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Verdi: Otello / Karajan, Vickers, Freni, Glossop, van Dam, Berlin Philharmonic


Release Date: 04/20/2010 
Label:  Warner Classics   Catalog #: 56450   Spars Code: ADD 
Composer:  Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:  Mirella Freni,  Aldo Bottion,  Stefania Malagú,  Jon Vickers,   ... 
Conductor:  Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Berlin Deutsche Oper Chorus
Number of Discs: 2 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 2 Hours 20 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

"Verdians should be interested in this set for Vickers's overwhelmingly tragic portrayal of Otello. Hearing it after quite a lengthy passage of time, I wondered once more at the sheer vocal presence of the performance. In love, jealousy, torment and finally remorse, the character is painted in the most vital colours, the text projected with an eloquence that could only come from long experience of it on stage. Those who encountered him in the opera house will have the experience here happily rekindled. It is magnificent indeed. I also warm, as AP did not, to Freni's simply and keenly sung Desdemona. At certain points she may sound light for the part but by the same token she sounds youthful and touching." -- A. B., Gramophone [4/1988] "Verdians should be interested in this set for Vickers's overwhelmingly tragic portrayal of Otello. Hearing it after quite a lengthy passage of time, I wondered once more at the sheer vocal presence of the performance. In love, jealousy, torment and finally remorse, the character is painted in the most vital colours, the text projected with an eloquence that could only come from long experience of it on stage. Those who encountered him in the opera house will have the experience here happily rekindled. It is magnificent indeed. I also warm, as AP did not, to Freni's simply and keenly sung Desdemona. At certain points she may sound light for the part but by the same token she sounds youthful and touching." -- A. B., Gramophone [4/1988] Read less

Works on This Recording

1.
Otello by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:  Mirella Freni (Soprano), Aldo Bottion (Tenor), Stefania Malagú (Mezzo Soprano),
Jon Vickers (Tenor), Mario Machi (Baritone), José van Dam (Bass Baritone),
Peter Glossop (Baritone), Michel Sénéchal (Tenor)
Conductor:  Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Berlin Deutsche Oper Chorus
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1887; Italy 
 Length: 140 Minutes 0 Secs. 
Language: Italian 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 A thrilling performance January 5, 2021 By R. Fuller (Ithaca, NY) See All My Reviews "I have long thought "Otello" of of the finest of operas. I "grew up" with the del Monaco/Tebaldi recording, which I still love. Del Monaco is very good, with some weaknesses. Tebaldi is peerless as usual. Later I have come to revere Domingo as the major interpreter of his day, and along with Fleming on DVD, with Morris as well as a superb Iago, it is certainly worth owning and cherishing. That said, I am more than thrilled with this current CD. Peter Glossop is a powerful and believable Iago. Mirella Freni is just the right blend of fragility, combined with a belief that she was strong enough to defy convention to marry a black man And then there is Jon Vickers. From the shattering entrance of his first notes, he embodies the Moor as no one else I have ever heard could do. Perhaps someone will equal him in the future, but I cannot image anyone surpassing him. The voice is strong and subtle. His high reaches resonant with virility and passion and his soft tones full of the soulful feeling. This is a recording for the ages, to be sure." Report Abuse
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