Aida

He and Berti bear the new Aida standard.
Having viewed and re-viewed this DVD, I have come to conclusion that in terms of current Verdian singers, there is simply too few that could out-sing Marco Berti or Hui He, respectively the Radames and Aida in this performance.
In the opening Celeste Aida, Berti pours forth in a timbre with just the right amount of squillo and lyricism that one seldom hears these days (for the past decade). Here and there, very sparingly, one tight high note creeps in, but only fleetingly and undamagingly. Here is a true Verdian tenor, who luckily, has his voice 'saved' until his 50th year (he's born in 1962 January) for the real big roles and who has not 'squandered' his vocal goods in the earlier years. He is now truly ripe for the Verdian roles like Radames in 'Aida', Gustavo in 'Un Ballo', Mantua in 'Rigoletto', Ernani, Steffilio, if not Alfredo in 'La Traviata' or Manrico in 'Il Trovatore'. One certainly hope that Berti can be more dramatically alert in his acting, but with a good...

Four star (+) for a sterling cast with a shimmering Hui He as Aida.
This DVD of Aida is probably one of the most even in terms of singing that one could find on the market, spanning from the days of the great Luciano Pavarotti, given that even Pav in his time did NOT have as good an Aida as one could probably find here in Hui He.
In the major supporting role, Amneris is sung by veteran mezzo-soprano Luciana D'Intino, who reprises this role since the late 1980's with Cheryl Studer as Aida.
While Hui He may not be most verbally incisive Aida, her performance here sets her way above many other lyrical spinto sopranos who have undertaken this role: Maria Chiara, Cheryl Studer, Violetta Urmana, and more lately Sondra Radvanovsky, though not yet recorded.
Hui He's impassioned performance of this role is fully enhanced by her shimmering lirico spinto voice, which is fully lyrical without the slightest edginess that marrs other spinto sopranos like Urmana and Radvanovsky. Yet her timbre is at the same full-bodied and rich throughout all...

Beautiful!
This is done so beautifully! Beautiful voices, wonderful acting, especially by the female lead. I have watched this over and over - and cry every time! So beautiful.

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