Otellos Organ (its not what it sounds like!)

Need recommendations for Verdi's Otello in reasonably modern sound; one requirement is that the organ pedal in the first scene be good. I'm inclining toward Barbirolli w/McCracken; I don't know the opera at all, so the idiosyncrasies of any version will probably not bother

The best all-around version in modern sound is probably Chung's on DGG; good singing in all the important roles, vigorous conducting, good sound. I'm still fond of the Decca Karajan, but Protti is a weak Iago and del Monaco tends to bellow. The later EMI Karajan suffers from Vickers' crooning; I'm not sure whether that's better or worse than del Monaco bellowing. Serafin on RCA has excellent singing and conducting, but the sound may not measure up to your wishes. Solti's first (with Cossutta) I remember as good, but I haven't heard it in ages. His second (with Pavarotti's abominable singing) is to be avoided.

Tony Movshon

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Not merely a pedal, but a *cluster*!

I can't remember much about Barbirolli's organ, but you should know that this is in many ways a controversial performance, partly for Fischer-Dieskau's unidiomatic contribution, partly (for me, at any rate) because McCracken's tone suggests he has a sock in his throat and aside from that is prone to scooping, partly because of Barbirolli's often slow tempi which, combined with his his fondness for heavily legato phrasing and not the crispest of accents (not all the time) can give the impression of lush sogginess. I rather like it myself.

[Interjection: Please, lastvisibledog, lean away from Barbirolli. It's cheap, but you can do so much better with almost any recording discussed below.]

Agreed. I especially like Leiferkus's slithery, insinuating Iago, which I've encountered both here and in the theater, also opposite Domingo

That's your one overriding requirement for a recording of Otello??????

-david gable

Solti and the orchestra are very good. Margaret Price is miscast as Desdemona and does some fake Italian-style emoting. Bacquier's voice is far gone, undermining what might otherwise have been one of the great Iago's. Cossutta is rather crude as Otello, and there's one stretch in the last act where he and the orchestra are out of phase by the distance of about a meassure for several measures. (DIdn't anybody notice during the playback sessions????????????????) I still think the best Otello is Toscanini's, and I think Vinay's hotblooded performance with its over-the-top intensity is a towering piece of vocal acting, perhaps not too subtle but not too unsubtle either. Rysanek-Vickers-Gobbi-Serafin is undermined by the aging Serafin's comparatively slack conducting and shockingly poor orchestral playing in parts. You can have either of Karajan's recordings, I don't want them, although even I will admit that the sheer power and smoothness of the first one are impressive in their slick and perverse way. You can have all three of his principals. Neither Maazel nor Chung strikes me as terribly distinctive conducting. The one live Carlos Kleiber Otello (of two?) that I heard was, for once, as terrific as the hype had claimed it would be.

-david gable

Yes. That pedal is not intende to be perceived by the ear as pitch but physically as a low rumble.

-david gable

I got the impression that it was only one such requirement; in chronological order by the score, of course, it comes first.