Top 10 Domingo recordings
Domingo's Otello for DG
Plácido Domingo fully deserves the (rather odd, but frequently cited) accolade “supertenor". Now in his 70s and still breaking new ground, with two major Verdi baritone roles newly in his repertoire, his career has stretched for longer and encompassed more – and more varied – roles than, arguably, any other tenor in history. His ascent also coincided with the golden age of opera recordings, so there is a treasure trove of Domingo sets from which to choose. With such a prolific artist, no “top 10” list will ever be more than a signpost, but here’s a selection that tries to reach across styles and schools, with a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure (including that recent foray into baritone territory).
Berlioz Les Troyens Plácido Domingo, Tatiana Troyanos, Jessye Norman, Metropolitan Opera; James Levine (DG) DVD from Amazon
Offenbach The Tales of Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) Plácido Domingo, Joan Sutherland, Gabriel Bacquier; Richard Bonynge (Decca) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Giordano Andrea Chenier Plácido Domingo, Renata Scotto, Sherrill Milnes; James Levine (RCA) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Verdi Otello Plácido Domingo, Sergei Leiferkus, Cheryl Studer; Myung-Whun Chung
(DG) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Bizet Carmen Plácido Domingo, Tatiana Troyanos, Kiri Te Kanawa, José van Dam; Sir Georg Solti (Decca) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Torroba Luisa Fernanda Plácido Domingo, Nancy Herrera, Mariola Cantarero; Jesús López Cobos (DG) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Wagner Tristan und Isolde Plácido Domingo, Nina Stemme, René Pape; Antonio Pappano (EMI) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Verdi The Force of Destiny (La forza del destino) Plácido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Giorgio Zancanaro, Dolora Zajick, Paul Plishka; Riccardo Muti (EMI) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Puccini The Girl of the Golden West (La Fanciulla del West) Plácido Domingo, Carol Neblett, Sherrill Milnes; Zubin Mehta (DG) CD from Amazon / Download from Amazon
Verdi Simon Boccanegra Plácido Domingo, Marina Poplavskaya, Joseph Calleja, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Royal Opera House Covent Garden; Antonio Pappano (EMI) DVD from Amazon
What recordings would appear in your Top 10? Why not add to our list by posting a comment below. (You need to be registered – which is free – and logged in).
Comments
RE: Top 10 Domingo recordings
My top ten PD recordings are -
1. Don Carlo with Caballe, Milnes, Raimondi (CD)
2. Aida with Caballe, Cossotto, Milnes (CD)
3. Manon Lescaut, Covant Garden with Kiri te Kanawa (DVD)
4. Il Trovatore with Kabainvanska, Cossotto and Cuppuccilli (DVD)
5. Otello, Covant Garden with Kiri te Kanawa (DVD)
6. Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Covant Garden (DVD)
7. Tanhausser, with Balsa and Studer (CD)
8. Werther, live with Fassbaender 1977 (CD)
9.Romeo & Juliette with Ruth Ann Swenson (CD)
10. Francesca di Rimmini with Scotto (DVD)
Tough choice, as I have to leave out so many other personal favourites such as La Traviata, with Cotrubas (CD), La Traviata the Film, Butterfly with Freni (Film), Rigoletto under Giullini (CD), Carmen with Migenes (Film), Carmen under Kleiber (DVD), Tosca with Kabainvansca, L'amore dei tre re with Moffo (who's past her prime but PD was gorgeous !!), Turandot under Karajan, Cav & Pag (Film under Zefferelli), Lohengrin both on CD and DVD, the list goes on and on.
RE: Top 10 Domingo recordings
I agree with Snedsted in that my outstanding favourite is Il Trovatore conducted by Mehta.
My next two would be the Otello and Carmen recordings in your original list.
I would also include the Guilini version of Don Carlo.
Domingo is my favourite performer of various arias from Manon Lescaut and Madama Butterfly but other cast members on those complete recordings do not do it for me.
