Bellini
I Puritani
Joan Sutherland; Royal Opera House/Richard Bonynge
Decca 417 5882
Pavarotti subdues his extrovert energy to style and elegance, alongside a strong cast.
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Verdi
Rigoletto (DVD)
Edita Gruberova, Ingvar Wixell etc; Vienna Staatsoper/Riccardo Chailly
DG 073 4166
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s heavily stylized, ornate but often impressive cinematic account is dominated by Pavarotti with surprising sexual charge.
Puccini
La bohème
Mirella Freni etc; Deutsche Oper Berlin/Herbert von Karajan
Decca 421 0492
Freni and Pavarotti make meltingly believable young lovers.
Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé etc; John Alldis Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra/Zubin Mehta
Decca 414 2742
Pavarotti’s passionately perceptive, unforced Calaf matches Sutherland’s unlikely Ice Princess.
Mozart
Idomeneo (DVD)
Frederica von Stade, Ileana Cotrubas etc; Metropolitan Opera/Levine
James Levine’s reading is traditional but not crushingly heavyweight, there is a high-powered cast, and Pavarotti is charismatic as the embattled king.