is quite impressive though occasionally unstable, provides a performance which can almost parallel Corena's. Where Corena was blusterous, Capecchi is sniveling; where the former was wickedly serpentine, Capecchi is morose and self-pitying. His greatest achievement is that he is never maudlin; his performance is constantly fluid (he is gut-wrenchingly hilarious during the Act II duet "Pace e gioia sia con voi" with Gedda disguised as a garrulous music teacher) and his characterization, though it transcends all realms of reality, is delightful in its over-the-top perfection. Ruggero Raimondi's Don Basilio is quite the opposite; his rendition of the "Slander Song" ("La calunnia è un venticello") is almost doomful. He provides archaic and gloomy weight where the inimitable Nicolai Ghiaurov was effervescent. The illustrious mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri supplies a very satisfying performance as Berta, Bartolo's disgruntled old maid, especially during her aria "Il vecchiotto cerca moglie."

With James Levine leading the London Symphony Orchestra with exquisite charm, one can barely begin to praise this brilliant 1975 recording of Rossini's landmark opera. It is not only an essential Il Barbiere di Siviglia for aficionados of the comedy, but a touching and compelling accomplishment no music lover should exist without.