Negative Positive
Title: One of the worst "Fidelios" ever
Review: Toscanini was a great conductor and a great Beethoven interpreter, but everything works against this "Fidelio." For one thing, this was a period when he was conducting everything much too fast. For another, he omits all the spoken dialogue which compresses the opera even further. The cast is also dreadful, with almost every singer miscast: Bampton's Leonore is thin and shrill, Peerce's Florestan relentlessly loud and beefy-sounding, Steber's Marzelline too heavy. In addition, neither Bampton nor Peerce sing with any feeling or dramatic conviction. And then there are the Studio 8-H sonics, so dry and boxy that every note sounds like a thump on the head.Try to find the legendary 1941 Met broadcast conducted by Bruno Walter, with Kirsten Flagstad, Rene Maison, Marita Farell and Alexander Kipnis. That is the "Fidelio" of the century!
Is the review positive or negative? 