Pappano Archive

VERDI: Aida (complete opera) – Anja Harteros (Aida)/ Other soloists/ Orch. & Chorus of Santa Ceclia/ Pappano – Warner Classics (3)

by Audiophile Audition | Apr 14, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

A twenty-first Aida to set the stage and the bar very high. VERDI: Aida (complete opera) – Anja Harteros (Aida)/ Jonas Kaufmann (Radames)/ Ekaterina Semenchuk (Amneris)/ Ludovic Tezier (Amonasro)/ Erwin Schrott (Ramfis)/ Marco Spotti (Il Re)/ Paolo Fanale (Messaggero)/ Eleonora Buratto (Sacerdotessa)/ Orch. and Chorus of the Dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecelia/ Antonio Pappano – Rhino/ Warner Classics 0825646106639 (3 CDs), TT: 145:36 ****: This Aida rocks! Big, bold statement these days I know, and we all have our favorites from the past—Price 1 (Leinsdorf), Price 2 (Solti), Tebaldi (Karajan), just to name a few of my favorite stereo recordings. But honor is due to Warner for putting out a studio effort in this day and age of concert-only recordings (and we must be grateful for them), and assembling a cast, while not perfect, still only on the south side of sensational. And while audiophiles will no doubt squeak at the lack of surround sound, what we have is broad and impactful, with lots of breathing room around the singers, and believe me, in this opera they need it. I won’t delve into the history of Aida—that’s easy enough to find, and the story isn’t all that complicated, love and […]