Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore - Domingo, Cotrubas, Wixell - Pritchard 19772CDs - 70'30 & 53'58
Sony 2005
Performer: Ileana Cotrubas, Placido Domingo, Ingvar Wixell, Sir Geraint Evans, Lillian Watson
Conductor: John Pritchard
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus
This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording
This 1977 performance boasts the finest Dulcamara on disc--Geraint Evans--in a performance both unique in its lack of buffo bluster and in its remarkable "face"; you can practically see him in his asides, and he's a wonderful rascal. Ingvar Wixell's Belcore, though a bit dry of tone, is just as good, with his perfect diction clearly part of the character's self-adoration. I wish Ileana Cotrubas' Adina were just a bit more charming. She's good in the first act but seems to lose interest in the second, and her sound is not the most caressing. Domingo, you might argue, has too generous a voice for the part, but this is only felt in the big aria, where he simply never sounds vulnerable enough; elsewhere his artistry and energy keep us interested, and he's fine in every duet. John Pritchard's leadership is totally idiomatic and perky, and he makes as much of the broader moments as he does of the sweet ones. This set belongs close to the top of the list. --Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com
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