Word: renata
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VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY Renata Tebaldi, D.F.A., Metropolitan Opera soprano...
VERDI: DON CARLO (London; 4 LPs). The usual cuts have been restored and all five acts are here, sung by an assemblage of stars: Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Grace Bumbry. Their voices often outshine their characterizations (though Bumbry is good as Eboli and Ghiaurov as Philip), and the solos are stronger than the ensembles. Conductor Georg Solti generally keeps rein on the sprawling tragedy, which unfolds with dark grandeur and erupts with fiery excitement in the auto da fe in the great Spanish square...
...Tenor Franco Corelli, who in brilliance and power is Nilsson's match, and as Calaf can credibly convert the cruel princess into a woman in love. The earlier recording is superior, however, having Erich Leinsdorf as conductor and a generally better cast, including Renata Tebaldi as the second female lead and Georgio Tozzi as the Tartar king...
...break between registers. Unfortunately, he is no Bergonzi; Domingo's sound is marked by continual tightness and lack of real ring. Perhaps his singing on unfamiliar French vowels was part of the problem. His acting usually remained typically tenoristic; that is, non-existent. But Domingo's forthcoming reappearance (opposite Renata Tebaldi in the new Boheme) should provide a fairer indication of his talents, as he undertakes a truly substantial role in a congenial language...
...until she invited him to bed down with her, has reincarnated himself in the body of a certain Count Heinrich. The count has been more receptive to her favors but now he, too, has angelically gone and deserted her. The following four acts are one long mad scene as Renata pursues the count through the back alleys of her subconscious. Along the way, there are magic potions, a séance, rattling skeletons, a furry sorcerer and assorted gnomes to contend with. Even Faustus and Mephistopheles, coming on like a netherworld Frick & Frack, get into the act. Mephistopheles produces...