This was recorded in 1979 when José Carreras was still the owner of the most beautiful tenor voice in the world, and indeed, he’s just about the perfect Riccardo. He sings with understanding, darkly bright lyricism, classy phrasing, warmth, and only the occasional strained top note. He defines “ardent” as well as “noble”, and these are certainly major characteristics of this governor/king. Montserrat Caballé’s voice also might win for most beautiful soprano sound at the time, and she’s in fine vocal shape as well–except (I must repeat myself) for the occasional strained top note. Always a singer with great breath control, she takes her two arias a bit too slowly, but she’s very emotionally present and her Amelia is memorable.
Ingvar Wixell was a fine baritone, but his pale, non-Verdian tone undermines his clear understanding of the role of Renato. Patricia Payne and Sonia Ghazarian are faceless as Ulrica and Oscar, respectively, but the lower men’s voices–Robert Lloyd, Gwynne Howell, in smallish roles– are luxurious. Colin Davis’ approach is almost scholarly; he absolutely “gets” where Verdi was in his creative process, but his leadership lacks passion. It seems that he’s more interested in the Court than in the romance and tragedy. This is for Carreras and Caballé fans; there are several better overall Ballos available.
