Verdi: Luisa Miller

In his unparalleled association with New Yorks Metropolitan stretching over four decades, that uniquely versatile maestro James Levine has amassed an astonishing repertoire of 85 operas. In this latest batch of reissues, he is represented with Verdis Luisa Miller. Gramophones reviewer wrote of this 1991 Met recording: I first encountered Levine conducting this work, one he particularly loves, at the Metropolitan in 1971, and was mightily impressed with his Verdian credentials. A youthful tenor called Domingo was the Rodolfo. Here they are, many years later, tackling their parts again. Energy and internal combustion were the special features of Levines reading in the theatre; they are again in evidence here Domingos Rodolfo is generous in tone and phrase As Luisa, Aprile Millo rises finely to the sad, doomed girl of Act 3. Ah! lultima preghiera is delivered in that plangent, piano tone of which we know she is mistress. A little earlier in the act, she and Vladimir Chernov draw all the tenderness and plaintive beauty out of Andrem, raminghi e poveri: this is Verdi singing of the highest class in both tone and feeling.