The market is not lacking recordings of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, but this one features a distinctive reading and showcases some underexposed American singers in Melody Moore (in the title role) and Lester Lynch (as Sharpless). The cast is generally quite strong; if Moore doesn't quite catch the rather flighty quality of Cio-Cio San in the first act, she delivers quite an emotional payoff in the tragic finale. This is an unusually orchestral Madama Butterfly, helmed by conductor Lawrence Foster and featuring the venerable ...
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The market is not lacking recordings of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, but this one features a distinctive reading and showcases some underexposed American singers in Melody Moore (in the title role) and Lester Lynch (as Sharpless). The cast is generally quite strong; if Moore doesn't quite catch the rather flighty quality of Cio-Cio San in the first act, she delivers quite an emotional payoff in the tragic finale. This is an unusually orchestral Madama Butterfly, helmed by conductor Lawrence Foster and featuring the venerable Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon and an ethereal Gulbenkian Chorus. The PentaTone label's engineering is worth mentioning; the opera was recorded in the spacious Grande Auditório of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and it avoids the boxiness of many opera houses and the unnatural quality of studio sound in this genre. Foster's concept is on the dry side, and listeners looking for a latter-day Pavarotti and Freni here will not find it, but he brings out the variety and intelligence...
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