Post Description

This is a most attractive set and presents a serious challenge to the two versions [mentioned below]. Like the excellent Ferro, Roberto Abbado balances equably the witty and more serious sides of the score. If he and his orchestra don't quite achieve the brio of Ferro—for instance the lighter, faster Ferro touch in the famous ''Cheti, cheti immatinente'' duet is better at suggesting sotto voce plotting—Abbado finds a gratifying lightness in the ''A quel vecchio'' section of the Act 1 finale and creates a delightful sense of expectancy as Pasquale preens himself while awaiting his intended bride. Ferro Abbado and the slightly po-faced Muti on the older EMI version play the score complete and respect Donizetti's intentions, banishing the traditional emendations added by his interpreters over the years.