Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Tosca, La Scala, 20 April 2006



It was commented on the Anne Sofie Von Otter recording that there is too much echoe, it sounds as if it is coming from the bottom of a barrel. Saying something like that to Parsifal is a deadly sin and makes Parsi sad :( So in order to defend myself i replied that the fault is not mine but it's all a matter of the acoustics of the various concert halls. For example, the two greek "Megaron", the one in Athens and the other in Thessaloniki are vast and the acoustics are bad. (Well, the one in Thessaloniki is actually terrible) while other, smaller theatres (opera houses, not concert halls) produce a fantastic result. And to prove myself right i 've uploaded a performance i recorded at La Scala last year (sshhhhh....Lissner might be around) : Tosca with Hui He replacing Daniella Dessi (dammit, she claimed illness but Hui He was quite good actually), Fabio Armiliato (the hubby without the wife) and Carlo Guelfi. Above all these, Lorin Maazel with his fabulous, dazzling, crystal clear direction and an amazing La Scala orchestra...Listen to it and judge for youselves...

* Act 3 missing, Damn you SONY MD! *

Tosca - G. Puccini

Tosca: Hui He
Mario: Fabio Armiliato
Scarpia: Carlo Guelfi
Angelotti: Enrico Iori
Sagrestano: D. Colaianni
Spoletta: Mario Bolognesi
La Scala 20th of April 2007

Cd1
Cd2

Enjoy, write your comments and dub be good to me.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi! I loved the sound of this Scala Tosca. Which Sony MD do you use? And the Mic and configurations? Mic level, etc etc.. Could you help me?
Grazie!!!
Mario Stiletto

Parsifal said...

Thank you! It was recorded with a Sony MZ-R900 and the typical ECM-MS907 mic. High level of recording, automatic.

Anonymous said...

Mille grazie!
Marco