Katia Ricciarelli, Bruno Amaducci, Orchestra Della Radio Televisione Della Svizzera Italiana, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giuseppe Verdi, Alfredo Catalani, Giacomo Puccini, Francesco Cilea – In Recital

1 Vincenzo Bellini– I Capuletti E I Montecchi: Oh Quante Volte 7:40 2 Gaetano Donizetti– Anna Bolena: Al dolce guidami 9:20 3 Gaetano Donizetti– Lucrezia Borgia: Com'E Bello! 8:05 4 Giuseppe Verdi– Il Corsaro: Non So Le Tetre Immagini 5:20 5 Giuseppe Verdi– La Forza Del Destino: Pace Pace Mio Dio 5:35 6 Giacomo Puccini– Tosca: Vissi D'Arte, Vissi D'Amore 3:10 7 Giacomo Puccini– Madama Butterfly: Un Bel Dì Vedredmo 4:05 8 Alfredo Catalani– La Wally: Ebben? Ne Adnrò Lontana 3:47 9 Francesco Cilea– Adriana Lecouvrer: Io Son L'Umile Ancella 3:51

his disc is mostly taken from a recital given by Ricciarelli in Switzerland in 1979, with the final two items from a concert given the following year. The programme is a good one, starting with bel canto items and finishing with verismo, with early and middle period Verdi bridging the gap.

All in all, then a rewarding programme. Ricciarelli is a singer I have come to admire more with the passing years. More vocally fallible than such contemporaries as Freni or Caballé, less individual in her response to the text than Scotto, her singing is unfailingly musical and I derived a lot of pleasure from this recital.

Ricciarelli’s pure, expressive and mellifluous lyrical voice was her passport to fame in the late 60’s. Despite her wide repertoire, her instrument was perfect for the tragic heroines of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and some Verdi roles. She recorded 18 complete operas and various recitals, most of them with Jose Carreras, her lover for 11 years. Critics say that her approach to some heavy roles (Tosca and Turandot in the Studio and Aida live) shortened her career.

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