“The opera’s symphonic quality is emphasized to the max by conductor Lawrence Foster. Much of the orchestral playing, flatteringly recorded, is voluptuous – shimmeringly beautiful at Butterfly’s entrance, in the love duet and in the intermezzo.”
After having recorded La Fanciulla del West, conductor Lawrence Foster expands his Puccini discography with Madama Butterfly, together with the Coro & Orquestra Gulbenkian, as well as Elisabeth Kulman (Suzuki), Stefano Secco (Pinkerton), Lester Lynch (Sharpless) and Melody Moore (Cio-Cio-San) in the title role.
“Melody Moore’s deeply resonant, almost mezzo-like voice is a thing of beauty, and she certainly brings intensity to the opera’s ending. Stefano Secco sings Pinkerton sensitively, albeit with occasional tightness in the upper range.”
Alexandra Wilson
