Above: soprano Ángeles Gulín
Audio-only...Ponchielli's LA GIOCONDA from Madrid 1970.
So fun to find this unusual assembly of singers all in one place: recalling Gulin's NY debut in HUGUEOTS at Carnegie Hall: biggest soprano sound I ever heard...I was at Glossop's Met debut...Casoni was my first-ever Cherubino...a young Domingo...Ruggero Raimondi, always a favorite...and Pecile's beautifully-sung 'Voce di donna'...some radio static, and singers and orchestra sometimes part company...but I've had a blast listening to it.
I have to confess: GIOCONDA has always been my favorite Italian opera. It all boils down to this: love or death! Isn't that the essence of opera?
Listen here.
CAST:
La Gioconda - Angeles Gulín; Enzo - Plácido Domingo (debut in Madrid); Barnaba - Peter Glossop; Laura - Biancamaria Casoni; Alvise - Ruggero Raimondi; La Cieca - Mirna Pecile.
Conductor – Anton Guadagno