The Toscannini recording is in mono (though well balanced and clear). But it has the energy of a live performance, because it was, in fact, a live broadcast, and that adds a lot. And then there is the matter of pedigree--Toscannini was playing cello in the pit at the world premiere in La Scala. He knew Verdi personally and had the chance to discuss his music with him. And he was a great conductor who had the ability to inspire performers to go beyond themselves. It is fair to say that the cast of Toscanini's Otello gave the performances of their lives. So when all is said and done, the Toscanini Otello is my reference for how the opera should sound. If you want to say that the Levine/Domingo Otello is the modern stereo reference, I have no problem with that. But the Toscanini recording is so important historically, and came out so well, that I think it is that rare example of an older, historical recording being the reference, even when compared to later, stereo era recordings.
I agree this is the clear stereo reference. That said, I do have a soft spot for Domingo’s later recordings, too. The one with Myung-Wung Chun and Cheryl Studer is a very exciting recording, in excellent sound. Also: I totally agree with Dave’s comment about the opera having “no fat.” It’s a true marvel in that way, and in my opinion that also comes down to the excellent libretto, maybe the best condensed Shakespeare ever!
Love this opera and this recording. Otello is the only Verdi score I've gone to the trouble of buying. In Levine's interpretation, I take exception to just one, single note value. Was also glad to consult Toscanini.
Before that one there were two clear reference recording: Toscanini and Karajan with Del Monaco and Tebaldi. And the reference Otello singer was Del Monaco, who owned the role as he dis it over 400 times.
Scotto's voice was never what you'd call the most aesthetically pleasing, but similar to Martha Modl and late Maria Callas she got dramatic singing like few others, and with Otello being one of the pinnacles of "opera as drama" I think the role suited her. I'd still rather have a prettier, more innocent sounding voice--I think Te Kanawa, Fleming, and Freni were hard to beat on that front--but Scotto is definitely aces in the dramatic department.
It's tricky to decide on the reference in this opera, at least as far as the tenor role is considered. On the one hand it's one of the three most demanding roles of the Italian repertoire for tenors (alongside Manon Lescaut and Un Ballo). On the other hand it is the goto for any heroic tenor on the Italian side, so quite a few made it their signature role (Del Monaco, Cossutta), plus it was attended by Siegmund specialists (Vickers, Vinay) and by past their prime Bel Canto singers. And yet, with all this competition, Domingo, who could have the argument for being the reference of many other roles, still owns the role.
Dave, do you think Don Carlo has a reference recording? Or are there just too many versions to have one reference. I ask because Don Carlo is far and away my favorite Verdi. Could you identify different references for the 4-Act and 5-Act versions? If you think there is a reference recording, I can't wait to see what you pick. Wesley
Thanks for this. I thought that it was actually going to be Del Monaco/Tebaldi with Karajan on Decca, given that they were the leading pair during the onset of the LP era. It does have that awful Paris ballet sequence though which completely stops the momentum in Act III.
So did I. When I was a boy I went straight to my CD-dealer, asking for an Otello-Recording with Franco Corelli (I only knew his "Essultate" from an old Vinyl-Recital - I was like 13 and I had no clue). The Seller told me, that there was no entire Otello with Corelli and he gave me Karajan's first with Del Monaco/Tebaldi/Protti. He said Del Monaco was "the same direction" like Corelli. I baught it, it was my very first opera set on CD and I still own it, and the discs still play. And I bought them in the mid 1980ies.
@@bbailey7818 there have been some reissues containing the ballet music. For instance In a cheap cardbord 10cd-Box from Italy. You often find the Box in 2nd hand stores without the two volumes of Otello, because collectors fished them out and throwed away the unimportant stuff. And the latest DECCA reissue ("The Originals") has the ballabile also included. Serafin (Vickers/Rysanek/Gobbi) also had the Ballet encluded (on the vinyls), it was reissued on CD so many times, and I wonder why they never considered to pack the ballabile on CD at least as a bonus track.
@robertfontane442 I will have to investigate the Originals issue. I still have the RCA Serafin in the Soria series lp edition. Yes, the Living Stereo cd omits the ballet sequence. I always suspected it was eliminated more for cd timing reasons than aesthetic considerations.
