CD91945 Belated tribute to Licitra, La Forza, Pappano, London, 20

CD91945 Belated tribute to Licitra, La Forza, Pappano, London, 20
Item# CD91945
$12.95

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CD91945 Belated tribute to Licitra, La Forza, Pappano, London, 20

Dear Operashare,

Here is a little tribute to poor Salvatore Licitra. Not a flawless singer but on a good day, his cello like line and clear diction was like a nod to Bergonzi. Odd tuning issue aside, he is very good here.

Rest in peace,

Dessaix79 Two weeks later than promised, here is the Pappano La forza from London 2004. It was a bit of a scandal which Covent Garden want to put behind them. Muti was scheduled to conduct, for the first time in years, then pulled out at 3 weeks notice, citing problems with the staging (which was his choice of director, I believe). Coming to the aid of his house, Pappano canceled his US concerts and stepped in, giving a great interpretation. I was very pleased about Muti pulling out as I'm a Pappano man and, even accounting for bias, it's a fiery and polished view of the whole score. It' a very Muti cast; Urmana has the stamina and charisma for it, although I still think she was a better mezzo, Licitra's pitch is off and he is a bit detached but it's a beautiful sound, Furlanetto's fine, Maestri dull. I wish this had been televised as it was, without doubt one of the most hilariously bad stagings, I've ever seen. No harm in having a fat Don Carlo di Vargas but Maestri mooched about in an overcoat like a stoned Mister Bumble. The blocking was so inept that during the Prayer scene it really did look like Urmana was fellating Furlanetto! Many of us said it was the best comedy ever staged at Covent Garden. One for the radio then. Apologies for the vague track names and I've just seen the post about putting OS on the track name to help put off thieves. A good idea which I'll do on my next lot of uploads. 128khps MP3, includes brief interview with Pappano, beginning of 2nd track. Recorded by me at the time on DAB Dessaix79