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All of the operas of Giuseppe Verdi contain music that is worth hearing and can be rewarding in good performances.His seventh opera, Giovanna d’Arco,premiered at La Scala in 1845, is one of the least often performed these days. Renata Tebaldi made a radio broadcast, available as a recording, in 1951; there was a studio recording with Montserrat Caballe conducted by James Levine in the 70′s; a video of a production with Susan Dunn appeared in 1990; and June Anderson performed the role in concerts in New York and a stage production at Covent Garden in the 90′s.

Other than that performances have been few and far between, so this DVD from the Teatro Regio di Parma’s “Tutto Verdi” edition of Verdi’s complete operas to celebrate his bicentenary could be a welcome addition to the catalogue.   Read more »

Verdi’s first operatic masterpiece, Nabucco (originally Nabucodonosor) is well served by this DVD of a performance from the Teatro Regio di Parma, part of the admirable edition of the complete Verdi operas “Tutto Verdi” to mark the great musical dramatist’s bicentenary next year.

A lot of the credit must go to the young conductor Michele Mariotti, who leads a superb musical performance from the first-rate orchestra and chorus, with an excellent cast of singers. From the splendid account of the famous overture to the final bars, Mariotti finds all the vigor and energy, the lyrical inspiration and the powerful emotion that make the music of Nabucco so special.   Read more »