Giuseppe Di Stefano Sings Neapolitan Songs

Here's a yummy CD platter, filled to the brim with prime examples of the irrepressible Giuseppe Di Stefano, singing what he was born to sing. The tenor is in close to pristine voice throughout these 1953-7 sessions, with none of the frayed edges and crooning that seeped into his work in the 1960s. More to the point, Di Stefano approaches familiar favorites like "O Solo Mio" and "Santa Lucia" with a kind of seriousness of purpose and elegant restraint that will be revelations to listeners weaned on showboating by the Three Tenors. You may, however, wish to investigate Testament's companion stereo volume, which has better sound and a wider variety of material. But Di Stefano fans will gladly dig in. --Jed Distler Amazon.com

Guiseppe di Strfano sings Neapolitan Songs

Neapolitan songs sung by Guiseppe Di Stefano was one of my favourite vynil long play records. I no longer have the facility to play vynil records so I was delighted to be able to acquire this CD version from Amazon. I believe that the original recordings were made in 1953 - certainly my vynil was from that era. The digital remastering is very successful and we aficionados have cause to be grateful. A huge part of the enjoyment is the characteristic Italian accompaniment,flowing,soaring, romantic and full bodied,but never over-intrusive, by the orchestra conducted by Dino Olivieri. I mark the CD 4 and not 5 purely because of the advances, since 1953, in recording techniques. January 9, 2007

Di Stefano e magnifico!

Giuseppe Di Stefano's magnificent tenor voice was never put to better use than singing these Neapolitan songs. They were written for his type of voice and he was born to sing them. His voice is liquid gold; it combines sustained lyricism with tremendous emotional urgency and power. Sweetness and plaitiveness are all there when they are needed to express the text. Diction is perfect. The orchestral arrangements recorded here are very operatic and Di Stefano's voice fills every corner of them. These songs are treasures and through Di Stefano they are brought to the the heights of musical expression. December 25, 2006

Distefano has spoken!

I get furious when people like the gentleman from Australia waste their alloted space delving in minutiae when it comes to reviewing this album of Neapolitan Songs sung by the greatest exponent of this genre (according to people like Pavarotti, Delmonaco and Corelli). No doubt these gems call for a beautiful - yes, beautiful - voice that can also sustain diminuendo, stress - where needed, passion, pathos, etc. it's no secret that every singer since Caruso - tenor, baritone or classification-less has attempted this repertoire; but none has ALL these qualities..this is Pippo's domain and he has spoken! Buy this and thank the Lord it's available now! November 28, 2006

Come back to Sorrento with Giuseppe Di Stefano.

These little Neapolitan songs, many dating from the C19th, travel well across international boundaries, language barriers, and time divisions. Giuseppe di Stefano recorded dozens of them during his prime, and Testament has gathered together 21 of them, recorded in the 1950s, on this CD. The producer and conductor was Dino Olivieri who, twenty years earlier, had added to the repertoire himself and conducted countless records of Neapolitan songs sung by Tito Schipa and Beniamino Gigli.

Di Stefano sings here with more musicianship than the latter and a more robust voice than the former. Dino Olivieri, who likes swirling strings and problematic counterpoints, contrives occasionally with Di Stefano to enact musically something in total contradiction to the words. My favorite songs here - I' tu vurria vasà - depicts the singer lying beside his beloved at dawn and hesitating even to kiss her lest it wake her. What we hear is a performance that is so loud as to suggest something that might lift the roof off the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth. Perhaps the blame lies with the balance engineers. The sound engineering is of the "zoom lens" type, evening out all the dynamic changes in Di Stefano's singing so that everything is heard at a steady forte volume throughout.

If this is one of your favorite singers, you'll want to have this CD, but if you love listening to these perennial favorite songs, which always start in a minor key and then switch to the tonic major key half way through each verse, then try versions by other singers. July 6, 2003

Without peer

di Stefano is the standard for singing Neapolitan Songs. There is exuberance, warmth, pathos - everything. He puts it all into these gems. I am extremely glad Testament made these discs available. You can't go wrong with these, they are utterly fabulous!! March 26, 2003

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