Since you've done a few operas now, is there a reference for Jenůfa? I'd gues Mackerras, but that's even more recent than the Levine _Otello_ so maybe not.
No argument against this for reference, but for best my vote also goes to another Levine, on DVD with Vickers and Scotto. To me, Otello is first and foremost a dramatic opera, and this choice simply comes down to the fact that Vickers was (at that point) a better dramatic singer than Domingo was. Domingo would definitely develop into one of the all-time great dramatic tenors, but even at his best I don't think he was ever quite as electrifying and terrifying as Vickers could be. It doesn't hurt that it's in even better sound.
Dave, your remark on Carlos Kleiber conducting Otello in New York makes me wonder why he did not record it with Domingo -I saw both at Covent Garden, I think 1982, with Margaret Price as Desdemona and Silvano Carroli as Iago and it was sensational.
The very opening crash was also taken over by Mahler for the finale of the Second Symphony. There is tons of Verdi in Mahler. I made a video about it and gave a paper at a symposium in Italy.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I have not been able to find record that Mahler conducted a performance of Othello. I am wondering if you have come across anything.
With Mario Del Monaco- a real Dramatic tenor- the Karajan recording should be the standard. Too bad Culshaw sucked at recording big voiced singers. Great orchestra with the VPO with Karajan though.
Not the greatest fan of Domingo but I agree - I think his best performance on disc Everyone is great - especially Scotto Levine was brilliant then - so exciting
That recording with Domingo was my first Otello. My first introduction is often also my favorite. But in the case of Otello I have a very clear favorite: Serafin with Vickers. Karajan's performance with Del Monaco was a bit disappointing to me. All very neat and well-behaved, but I missed the fire that is in Serafin's recording.
Online rumor has it that Price was scheduled to be the Desdémona but bowed out. I’m shocked RCA didn’t approach Caballe. Either way Scotto is an inspired casting choice. The Serafin - Toscanini and first Solti sets are my go to mostly for the casts. Domingo’s current status makes him arguably more problematic than Levine.
I doubt it. Levine was a great proponent of Scotto (as was Muti) who had performed the role with him in the theater. Price did not and I’m fairly sure Caballe did not either.
@@lunaray1986 I am unaware of the source of the intel, but I recall it was part of an essay called “impossible discs” which went into detail about various singers who cancelled recordings and those who stepped in. Arroyo stepped in for Caballe in Vespri Siciliani and the La Juive highlights record. Price stepped in for Caballe in the RCA Trovatore. Scotto was supposed to record zip Turco in Italia but had to bow out and Caballe finally repaid the favor, etc etc
@@ViardotVSGrisi There’s no question these things occur. Arroyo for Caballé in Vespri was a very well publicized switch out, not a rumor at all. (It’s a pity the reciprocal deal wasn’t worked for Muti’s Aïda.) I still doubt Levine would have entertained Price (you mean L Price, right?) or Caballe as Desdemona in preference to Scotto. I’ve confirmed in the Met Archive that Caballé’s Desdemonas at the Met came well before Levine took it up.
Not all Domingo recordings of Otello are equal, as you know. Over the years, his voice became more and more baritonal and less and less apt for this work. For his last video in 2001, Muti had to transpose the role downwards. So, as you say, his earliest recording is certainly the most referential.
It's the Serafin/Vickers for me. But I'm somewhat biased against Domingo, as I tend to find his vocie grates. It's nails on a chalkboard to me. I don't know. It never used to be that way during my first classical phase in my teens and twenties. But over the last ten years, his voice just drives me nuts. And not in a good way. But Otello is such a wonderful piece. The opening is worth the price of admission by itself.
This would be my No.2 choice as THE reference. And a favorite. But when it appeared the comparisons and evaluations invariably cited the--Toscanini RCA. Reviews of new Otellos always brought up the Toscanini. Despite questions of sonics. One thing Toscanini does that nobody else gets so successfully, regardless of sonics, is the separate lines and conferences (Iago-Rodrigo, Iago-Otello) in the big 3rd act ensemble. They're almost invariably covered up. Karajan in his EMI simply cuts them! Vinay was a great Otello, probably the best before Vickers and Domingo. Valdengo turns in his best performance as Iago, actually very Gobbi-like. Nelli gives her 2nd best performance with AT (the best is her Alice Ford in Falstaff.) She's a problem for some but Peter Hugh Reed in the old ARG compared her to Melba whom he had heard in the role in the theater. And the comparison was favorable.
