Lucia di Lammermoor. Gaetano Donizetti
2005; Oxford University Press; Volume: 21; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/oq/kbi067
ISSN1476-2870
Autores Tópico(s)Diverse Musicological Studies
ResumoLiving Stage is documenting the career of Alfredo Kraus in a series of live releases on compact disc. Joining a lengthening list that already includes L’elisir d’amore, Les pêcheurs de perles, Mefistofele, Lucrezia Borgia, L’heure espagnole, and La traviata is this 1983 performance of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Comunale in Florence. Kraus’s Edgardo is so well documented—at least three live recordings from 1963, 1970, and 1972, all in his vocal prime, and a commercial recording for EMI from 1983 have been issued—that one wonders why Living Stage decided to release this mediocre Lucia. On the obverse of the jewel box, Living Stage claims—with a large exclamation point—“This edition of Lucia di Lammermoor is complete!” The cuts, however, begin at the end of Enrico’s entrance cavatina and continue in almost every scene, from an excision in the Lucia-Edgardo duet to cuts in the duets for Lucia and Enrico and for Lucia and Raimondo, as well as in the second-act finale. A large chunk of music is also missing from the Wolf’s Crag duet, misidentified by Living Stage as “the scene of Part II (beginning of Act II) set in Wolferag’s [sic] Tower. . . .” Both the Mad Scene and Edgardo’s final scene are also trimmed. This monaural recording, taped in the house, features harsh sound, imperfect balances between voice and orchestra, and blurred, overloaded orchestral tutti.
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