La Rondine (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
Very sudden start, but quite nice afterwards.
Lsc-7048 red Seal dynagroove:
Copy1: I, 3/4/3/3S. NM Vivid, spacious, quiet, dynamic, very extended top end. Very good vocalists. Has a syroupy distortion that tells it apart from live music.
Copy 2: I, 3///3 NM. Little less defined in space, individuals bleed a little, however deeper soundstage. not as much top end, but little better bottom end. More compression. Sounds too busy in comparison. Little more lifelike though, less distortion. And more presence. US cleaning will probably clean up the definition.
Madama Butterfly (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
London FFSS: OSA1314 Tulio Serafin, Tebaldi, Bergonzi. very credible, accurate orchestra, big scale. Has an extra octave bottom end that is missing from La Rondine LSCs. Sounds as if we are on the balcony, looking down on the performers. Very nice conducting. Superb singers.
RCA Victoria VICS 6100: played mono. Not clean sounding. Soldierly conducting and singing. Strong foundation, but there’s a modulation - stereo reprocessing messed it up. Erich Leindsorf, Anna Moffo. Pity, would be superb otherwise.
Turandot (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
RCA Victor LM-6134 mono: Leinsdorf, Nilsson / Tebaldi / Bjoerling / Tozzi. Feels compressed on tutti.
London FFRR: OSA 13108 “Londo 13108” in dead wax, silver on blue, best out of many copies. Way cleaner than RCA. More dynamic, bigger scale. Very emotional vocals, gives goosebumps. Very powerful vocals, dynamics close to real life. Tons of energy.
La Bohème (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
Way too busy piece of music. Hard to listen to. Hurts the ears...scares the cats big time, they run up and down in panic.
RCA Victor red seal LM-6042. Mono. Beecham, Bjoerling, Merrill, Tozzi.started listening with stereo cart. Highs were earsplitting. With mono, it’s nicely balanced, tone is much deeper, background way calmer. Very good sound, superb vocalsists.
RCA Victor red seal LM-6008. Mono, Toscanini. 1946 Feb. very good sound, record would need cleaning though. Easier on the ears and not as busy as Beecham, but heftier.
London FFSS - Serafin, Siepi. Easiest to listen to so far, and best sonics. Best dynamic range, lowest distortion.
London FFRR- Pavarotti. Pavarotti is phenomenal. Most relaxed of all four, easiest on ear, can hear the space, not busy. Very good conducting. Big sound. Grand. Better sound than Serafin version.
Tosca
Coming sooner or later: the battle of six TOSCAs!! (sometimes in 2019...)
Angel 3508B La Scala / De Sabato / Callas / Gobbi. Poor sonics, haphazard conducting. Stopped after 5min.
RCA Victrola VICS6000 stereo. Leinsdorf / Bjoerling / Rome Opera House Orch. Heroic style presentation, pretty well done stereo repro. Sound quality mediocre.
Main Tosca session - extended to battle of Seven Toscas! (Jan 20, 2020):
CLS2004 Que Records, Vatican City Rome. Mastered in NY. Complete orchestral version, no singing. Conducting Pietro Angelo. Overmastered - much spatial info is lost, sounds kind of monophonic, and also compressed. Even if it’s mono (can’t figure out, it does not say), imaging is not good. Little bottom end. Sounds as if low frequency is in stereo and high frequency is monophonic. Messed up mastering of an otherwise beautiful recording…. pity.
VICS 6000: frequency limited on both ends, smeared sound. Plastic violins. This is the first reprocessed stereo recording of RCA Victrola! They got better later on.
OSA1280: London FFRR. Karajan, Taddei. Vienna PO. Very quiet. Average detail level, less than FFRR in general. Listenable but not special. Too romantic conducting.
OSAD12113: London FFRR. Pavarotti, Fresno, Milnes. Rescigno - National Philharmonic. Way better sound than Karajan. Very dynamic, full range. Much better conducting and singing. Credible orchestra. Much more relaxed yet more engaging than any of previous recordings.
