VERDI: Stiffelio – Carreras, Malfitano, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Edward Downes OPUS ARTE

Verdi: Stiffelio
José Carreras (Stiffelio); Catherine Malfitano (Lina); Gregory Yurisch (Stankar);

The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Edward Downes

Stage Director(s): Elijah Moshinsky

Once regarded as Verdi’s lost opera because of early censorship and controversy, Stiffelio has now established its rightful place in Verdi’s canon. In this 1993 recording from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, José Carreras, as the Protestant minister whose faith is shattered when he discovers his wife’s adulterous liaison with a family friend, leads a fine cast that includes Catherine Malfitano, Gregory Yurisich, Gwynne Howell and Robin Leggate under the baton of Edward Downes.


“Monday’s performance was beyond any but nit-picking criticism. Downes’s conducting confirmed him as one of the (if not the) world’s leading Verdians – grandeur sweep, energy, allied to extraordinary delicacy. Elijah Moshinsky’s production spared us nothing in rawness and immediacy, and indeed, dramatic truth…This Stiffelio is a great event: move mountains to see it.” (The Times)

“The Stiffelio is Carreras in what was probably the finest achievement among roles following his serious illness. Gregory Yurisich sings magnificently as the father. Gwynne Howell is a pillar of sonorous authority, and Robin Leggate, having played Cassio so often, fits in perfectly as his guilty counterpart. Edward Downes conducts with a sure and thoughtful touch.” (Gramophone)

“Elijah Moshinsky’s handsome Stiffelio was one of Covent Garden’s greatest triumphs under a previous regime. José Carreras and Catherine Malfitano lead a fine cast.” (BBC Music Magazine)

“The present production by Elijah Moshinsky in sets by Michael Yeargan and costumes by Peter J Hall is realistic, atmospheric and in period. With the help of this cast of committed actor-singers and Edward Downes in the pit, Moshinsky’s production shows Stiffelio to be the dramatic and musically cohesive work that Verdi knew he had created.” (Musicweb International)