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VERDI: Macbeth
Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Shirley Verrett, Placido Domingo, Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, conducted by Claudio Abbado.
The maturity of the 32-year-old Verdi's dramatic instinct comes across vividly in this famous 1976 recording (now available at mid-price, complete with libretto). Abbado's direction is tight and focused, filled with tension and unease, making the most of the wide range of colour and dynamic demanded by Verdi. Verrett makes a thrillingly vicious Lady Macbeth, coping admirably with the extreme demands made on her by Verdi's vocal writing. Cappuccilli, Ghiaurov and a young Domingo take you inside their characters with intense whispered asides, dramatic outbursts and a range of vocal colouring always at the service of the dramatic text. The orchestra and chorus of La Scala play and sing this opera as if their lives depended on it and the recorded sound fully matches up to the intensity of the performance.
Keith Clancy, Marbecks Classical (2010)
DG Originals 449732 2 $40 for 2 CDs
