Herbert Von Karajan - Puccini:Tosca - Japan2 SACD

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Herbert Von Karajan

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Limited availability only at ESOTERIC dealers Limited number of units in stock. *In the case of pre-orders received just before the product goes on sale, there may be a significant delay in securing the product. Also, limited production items may not be secured. When the number of pre-orders reaches the expected number of items in stock, we will stop accepting pre-orders even before the release of the product. *Please note that if delivery is made in installments due to reasons of the distributor, the products will be shipped in the order in which they are received, and depending on the timing of your pre-order, delivery may be delayed significantly beyond the release date. *The release date, jacket design, and included songs may be subject to change due to production reasons. *Shipments from the web will be made after the date of arrival. *We apologize in advance in case the production company is sold out. Puccini's score rings with luxury and splendor. The ultimate opera listening experience, completed by Karajan and Kalshow with a splendid cast. ESOTERIC's Super Audio CD Hybrid Software ESOTERIC's reissue series of masterpieces has continuously received high acclaim for its insatiable dedication to the original master sound and the overwhelming improvement of sound quality through the hybridization of Super Audio CDs. The world's first Super Audio CD hybridization has been realized by DSD mastering from the original masters using advanced technology and sensibilities. This time, we are releasing three titles from Decca, Philips, and Warner Classics' masterpieces, which represent the best performances and recordings of the analog era and the early digital era, as Super Audio CD hybrids. The era of the reigning "emperor" of the classical music world Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) was a pioneer in the field of recordings with a passion that remained unchanged throughout his life, and he left behind an enormous amount of recordings from the SP era to digital recordings. In 1955, he became the permanent conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, and in 1956, he became the artistic director of the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna State Opera. He was also considered the "king" of the European classical music world. In terms of recordings, in addition to the recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London for EMI that had continued since the early 1950s, recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for Decca began in 1959, just as stereo recordings were being introduced and the record market was becoming more vibrant. The introduction of stereo recordings was just beginning to take over the booming record market.No conductor before or after Karajan had ever held this many musical posts and label contracts, literally unprecedented in the classical music world of the 20th century. Tosca" is a shining example of a complete opera disc from the Vienna State Opera period. In the recordings for Decca made with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in collaboration with renowned producer John Culshaw, he recorded not only standard symphonies, but also a wide variety of orchestral works, including pioneering recordings of "Zarathustra" and "The Planets," as well as the 1959 recording of "Aida" with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the 1959 recording of "Tosca" with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, five complete opera recordings were made with a star-studded cast, from "Aida" in 1959 to "Carmen" in 1963. All of these recordings have left their mark in the history of opera recordings, but the most famous of them, along with "Otello," which has already been made into a hybrid disc in this series, is the "Sonic Stage," a concept that was being promoted by Decca at the time to allow home listeners to experience opera in the theater through stereo playback. Tosca," recorded in September 1962, is the pinnacle of this concept. It was first released on RCA's Soria series, which was in partnership with Decca at the time, in a luxurious gold foil-stamped box with an all-color leaflet. The most lavish and gorgeous Puccini orchestrations are reproduced in their entirety. Karajan recorded