Special offer. Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72
Christine Brewer (Leonore), John MacMaster (Florestan), Daniel Borowski (Don Fernando), Juha Uusitalo (Don Pizarro), Kristinn Sigmundsson (Rocco), Sally Matthews (Marzelline), Andrew Kennedy (Jaquino)
London Symphony Chorus & London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
…Colin Davis's conducting of the London Symphony Orchestra and the vocal forces is so impressive that it ranks with the greatest accounts I have ever heard of this work… Christine Brewer is...
Special offer. Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72
Christine Brewer (Leonore), John MacMaster (Florestan), Daniel Borowski (Don Fernando), Juha Uusitalo (Don Pizarro), Kristinn Sigmundsson (Rocco), Sally Matthews (Marzelline), Andrew Kennedy (Jaquino)
London Symphony Chorus & London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
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…Colin Davis's conducting of the London Symphony Orchestra and the vocal forces is so impressive that it ranks with the greatest accounts I have ever heard of this work… Christine Brewer is...
About
“Colin Davis may be almost 80 but he's at the height of his powers … the finest performance of Fidelio I have ever heard … … there was no weak link, nor weak moment, in a dazzling evening” ***** The Mail on Sunday (Concert Review)
A high density DSD recording, live at the Barbican Centre on 23-25 May 2005 Slimline double case and perfect bound 72-page booklet in slip case with notes in English, French and German. Libretto in German with English translation.Contents and tracklist
- Christine Brewer (soloist), John Mac Master (soloist), Kristinn Sigmundsson (soloist), Sally Matthews (soloist), Juha Uusitalo (soloist), Andrew Kennedy (soloist), Daniel Borowski (soloist), Andrew Tortise (soloist), Darren Jeffery (soloist)
- London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus
- Sir Colin Davis
Awards and reviews
March 2007
…Colin Davis's conducting of the London Symphony Orchestra and the vocal forces is so impressive that it ranks with the greatest accounts I have ever heard of this work… Christine Brewer is a great Fidelio, her big voice under perfect control, electrifying at climaxes.
there is an elemental energy to [Davis's] conducting that propels the drama inexorably forward...[Brewer] sings the notes more effortlessly, and with thrilling attack at the top of her range, than any other contemporary Leonore ...Vocally, the big surprise is the sensitively and heroically sung Florestan of the Canadian tenor John MacMaster
Colin Davis is an interpreter inspired from start to finish …
2010 edition
Davis's version is crisp and dramatic...Abscheulicher brings out all [Brewer's] masterly qualities to the full, thanks to her big, firm, creamy voice, perfectly controlled...The rest of the cast sings strongly too, with John MacMaster a clear, bold Florestan
Critical superlatives rained on the concert performances of Fidelio last May; this recording made at the time shows they were not exaggerated...MacMaster brings an almost Vickers-like intensity and lyricism. It is at moments like these that Beethoven’s opera is out on its own
[Brewer] is a glorious voice, lyrical yet capable of ascending thrillingly to climatic high Bs...The other principals are excellent too...Above all Davis's elemental conducting of his superb LSO makes this an outstanding bargain
playing of real bite and character that is caught with startling presenceby the recording...Christine Brewer's Leonore is quite exceptional...Mac Master's performance is immensely impressive too
MacMaster's Florestan is every stave a match for Brewer's powerful, affecting Leonora, with the LSO chorus in especially fine voice as Davis mines the visionary depths of Beethoven's wondrous score
New York Times
[Brewer] sings here with great beauty. Mr MacMaster removes the role – rescues it, some might say – from Wagnerian thickness. The sound is clear, with the svelteness of a Verdi tenor but steadfast under pressure…Mr MacMaster and Mr Davis ride the music gloriously
Audiophile Audition
Davis seems to view the work as an heroic love story instead of a grand pronouncement on freedom and oppression as so many others do. Hence the incredible lyricism of Davis’s account...this version sounds fresh and compelling and fully worthy to mount the steps to the temple of the few greats we have
