You would think that with more than 20 recordings of this opera available, with the likes of Caballé, Sills, Sutherland, Gencer, Gruberova, and Janet Baker in the title role, and Farrell, Verrett, Plowright, and Baltsa as Queen Elisabeth (not to mention Pavarotti and Carreras as Leicester), that this recording would be unnecessary. And you would be right.
Not that there’s anything terribly wrong with it. It was recorded live in Macerata in August, 2007 and has plenty of drama and excitement; under Riccardo Frizza’s direction the orchestra and chorus play and sing with thrust and precision and the ensemble work is always admirable. Frizza takes Maria’s third-act solos–the confession and the prayer–slightly too fast, and some of the innate sadness is lost, but elsewhere there is great enthusiasm. The singers, were we to happen upon them in live performance, no doubt would please, but under recorded scrutiny there are problems.
Mezzo Laura Polverelli’s Elisabeth is strident in the first act, and while she’s always dramatically engaged, her sound never appeals and there is little to remember in her performance. Of course, in the big confrontation scene she is effective–she’d have to stop singing entirely to make that scene fail–but compared to any of the competition mentioned above, she pales. The same might be said for Maria Pia Piscitelli, although her singing is more even and her tone, especially when she sings softly, falls nicely on the ear. She’s quite good in the confrontation and fine in Act 3, but again, she’s nowhere in a class with Caballé for both tonal beauty or drama, Sills for both pure venom and pure loveliness, Sutherland for virtuosity, or Gencer for well, being Gencer.
Leicester is sung by tenor Roberto De Biasio, who strains at forte and above the staff but who is superb in his duets, phrases well, and is very attentive to the text. Simone Alberghini’s Talbot is particularly good in the Confession Scene and Mario Cassi’s Cecil is properly wicked. Sonically, the recording is good, with minimal stage interference or bad balances.
Yes, this is offered at a bargain price, but a few of the others are mid-priced or lower: the Caballé/Verrett on Opera D’oro is the first choice; Sills and Farrell are remarkable; Sutherland and Pavarotti offer their own brand of thrills; and Gencer makes a good backup to any of those.
