Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Sonic spectacular April 2, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Sonic spectacular
I'm a big fan of Joan Sutherland, so I really went out of my way to get this. Yes, 84 minutes on two full-price discs is not exactly a collector's bargain, but like I said, I had a different incentive for getting this.
Verdi Requiem sopranos are usually the Aida/Forza type. Not too often do you get the Gilda/La Traviata type. So it's a fascinating experience to hear a top coloratura like Sutherland in this choral warhorse. I found Sutherland's Requiem very enjoyable - I simply love the sound of her voice. While many fault her diction, I had no trouble with it (I understood her all throughout Libera Me). Also, it's neat to finally hear an actual trill in Hostias.
Listeners familiar with Georg Solti's Ring cycle will be well acquainted with his reputation for well-engineered sound. This Verdi Requiem was recorded in October 1967, yet even by today's standards, it is a sonic spectacular. Listen especially to the choral highlights like the opening of the Dies Irae, the Sanctus, and the final Libera Me fugue. Like the Ring cycle, the brass appear to have the best microphones of anyone in the orchestra. Audiophiles testing new speakers will have plenty of material to use in this album. And the bass drum in Dies Irae sounds more like an explosion than a musical instrument - very cool!
If you did not hear Luciano Pavarotti in Karajan's 1967 Verdi Requiem, here is your chance to hear him now. For me, this is one of my all-time favorite renditions of Ingemisco. I also like how he uses a soft voice rather that a head voice in Hostias.
Listeners may be aware that the Vienna State Opera Chorus and Vienna Philharmonic recorded the Verdi Requiem in November 1991 with Claudio Abbado, a wonderful recording in its own right. Fans of the Abbado disc, however, will not be disappointed with this much earlier 1967 collaboration. The Vienna State Opera is a very powerful chorus and can almost knock you off your feet when they come at you at full volume. And the Vienna Philharmonic proves that its status as one of the world's great ensembles is hardly a recent honor.
Overall, I liked all four soloists. BUT...Marilyn Horne tends to take a lot of liberties with her pronunciations (eleison is eh-leh-ee-sawn instead of sohn, for example), and her unison duet with Sutherland at the beginning of Agnus Dei really sounds a bit out of tune. I love Martti Talvela, but he seemed to be trying too hard in Confutatis (he practically sledgehammers "Voca me" and it's not pleasant to hear).
If you can get past the high price, I think you'll enjoy this.
Rivetting Requiem December 13, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Incredible performance of Verdi's masterpiece from the late 1960's. The sound quality is superb. You have to start with Solti and the great Vienna Philharmonic in conjunction with the Vienna State Opera Chorus. Pavarotti gives one of his best performances on this recording and his big solo is breathtaking. Marilyn Horne is her usual stellar self; because they had sung together so frequently in their careers, her duets with Sutherland have a unity and flow missing from some other recordings of this work. Talvela's immense voice gives a rock solid foundation to the lowest vocal lines. All four principles bring a cohesiveness to the vocal passages whether it is a duet, a trio, or a quartet. As for Sutherland she is simply sensational. This is one of her greatest achievements. The sheer power of her voice is a marvel to behold. In the opening Kyrie when all of the four soloists join toghether for the first time, her voice soars over the ensemble and the orchestra in a way that only a true dramatic soprano can - Price, Fleming, Schwarzkoph are no match for Sutherland in such places in this score. One criticism that many have with Sutherland in this recording is she is too cool in the part, which is more than ironic, since most critics often complain that most performances of this work are too operatic; in general I find her attuned to the text, without being overly emotional. Her entrance in the Offertorium is breathtaking - a long sustained note, with various modulations in dynamics, one of the trickiest moments in the score. She concludes with an awesome Libera Me, though admittedly her Requiem Aeternam is not as beautiful as Price's - great pianissimo's were more Leontyne's strength than Joan's.
