Peter Maag - Verdi: Luisa Miller (2021)

A year after this live recording of Luisa Miller at Turin in 1975, conductor Peter Maag and Luciano Pavarotti went on to record the opera for Decca. The studio version, while boasting higher wattage star power with Montserrat Caballé as Luisa and Sherrill Milnes as Miller, and the advantages of superior sound, doesn't have the visceral impact of the live performance. Maag drives the drama with tremendous energy and fiery intensity, and the Coro e Orchestra Sinfonica RAI di Torino sing and play superbly, with world-class distinction. Pavarotti, already established as a superstar, but still early in his career, sings with marvelous freshness and agility. His tone is pure and round and he sings with seamless line and tremendous passion -- this is the kind of big performance that makes it easy to see why he set opera audiences on fire when he appeared on the scene. His "Quando le sere al placido," in particular, is a real show-stopper. Gilda Cruz-Romo offers a comparably intense performance as Luisa, singing with large, warm tone. Except for a few points when she strays off pitch, hers is an exemplary performance. Ferruccio Mazzoli is also impressive, with an ink-black bass that makes Wurm truly threatening and dangerous. Matteo Manuguerra as Miller and Raffaele Arié as Walter are not in the same league, but they make the most of their more limited vocal resources, and their performances are entirely respectable, just somewhat dwarfed by those of their colleagues. The sound is excellent for a live performance -- vibrant, clean, and well balanced. There is some audience noise, but not enough to be seriously distracting, and there is virtually no stage noise. The recording should be of interest to fans of red-blooded Verdi performances. ~ Stephen Eddins