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There is some strain evident in Gedda’s Faust. Poor French and his rather glottal vocal production mar Christoff’s superbly saturnine Mephisto. That being said all the soloists characterise superbly with de los Angeles’ Marguerite being an outstanding vocal portrayal.
Admittedly several of the ‘stars’ are fluent in French, Nicolai Gedda and Victoria de los Angeles for instance, whose second recording with André Cluytens has claims to still be one of the first recommendations, despite being made 60 years ago and with less than first class sound quality.
The safest recommendation is the classic Gedda, de Los Angeles, Christoff. There are two editions, one was recorded in mono and the same cast recorded it later in stereo.
Mar 16, 2017 · The Mephistopheles is the formidable Nicolai Ghiaurov. This live recording of Gedda’s Act 3 “Salut! Demeure” gives a great sense of what a fearless singer Gedda was on stage. Idomeneo, rè di Creta by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Gedda gives a splendid performance in the title role.
Nov 10, 2023 · The 1958 version of Gounod’s Faust conducted by André Cluytens and featuring Victoria de los Ángeles, Boris Christoff, Nicolai Gedda along with other international singing stars is undoubtedly a milestone of the French Grand Opéra discography.
I doubt that there has been a better Faust than Jerry Hadley since the heyday of Nicolai Gedda and even he has to give way to Hadley when it comes to unforced, effortless and extremely nuanced romantic singing.
A slim, personable chap with a very engaging stage presence, young Gedda, revealed a pretty lyric tenor that, while essentially light in substance, was able to carry nicely through the auditorium. Best of all, he obviously enjoys singing a great deal and does so with a pleasant ease, phrasing his material in a personal but entirely musical manner.