OSA1210: Tebaldi, Del Monaco, London. bigger sound than Pavarotti FFRR. Bigger and deeper soundstage, deeper bass. Can hear individual instruments better. Better dynamics. Sounds as a live performance.
RCA Soria LDS7022. 1/4/2/1S I. Karajan, Price, Taddei. Big sound, similar to Tebaldi. Conducting is jumpy and romantic, compression at dynamic peaks, although dynamics is commendable. Low level details not as audible as on Tebaldi.
Philips 6700108: Again, a god awful fall apart foam insert. Happens with many Philips, painful to clean. Quietest background, dynamic and big. Little distorted vocals. Needs cleaning? Something gone wrong in mixing. Orchestra sounds weird at times, and soundstage is not coherent. Fluctuates between superb when few instruments play quietly and poor when it gets busy.
Lucia di Lammermoor 2019 Spring-Summer
RCA Victrola VICS-6001 "stereo". Stereo repro is poor, sound is mainly from R channel. With AT33MONO cartridge, it's a stunner mono recording. Vocals are super intense, both male and female. Roberta Peters is destroying her vocal cords and our ears. Tour de force of human voice. Absolute thrill. First pressing. (Generally, the Victrola VICS when played back as mono sound very good.) Sometimes sound crowded: too much, too intense.
LSC-6141 Red Seal Living Stereo. Appears to be the same as the Victrola, but real stereo. Same cast and conductor (Leinsdorf / Roberta Peters / Rome Opera House Orch.) 1st pressing.
LSC-6170 stereo. Much less intense than the previous two. Much more spacious soundstage, does not sound crowded, way easier on the ears. Anna Moffo / George Pretre cond. RCA Italy Op Orch. Moffo's voice is more feminine and relaxed than Roberta's. 1S/2S early pressing. Recording level much lower than the first two.
Angel / Callas / Tullio Serafin. Spacious sound, but gets tight with forte singing. Orchestra is very nice. Background level is high. Chorus gets messy in forte. Male vocals not as good as the other two's. However, Callas' rendering has the most feeling.
Ghiaurov / Pavarotti / Schwarzkopf: Pavarotti is amazing. Best male line up.
Carmen (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
Angel SCLX3650 Nicolas Goddard, Andrea Guiot. / Georges Pretre. Very good sound. 3 dimensional, great tempo. Background is not super quiet, there’s a shine permeating even the quiet pieces, otherwise very big and credible image, good bass although not heavy, tone overall is higher. Yet, any of the Puccini’s above, reviewed on the same day, have a hard time to catch up with it’s sonics! Most solid image. Soloists voices although are on the light side, are very lifelike, almost spookily, and startled me many times thinking a real person is right there singing. The background pink noise tires the ear, though. The soloists are delightful. Very moving, energizing recording. Superb booklets (three booklets!) Dynamics never compresses, individual voices keep 3D body even in strong fortes. In brief, recording from Angel that sets very high standards. In addition to recording prowess, it is a superb Carmen.
DG2709043: Horne, McCracken, Lernstein, Met. Production. More restrained than Pretre, on the romantic side. Not as dynamic as Angels. Not as clearly defined either. On better vinyl though, quieter background. Copy2: cleaner sound. More defined highs. Sounds majestic.
RCA Soria LDS6164. 10/6S. Price, Merrill, Freni, Karajan, Vienna Ph. Great tempo, wide soundstage. Angel has more life to it though! This is a more somber presentation. Angel is more dynamic. DG has quietest background, on both copies. Angel's chorus is more detailed and life like. Chorus and vocals sometimes come from one speaker (box), while the orchestra is in the air. Little weird. Angel has consistent image, and more spirited vocals.
Verdict: all are superb recordings, Angel is the best recording and best performance! Kudos.
The battle of Legano…. or the battle of many Verdis:
La Traviata (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
Nice slow pace introduction.