Regardless of one's preferences, I admire Placido Domingo for his consistent high standard and generosity througout his career.
RE: Top 10 Domingo recordings
Il Trovatore. with Leontyne Price, Fiorenza Cossotti and Sherrill Milnes. Conducted by Zubin Metha.
This set was the first complete operarecording with Domingo, I bought. In 1970 both Price and Cossotto were well established stars, while Milnes and Domingo were new at the Parnas of operasingers. Domingo made later other versions of the Manrico-role, but no one with the same freshness and temperament as this early recording.
Un Ballo in Maschera. Herbert von Karajan 1989.
This is Karajans last operarecording. It was made with the Salzburger Festival-cast for that season. The plot is removed to the Royal Swedish Court, so Domingo is not singing a governor of Boston, but the swedish king, Gustav II, who is killed by his secretary of finance, Ankerström.
Lohengrin. Sir Georg Solti with Jessey Norman as Elsa.
Few "Heldentenöre" manage to sing so beautiful as Domingo. Side by side with Kollo he added belcanto to the Wagner-roles. Today Jonas Kaufmann walkes in their footsteps. The tenor is no longer an instrument in the orchestra (a trumpet), but a singing actor with focus on the beauty of the tone.
Opera Galla with Carlo Maria Giulini. 1980.
This compilation contains among spintoarias also belcantoarias as "Una fortiva lagrima" and the dreamaria from the Pearl Fishers in addition to the Edgardo-aria from Lucia di Lammermoor.
Otello. Sound-track from the Zefirelli film with Katia Ricciarelli as Desdemona.
My favorite Otello with Domingo. I first heard him in his favoriterole together with Scotto and Milnes, conducted by James Levine. Later I found this Maazel-recording even better. Better than the recording with the Leiferkus-Jago too.
Aïda. Erich Leinsdorf conducting.
Domingo recorded the role of Radames at different moments of his life. But never with such a wonderful Aïda as Leontyne Price, who can be heard on these early discs.
Don Carlo. Carlo Maria Giulini conducting.
The recording of this five act-version of one of Verdis best operas has a wonderful casting. Montserrat Caballé is a splendid Elisabetta, soft and tender in her frasing. And Milnes sings a Posa, that only Fischer-Dieskau can match. The voices of Milnes and Domingo suites each other perfectly.
RE: Top 10 Domingo recordings
Five of his series of Verdi recordings:
Rigoletto with Piero Cappuccilli, Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo, Elena Obraztsova and Nicolai Ghiaurov conducted by Giulini,
La Traviata with Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo and Sherrill Mines conducted by Carlos Kleiber,
Il Trovatore with Plácido Domingo, Rosalind Plowright, Brigitte Fassbaender, etc. conducted by Giulini,
Un ballo in maschera with Plácido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Renato Bruson, Elena Obraztsova, Edita Gruberova etc. conducted by Abbado,
and how could you omit
Don Carlo with Plácido Domingo, Monserrat Caballé, Ruggero Raimondi, Shirley Verrett, Sherrill Milnes, Giovanni Foiani conducted by Giulini?
The Otello recording listed is good but spoilt for me by Sergei Leiferkus. For a really electrifying Otello, the 1976 live performance at La Scala conducted by Carlos Kleiber with Domingo, Cappucilli and Freni takes some beating. My copy is on Opera D'Oro OPD-1350 but it's also on Exclusive EX92T 08/09. It's the first of many live performances that exist on CD, but probably it's the best cast recorded with Kleiber conducting.
What a man! A real gentleman who would organise pizzas and drinks for people sleeping outside the ROH in October 1992, as recounted by a friend on a page on the ROH website.
Sergei Leiferkus,
RE: Top 10 Domingo recordings
Certainly I would add :
original Otello recording conducted by Levine
Lohengrin conducted by Solti
Tannhaeuser conducted by Sinopoli
Fidelio conducted by Barenboim