# Figaro and Beethoven's Ode to Joy



## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

At the risk of being ridiculed for my ignorance, still I ask for help with these questions, please?

I enjoyed listening to Figaro being sung although I cant recall who was the vocalist. 

Is Luciano Pavarotti’ version considered the best? I’m really not interested in Weird Al Yankovic’s version. 

How would I find Luciano Pavarotti’ version? Do I search for CDs for 
The Barber of Seville starring Luciano Pavarotti? 

Or would it be better to search for The Marriage of Figaro starring Luciano Pavarotti?

I also enjoy Beethoven’s Ode to Joy or his 9th symphony. But, the library CD states on its cover - 9th symphony in D minor, op. 125 and on the CD are 4 listings. 

I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso	
II. Molto vivace; Presto	
III. Adagio molto e cantabile	
IV. Presto; Allegro assai; Rezitativo; Allegro assai

Which of the above tracks is Ode to Joy? 

Thanks so much!


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Hello eager to learn, Beethoven's Ode to Joy melody (and a wonderful one it is) is in the _Finale_, "Presto, Allegro Assai". Many many recordings split the _Finale_ into 2 separate movements, 4A. "_Presto_" and 4B. "_O Freunde, Nicht Diese Töne_". The Ode to Joy is in 4A. It begins with a wonderful and kind of strange "recap" of everything that came before (the first 3 movements) and then the melody euphorically "breaks through" toward the end of the movement.

Happy listening.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Hi

As far as I know Pavarotti never recorded Figaro or the Barber.

If you want Mozart's Figaro try the version conducted by Renee Jacobs

If rossini's Barber there is a superb version conducted by Gui

The Ode to Joy was a setting by Beethoven of Schiller's poem which he incorporated into the last movement of his ninth symphony


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

There is no such thing as a single "best" version of most works of classical music... rather many alternatives. 

If you are looking for a recording of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) I would look especially at the recordings conducted by Karl Böhm, Carlo Maria Giulini, Erich Kleiber, Rene Jacobs, the young Herbert von Karajan (1950/51), or Vittorio Gui. All are worth recordings with great singers.

If you are looking for a fine recording of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Barber of Seville) the first recommendation that many would make is that of Maria Callas' recording with Tito Gobbi. But there are others of real merit, including Claudio Abbado and Vittorio Gui's recordings, as well as Cecilia Bartoli's conducted by Giuseppe Patane.


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

Here's Pavarotti singing Figaro.






It doesn't say want CD I can find that on.


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

DiesIraeVIX,

Thank you for that very helpful explanation.


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

StlukesguildOhio,

Thank you for those very helpful suggestions.

Now, besides looking for the Pavarotti recording I'll try to find your recommendations as well and broaden my horizons!


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

eager to learn said:


> Here's Pavarotti singing Figaro.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That isn't Pavarotti...


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

who is it then?


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

eager to learn said:


> who is it then?


According to someone in the comment section it's Sherrill Milnes, maybe an opera fan here could confirm it's him. It's certainly not Pavarotti though: this aria (Largo al factotum) is for a baritone voice, not tenor like Pavarotti.


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

Thank you! I knew I couldn't trust that Pavarotti photo!

But, you just shared some good insight.

Danka!


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

The complete opera with subtitles is up on Youtube.




or this one:


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

very rewarding.

You have my gratitude.


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

I don’t mean to be impertinent but when I search for Beethoven’s symphony 5 in the library catalog I just see details like this - disc 3. Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67 (35:37) Recorded at Musikverein, Grosser Saal, Vienna, in Sept. 1977 (no. 5), Feb. 1978 (nos. 2 & 3) - 
Performer	Gwyneth Jones, soprano ; Hanna Schwarz, contralto ; René Kollo, tenor ; Kurt Moll, bass ; Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor ; Norbert Balatsch, chorus master (9th work) ; Wiener Philharmoniker ; Leonard Bernstein, conductor.

I listened to a few “versions” of Beethoven’s symphony 5 on classicsonline.com and a couple were hip-hop kind of tempos. 

Is there a way to detect a performance will be more traditional - e.g. if the conductor is Leonard Bernstein or it’s the London Symphony Orchestra then you know it will be traditional? 

There are so many music CDs in the library listing Beethoven’s symphony 5 so I could spend a lifetime just testing to them all to ascertain which are traditional, which are modern, etc.

Thank you for your help.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

eager to learn said:


> IIs there a way to detect a performance will be more traditional - e.g. if the conductor is Leonard Bernstein or it's the London Symphony Orchestra then you know it will be traditional?


How are you defining traditional? I suspect you might mean someone like Bernstein, or Karajan, Klemperer or Bohm. The conductor is probably the best guide, as is the date. Recordings from, I don't know, pre-1980 are likely to have slower tempos.

If by "hip hop tempos," you mean faster, then that's generally a more recent phenomenon, although it's actually meant as a throwback to how Beethoven was originally performed. I'm grossly oversimplifying here, but Beethoven wrote faster tempos, over the years conductors slowed them down, and then there was a last 20c movement to speed them back up.

Can you just look at the time markings? Or Google the recording and see what they say. Words like "HIP" (historically-informed performance) are typically a sign of faster tempos, leaner sounds, etc.


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

A couple of performances I listened to sounded like like they were being "modernized" so hip-hop enthusiasts would find classical music more inviting. They weren't just faster but had a rapping personality - not something you'd expect from say the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. 

I didn't realize Beethoven's original performances were up-tempo. 

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

It's possible someone is doing remixes to make them sound like hip hop or dance floor pop. I don't think any respectable orchestra would do that, so you can safely look for the big name orchestras if you'd like (Vienna, Berlin, New York, London, etc.).


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

You can't go wrong with THIS BEETHOVEN NINTH (my favorite).

But so long as you are spending the money, spend a few more dollars and get ALL NINE SYMPHONIES (my second favorite Ninth is in this one).

Both of these are very traditional performances.


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## eager to learn (Dec 25, 2014)

OK, trying my best here. I, too, enjoyed the two female vocalists singing what is credited on the soundtrack to the feature film Shawshank Redemption as singing Duettino - Sull'aria from opera "Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)" Performed by Edith Mathis (uncredited) and Gundula Janowitz (uncredited) Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Conducted by Karl Böhm.

If I cannot find this precise music CD where Edith Mathis and Gundula Janowitz are singing Duettino - Sull'aria, have others found alternative vocalists they've enjoyed performing Duettino - Sull'aria? If so could you please share the name of the CD you found such performance?

I checked out of the library 1. Verdi - Rigoletto with Sutherland-Pavarotti-Milnes in the London Symphony orchestra and also 2. 1. Verdi - Rigoletto - Pavarotti-Nucci-Anderson-Verret-Ghiaurov-Chailly Orchestra E Coro Del Teatro Communalle De Bologna - where they don’t seem to list the song/libretto/aria tiles, just the act titles. 

Are there certain songs, etc. performed in Verdi’s Rigoletto I should be noting?

Are there performances/versions of Verdi’s Rigoletto others prefer besides the two I found at the library?

Thank you so much.


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