London FFRR. OSA1366. Sutherland, Bergonzi, Merrill, conducted by John Pritchard. Very nice, good recording. Nothing outstanding in recording quality, but no defects either. Very good performance. Copy2: FFSS edition! lower level and lower noise floor. Acoustics is more correct - FFRR sounds more echoey, as if recorded in a kitchen and not in a theatre. However, FFSS must be later pressing as detail / recording levels are much lower. The FFRR has hands down much better sound.
LSC6180 1st pressing, Dynagroove, but thick vinyl. Caballé, Prêtre. More layered, acoustics similar to FFSS. Stage is used very well, delightful to listen to as the singers walk around the stage. Very tuneful, makes your feet tap. Although London is a superb performance, this is better and a better recording. Although London is also a keeper and highly recommended.
Otello (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
Radio e Televisione Italiana RCA, C12R 0032. Toscanini, NBC. Very heroic version. Suitable for Conan III movie. They all sing their lungs out. Record skips…
RCA LM6701. 4s I. Toscanini NBC. Better dynamic range. More majestically heroic. More refined and mature than the Italian version. No dynamic compression. On Italian version performers sing louder, possibly a good number of them worked up to vocal cord damage.
LDS6155 Soria. 16/18S I. Higher detail level than both Toscanini. More heft. Orchestra is more layered, can hear it much better than on the monos. Fortes are more relaxed, yet with very high energy. Grander than the Toscanini. Record not flat, cartridge rides like on a roller coaster.
London FFRR XLLA24. Mario del Monaco, Tebaldi. Cond Alberto Erede. Very suspenseful. Fortes are with raw energy, unleashed.
Requiem (reviewed Jan 20, 2020)
LDS6091. Soria. Price, Bjoerling, Tozzi. Reiner, Vienna Phil. Very sad but beautiful. Copy 2: sounds smaller. Both are 11S. Quite high noise floor.
Angel SB3649. Carlo Maria Giulini. Schwarzkopf, Ghiaurov. Superlative chorus!!! Deeply touching. Better introduction than Reiner's. Chorus better recorded: it becomes hallow at forte but dynamic range is more correct.
AT201/1-2 German pressing RCA, Toscanini. Herva Nelli, Siepi, Robert Shaw Chor, NBC. Very delicate and intimate, even more than CMG.
Aida (listening: Jan 20, 2020)
EMI Electrola Odeon quadrophonic 1C195-92 548/50Q more quiet, spacious, full sounding and more dynamic than the Angel SCLX-3815. The Angel itself is very good, the EMI is just better. Majestic, beautiful playing. Caballé, Domingo, Ghiaurov, Muti.
Aida listening: 2019 Spring-Summer
EMI-Electrola-Odeon / Quadrophonic. 1C195-02548/50Q. Caballé / Ghiaurov / Muti. Very spacious, wide and deep. Very nice to listen to. Superb recording. Mikes far from performers.
EMI-HMV SLS5108 Tito Gobbi / Tucker / Barbieri / Callas / Tullio Serafin / O&C La Scala, Milan. Much more powerful than previous EMI. Much fuller bodied vocals. Much more intense version. Much closer miked.
LSC-6158 Solti / Rome Opera House O & Ch. Price / Vickers / Goro / Merrill / Tozzi. More somber, heavy, little romantic as well. Orchestra miked close, soloists further. Was not miked for a good sound stage, individual levels are engineered. It's quite bothersome. Stunning sound though. Very loud, forceful, but not compressed, and not relaxed either.
LM-6132 RCA Victor Red Seal - Toscanini. First pressing, Indiana. (Where's my review?! I'll have to revisit these records...)
Verdi Requiem 2019 Spring-Summer
Soria LDS-6091, Reiner. Beautiful conducting and playing. Gigantic dynamic range from whisper to thunder.
Angel SBL3649 Giuliani / Ghiaurov / Schwartzkopf. Chorus much more prominent than with Soria, and is more colorful. More Italian. Ghiaurov is phenomenal! Schwarzkopf as well! Soloists really shine on this recording, while Soria puts them in the background. Very good recording! Soria is more dynamic but at the expense of the music, considering poorer vocal positioning and capture.
