Above: soprano Ángeles Gulín
Audio-only…Ponchielli’s LA GIOCONDA from Madrid 1970.
So fun to find this unusual assembly of singers all in one place: recalling Gulin’s NY debut in HUGUEOTS at Carnegie Hall: biggest soprano sound I ever heard…I was at Glossop’s Met debut…Casoni was my first-ever Cherubino…a young Domingo…Ruggero Raimondi, always a favorite…and Pecile’s beautifully-sung ‘Voce di donna‘…some radio static, and singers and orchestra sometimes part company…but I’ve had a blast listening to it.
I have to confess: GIOCONDA has always been my favorite Italian opera. It all boils down to this: love or death! Isn’t that the essence of opera?
Listen here.
CAST:
La Gioconda – Angeles Gulín; Enzo – Plácido Domingo (debut in Madrid); Barnaba – Peter Glossop; Laura – Biancamaria Casoni; Alvise – Ruggero Raimondi; La Cieca – Mirna Pecile.
Conductor – Anton Guadagno
Oberon's Glade 
Leave a comment