Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)   
I Lombardi alla prima crociata (1843)   
Giselda, Nino Machaidze (soprano); Oronte, Pierro Pretti (tenor); Pagano, Michele Pertusi (bass)   
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks   
Münchner Rundfunkorchester/Ivan Repušić   
rec. live 23 April 2023, Prinzregententheater, Munich   
Synopsis in German and English enclosed
BR Klassik 900351 [2 CDs: 125]   

Verdi’s early years of composition produced some interesting might-have-beens, and without a doubt I Lombardi (I am using the abbreviated name throughout this review) is one of those. Whenever I hear it, I always come away with the impression that it is Verdi’s most disjointed, episodic work. Regardless, it contains some powerful and sometimes, irresistible music. What it needs to succeed, is a very traditional production, populated by a superlative cast of singers and a conductor who can balance a nuanced approach but is not afraid to drive things forward and let the music rip, as it is often wont to do. This new release from BR Klassik comes almost as close to that ideal as any of the other recordings I have heard.

The major achievement here is Ivan Repušić’s stirring leadership of his Munich forces; he is currently the chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra. His reading of Verdi’s score is powerful and full of thrust. He does not rush through the more delicately scored passages which shows him seeking to highlight the quieter beauties of Verdi’s orchestration. The Munich Radio Orchestra plays their music with incredible finesse, in a score that doesn’t often receive such attentiveness. The Bavarian Radio Chorus are absolutely impeccable in their attention to shading and dynamics, and their words emerge with unbelievable clarity. Verdi gave the chorus an important role in this opera, even more than he did in Nabucco, so it is a pleasure to report that the choral work here far outshines that on every other recording.

The principals are all cast from strength and in each case are as good, or almost the equal of the star names on the previous complete recordings.

Nino Machaidze’s voice has grown in size recently which enables her to take on a challenging role like that of Giselda. My colleague Göran Forsling, in his previous review, complained about her having an excessive vibrato which he did not like. I do not agree with this assertion. Machaidze’s voice is perfectly under control at all times and her burnished, slightly covered sound suits a role that is an incredibly difficult one to bring off. Her voice has grown a vibrant colouring over the years, and this vibrancy is powerful enough that it occasionally threatens to overwhelm the microphones. Still, throughout this recording she produces some really accomplished singing and there is never an ugly sound to be heard; something that can’t be said of her rivals on other sets. 

The hero, Oronte is sung by Pierro Pretti with a clear and buoyant tenor which also has good projection. On the two other major recordings his competition is relatively fierce, with either the very young Placido Domingo (for Lamberto Gardelli) or the late career Luciano Pavarotti (for James Levine). Pretti may not have sheer voluptuous tone of those two legends but he does come a close second to them, and he really attempts to characterize Oronte’s music by showing care for shading and dynamics, which neither Domingo nor Pavarotti bothered to do.

Michele Pertusi’s Pagano/Ermito shows that despite his longevity as a performer he can still give a powerful, vividly expressive performance. A couple of times I thought he did not quite find the center of the note he was singing but overall he makes a marvelous showing of the regretful villain and is very nearly the equal of Ruggero Raimondi, and Samuel Ramey on the rival recordings.

In the smaller roles there is an excellent, bright-toned Arvino in tenor Galeano Salas, while Réka Kristóf is a warm-toned, and sympathetic Viclinda. Miklós Sebestyén has strong presence as Pirro, but his voice is not sufficiently contrasted enough from Pertusi’s to be able to tell them apart easily.

The other major achievement of this set is the absolutely splendid engineering job by the recording team headed by Bernhard Albrecht. This live recording is full and immediate with an enormous sense of presence. The various orchestral sections can be exactly pinpointed by the listener to their exact position on the soundstage. The voices are presented with a spatial perspective which gives added bloom to their vocal qualities. The chorus is presented with the perspectives magnificently judged. The offstage band and choral effects are well-nigh perfect in that they are neither too close, nor too distant. Although this is a live recording there is no hint that there is an audience present that I can detect.

In his review, my colleague Göran Forsling concluded that the 1971 Philips recording was a better representation of the opera than this one. I would concur with that view overall because Lamberto Gardelli is more willing to relax into the expansive moments than does Repušić. It has an extremely good cast, although Christina Deutekom’s beautiful vocalizing as Giselda is too cool of temperament to be ultimately effective. Placido Domingo (in his second complete recording) produces a lovely sound but he does not know how to act with his voice at this stage. The Philips sound, while good, is a little dated when compared to this recording.

James Levine’s 1996 Decca recording has some very starry names, and is in decent sound, but things simply do not gel into the sense of a real performance occurring. In addition, June Anderson’s Giselda is too pallid of voice and character to be able to give this recording more than a grudging recommendation. While this new recording from BR Klassik may not have the name recognition of those older sets, it is an exciting and vivid document of what must have been a truly thrilling night at the Prinzregententheater last April. This is a worthy companion to complement one of those earlier sets. Hearing this has left me wishing that I had been there in-person to enjoy it all the more. This is surely going to be one of my top ROTY choices for 2024.

Mike Parr

Previous review: Göran Forsling (December 2023)

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Other cast
Viclinda, Réka Kristóf (soprano); Arvino, Galeano Salas (tenor); Pirro, Miklós Sebestyén (bass-baritone); Sofia, Ruth Volpert (mezzo-soprano); Prior of Milan, Nikolaus Pfannkuch (tenor); Acciano, Andreas Burkhart (baritone)