New bespoke opera releases are rare commodities nowadays, and this is apparently the first studio sourced version of Verdi’s tragicomedy since the mid-1990s. In fact this Un Ballo in Maschera has been sourced from two studios: the sessions took place in 2021 during and after lockdown, with the solo contributions recorded in Monte Carlo and the choruses by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir in Cluj, Romania, four months later. Not that anyone is likely to guess; the components have been seamlessly integrated in the final mix, with excellent orchestral playing and lustrous sound throughout.
Where many productions of Ballo these days opt to use the original settings and names that Verdi intended (the censors in Naples insisted on changes before the premiere), here we have the later ones – the action transplanted from Stockholm to the new world, with Riccardo, governor of Boston, as the central character rather than King Gustavus III, his secretary Renato instead of Anckarströem, the conspirators Samuel and Tom not Ribbing and Horn, and so on.
In recent years the hugely experienced Marek Janowski has turned his attention from the German repertoire to the Italian, and he certainly conducts a dashing account of the score – a little bit too dashing at times, perhaps. But Freddie De Tommaso’s casting as Riccardo is the star attraction here, and he doesn’t disappoint, stamping his vocal authority on the performance from the opening scene.
Unfortunately, no else in the cast quite matches him. There’s a brittle, glittering Oscar from Annika Gerhards and a fruity contralto Ulrica from Elisabeth Kulman. But Lester Lynch’s Renato is a gravelly affair, and Saioa Hernández’s Amelia is rather pallid. With so many outstanding versions of Ballo already in the catalogue – there’s Plácido Domingo with Riccardo Muti and Claudio Abbado, and Carlo Bergonzi with Erich Leinsdorf, for starters – De Tommaso’s contribution isn’t enough to make this one a frontrunner.
This week’s other pick
The cycle of Wagner’s Ring that Georg Solti recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic for Decca between 1958 and 1965 was the first studio-recorded stereo Ring. The set has been regularly reissued ever since, and its latest incarnation marks the 25th anniversary of Solti’s death. Remastered from the original tapes, each opera has been luxuriously (and for most collectors rather inconveniently) repackaged in a large-format box. To judge from the final instalment, Götterdämmerung, the sound is even more vivid now and the detail, complete with the “sound effects” that Decca added, more sharply defined. With a cast led by Birgit Nilsson as Brünnhilde and Wolfgang Windgassen as Siegfried, and fired by Solti’s propulsive conducting, this is still the Ring cycle of choice for some, and they may appreciate the extra degree of presence the new remastering brings. But otherwise it’s hard to imagine that the market for this latest version will be very significant.
• This article was amended on 6 July 2023 because an earlier version misnamed the character of Riccardo in Un ballo in Maschera, as Rodrigo.
