SACDs - Verdi

‘an electrifying account ... Simon O’Neill made a tremendous debut in the title-role, giving notice that he is the best heroic tenor to emerge over the last decade’ Daily Telegraph

Sir Colin Davis’s eagerly anticipated recording of Verdi’s Otello is released on the 10th anniversary of the LSO Live label. Opera has always formed an important part of the label’s output – recording concert performances of opera allows listeners to enjoy the drama of a live performance without the problems associated with recording in a theatre.

Among Sir Colin’s greatest triumphs on LSO Live have been his award-winning recordings of Berlioz’operas plus Peter Grimes, Fidelio and Verdi’s final opera, Falstaff. Falstaff was released in 2004 and collected the Grammy Award for Best Opera.

Sir Colin is joined, in the title role of Otello, by one of the world’s most exciting young tenors. New Zealander Simon O’Neill stepped in at short notice to these concerts, making his debut in the role (although he had studied it with Domingo), delivering what can only be described as an astonishing performance. The villainous Iago is played by Gerald Finley and Otello’s wife, Desdemona, by Anne Schwanewilms.

Verdi had retired from opera following the premiere of Aida in 1871 but was eventually persuaded by his publisher to work with the librettist Arrigo Boito. As with Falstaff, Verdi’s final opera on which they would subsequently collaborate, they turned to Shakespeare for inspiration. Otello, which was premiered in 1887, marked a significant evolutionary development in Italian opera and is widely regarded as one of the great operatic masterpieces.

Concert reviews

‘This was an electrifying account of a masterpiece, conducted with an explosive energy that belies Sir Colin’s eighty years and pushed the LSO to the top of its game. Simon O’Neill made a tremendous debut in the title-role, giving notice that he is the best heroic tenor to emerge over the last decade … Gerald Finley was an arrestingly crisp and snakily plausible Iago … Verdi’s great music drama shone in all its power and glory’ Daily Telegraph

‘a performance of Verdi’s opera that had finesse, fervour and glorious lyricism … Such is Davis’s rapport with the LSO and its rampant Chorus that he can unleash greater musical power with an elegant flick of the baton than most conductors muster with flailing arms. Gerald Finley was a superb Iago: insiduously sinister, yet sustaining a wonderfully suave line. And the New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neill gave an immense performance … he will make the Moor his own’ The Times

‘a thrilling performance from beginning to end … an evening to treasure; not just for Davis’s contribution, but for an impressive debut from the young New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neill. O’Neill mastered Otello’s many moods with a striking musicality and an evenness of tone throughout the range. He will go far, and promises to be the outstanding Wagner Heldentenor we have been longing far … the men, led by Gerald Finley’s totally convincing and committed Iago, were splendid’ Mail on Sunday

Sir Colin Davis's series of choral masterworks continues with Verdi's Requiem, a work that Sir Colin has been conducting for much of his long career. It is also his second recording of Verdi's late works for LSO Live, having previously conducted the Grammy Award-winning recording of Falstaff in 2004. He is joined by four superb soloists, three of whom have appeared on Sir Colin's previous LSO Live recordings. Christine Brewer was the superb Leonore on Sir Colin's acclaimed recording of Fidelio; Karen Cargill and John Relyea appeared on Berlioz' L'enfance du Christ and Benvenuto Cellini respectively.Appearing on his first LSO Live recording is the outstanding Verdi tenor Stuart Neill. The Requiem was recorded in January 2009 at concerts dedicated to Richard Hickox who had been President of the London Symphony Chorus and studied with Sir Colin before his own successful career. The 'Agnus Dei' was particularly moving [not to mention in tune, ed] with the female soloists having an obvious rapport. LSO Live has recently released recordings of Haydn's Creation and the St John Passion by James MacMillan conducted by Sir Colin. His award-winning recordings of Sibelius's symphonies will be released in the Autumn as a 5CD box set. Other future releases include Valery Gergiev's recordings of Bluebeard's Castle and Mahler Symphony No 5.

CONCERT REVIEWS:

"listen to the fire he generates, the wisdom, the precision and his grasp of the music's narrative … Davis located Verdi's heart right from the first bars. Whether sighing or seething, Joseph Cullen's massed troops were on exemplary form; I've not yet recovered from their full-throated onslaughts in the Dies Irae, delivered with cutting consonants and the heat of hellfire. What of the soloists? Here too we were blessed. Throughout, Davis shaped Verdi's tumult and song with the master's touch" The Times

"The greatest interpretations are often those where you are most conscious of the music and least aware of the conductor's will imposed on it. Such was the case with this remarkable performance … allowing us to experience to the full the nightmarish quality of Verdi's evocation of the Dies Irae, his deep compassion for the suffering, the flippant glory of the Sanctus, and the dreadful uncertainty with which the work closes" The Guardian

"When you are an octogenarian the prospect of another Requiem Mass might be regarded with some degree of circumspection. Unless, of course, you are Sir Colin Davis … Davis is still such a vigorous force for good in music: his clarity of purpose, his keen sense of weighting and rhythm (no one anchors music like he does), and his fervent love of great public utterances, make him the perfect candidate for big choral masterpieces … Quite marvellous" The Independent

One of Verdi’s masterpieces sung by excellent singers, combined with two complimentary works. Conducted by Cambreling, this is a stunning recording on 2 SACDs.