The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore (The Three Sundays of a Poet), madrigal fable: Instrumental excerpts
Testament's release of the 1954 La Scala production of Menotti's 1936 opera buffa Amelia al ballo (Amelia Goes to the Ball) includes as a bonus five instrumental interludes from The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore conducted by Thomas Schippers, from the original 1957 EMI recording. The remastering is expert, and the sound quality for the most part stands up well by contemporary standards. The sound is clean and warm, and only in the quietest moments is a very low-level hiss detectable, but it's so infrequent that it's ...
Read More
Testament's release of the 1954 La Scala production of Menotti's 1936 opera buffa Amelia al ballo (Amelia Goes to the Ball) includes as a bonus five instrumental interludes from The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore conducted by Thomas Schippers, from the original 1957 EMI recording. The remastering is expert, and the sound quality for the most part stands up well by contemporary standards. The sound is clean and warm, and only in the quietest moments is a very low-level hiss detectable, but it's so infrequent that it's not a serious distraction. The performances in Amelia al Ballo are stellar; the three principals are expert comedians and they're in fine voice. As Amelia, the ditzy young woman who will stop at nothing in order to get to the first ball of the season, Margherita Carosio has just the right mix of charm, petulance, and manic determination; she makes Amelia sound strikingly like an operatic incarnation of Lucille Ball's Lucy Ricardo. Giacinto Prandelli brings a warm and passionate...
Read Less