Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ouverture
2. Act 1. Tu, signor!... lasciar s� presto
3. Act 1. Ah! non pensar che pieno
4. Act 1. Oh! divina Agnese!... Come t'adoro,
5. Act 1. Silenzio e notte intorno,
6. Act 1. Nulla � un regno a core amante
7. Act 1. E la mia, e la mia... spietato!?
8. Act 1. Introduzione scena quinta
9. Act 1. Respiro io qui...
10. Act 1. Ma la sola, ohim�! son io,
11. Act 1. Ah! la pena in lor piomb�
12. Act 1. Vedi?... La tua presenza
13. Act 1. Tu qui, Filippo?...
14. Act 1. Odio e livore?
15. Act 1. Qui di ribelli sudditi
16. Act 1. Lo vedeste?
17. Act 1. Il mio dolore, e l'ira...
18. Act 1. Deh! se mi amasti un giorno
19. Act 1. Ciascun! ciascun! non io.
20. Act 1. A ciascun fidar vorrei,
21. Act 1. Parti...
22. Act 1. Ah! tal onta io meritai

Disc 2:

1. Act 1. Al castigo a lor dovuto
2. Act 1. N� fra voi, fra voi si trova
3. Introduzione
4. Act 2. Lassa! e pu� il ciel permettere
5. Act 2. Omai del suo destino abritra solo
6. Act 2. Di grave accusa il peso
7. Act 2. Eccolo... Oh! come lo ridusse,
8. Act 2. Orombello!... Oh! voce!
9. Act 2. Grazie! o Ciel!
10. Act 2. Al tuo fallo ammenda festi
11. Act 2. Poi che il reo smentisce il vero
12. Act 2. Filippo!
13. Act 2. Rimorso in lei?...
14. Act 2. Qui m'accolse oppresso, errante
15. Act 2. Elle viva.
16. Act 2. Non son io che la condanno:
17. Act 2. Nulla diss'io...
18. Act 2. Agnese!
19. Act 2. Angiol di pace all'anima
20. Act 2. Chi giunge?
21. Act 2. Ah! se un'urma � a me concessa,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #474972 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-31
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

Definitive.
All are excellent in this beautiful opera, with its very literate libretto.Leyla Gencer is the top one here , and her voice, with its wonderful ideocyncacies drives the action forward with great dramatic force. Her voice? Perfection. Her Questi d'amanti popoli, voti e lamenti sono..exquisite..sheer Bel Canto, and one of many many places in this grand opera by Bellini, where the heart of operatic Italian sensibilities emerges through her art.

Leyla Gencer never recorded in a studio a complete opera..a real oversight, but we have these treasures..

Buy it at once.

Beatrice di Verdi
I find Beatrice di Tenda perhaps -because of Norma, the most fascinating opera Bellini has written. Its tunes may not be as hummable as in Puritani or Sonnambula but the interesting plot and rich music create a wonderful atmosphere in the theatre.

Sadly all the recordings of this great work leave something to be desired. This 1964 performance took place shortly after the opera's revival in the 60s and because of this suffers from what other revived, mostly bel canto, works did in that decade (e.g. Gli Ugonotti, Assedio di Corinto, Giulio Cesare). The style of those operas and the differences from Verdi, versimo etc was not entirely clear yet. Also the score is cut with the final cabaletta being the most important loss.

Here, everyone sings their heart out and do so very excitingly and convincingly. But their singing sounds more like early Verdi than Bellini. Bellini's music has more subtleties and gentle emotions than Verdi and I'm not sure I heard those on this recording.

Leyla Gencer is in good voice but occasionally overdoes it with glottal attacks. Unlike the spectacular Sutherland, Gencer takes the time to phrase and put some meaning in the words. Hers is not the most beautiful voice but her pianissimo, even when it's overdone, is a beautiful effect. More beauty comes from Antigoni Sgourda whom I enjoyed a lot. What a pity she didn't get more acclaim. I have a Roberto Devereux with her from the 70s that impressed me too. Zanasi sounds dryer here than in the Lucia with Scotto I watched a while ago but his bronze baritone gives the right tone to his character. Juan Oncina doesn't do anything special with his music and is just serviceable as Orombello. The chorus sometimes sounds very small but that gives them some individuality.

The sound of this 60s RAI broadcast is fine, nothing impressive. Gui though reliable, is often way too slow.

Since no Beatrice recording is ideal, if you like Gencer, you could try this one which is the most Italian. Gruberova - who often does interesting things in this role, Sutherland, Devia - perhaps the most convincing musically and even Freni all have something to offer to the role so happy Beatrice hunting.