CELEBRATING 53,000 Classical CD reviews on-line (Sept 2016); 21,000 page views each day. Return to MusicWeb International
Denham's Turandot
Posted by Terence on May 2, 2023, 7:42 pm
Oh my. Why are so many critics ahistorical? Not you, Mr Denham, but most of the principals involved in the Pappano Turandot had no business there. It's abysmal, especially Kaufmann's Calaf. The resl leave me nonplussed, save some Pappano's detail. I agree that the Mehta recording is the best, and it's so good that I would send it to the outer galaxies as our opera offering. No other Turandot interests me, but Bjorling's Calaf is exceptional.
Re: Denham's Turandot
Posted by Ralph Moore on May 3, 2023, 10:33 am, in reply to "Denham's Turandot"
Terence, I think that you will find my upcoming review, supplementary to Lee's more decorous but no less acute assessment, reveals that I am rather of your mind regarding that Pappano Turandot - but I do try- and even manage - to find things to praise. The great flaw lies in the abysmal solo singing - although I think Radvanovsky is admirable.
Previous Message
Oh my. Why are so many critics ahistorical? Not you, Mr Denham, but most of the principals involved in the Pappano Turandot had no business there. It's abysmal, especially Kaufmann's Calaf. The resl leave me nonplussed, save some Pappano's detail. I agree that the Mehta recording is the best, and it's so good that I would send it to the outer galaxies as our opera offering. No other Turandot interests me, but Bjorling's Calaf is exceptional.
Many thanks for your comments Terence on both my review of Pappano's Turandot (https://www.musicwebinternational.com/2023/03/puccini-turandot-warner-classics/ ), but also the main survey of recordings and DVDs of Turandot (https://www.musicwebinternational.com/2023/03/puccinis-turandot/ ).
I found reviewing the Pappano recording something akin to a tightrope walk. As a reviewer, you really want to encourage the majors to venture into the recording studios with projects that may take years to earn money. Yet at the same time, the current standards of singing is not quite what it used to be and if the acting onstage is (generally) much better, then that is not something anyone can experience on an audio only recording. Add that to the ghosts of Recordings Past who, Banquo-like, appear in every review of a new recording to scare the current participants, then it is very difficult to be even-handed. Ralph Moore's upcoming review of the Pappano Turandot, along with a certain US critic's Youtube review, offer a slightly less charitable view than my own which, in turn, is cooler than the one in Gramophone. As ever, you really need to hear it for yourself, but well-played Warner for using the original Alfano completion
Lee
Previous Message
Terence, I think that you will find my upcoming review, supplementary to Lee's more decorous but no less acute assessment, reveals that I am rather of your mind regarding that Pappano Turandot - but I do try- and even manage - to find things to praise. The great flaw lies in the abysmal solo singing - although I think Radvanovsky is admirable.
Previous Message
Oh my. Why are so many critics ahistorical? Not you, Mr Denham, but most of the principals involved in the Pappano Turandot had no business there. It's abysmal, especially Kaufmann's Calaf. The resl leave me nonplussed, save some Pappano's detail. I agree that the Mehta recording is the best, and it's so good that I would send it to the outer galaxies as our opera offering. No other Turandot interests me, but Bjorling's Calaf is exceptional.
Re: Denham's Turandot
Posted by Marc Bridle on May 3, 2023, 11:58 pm, in reply to "Denham's Turandot"
Had Pappano used the same cast he did at Covent Garden earlier this year it would have been a considerably better recording. I don’t particularly understand why he chose the studio medium either. I’ve not enjoyed any of his studio recordings; live however he’s quite something else entirely.
Previous Message
Oh my. Why are so many critics ahistorical? Not you, Mr Denham, but most of the principals involved in the Pappano Turandot had no business there. It's abysmal, especially Kaufmann's Calaf. The resl leave me nonplussed, save some Pappano's detail. I agree that the Mehta recording is the best, and it's so good that I would send it to the outer galaxies as our opera offering. No other Turandot interests me, but Bjorling's Calaf is exceptional.