Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)It's great to finally have this BALLO on DVD! This has always been one of Verdi's best works and it is handled here with a terrific cast and conductor. I prefer this recording to the medicore BALLO from 1980, also with Pavarotti, but Ricciarelli and Quilico are nowhere near as effective as Millo and Nucci. NOt to mention, this production, with a historically acruate setting of Sweden, is much more pleasing on the eye than the barren attempt to recreate colonial Boston of the older production.
BALLO falls flat without a strong tenor, and here we have Luciano Pavarotti, in his mid-fifties, and still producing one of the best tenor sounds out there. THough his voice is clearly darker and heavier than what it was in 1980, he still handles all the top-notes with ease. On top of all that, this is the role that he seems most comfortable with- and it shows! He actually attempts to act at times and his death scene is surprisingly very touching and effective.
Aprille Millo is heard here in the midst of her short-lived zenith. She sings quite possibly the greatest "Ecco L'Orido Campo" I have heard at the start of the second act.
Leo Nucci doesn't have the most elegant voice, but he manages to do an excellent job in this and clearly edges out the competition (Quilico & Cappucilli) on the competing versions.
Strong support comes from mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar and soprano Harolyn Blackwell as Ulrica and Oscar, respectively.
James Levine keeps it all together very well and, once again, proves himself a Verdi specialist.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Verdi - Un Ballo in Maschera / Levine, Pavarotti, Nucci, Metropolitan Opera (1991)
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