GOBBI/GENCER/TOZZI/GAVAZZENI
SIMON BOCCANEGRA
OPD-Opera d'Oro
Allegro Price: $22.37

A brilliant live performance from Salzburg in 1961. Baritone Tito Gobbi, one of the great singing actors of his era, is indelibly vivid as the tortured title character in this dark masterpiece. This is the only complete recording at mid-price, with newly translated Italian-English libretto and an extensive background essay on the opera.

Born in Modena, a small town in northern Italy, Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007) was the son of a baker and amateur tenor. He grew up surrounded by his father’s recordings of the day’s leading opera singers—including Giuseppe Di Stefano, Jan Kiepura, and Enrico Caruso—and he went on to become one of the most popular vocalists of all time. This collection features favorite arias from classic operas, including L’elisir d’amore, I Pagliacci, Luisa Miller, Don Giovanni, and Martha.

OFFENBACH: Les contes d’Hoffmann [The Tales of Hoffmann] (complete opera)

An exceptional “traditional” performance of this spooky and dream-like opera, dramatically and musically effective, with a fine cast and propulsive conducting. The great Hungarian tenor Sándor Kónya, best known for his Wagner roles, is triumphant in the title part, his vocal line soaring with effortless power. A fresh new translation for the complete libretto makes this set a winner at any price, and no others are this low! Live performance, Buenos Aires, 1970.

Scenes from Un ballo in maschera, Ernani, Macbeth, Il trovatore, Don Carlo, Otello, Rigoletto, La traviata, Nabucco, Andrea Chénier, La Gioconda, Pagliacci