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Verdi: Otello / Erede, Monaco, Tucci, Gobbi, Et Al


Release Date: 08/25/1998 
Label:  Opera D'oro   Catalog #: 1160   Spars Code: n/a 
Composer:  Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:  Mario Del Monaco,  Takao Okamura,  Gabriela Tucci,  Tito Gobbi,   ... 
Conductor:  Alberto Erede
Orchestra/Ensemble:  NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo,  NHK Symphony Chorus Tokyo
Number of Discs: 2 
Recorded in: Mono 
Length: 2 Hours 6 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

Otello is the role most closely identified with Mario del Monaco, and indeed there is no dearth of recordings of the opera with him. He recorded it twice in the studio and I can think of at least four separate "private" label versions that have circulated over the years. You either like his voice or you don't--his lungs seem to be made of leather and the vocal production is somewhat nasal--but there is no denying that he's a force of nature, more of a waterfall than a tenor. Here, all of his debits and credits are in evidence: great passion goes hand-in-hand with a refusal to vary dynamics (as well as a propensity to sing flat occasionally--the Love Duet almost unravels), and complete involvement is partnered with a bending of Read more note values to suit his dramatic need. But no one can deny the excitement he generates as a wounded savage.

He's partnered by the gloriously snide and wicked Iago of Tito Gobbi, who cajoles him into lunacy. Gobbi also is in very fresh voice here, leaping the hurdles of Iago's Drinking Song and Dream with elan. Gabriella Tucci's Desdemona is superficial but she sings well and makes us sympathize for her. The rest of the cast is good, but both orchestra and chorus are not up to real international standards. Alberto Erede, a thoroughly uninteresting conductor, is apparently late for an appointment, but his lightning-fast tempos go hand in hand with the all-stops-out approach of his Otello. Characters occasionally go off-mike and there's some pre-echo, but otherwise the 1959 live-in-Tokyo sound is acceptable. In short, a roller-coaster Otello, lacking insights but filled with excitement.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording

1. Otello by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:  Mario Del Monaco (Tenor), Takao Okamura (Bass), Gabriela Tucci (Soprano),
Tito Gobbi (Baritone), Mariano Caruso (Tenor), Anna di Stasio (Mezzo Soprano),
Gabriele de Julis (Tenor), Plinio Clabassi (Bass)
Conductor:  Alberto Erede
Orchestra/Ensemble:  NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo,  NHK Symphony Chorus Tokyo
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1887; Italy 
 Date of Recording: 1959 
Venue:  Live  Tokyo, Japan 
Length: 126 Minutes 14 Secs. 
Language: Italian 

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