I Vespri siciliani (Les vêpres siciliennes), opera
The biggest (but not only) caveat about this recording of I Vespri siciliani is the sound quality. Testament touts this 2007 version as "From new masters -- never before released," (other versions of the performance have been released at least half a dozen times), but the sound is still remarkably poor. Another thing that sets this version apart from the others is that it doesn't include the overture. It's a dinky-sounding recording; everyone -- the soloists, the chorus, the orchestra -- seems reduced, diminished, sometimes ...
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The biggest (but not only) caveat about this recording of I Vespri siciliani is the sound quality. Testament touts this 2007 version as "From new masters -- never before released," (other versions of the performance have been released at least half a dozen times), but the sound is still remarkably poor. Another thing that sets this version apart from the others is that it doesn't include the overture. It's a dinky-sounding recording; everyone -- the soloists, the chorus, the orchestra -- seems reduced, diminished, sometimes remote. The quality of the first act is the worst, and things do improve somewhat, but the beginning is marred by innumerable squawks, buzzes, fluctuations in volume, and bleed-through. By the second act, those issues seem mostly to have been resolved and return only sporadically; what remains is a mediocre, distant sound with considerable tape hiss, which is usually at least listenable without causing flinching. Erich Kleiber leads the chorus and orchestra of Maggio Musicale...
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