Hands down, Nicolai Gedda was the classiest lyric tenor of the 1950s and 60s (and very early 70s). For the most part he wisely kept away from the after-1860 Italian repertoire: his voice lacked the necessary juice, and with Bjorling, Bergonzi, Corelli, and del Monaco around, why bother? These CDs offer two hours and 35 minutes of singing--and interpreting--that never tire the ear and never bore.

"Ach so fromm" is ravishing in its intimacy (by its close, its normally shouted); Lohengrins Narrative may lack heft, but its a model of lyricism and Gedda darkens his tone enough to give it authortity; an aria from Goldmarks The Queen of Sheba closes on an unearthly head-voiced high-C thats matched only by a similar feat in Bizets Pearl Fishers (a performance notable for its great breath control and legato as well); Hoffmans tale of Kleinzach is a riveting, snappy story, filled with just the schizophrenia the role requires; the Dmitri/Marina duet from Boris is energetic and filled with smoldering undercurrent; three Tchaikovsky songs become little dramas; Beethovens "Adelaide" and Schuberts "Standchen" are models of Lieder singing; selections by Gounod and Massenet exhibit his impeccable French diction and style; the high-D at the close of Adams "Postman" aria and repeated Cs in William Tells would be the envy of any tenor; and his bel canto style in a duet from Sonnambula (with Mirella Freni) is ideal. Yes, this is the very best of Nicolai Gedda. [1/17/2004]

Tracklisting:

CD 01

01. Massenet - Werther - Pourquoi me r?veiller [0:02:52.47]
02. Massenet - Instant charmant... En fermant les yeux [0:03:17.23]
03. Gounod - Rom?o et Juliette - Lamour, lamour!... Ah! l?ve-toi soleil [0:04:37.20]
04. Berlioz - Benvenuto Cellini - Une heure encore... La gloire ?tait ma seule idole [0:05:49.17]
05. Offenbach - Les Contes dHoffmann - Va, pour Kleinzach ! [0:05:22.18]
06. Bizet - Les P?cheurs de perles - Zurga, quand tous deux... au fond du temple saint [0:06:29.22]
07. Bizet - Les P?cheurs de perles - ? cette voix... Je crois entendre encore [0:05:04.53]
08. Bizet - Carmen - La fleur que tu mavais jet?e [0:03:53.30]
09. Adam - Le Postillon de Lonjumeau - Mes amis, ?coutez lhistoire [0:03:48.67]
10. Thomas - Mignon - Elle ne croyait pas dans da candeur na?ve [0:03:35.08]
11. Rossini - Guillaume Tell - Asile h?r?ditaire [0:07:19.27]
12. Donizetti - Lelisir damore - Quanto ? bella [0:02:38.20]
13. Donizetti - Lelisir damore - Una furtiva lagrima [0:04:55.45]
14. Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor - Fra poco a me ricovero [0:03:28.13]
15. Bellini - La sonnambula - Prendi (Lanel ti dono) [0:05:31.07]
16. Verdi - Un ballo in maschera - Di tu te fedele [0:03:14.68]
17. Verdi - Rigoletto - La donna ? mobile [0:02:22.57]
18. Puccini - Manon Lescaut - Donna non vidi mai [0:02:19.53]

CD 02

01. Mozart - Don Giovanni - Il mio tesoro [0:04:48.67]
02. Mozart - Die Zauberfl?te - Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schon [0:04:14.43]
03. Flotow - Martha - Ach, so fromm [0:03:23.72]
04. Wagner - Lohengrin - In fernem Land [0:05:27.18]
05. Goldmark - Die K?nigin von Saba - Magische T?ne [0:03:46.52]
06. Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin - Kuda, kuda, kuda vi udalilis (Lenskis Aria) [0:06:17.40]
07. Mussorgsky - Boris Godunov - Dimitri! Tsaryevich! Dimitri! [0:11:13.53]
08. Glinka - Pushkin - Souvenir [0:03:27.32]
09. Tchaikovsky - Rathaus - O moonlight night [0:01:36.65]
10. Tchaikovsky - Tolstoy - At the ball [0:03:04.30]
11. Tchaikovsky - Tolstoy - Don Juans Serenade [0:02:44.35]
12. Rachmaninov - Pushkin - O cease thy singing, maiden fair [0:04:30.40]
13. Rachmaninov - Galina - How fair this spot [0:01:44.58]
14. Beethoven - Matthison - Adela?de Op. 46 [0:05:45.52]
15. Strauss - John Henry Mackay - Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27, No. 3 [0:03:24.08]
16. Strauss - Adolf Friederich von Schack - St?ndchen, Op. 17, No. 2 [0:02:20.20]
17. Strauss II - Die Zigeurnerbaron - Als flotter Geist... Ja, das alles auf Ehr [0:02:56.52]
18. Leh?r - Paganini - Gern hab ich die Fraun gek??t [0:03:22.08]
19. Leh?r - Das Land des L?chelns - Dein ist mein ganzes Herz [0:03:58.05]



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