Joan Sutherland Is Miscast In This Requiem: Better Ones Are Out There February 9, 2006
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
The Verdi Requiem has been blessed with the title of the most recorded requiem on disc. There are certainly superior recordings out there. The draw here is the cast, singers who certainly had a following in the heady days of their careers in the 60's and 70's- Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, Matti Talvela and conductor Georg Solti. Solti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic with great strength and power, making such fiery portions as the Dies Irae scare the hell out of you. There is no denying the magnitude of this recording, especially because the Vienna forces sound like two loud orchestras playing at the same time. However, there is no real sense of spirituality here and parts that ought to exude a calm divinity fail to do so. Pavarotti is in fine shape but this tenor part was never one I liked to hear him in. His heroic, bright sound shows no real emotion or sense of spirituality, unlike the more God-like lower tones of Talvela. Marilyn Horne is all razzle-dazzle in her mezzo part, though she handles the music quite well and intelligently. Finally, the weak link - Joan Sutherland. There were two operatic roles that were not in her league - Leonora in Trovatore which she also recorded with Marilyn Horne and Puccini's Turandot which she recorded with Pavarotti. The soprano solo part in the Requiem calls for a darker, heavier voice. Sutherland is completely underpowered. Furthermore, she has sloppy diction and is lackluster next to the truer Verdi soprano voices of Leontyne Price. Leontyne's Requiem recording (twice - once for Fritz Reiner in the early 60's and the other for Solti in the 70's with Janet Baker) are exemplary and must-have Requiems. Other well-executed Requiems you should check out as an alternative to this one are the Placido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Nicolai Ghiurov version and the one with Angela Gheorghiu and Roberta Alagna in recent years. Sorry, but this one would have been great if they had cast Leontyne Price rather than Joan Sutherland.
 An almost cinematic Requiem with spectacular singing to recommend it September 17, 2005
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
This set was famous for the singing and the sonics, but also for Solti's anti-religious, coarsened way with the score. If Giulini's reading is for devout Catholics, this one is for people who sleep in on Sunday (or go to the opera). Little of Verdi's deep emotional reverence comes through, but if you want to hear the Requiem as second-cousin to Il Trovatore, this performance is nearly perfect. I keep it for the spectacular sonics and Pavarotti's incomparable singing of the Ingemisco.
A monumental Masterpiece!! December 3, 2004
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
I love this. Is by far the best version. And incredibly good production for something recorde in the late 60s. How they were able to make it sound like this? Who knows, but is here and all we have to do is enjoy.
The only thing missing is Miss Price. Southerland will always be remembered by us as one of the best (if not the best) colatura soprano of the last century. Her voice is beyond beautiful. Is just sublime. Is true. But Miss Price is better for Verdi although Sutherland is incredible here and is enough at least for me.
Pavarotti...oh Pavarotti. He's in his prime. His voice has an unlimited power without losing his beauty. This is the Pavarotti that people love.
Horne as a Mezzo-Soprano and Martti Talvela a Bass complement everything with their talent. They are not there just "getting the job done". Besides, Horne was a respected figure as well.
Solti's version is by far the best. He directs the Vienna Philharmonic with a passion and a speed that gets your heart to work. Reiner's Version is a good one but it just can't be compared with this.
After the first nine minutes, in which everyone pleases our ears we get ready. Verdi's "Dies Irae" starts. Is one of the most monumental pieces in history. The drums are like a thunder that just crushes your heart. Solti's direction is phenomenal. Dear God is this beautiful. I have to say that even though this 19 year old loves Opera, I'm not a snob but I love this. I may not be able to write a very technical review because of my lack of knowledge about terms related to this but I at least I can express what I feel.
Some people complain that it isn't as beautiful as the other Gregorian Dies Irae. Please. "Dies Irae" is supposed to be the Apocalypse. Ten centuries ago they didn't have the instruments to express it like today therefore that's why they only used their voices. If there's something that can crush a soul, is Verdi's "Dies Irae" and with Solti's version you can appreciate it in a way that none of the other versions can.
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