RCA VL46010(2) half speed master Toscanini / Siepi: brand new. Has a big waaarrrrrpppp. People cough.
RCA AT201/1-2 1957, German pressing version of Toscanini: much more detailed and people cough MORE. More dynamics! More layers. No warps... briefly, the German pressing eats the half speed master for breakfast.
Don Giovani (Nov 3 2019)
Angel SDL3700 Klemperer / Ghiaurov: very nice performance, very good conducting. Good detail level and imaging. Tonal balance tilts towards high, very lean sound. Ghaurov sounds very light, as if he was a tenor.
Carlo Maria Giulini/ Wachter, Sutherland
Angel 3605D/L version: balanced tone compared to Klemperer. Nice detail level, grander opening and orchestra. Voices little compressed and pressed in tutti. Can hear singers moving around on stage.
EMI SLS5083 original> more natural sound, calmer presentation. Very good vocals, tons of more details. Very nice interpretation.
Follow up: three Don Giovannis introductions: 12/5/2019
LONDON XLLA34 Ffrr. Josef Kripps, Siepi. Vienna PO. Ancient, huge box set, with a full size book! Nobody bothered to listen to the first record ever, so it was a treat. Superb rich sound, little subdued. Dynamic, full. Good conducting. Definitively a keeper.
LSC-6410 Erich Leinsdorf / Vienna PO. More energy, more drive and dynamics, singers seem to come alive more. Noticeably better recording quality than the London.
EMI SLS5083: Giulini, Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus. Whoa! Way more energy than the other two. Highs are much more cleaner! Way more natural and credible presentation. Conducting is by far the best, most Mozart. Singers the best as well. Wachter / Sutherland / Thaddeus / Schwarzkopf. This sounds as a live opera experience. The LSC is a superb modern recording, and the London is a superb old recording. All three very highly recommended. Kintaro came in from the garden to listen to the EMI. Also, EMI is the quietest. All three appear to be in similar NM+ condition (London mint), and clean, no visible dust on surfaces. Yet, both London and LSC had very loud and very bothersome, ear tiring pops. EMIs surface noise is not bothersome at all.
EMIs presentation is in space, the other two is much flatter.
Donizetti - Lucia Di Lammermoor Reviewed June 24, 2020:
Thomas Schippers / LSO, Sills, Bergonzi, Diaz. AudioTreasury AT200006-3 stereo. Recorded by EMI, 1970. Huge, superb stage! Handles forte very well, with the feel of concert hall acoustics. Very dynamic. Super quiet, highly resolved. Mikes positioned superbly, feels as if I'm at the opera. Power and weight under both orchestra and singers. Timpani are real heavyweight! The basso voice is superb, has the body and heft behind it. Chorus is superb. Massive, yet clear. FANTASTIC RECORDING! (Both quality and interpretation.)
Serafin / The Philh. Orchestra / Callas. Angel, SBL-3601. At forte, singers get overshadowed by orchestra and chorus. Very natural sound, feels at the opera but smaller scale than the AT. Compression at dynamic peaks, but not bothersome - just compared to AT.
Pritchard / Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome / Sutherland / Cioni, Merrill, Siepi. London FFSS OSA-1327 - that's the box.... contents: FFRR OS 25293. Curiously though, did not notice the characteristic FFRR HF distortion - sounded like a very good FFSS specimen (dynamics and frequency extension-wise). Extremely unsual!! Superb recording, large and lush like the AT. Conducting has more drive and deeper feelings. Singers as well. No compression. Better basso than AT's.
Bonynge / Ch & Orch Royal Opera House Covent Garden / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, Ghiaurov. Decca FFSS 528-30. Another spin, this has HF distortion like FFRR - maybe record is worn? Sounds prisitine otherwise though, and no wear marks. The Pritchard version has better sonics. Conducting is also better on P, and the male singers also are deeper in their roles. Tough, Ghiaurov is an elemental force to reckon with! Goosebumps. The roles are sung super-heroic style. Despite being a superb recording, stellar cast - it did not capture me. The entirety of the performance has the feel of generic opera, could be any composer, any work, feels impersonal.
