Susan Dunn sings Operatic and Concert Arias
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Giuseppe Verdi, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 3/1989
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 421 420-4DH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Ah! perfido |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| Tannhäuser, Movement: Dich teure Halle (Elisabeth's Greeting) |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Richard Wagner, Composer Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Der) Ring des Nibelungen: Part 2, '(Die) Walküre', Movement: Der Männer Sippe |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Richard Wagner, Composer Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Der) Ring des Nibelungen: Part 2, '(Die) Walküre', Movement: Du bist der Lenz |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Richard Wagner, Composer Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Un) ballo in maschera, '(A) masked ball', Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| Ernani, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (I) Vespri siciliani, '(The) Sicilian Vespers', Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (La) forza del destino, '(The) force of destiny', Movement: Pace, pace, mio Dio |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Il) trovatore, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
Composer or Director: Giuseppe Verdi, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 3/1989
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 59
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 421 420-2DH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Ah! perfido |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| Tannhäuser, Movement: Dich teure Halle (Elisabeth's Greeting) |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Richard Wagner, Composer Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Der) Ring des Nibelungen: Part 2, '(Die) Walküre', Movement: Der Männer Sippe |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Richard Wagner, Composer Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Der) Ring des Nibelungen: Part 2, '(Die) Walküre', Movement: Du bist der Lenz |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Richard Wagner, Composer Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Un) ballo in maschera, '(A) masked ball', Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| Ernani, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (I) Vespri siciliani, '(The) Sicilian Vespers', Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (La) forza del destino, '(The) force of destiny', Movement: Pace, pace, mio Dio |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
| (Il) trovatore, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Riccardo Chailly, Conductor Susan Dunn, Soprano |
Author: Alan Blyth
Well, this really is something special, confirming the good impression made by Dunn in the Gramophone Award-winning Robert Shaw set of the Verdi Requiem on Telarc/Conifer (3/88). America has suddenly produced a clutch of spinto sopranos—Millo, Vaness, Studer, Dunn, with Sharon Sweet to come. At the moment, after the effect of this heady recital, my money is on Dunn. Already she has quite an enviable record as a Verdi soprano (see page 1388), and this disc only goes to confirm her achievement. Forget all those substitute Verdians (no names...) that we have tried to admire in any number of complete recordings—Dunn seems to be the real thing with both the voice and the teehnique to encompass almost all Verdi's requirements, both vocal and histrionic. Take the Ernani extract. In the recitative there is an ideal movement between notes, each of which is cleanly attacked with clear consonants. In the cavatina all the detail is elucidated, not least the staccato sextuplets on ''d'amor concesso'', and the cabaletta with its high B flats and Cs holds no terror for this Elvira. The arias from Trovatore and Ballo give equal satisfaction where technical control is concerned.
But it isn't just the vocal prowess that pleases. Dunn thinks herself into the predicaments of her characters. Amelia's ''Su, coraggio'' rings out with a kind of Callas-like eonvietion, Elena's ''I'o t'amo'' certainly affects my tingle faetor. Her little aria is filled with the kind of plaintive, floated tone and enuneiated with the elegiac line that also matches Callas's performance—and it is more pleasing in timbre. This is great singing by any standard. In ''Pace, pace'', a characterful performance too, I would like a little more dynamic contrast but this is still an account to rate with the most telling from the past—''Fatalita'' rings out desperately.
Amazingly, Dunn seems just as much at home in Beethoven and Wagner. I particularly warmed to her urgent and uncluttered account ofAh! perfido with all its awkward corners easily turned. Her German isn't as well studied as her Italian, yet she makes Sieglinde's Narration eager and her ''Du bist der Lenz'' properly ecstatic. Even so, I feel that her gifts in Verdi should take priority—and I'm glad to see that she agrees.
The disc is greatly enhanced by Chailly's alert and sympathetic conducting, and the recording is well balanced. I hope Deeea will now give us Dunn in a complete Verdi opera—why not Vespri?'
But it isn't just the vocal prowess that pleases. Dunn thinks herself into the predicaments of her characters. Amelia's ''Su, coraggio'' rings out with a kind of Callas-like eonvietion, Elena's ''I'o t'amo'' certainly affects my tingle faetor. Her little aria is filled with the kind of plaintive, floated tone and enuneiated with the elegiac line that also matches Callas's performance—and it is more pleasing in timbre. This is great singing by any standard. In ''Pace, pace'', a characterful performance too, I would like a little more dynamic contrast but this is still an account to rate with the most telling from the past—''Fatalita'' rings out desperately.
Amazingly, Dunn seems just as much at home in Beethoven and Wagner. I particularly warmed to her urgent and uncluttered account of
The disc is greatly enhanced by Chailly's alert and sympathetic conducting, and the recording is well balanced. I hope Deeea will now give us Dunn in a complete Verdi opera—why not Vespri?'
Susan Dunn sings Operatic and Concert Arias
Susan Dunn sings Operatic and Concert Arias
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