Verdi: Otello

CD, amazon.com

Verdi: Otello -- Simon O'Neill (Tenor), Gerald Finley (Bass-baritone), Anne Schwanewilms (Soprano), LSO, arkivmusic.com

CD, Otello, Barnes & Noble

Verdi: Otello - Sir Colin Davis, Simon O'Neill, Gerald Finley, Anne Schwanewilms, Allan Clayton, Ben Johnson, Matthew Rose, London Symphony Chorus & London Symphony Orchestra, iTunes

CD, amazon.co.uk

CD, amazon.fr

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"Now 84, [Sir Colin] Davis inspires the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to a performance of vigour and refinement, and it's for their contribution -- and Gerald Finley's suave, stylish Iago -- that this recording stands out.

"Simon O'Neill's tight-voiced Moor and Anne Schwanewilms' un-Italianate Desdemona were adequate for the concert performances at which this recording was made, but LSO Live needs better casting if it wants to compete in the central operatic repertoire."--Andrew Clark, for FT.com, 3 stars

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"Finley verrast in wisselvallige Otello," Basia Jaworski, operamagazine.nl

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Gramophone review at geraldfinley.info

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"Davis's electrifying conducting keeps the temperature high throughout this gripping performance, recorded live at the Barbican in 2009. Simon O'Neill makes a powerful and confident debut in the title role, well matched against Gerald Finley's subtle and sneaky Iago. Anne Schwanewilms is a quavering, un-Italianate Desdemona, but with the additional merits of Allan Clayton's vivid Cassio, the splendid chorus and superb playing from the LSO, this is a front-runner in the field."--Rupert Christiansen, telegraph.co.uk

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Fiona Maddocks, The Observer, guardian.co.uk

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"Les amateurs de nouvelles voix pourront donc se précipiter tranquillement sur ce beau coffret. Ils ne seront pas déçus."--Pierre Degott, resmusica.com

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nzherald.co.nz

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Anthony Tommasini, New York Times

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