I heard a recording of a rehearsal session with Toscanini singing (in his tenor voice) the Willow song to give Nelli the phrasing he wanted. She then followed him exactly and then I better understood why he liked her. She sang exactly the way he wanted the role sung
there's an incredible 1980 live performance with Domingo, Margaret Price, and Silvano Carroli conducted by Carlos Kleiber that is my absolute favorite, marginally edging out another fantastic Domingo, Freni, Bruson, Kleiber 1987 live performance (famous for a backstage fight between Kleiber and Bruson between act 1 and act 2 -- Bruson messed up a line entrance in act 1 and Kleiber nearly punched him out over it lol). As far as studio recordings, I agree with the Levine first and the Serafin second. I can never understand those who prefer Del Monaco to Domingo in the role - MDM's unmusical bellowing has been a blight on many recordings I'd otherwise rank much higher. Karajan 2 is ruled out due to his lunatic Act 3 cut. Karajan 1 has the pedestrian Protti as Iago, and if I were to pick a Del Monaco, Tebaldi, Protti Otello, I'd opt for the 1954 Erede early stereo recording with the same principals when everyone was in fresher voice over the Karajan seven years later. Not as luxurious or well played as Karajan but an excellent blood and thunder performance, with the voices forward recording balances typical of the 50s.
I saw that production. Had no idea there was a recording. I was doing a student year in London and for reasons I can't recall they had to cancel the scheduled Andrea Chenier (I think it was), and the Otello was a last minute substitution. As soon as we heard, my friend and I lined up outside Covent Garden, pre-dawn to try for tix. There was wonderful camaraderie in the queue as people ran to get snacks and pass them round, while others rigorously kept interlopers and queue-cutters at bay. Ultimately we got seats way up in the gods but at intermission someone was unable to stay and gave us their standing room in the orchestra for the second half. A great life-long memory.
@@Mr1barolo I'm incredibly jealous. The audible shudder and teary throat-clearing that runs through the audience at the end underscores what an affecting performance that must have been in the theatre. the recording is available on Golden Melodram, oddly enough with the date misprinted on the cover as 1976, but I see it's out of print and used prices are quite high, but it does appear to be on youtube, if you ever get a hankering to revisit what sounds like an incredibly magical night.
This is the reference, but my allegiance will always be Serafin with Vickers, Tebaldi and Gobbi. Levine was good in Italian opera (I’d say his Cavalleria is the RR, not Karajan’s). A shame Kleiber didn’t record this, instead of giving the world yet another Fledermaus.
If only Serafin had not been in his slowpoke vein. The performance lacks momentum and drive. I'd value it more if he'd conducted it as he did his smoking hot DG Trovatore!
If only there was a Serafin with Vickers, Tebaldi, Gobbi. Unfortunately, the recording has Rysanek instead of Tebaldi, who I like quite a lot but don't think of as one of the great Desdemonas. Also Serafin was unusually low energy on this recording.
@@bbailey7818 you are so right. Big Serafin fan but in that recording he stops the music dead on its tracks and more than once. Too much of Desdemona lies in the lower middle which is the weakest part of Rysaneks voice and it’s hard to accept so much jumbled unsteady singing; also the character doesn’t give Rysanek the dramatic impetus as recompense
The Toscannini recording is in mono (though well balanced and clear). But it has the energy of a live performance, because it was, in fact, a live broadcast, and that adds a lot. And then there is the matter of pedigree--Toscannini was playing cello in the pit at the world premiere in La Scala. He knew Verdi personally and had the chance to discuss his music with him. And he was a great conductor who had the ability to inspire performers to go beyond themselves. It is fair to say that the cast of Toscanini's Otello gave the performances of their lives. So when all is said and done, the Toscanini Otello is my reference for how the opera should sound.
If you want to say that the Levine/Domingo Otello is the modern stereo reference, I have no problem with that. But the Toscanini recording is so important historically, and came out so well, that I think it is that rare example of an older, historical recording being the reference, even when compared to later, stereo era recordings.
My first encounter with Otello was the Toscanini it really is special.
