Rossini's "Guglielmo Tell"
Tue, Apr 2 2013, 11:58AM
Any views/recommendations concerning this opera? According to Kobbé, it seems endless yet a conductor like Muti has a very high opinion of it.
Tue, Apr 2 2013, 6:44PM
#2
RE: Rossini's "Guglielmo Tell"
I believe JHK gave the best possible account of the few exisitng recording accounts of this superb mature work of this marvelous and entertaining composer.
Gardelli, I trust, is the "reference standard" in the original French, but I prefer Challiy and the glorious Pavarotti in the Italian one. Gardelli, to my equipment, sounds a bit old, but still in reliable sound, while Chailly and, particularly, the very recent Pappano sound very fine and with good detail.
Parla
Thu, Apr 4 2013, 11:50AM
#3
RE: Rossini's "Guglielmo Tell"
I have put in an order for the Muti version, formerly on Philips and now reissued by Decca Italy. Thank you for your help.
It's superb. Don't be put off by the length, Adrian, it contains some wonderful music, both vocal and orchestral. All other things being equal, I'd always go for the French original.
I'd recommend that you look at the Gardelli Guillaume Tell, a considerable all-round achievement in my book with a stellar cast (which nonetheless gels very well as an ensemble) including Bacquier, Gedda, Caballe, Mesplé, Kolos Kovacs and Gwynne Howell. Gardelli holds it all together wonderfully.
The most recent Pappano recording is also superb, but the Gardelli shades it for me.
If you are keen on the Italian version, then Muti's La Scala performance is certainly no slouch, though I'm not sure if it's still available on CD as well as DVD. Again, some fine singing. Studer uis a well-known quantity, Zancannaro is, for my money, easily the finest Italian baritone of the last 50 years and Chris Merritt sails the tenor stratosphere with ease.
The Chailly, with Pavarotti, has a lot of fans but I've never been particularly keen on it, never having been keen on Milnes.
JKH