four Puccini operas during his lifetime: "Bohème," "Madama Butterfly," "Tosca," and "Turandot," of which "Turandot," recorded in his later years, was not performed. The other three are from Karajan's repertoire from the very beginning of his career at the Ulm Opera, including "Tosca," which he performed as a guest at the Salzburg State Theatre in June 1930 when he was just 22 years old. The production by Margarete Warmann, featuring Renata Tebaldi, Giuseppe Zampieri, and Tito Gobbi, was an unprecedented success, and Karajan conducted it 15 times during his tenure in Vienna. (It became a popular production that continued to be staged for almost half a century until the 2000s.) Four years later, Karajan renewed the cast for this recording of "Tosca," and his enthusiasm for the work is exceptional, so much so that after Scarpia's theme at the beginning of Act I is played with overwhelming grandeur, Karajan's roar is recorded as he lowers his conductor's baton. The Vienna Philharmonic responded sensitively to Karajan's thoughts with a dense and organic sound, and the subtleties of Puccini's fine orchestration could not be more vividly colored.Every part of the orchestra has an organic sound full of character: the woodwinds have a woody sound, the Vienna horns are full of richness (unison at the beginning of Act III), the brass has depth, and the strings have a golden sheen. A cast representing the 1960s The singers are also representative of the 1960s. The role of Tosca is played by Leontine Price (b. 1927), a soprano representing America in the latter half of the 20th century and a favorite of Karajan. Tosca is one of Price's best-known roles, along with Aida, and was also a hit at her home base, the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Price's performance of Tosca is a masterful portrayal of the character's emotional transitions: her nobility as a singer, her vacillation between her love for Cavaradossi and her jealousy, the strength of her heart and fear when she confronts Scarpia, and the depth of her grief at Cavaradossi's death. Cavaradossi is Giuseppe di Stefano (1921-2008), another representative Italian tenor of this period, who was popular for his direct, unselfish singing. This is his second Cavaradossi recording, following EMI's "Tosca" by Callas and De Servata in 1953, which is known as a masterpiece. The full voice is more impressive than the sophistication. Scarpia is again the famous baritone Giuseppe Taddei (1916-2010), whose repertoire includes 150 operas by Handel and contemporary composers, and he has the ability to sing a variety of roles with different personalities and characterizations. She has been highly trusted by Karajan, who has used her in recordings of "The Clown" (Canio) and "Falstaff" (as the title role). Here, too, he portrays Scarpia, the "villain," with expressive singing and diction. As is typical of Decca, the casting was carefully considered to make each character vivid even when listening only with sound, with Fernando Corena (1916-1984) as the guard and Piero de Palma (1925-2014) as the secret agent Spoletta, a veteran singer with a long artistic career. The cast is carefully designed to make each character vivid even when listening to the opera only by sound, making the opera even more dramatic. The chorus is conducted by Roberto Benaglio, the renowned conductor of the Chorus of La Scala in Milan, and the chorus is full of colorful voices, a result of the artistic collaboration between the two opera houses realized by Karajan, who was also in charge of artistic responsibilities at La Scala at the time. Super Audio CD hybridization in its best condition The recording was made at Decca's former base in Vienna, the Zofiensaal.Unlike the Musikvereinssaal, which is not necessarily suitable for recording due to its many echoes, the Zofien Saal is synonymous with Decca's stereo recordings, which can record full orchestras with clarity and detail without muddiness. The Decca recording team has produced a succession of legendary recordings, including Scholte's "Ring". In this recording of "Tosca," Decca's stereo recording of the opera captures the orchestra with a large scale sound, while maintaining the clarity of each part and creating a balance that envelops the singer's voice. The "sonic stage" technique, which is also synonymous with Decca's opera recordings, is used to the utmost limit to bring the realism of a stage performance