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Falstaff / Verdi, Gobbi · Schwarzkopf · Moffo · Karajan
by: Giuseppe Verdi, Herbert von Karajan, Tito Gobbi, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Nan Merriman, Anna Moffo, Rolando Panerai, Fedora Barbieri, Tomaso Spataro, Nicola Zaccaria, Luigi Alva
List Price: $23.98Our Price: $13.97 You Save: $10.01 (42%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0724356716223
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: EMI Classics 1957/1999
Manufacturer: EMI Classics 1957/1999
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: EMI Classics 1957/1999
Release Date: September 21, 1999
Studio: EMI Classics 1957/1999
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Editorial Review:
This Karajan Falstaff has much to recommend it: Fedora Barbieri's Mistress Quickly is a force of nature, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, only slightly affected, is a liquid, appealing Alice Ford, and Luigi Alva and the young Anna Moffo are ideal as the young lovers, Fenton and Nanetta. But the star--as it should be--is Tito Gobbi in the title role. As is usual with this great singing actor, his characterization comes from within--his is a Falstaff born to be deflated, arrogant and self-deluding on a level that is actually funny. And the nice surprise is what good voice Gobbi's in--he's in charge of all of his vocal colors here and he uses all of them well. Karajan's touch is light and, yes, funny, and he treats the opera as the divine ensemble work it is, all leading up to a superb final scene. A good time is had by all--listeners included. --Robert Levine
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The Brown-Wrapped Version Just as Good
Now that this is available in the lower-priced brown-wrapped version (shades of an old LP or even 78 sleeve), expect no less in this superb recording. The only sacrifice is the lack of a libretto -- but that's available from EMI at its website. And at this incredibly low price of about $14 (same as the Gobbi-Callas TOSCA) everything that counts is still there -- in spades.
Rating: - Va, vecchio John. Go, old Jack, go thy ways
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Source: Studio recording made at Kingsway Hall, London on June 21-23 and June 25-29, 1956. Originally issued by EMI on Lps in 1957.
Sound: The booklet accompanying this issue has this to say: "This recording was made in 1956 in the early days of stereo. As a consequence, the listener may notice some slight technical flaws that derive from the original tapes." This set was digitally remastered in 1999 with considerable success. Audiophiles who spend far more time listening ... Read More
Rating: - Indispensable--will we ever see its like again?
The legendary producer Walter Legge was adored by musical artists because he demanded only the very best from them and ignored any resistance from corporate higher-ups complaining about costs or from the artists themselves, who often wound up recording late in the day after dozens of takes. Now we can be grateful that Legge went the extra mile. His opera recordings, especially the ones under Karajan, have rarely been equalled and never surpassed. In later lifeKarajan himself tried to repeat these ... Read More
Rating: - The benchmark Falstaff
Reference recordings are the touchstone by which all others are judged. The Callas-Gobbi Tosca is the universal example of a recording whose excellence so towers over the field as to bend the artistic vision of every subsequent laborer in the operatic vineyard in homage, conciously or not. Such recordings are extremely rare, perhaps two dozen at best. By such rigorous standards, this 1956 recording of Verdi's miraculous final opera falls short of attaining the lofty status of Reference recording. ... Read More
Rating: - Best falstaff in the world.
This is the best falstaff in the world bar none. As the Gramophone puts it aptly, it stands peerless in the catalogue. Enough said!!
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