Levine cited the Toscanini as a reference in the cd reissue booklet.
I thought this would be it too as well. Toscanini was really on top of that piece.
I have that recording and fully agree, resoundingly.
I agree this is the clear stereo reference. That said, I do have a soft spot for Domingo’s later recordings, too. The one with Myung-Wung Chun and Cheryl Studer is a very exciting recording, in excellent sound. Also: I totally agree with Dave’s comment about the opera having “no fat.” It’s a true marvel in that way, and in my opinion that also comes down to the excellent libretto, maybe the best condensed Shakespeare ever!
We all owe a debt to Boito.
I share your opinion of the Serafin/Vickers performance. The singing is of a very high standard, and the orchestral part is vividly done.
Love this opera and this recording. Otello is the only Verdi score I've gone to the trouble of buying. In Levine's interpretation, I take exception to just one, single note value. Was also glad to consult Toscanini.
Before that one there were two clear reference recording: Toscanini and Karajan with Del Monaco and Tebaldi. And the reference Otello singer was Del Monaco, who owned the role as he dis it over 400 times.
I have this recording but I'm afraid I find Renata Scotto's voice problematic. I nearly gave the CDs away.
I really admire her, but, like Katisha, her voice is an acquired taste.
Scotto's voice was never what you'd call the most aesthetically pleasing, but similar to Martha Modl and late Maria Callas she got dramatic singing like few others, and with Otello being one of the pinnacles of "opera as drama" I think the role suited her. I'd still rather have a prettier, more innocent sounding voice--I think Te Kanawa, Fleming, and Freni were hard to beat on that front--but Scotto is definitely aces in the dramatic department.
It's tricky to decide on the reference in this opera, at least as far as the tenor role is considered. On the one hand it's one of the three most demanding roles of the Italian repertoire for tenors (alongside Manon Lescaut and Un Ballo). On the other hand it is the goto for any heroic tenor on the Italian side, so quite a few made it their signature role (Del Monaco, Cossutta), plus it was attended by Siegmund specialists (Vickers, Vinay) and by past their prime Bel Canto singers. And yet, with all this competition, Domingo, who could have the argument for being the reference of many other roles, still owns the role.
Dave, do you think Don Carlo has a reference recording? Or are there just too many versions to have one reference. I ask because Don Carlo is far and away my favorite Verdi. Could you identify different references for the 4-Act and 5-Act versions? If you think there is a reference recording, I can't wait to see what you pick. Wesley
I do, and I'll get to it.
Thanks for this. I thought that it was actually going to be Del Monaco/Tebaldi with Karajan on Decca, given that they were the leading pair during the onset of the LP era. It does have that awful Paris ballet sequence though which completely stops the momentum in Act III.
So did I. When I was a boy I went straight to my CD-dealer, asking for an Otello-Recording with Franco Corelli (I only knew his "Essultate" from an old Vinyl-Recital - I was like 13 and I had no clue). The Seller told me, that there was no entire Otello with Corelli and he gave me Karajan's first with Del Monaco/Tebaldi/Protti. He said Del Monaco was "the same direction" like Corelli. I baught it, it was my very first opera set on CD and I still own it, and the discs still play. And I bought them in the mid 1980ies.
The CD reissue of the Decca that I have snipped out the ballet sequence. I'm not sure it has ever appeared on the recording since vinyl days.
@@bbailey7818 there have been some reissues containing the ballet music. For instance In a cheap cardbord 10cd-Box from Italy. You often find the Box in 2nd hand stores without the two volumes of Otello, because collectors fished them out and throwed away the unimportant stuff. And the latest DECCA reissue ("The Originals") has the ballabile also included. Serafin (Vickers/Rysanek/Gobbi) also had the Ballet encluded (on the vinyls), it was reissued on CD so many times, and I wonder why they never considered to pack the ballabile on CD at least as a bonus track.
@robertfontane442 I will have to investigate the Originals issue. I still have the RCA Serafin in the Soria series lp edition. Yes, the Living Stereo cd omits the ballet sequence.
I always suspected it was eliminated more for cd timing reasons than aesthetic considerations.
I agree its intrusion into Act 3 would be "awful," but the music itself is top rate Verdi. Really a bit of a late gem.