into the recording, capturing the characters' positions in each scene, their forward and backward movements, sound effects (opening and closing doors, bells and cannon in Act 1), perspective (off-stage chorus in Act 2, bells in Act 3), and the sound of the orchestra in Act 4. The production is also characterized by its use of stereo effects to the utmost limit, such as the chorus in Act 2 and the bells in Act 3. Culshaw's attention to detail is meticulous, not only in the placement of the characters based on the gospels, but also in the sound of the bells, which are not orchestral handbells but real bells that have not been tuned, and the cannon, which is a mix of actual sounds. The effect on the auditory sense is maximized to create a three-dimensional engineer's impression. Because it is a masterpiece and a great recording, it has been released on CD since 1988 in the early digital era, and was remastered at 24bit/96kHz by Decca Legend in 2000, but this is the first DSD remastering since then. As in the past, no compromises were made from the selection of the masters to the final DSD mastering process. In particular, Esoteric Mastering was used for DSD mastering. The Master Sound Discrete DAC and Master Sound Discrete Clock, ESOTERIC's top-of-the-line equipment, were carefully tuned. The generous use of MEXCEL cables enabled us to transfer the information contained in the original master to disc with a smooth sound. (Esoteric Corporation) Included Opera "Tosca [DISC 1] Act 1. [1] Ah! At last! ( Angelotti, Domori, Cavaradossi ) [2] I'm always washing... "When the angel of the Lord comes to tell me... [3] Give me some paint... in strange harmony. [It's you! Cavaradossi! ( Angelotti, Cavaradossi, Tosca ) [5] Mario! Mario! Mario! ( Tosca, Cavaradossi) [6] Tosca is a good-natured girl. ( Cavaradossi, Angelotti, Dorman, chorus) [7] I have the most delightful news, Your Highness! (cellist, chorus) [8] Such revelry in the church! ( Scarpia, conductor, Spoletta) [9] It's all so obvious now... Tosca? You didn't find me. [10] Three policemen and a carriage. [DISC 2] Act 2. [Tosca is a wonderful hawk! (scarpia, charlone) [I, for one, would rather be a rabid conqueror. [3] Oh, how was your hunting? (Scarpia, Spoletta, Cavaradossi.) [Where is Angelotti? [Scarpia, Cavaradossi, Spoletta, Tosca.) [5] What were Charlone and Cavaliere said to be? (Scarpia, Tosca, Charlone, Cavaradossi) [6] Come on, Tosca, say it. [7] Floria! (cavaradossi, tosca, scalpia, charlone) [8] Victory! Victory! (cavaradossi, tosca, scalpia) [9] How good? (Tosca, Scarpia.) [10] I live to sing, "I live to sing, I live to love." [11] Who is it? (scalpia, spoletta, tosca) [12] I'm a man of my word... (SCARPIA, TOSCA) [Act III] [13] oh, my endless sighs (shepherd's voice) [14] Mario Cavaradossi, is it? Come in. [15] The stars are shining... "The stars are shining..." (Cavaradossi) [16] "Floria Tosca and..." (Cavaradossi, Tosca) [17] Oh, soft, unblemished, pleasant hands! ( Cavaradossi, Tosca) [18] What a long time to wait! (Tosca) [19] Mario, come on! (Tosca, confused voice, Charlone,Spoletta) [Performer]. Floria Tosca (famous singer)....... Leontine? Price(Soprano) Mario Cavaradossi (Painter)....... Giuseppe di Stefano (Tenor) Baron Scarpia (Inspector General of Rome)....... Giuseppe Taddei (Baritone) Cesare Angelotti (Political Prisoner)....... Carlo Carva(Bass) Doumori....... Fernando Corena(Bass) Spoletta(Secret agent)....... Piero de Palma(Tenor) Charlone(Policeman)....... Leonardo Monreale(Bass) Prison Guard....... Alfredo Mariotti(Bass) Shepherd....... Herbert Weiss(Boy Soprano) Vienna State Opera Chorus (Chorus Director: Roberto Benaglio) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Herbert von Karajan Chorus: Italian Recordings September 24-30, 1962, Zofiensaal, Vienna [RCA Victor Red Seal LDS7022 (1963) [First Japanese release] Victor Red Seal SRA-2050~1 (February 1964) [Original Recording] [Produced by] John Culshaw [Recording Engineer] James Brown, Gordon Parry [Super Audio CD Producer] Motoaki Omachi (Esoteric Mastering Center) [Super Audio CD Associate Producer Minoru Yoshida] (ESOTERIC Mastering Center) [Super Audio CD remastering engineer] Shinya Higashino (ESOTERIC Mastering Center) [Super Audio CD remastering] August 2024, Esoteric Mastering Center, "Esoteric Mastering" system [Commentary] Kozo Asazato, Suminobu Kishi [Planning and marketing]TEAC Corporation [Planning/Cooperation] Tokyo Denka Co.