Pre-Owned Verdi: Falstaff (CD 0822231105527) by Alasdair Elliott (tenor), Ana Ibarra (soprano), Bülent Bezdüz (tenor), Carlos Alvarez (baritone), Darren Jeffrey (bass);...

0822231105527. Pre-Owned: Good condition. CD. Colin Davis' 2004 recording of Verdi's Falstaff is a strong entry in the LSO Live series, anchored by Michele Pertusi's wooly but authoritative turn as the titular anti-hero. Falstaff, though immensely entertaining on-stage, is one of the hardest operas to capture in recordings: the dense interplay of characters, the busy stage action, and the general ensemble nature of the piece make it a difficult listen unless your Italian and your attention span are both top-notch. The most any recording can hope to do is capture the madcap energy and vivid vocal characterizations and leave the rest to the imagination, and in that sense this is a very solid effort. The mere sound of Pertusi's voice announces his identity from the start, and his performance is invested with a giddy, self-important raunchiness that he seems born to deliver. Similarly, the voices of Bülent Bezdüz and Maria Josè Moreno are perfectly cast as Fenton and Nanetta; even if you're lost by the time they sing their first duet, you'll know that...