Claudio Abbado, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe - Gioacchino Rossini: Il viaggio a Reims (2008)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 572 Mb | Total time: 67:07+68:35 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | # 477 7435 | Recorded: 1984
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 572 Mb | Total time: 67:07+68:35 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | # 477 7435 | Recorded: 1984
This is one of those great Rossinian singing competitions in which everyone–and, in particular, the listeners–wins. Composed as a piece of occasional entertainment for the coronation of Charles X in Paris, Rossini borrowed liberally from his recent comic success Le Comte Ory and fashioned a musical necklace chock filled with one shiny bauble after another. Each character has a showpiece aria, from the highs of soprano Cecilia Gasdia as a melodramatic poetess all the way down to the basso realms of Samuel Ramey and Ruggero Raimondi. The ensembles are as delicious as the solos, and Claudio Abbado, in a very theatrical mood (this was recorded live) keeps everything going wittily and with great elan. The plot is practically nonexistent, but with singing like this, it's hard to complain.