Music - Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann / Araiza, Ramey, Lind, Norman, Studer, von Otter; Tate [Highlights]

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Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann / Araiza, Ramey, Lind, Norman, Studer, von Otter; Tate [Highlights]

by: Jacques Offenbach, Jeffrey Tate, Francisco Araiza, Samuel Ramey, Dresden Staatskapelle, Leipzig Radio Symphony Chorus, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Eva Lind, Jessye Norman, Ricardo Cassinelli, Georges Gautier, Cheryl Studer, Felicity Palmer

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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0028943850223
Label: Polygram Records
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Polygram Records
Release Date: January 18, 1994
Studio: Polygram Records

Editorial Review:
On paper, this Hoffmann looks close to ideal, though all sorts of problems take it out of the running for all but the most dedicated Hoffmann scholars. It's the first recording of the Michael Kaye edition, based on recently discovered sketches of the unfinished opera. However, the cast often sounds like it's learning it in the studio. Just hearing all these voices in the same cast might be a treat. But one can't listen very long without encountering Francisco Araiza in the title role, who sounds like he's had a few too many lessons with a bad voice teacher: His sound is pinched and eccentric, quite unlike his vocal production before or since. Even the normally stylish conductor Jeffrey Tate seems at a loss to liven things up. --David Patrick Stearns

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