Simone Kermes, Herbert Lippert, Miljenko Turk, Yvonne Naef, Michael Hofstetter - Verdi: Il Trovatore (2011) CD-Rip

Thanks to the vivid recorded sound, the three opening drumrolls create a wonderfully ominous crescendo. The unobtrusive use of period instruments is subtly apparent in a leaner than usual orchestral sonority that showcases characterful solo winds, brass, and percussion. Bass Josef Wagner is an alert, well-cast Ferrando who enunciates carefully, and the male chorus joins him with admirable precision. (In parts III and IV, they make the soldiers’ chorus and their music in the Miserere into real highlights of the opera.) Most important, Michael Hofstetter’s well-chosen tempos, elegant yet unfussy phrasing, and precise control of dynamics propel the opera with real excitement. It’s a live recording each scene receives wildly enthusiastic applause and I assume, based on the recorded sound, that it’s taken from concert rather than staged performances.

This may be the best-conducted Trovatore that I have ever heard. Hofstetter’s graceful account of the score makes Karajan’s conducting in the “legendary” 1962 Salzburg performance seem labored and imprecise at times. Hofstetter gets the best out of his singers and they perform with intelligence, if not conventional Verdian style, and he creates, with artful pacing, a coherent presentation of the work as a whole, not just a succession of famous tunes.