RECORDINGS

This competent re-creation of Donizetti’s masterpiece boasts only one challenging musical element, the 58-member period-instrument ensemble Hanover Band, which plays the 1835 score stylishly under Mackerras’ solid, well-paced leadership. The chorus, London Voices, also contributes nicely. But the principals, except for Ryland Davies’ handsomely resonant and noble Normanno, offer nothing special. Hungarian soprano Andrea Rost sings accurately but sounds dull and adds no striking individuality to the title role. She sings the duets with Edgardo--the pleasant but vocally gray Ford, effectively, if without dramatic tension. Michaels-Moore, as an uncharacterized Enrico, sounds beyond his prime, lacking brightness and vitality.

*

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