ANDREA ROST, BRUCE FORD, ANTHONY MICHAELS-MOORE, LONDON VOICES, SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS AND THE HANOVER BAND; Donizetti, "Lucia di Lammermoor" (Sony Classical) ****It helps to have an angle, especially in classical music. With an angle, you can do a lot of things. Like justify another recording of a work that has already been recorded so many times a pocket calculator is required to count up all the listings in the Schwann catalogue.
There are actually two angles to this latest reincarnation of "Lucia di Lammermoor."
First, it's a performance of the original 1835 version of the opera.
Second, the Hanover Band, which accompanies the singers, plays on original instruments that are tuned down a half step. With this altered tuning, the music loses the bright sheen that audiences are accustomed to with today's higher, more brilliant, pitch.
The orchestra turns in a strong performance. The Hanover Band is one of England's premiere "original instrument" ensembles. And Sir Charles Mackerras is a fine conductor with a solid grasp of the music. The combination is hard to beat.
Mackerras, incidentally, has reinvented himself and launched a second successful career as a conductor of these "original instrument" orchestras.
The singers, though, are the real selling point for this recording.
Andrea Rost in the title role is magnificent. This young Hungarian soprano is making quite a name for herself in opera houses throughout the world, and for good reason. She has a pure soprano voice that is rich in the lower register and strong -- but also expressive -- in the upper tessitura.
Anthony Michaels-Moore, as Enrico, and Bruce Ford, as Edgardo, are also outstanding. Their voices equal Rost's in expression and power.
A few of the many highlights in this 2-CD album are duets between Lucia and Edgardo ("Ah! Verranno a te sull'aure") and Lucia and Enrico ("Se tradirmi tu potrai").
A real standout, however, is Rost's sympathetic portrayal of the distraught Lucia in the famous "Mad Scene" ("Il dolce suono").
Another strong point is the outstanding sound quality of this Sony Classical release. Sony is one of the best labels on the classical music market, and this recording is next to perfect. It's like being at a live performance but without all the coughing, tinkling candy wrappers and scraping chairs.
Still, despite all of its fine qualities, this album doesn't match Joan Sutherland's recording from the 1970s on London. Sutherland, quite frankly, stands far above all other sopranos when it comes to the bel canto repertoire. Her performances are the standard by which all others are measured.
But this latest "Lucia" is nonetheless the perfect addition for the serious collector who wants to make an opera collection more complete.