COMPOSERS: Floyd
LABELS: VAI Audio
WORKS: Susannah
PERFORMER: Phyllis Curtin, Norman Treigle, Richard Cassilly; New Orleans Opera Orchestra & Chorus/Knud Andersson
CATALOGUE NO: VAIA 1115-2 ADD
Were it not for the recent arrival of a modern recording of Susannah (reviewed Oct ’94), this might have more than archive value. It captures a live performance in New Orleans in 1962, seven years after the opera’s premiere, featuring the first Susannah. The singing is exemplary, but the dire recording degrades the orchestral contribution while making the presence of an audience all too keenly felt. Matthew Rye
Floyd: Susannah
Were it not for the recent arrival of a modern recording of Susannah (reviewed Oct ’94), this might have more than archive value. It captures a live performance in New Orleans in 1962, seven years after the opera’s premiere, featuring the first Susannah. The singing is exemplary, but the dire recording degrades the orchestral contribution while making the presence of an audience all too keenly felt. Matthew Rye
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:09 pm