Pretre / RCA Italiana Opera Orch & Chorus / Moffo / Bergonzi. LSC-6170 Dynagroove white dog. 1S/2S, unplayed. Widest dynamic range so far. Superb low level resolution, but looses lushness (little dry) at forte. Sounds more like a recording though, not as natural as the AT or FFRR. Conducted as Verdi.
Leinsdorf / Rome Opera House / Peters / Peerce / Tozzi / Maero. LSC-6141 1S. The dynamics explodes you out of your chair. It is one notch even above the Pretre LSC! Soloists are much better in character, orchestra is also much more Donizetti. It's technicolored though, does not feel as a real performance, but a recording. First 10 min is super exciting, but by the end of the introduction I'm bored with it. Will probably never listen to the entire opera in this edition... off to a more welcoming home super-LSC!
Second round of listening, 2 of the best, last sides:
Schippers / AT: Phenomenal Lucia! Very natural, much better than the LSCs.
Pritchard / London FFRR: Wow, much better dynamic top range than AT. (Maybe orchestra played that part louder?) I would attribute a top notch 5 grade for recording quality. (AT is 4,5). The rest is 4 at best, but one big drop down from either of these two. Curiously, these two are the best performances as well! Sutherland is a superb Lucia!
Addition: Serafin/Callas, Columbia edition SAX2316 but recorded by EMI UK. Second record only (no first half.) Very noisy and dirty, but very good sound.
2019 Spring-Summer
Don Quixote, Reiner / Chicago SO. RCA Soria LSS238. Good sound. Has everything but not exceptional. Cello has nice tone and body. Very nice. Intro is too busy. Orchestra has compressed dynamics. Still, well above majority of recordings. Conent is very quixotic, not a keeper. (
Arabella: Solti / Vienna PO. London FFSS. Very jumpy beginning. Orchestra has much better imaging and dyanmics than Soria Quixote. No intro. In medias res. Are we in quite a hurry to impress, Mein Herr?
Elektra. DG 138690-91 SLPM. Much higher recording level than Arabella (low) or Quixote (medium). Very wagneresque sound. Much better music than Arabella or Quixote. Also, best sound of the three.
Ariadne auf Naxos. Karajan / Schwarzkopf. Angel 3532C/L. Extremely entertaining storyilne, you have to read the encloed booklet with the English translation (in case du verstehst nix Deutsch!) Recording is focused on vocals. Orchestra is in background, much separation.
EMI Orchestral Music of Dick Strauß , Rudolp Klemperer / Dresden St Orch. SLS861 (OC19 50271-4). 4 box sets. Vol I-IV. In general , keeper series with Vol II demo quality. Give them all US cleaning, though. The cantilever was on its last breath, so the dynamic peak distortions were the cantilever giving up the ghost. Vol II was reviewed previously, but Vols I,III,IV might have been damaged by semi-dead cartridge.
Vol I. Don Juan - pretty good from DS. A S Zarathustra: cool! Opening gets messy (needs cleaning?! or butchered record?) Quiet parts are very nice sounding. Otherwise, well recorded.
Vol II: superb sound!!!
Vol III. 3 record set, no booklet. VG EMI sound. Quiet and good sounding vinyl. Nice material from Dickie.
Vol IV. Good sound and good music.
Turandot / Metha - Pavarotti - Caballé - Ghiaurov - Pears, London FFRR: 2019 Spring-Summer
OSA 13108, Black/silver label: very good, big and full sound, clean and quiet vinyl.
OS 26334, Blue/Silver label: better sound. Cleaner and more detailed. Superb sonics, demo quality. Side 4 has termite damage!!!!! Ouch.
OS 26334 Black/silver label: flimsy vinyl. Superb sonics, but highs are mostly distorted (but not on side 4). (Pooled this last record with previous set, and kept that.)
OS 26334 Black/silver label, second copy. Not as good sound as previous copy.