The Very Best of Nicolai Gedda

 

Release Date: 09/02/2003 Label: Emi Classics Number of discs: 2 Composer: Various Performer: Nicolai Gedda cd info/ buy

Review:

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 Björling, 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, it's normally shouted); Lohengrin's Narrative may lack heft, but it's a model of lyricism and Gedda darkens his tone enough to give it authority; an aria from Goldmark's The Queen of Sheba closes on an unearthly head-voiced high-C that's matched only by a similar feat in Bizet's Pearl Fishers (a performance notable for its great breath control and legato as well); Hoffman's 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; Beethoven's "Adelaide" and Schubert's "Ständchen" are models of Lieder singing; selections by Gounod and Massenet exhibit his impeccable French diction and style; the high-D at the close of Adam's "Postman" aria and repeated Cs in William Tell's 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.--Robert Levine

 

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