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conviction and drive as Mark Elder - a conductor wonderfully alert to the idiom - brings to it here… the orchestra (playing without vibrato and including natural horns) and chorus are, along with the galvanizing Elder, the chief heroes of this enterprise. The cast is a fine one. Giuseppe Filianoti brings a pungent tenor to the title role and Simon Keenlyside provides strong, hectoring opposition as Abayaldos. Even in concert, Vesselina Kasarova, who sings with vibrant, dusky tone, supplies spirited presence as the Moorish princess Zayda, tom between Islam and Christianity, or at least the men representing these opposing sides. Alastair Miles is chillingly resonant as the grand inquisitor Dom Juam, and among the smaller parts Robert Gleadow makes a potent mark as Dom Henrique.’ |