Description
Ponchielli – La Gioconda Highlights
UPC: OS 25114
Product Details:
- Label: Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Opera Highlights Series
- Format: Vinyl, LP, Stereo (“Stereophonic”)
- Country: Italy (Produced for international release)
- Released: Circa 1960s
- Genre: Opera Highlights
Product Features
- Excerpts from Amilcare Ponchielli’s grand opera La Gioconda, showcasing its six principal roles and dramatic set‐pieces.
- Star turns by Anita Cerquetti (La Gioconda), Mario Del Monaco (Enzo Grimaldo), Giulietta Simionato (Laura), Ettore Bastianini (Barnaba), Cesare Siepi (Alvise), and Franca Sacchi (La Cieca).
- Backed by the Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, under the baton of Gianandrea Gavazzeni.
- Stereo phonic engineering capturing the lush orchestral textures and heroic vocal climaxes.
Overview
Set in 17th-century Venice, La Gioconda brims with intrigue: the jealous spy Barnaba, the virtuous noblewoman Laura, and the self-sacrificing Gioconda all vie for the exiled nobleman Enzo. This highlights LP distills Ponchielli’s most celebrated numbers—from the rousing festival chorus “Festival panel” to the lovers’ ravishing duet “Cielo e mar,” Laura’s heart-trembling aria “Voce di donna o d’uomo,” and Gioconda’s final act of redemption in “Suicidio!”—into a potent portrait of passion and revenge.
Track Listing
Side 1
- Festival panel (Chorus & Orchestra)
- “Angele dei” (Gioconda & La Cieca)
- “Cielo e mar” (Enzo’s Romanza)
Side 2 4. “Voce di donna o d’uomo” (Laura’s Aria) 5. Bravura Duet “È un anatema” (Gioconda & Laura) 6. “Suicidio!” (Gioconda’s Tragic Aria) 7. “La barca s’avvicina” (Gioconda’s Farewell) 8. Finale “Il ciel s’oscura” (Gioconda & Orchestra)
Key Credits
Composer: Amilcare Ponchielli Conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni La Gioconda: Anita Cerquetti (soprano) Enzo Grimaldo: Mario Del Monaco (tenor) Laura: Giulietta Simionato (mezzo-soprano) Barnaba: Ettore Bastianini (baritone) Alvise Badoero: Cesare Siepi (bass) La Cieca: Franca Sacchi (mezzo-soprano) Chorus & Orchestra: Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
BOX #59
