{"product_id":"8717306260480-verdi-un-ballo-in-maschera","title":"Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePRODUCT DESCRIPTION \u003cbr\u003e Maestro Marek Janowski, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir present Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera (1859), together with a stellar cast consisting of Freddie de Tommaso (Riccardo), Lester Lynch (Renato) and Saioa Hernández (Amelia). Un ballo in maschera is Verdi's tragicomic masterpiece, in which the composer skilfully switches gears between the light and tragic, as well as between his earlier and more mature style. As such, it is both an entertaining and highly sophisticated work. The three main soloists are all seasoned Verdi interpreters, while Janowski approaches this ingenuous score with his eye for symphonic architecture, resulting in a performance that is lively and balanced. Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our time, and has a vast Pentatone discography, mostly consisting of German operas and symphonic works. After Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), this is his third Italian opera recording for the label. Lester Lynch also has a longstanding relationship to Pentatone, and starred in many opera recordings, including Otello (2017), Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), as well as La Fanciulla del West, Madama Butterfly (both 2021), and La Traviata (2022). The Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir has featured on several opera recordings, while the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo appeared on Arabella Steinbacher's Fantasies, Rhapsodies \u0026amp; Daydreams (2016). Freddie de Tommaso and Saioa Hernández make their Pentatone debut. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e REVIEW \u003cbr\u003e It’s easy to get bowled over by the Caruso of Tunbridge Wells. For the British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso sings with such passion, warmth and force. He can certainly soar through anything Verdi throws at him, including the role of Riccardo, Count of Warwick and Governor of Boston, in that troubled opera of 1859, “Un ballo in maschera” (“A Masked Ball”). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe results are sonically wonderful, though tinged with more than a touch of the ridiculous. Partly it’s the opera’s fault. For all the dramatic vigour imparted by Verdi, De Tommaso, Saioa Hernandez, Lester Lynch, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic and conductor Marek Janowski, it’s impossible to take the 17th century colonial American setting seriously – a setting only arrived at after censorship demands forced changes in a libretto inspired by Swedish king Gustav III’s assassination in 1792.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe opera’s heavy artifice is further underlined by the antiseptic clarity of Monte Carlo’s Auditorium Rainier III, not the most atmospheric spot for the opera’s cast of lovers and political conspirators. Freed from stage noises or any activity other than singing, everyone hits the microphones head on, apart from the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir, whose contributions were fed through at a later date from a Romanian radio station. Even when Riccardo lies stabbed and dying, De Tommaso’s decibels remain pretty hefty; while Lynch and Hernandez, cast as the love triangle’s other corners, are permanently at boiling point. De Tommaso’s vocal beauties are undeniable and Verdi’s music can be thrilling, but I wouldn’t pick this recording to demonstrate the opera genre at its most mature. --The Times - 3*\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40949129543777,"sku":"8717306260480","price":20.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_10680470_1088790.jpg?v=1740504395","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/8717306260480-verdi-un-ballo-in-maschera","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}