This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
With the magical Chérubin, Massenet's Don Quichotte marks the ripe maturity of his art. The final scene, of Quixote's death, still seems to me a weakening both musically and dramatically, yet, with time, it gets less so; certainly it is all the better for being, as here, played with restraint. Even in Ghiaurov's recording, which is the necessary comparison here, there is just a touch of the Boris God unovs, and of course the more of that from the master, the more the servant is encouraged to respond in kind. Van Dam and Fondary put their trust in the sympathies induced throughout the opera: if the rest has gone well and these two characters have become endeared to us, we shall feel the pathos at the end without sobs and exclamations
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from the stage in the last five or ten minutes.
And no doubt about it, this performance has gone well, and sympathy is secure. Van Dam has sung beautifully throughout. The greying of his voice, now a very gentle instrument, lovingly preserved and used scrupulously for purposes of genuine singing, suits the role admirably except perhaps in the few moments of challenge, whether to the brigands or the windmills, when a more outgoing power is needed. His Sancho, Alain Fondary, sounds almost like an alter ego, for he too produces well-rounded genuine singing-tone and indulges in no untoward comic-business. Berganza as Dulcinée has the appropriate maturity of tone, more luscious than Crespin's in the Decca recording, and she too sings on the understanding that the whole idiom of the opera cries Out against the cheap glamour which a Carmen of yesteryear might be tempted to infuse. The supporting roles are well taken, while chorus and orchestra both do good work under an able conductor.
-- Gramophone [12/1993]
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Works on This Recording
1.
Don Quichotte by Jules Massenet
Performer:
Alain Carcy (),
Alain Fondary (Baritone),
José van Dam (Bass Baritone),
Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Soprano),
Christian Papis (Tenor),
Jean-Claude Barbier (),
Nicolas Rivenq (Baritone),
Gerald Thomas (),
Thierry Vincent (),
Gérard Blatt (Baritone),
Albert Fesquet (),
Malcolm Stewart (Violin),
Guy Rogue (Cello),
Robert Gonnella (Organ),
Jean-Luc Antoine (),
Vicente Pradal (Guitar),
Isabelle Vernet (Soprano),
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Michel Plasson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Toulouse Capitole Orchestra,
Toulouse Capitole Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1910; France
Length: 113 Minutes 0 Secs.
Language: French
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