Clearly, the draw for this recording is the Boccanegra of Dmitri Hvorostovsky, whose legions of fans will flock to their local or online record mart to buy this. On many major levels, he does not disappoint. The beautiful silken tone remains almost untouched by time (it was a bit more beautiful and silken a few years ago, but still, it falls handsomely on the ear), his crisp diction captures the attention, and although he doesn’t sing softly as often as he might have five years ago, he still has a panoply of dynamics to choose from. Because he is far more a Stimme artist than a Kunst artist (think Robert Merrill vs Tito Gobbi), he fares best in the Prologue and in his duet with Amelia/Maria, and late in the opera. Try though he may–snarling and sounding powerful in the fantastic Council Chamber Scene–he lacks the gravitas of, say, Gobbi (EMI) or Nucci (Decca). It is hard to be dissatisfied with his portrayal–it’s simply too beautiful–but those who love this role may want more.
Sadly, Barbara Frittoli’s Amelia/Maria is captured too late in her career. An invariably lovely and sensitive singer/portrayer, here she sounds worn, wobbly, off pitch (in mid-voice), and anything but young. She has the stature for her outburst in the Council Chamber Scene, but has nothing even remotely like a trill to end it (it’s one of those trills that matters, as in the Meistersinger quintet). The Gabriele Adorno of Stefano Secco is a puzzle–there are moments when the voice sounds rich and full and others when he’s more “tenorino”. The singing itself is fine, however, and he’s thoroughly involved. Ildar Abdrazakov’s Fiesco is excellent, singing “Il lacerato spirito” with great sadness, and joining Hvorostovsky in a very moving forgiveness/bromance duet in the last act. Marco Caria’s Paolo is dull–this is a small but career-making role, and he does little with it except exhibit an excellent baritone sound.
Constantine Orbelian leads sympathetically, but the Kaunas Orchestra sounds light, at times as if there are fewer players than usual, at others as if Orbelian simply isn’t emphasizing the opera’s dark hue. It’s well played, but it doesn’t dig very deep into this fascinating work. I realize that this review sounds more damning than I meant it to be–on many levels, it’s quite good, is nicely paced/propelled, and makes a case for the opera. But it is a very special work and requires something more than a solid repertory performance, glamour notwithstanding.
The standard-bearer remains Claudio Abbado’s DG recording with Cappuccilli, Freni, Carreras, and Ghiaurov; the difficult-to-find Gobbi/de los Angeles performance is second. If you come across one with Placido Domingo in the title role (not as Gabriele, which he recorded about 30 years ago), run in the other direction.