Since you've done a few operas now, is there a reference for Jenůfa? I'd gues Mackerras, but that's even more recent than the Levine _Otello_ so maybe not.
No, it's definitely Mackerras!
No argument against this for reference, but for best my vote also goes to another Levine, on DVD with Vickers and Scotto. To me, Otello is first and foremost a dramatic opera, and this choice simply comes down to the fact that Vickers was (at that point) a better dramatic singer than Domingo was. Domingo would definitely develop into one of the all-time great dramatic tenors, but even at his best I don't think he was ever quite as electrifying and terrifying as Vickers could be. It doesn't hurt that it's in even better sound.
Dave, your remark on Carlos Kleiber conducting Otello in New York makes me wonder why he did not record it with Domingo -I saw both at Covent Garden, I think 1982, with Margaret Price as Desdemona and Silvano Carroli as Iago and it was sensational.
Listen to the opening of Othello with the finale of Mahler 3 in mind when the horns make their prominent declaration
The very opening crash was also taken over by Mahler for the finale of the Second Symphony. There is tons of Verdi in Mahler. I made a video about it and gave a paper at a symposium in Italy.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I have not been able to find record that Mahler conducted a performance of Othello. I am wondering if you have come across anything.
With Mario Del Monaco- a real Dramatic tenor- the Karajan recording should be the standard. Too bad Culshaw sucked at recording big voiced singers. Great orchestra with the VPO with Karajan though.
I agree
Me too, and it includes the ballet music.
Del Monaco was much better live where he actually sings relatively softly often. In the 1961 he shouts way too much
Not the greatest fan of Domingo but I agree - I think his best performance on disc
Everyone is great - especially Scotto
Levine was brilliant then - so exciting
That recording with Domingo was my first Otello. My first introduction is often also my favorite. But in the case of Otello I have a very clear favorite: Serafin with Vickers. Karajan's performance with Del Monaco was a bit disappointing to me. All very neat and well-behaved, but I missed the fire that is in Serafin's recording.
Online rumor has it that Price was scheduled to be the Desdémona but bowed out. I’m shocked RCA didn’t approach Caballe. Either way Scotto is an inspired casting choice. The Serafin - Toscanini and first Solti sets are my go to mostly for the casts. Domingo’s current status makes him arguably more problematic than Levine.
I doubt it. Levine was a great proponent of Scotto (as was Muti) who had performed the role with him in the theater. Price did not and I’m fairly sure Caballe did not either.
@@lunaray1986 I am unaware of the source of the intel, but I recall it was part of an essay called “impossible discs” which went into detail about various singers who cancelled recordings and those who stepped in. Arroyo stepped in for Caballe in Vespri Siciliani and the La Juive highlights record. Price stepped in for Caballe in the RCA Trovatore. Scotto was supposed to record zip Turco in Italia but had to bow out and Caballe finally repaid the favor, etc etc
@@ViardotVSGrisi There’s no question these things occur. Arroyo for Caballé in Vespri was a very well publicized switch out, not a rumor at all. (It’s a pity the reciprocal deal wasn’t worked for Muti’s Aïda.) I still doubt Levine would have entertained Price (you mean L Price, right?) or Caballe as Desdemona in preference to Scotto. I’ve confirmed in the Met Archive that Caballé’s Desdemonas at the Met came well before Levine took it up.
BTW, one of the most fascinating of these replacement stories concerns the Solti Aïda. Was to be Rysanek, but she didn’t want to work with Solti.
@@lunaray1986 yes, I meant Leontyne. Caballe only sang Otello under Mehta at the MET.
Great top 3. I know this one well.
Not all Domingo recordings of Otello are equal, as you know. Over the years, his voice became more and more baritonal and less and less apt for this work. For his last video in 2001, Muti had to transpose the role downwards. So, as you say, his earliest recording is certainly the most referential.
It's the Serafin/Vickers for me. But I'm somewhat biased against Domingo, as I tend to find his vocie grates. It's nails on a chalkboard to me. I don't know. It never used to be that way during my first classical phase in my teens and twenties. But over the last ten years, his voice just drives me nuts. And not in a good way. But Otello is such a wonderful piece. The opening is worth the price of admission by itself.
For me the best thing about the Serafin is the Soria presentation
This would be my No.2 choice as THE reference. And a favorite. But when it appeared the comparisons and evaluations invariably cited the--Toscanini RCA. Reviews of new Otellos always brought up the Toscanini. Despite questions of sonics. One thing Toscanini does that nobody else gets so successfully, regardless of sonics, is the separate lines and conferences (Iago-Rodrigo, Iago-Otello) in the big 3rd act ensemble. They're almost invariably covered up. Karajan in his EMI simply cuts them! Vinay was a great Otello, probably the best before Vickers and Domingo. Valdengo turns in his best performance as Iago, actually very Gobbi-like. Nelli gives her 2nd best performance with AT (the best is her Alice Ford in Falstaff.) She's a problem for some but Peter Hugh Reed in the old ARG compared her to Melba whom he had heard in the role in the theater. And the comparison was favorable.
I heard a recording of a rehearsal session with Toscanini singing (in his tenor voice) the Willow song to give Nelli the phrasing he wanted. She then followed him exactly and then I better understood why he liked her. She sang exactly the way he wanted the role sung
there's an incredible 1980 live performance with Domingo, Margaret Price, and Silvano Carroli conducted by Carlos Kleiber that is my absolute favorite, marginally edging out another fantastic Domingo, Freni, Bruson, Kleiber 1987 live performance (famous for a backstage fight between Kleiber and Bruson between act 1 and act 2 -- Bruson messed up a line entrance in act 1 and Kleiber nearly punched him out over it lol).
As far as studio recordings, I agree with the Levine first and the Serafin second. I can never understand those who prefer Del Monaco to Domingo in the role - MDM's unmusical bellowing has been a blight on many recordings I'd otherwise rank much higher.
Karajan 2 is ruled out due to his lunatic Act 3 cut. Karajan 1 has the pedestrian Protti as Iago, and if I were to pick a Del Monaco, Tebaldi, Protti Otello, I'd opt for the 1954 Erede early stereo recording with the same principals when everyone was in fresher voice over the Karajan seven years later. Not as luxurious or well played as Karajan but an excellent blood and thunder performance, with the voices forward recording balances typical of the 50s.
Was not aware there was a Kleiber recording- see my post earlier. Will seek it out.
I saw that production. Had no idea there was a recording. I was doing a student year in London and for reasons I can't recall they had to cancel the scheduled Andrea Chenier (I think it was), and the Otello was a last minute substitution. As soon as we heard, my friend and I lined up outside Covent Garden, pre-dawn to try for tix. There was wonderful camaraderie in the queue as people ran to get snacks and pass them round, while others rigorously kept interlopers and queue-cutters at bay. Ultimately we got seats way up in the gods but at intermission someone was unable to stay and gave us their standing room in the orchestra for the second half. A great life-long memory.
@@Mr1barolo I'm incredibly jealous. The audible shudder and teary throat-clearing that runs through the audience at the end underscores what an affecting performance that must have been in the theatre.
the recording is available on Golden Melodram, oddly enough with the date misprinted on the cover as 1976, but I see it's out of print and used prices are quite high, but it does appear to be on youtube, if you ever get a hankering to revisit what sounds like an incredibly magical night.
@@jaeyang3812 Thanks for the information!
The first theme in the 2nd movement of Rachmaninoff's 1st symphony reminds me of the opening of Otello act 2
This is the reference, but my allegiance will always be Serafin with Vickers, Tebaldi and Gobbi. Levine was good in Italian opera (I’d say his Cavalleria is the RR, not Karajan’s). A shame Kleiber didn’t record this, instead of giving the world yet another Fledermaus.
If only Serafin had not been in his slowpoke vein. The performance lacks momentum and drive. I'd value it more if he'd conducted it as he did his smoking hot DG Trovatore!
If only there was a Serafin with Vickers, Tebaldi, Gobbi. Unfortunately, the recording has Rysanek instead of Tebaldi, who I like quite a lot but don't think of as one of the great Desdemonas. Also Serafin was unusually low energy on this recording.
@@bbailey7818 you are so right. Big Serafin fan but in that recording he stops the music dead on its tracks and more than once. Too much of Desdemona lies in the lower middle which is the weakest part of Rysaneks voice and it’s hard to accept so much jumbled unsteady singing; also the character doesn’t give Rysanek the dramatic impetus as recompense