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Donizetti: L'elisir D'Amore Roberto Alagna (Artist, Performer), Gaetano Donizetti (Composer), Marcello Viotti (Conductor), English Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), Mariella Devia (Performer), Pietro Spagnoli (Performer), Bruno Praticò (Performer), Francesca Provvisionato (Performer), Tallis Chamber Choir (Performer) It's hard to believe that this recording of Elisir D'Amore is exactly twenty years old. It was the first major recording of Roberto Alagna, and it features a soprano too little known outside of Europe, Mariella Devia. Devia had a twenty year career behind her when she made this recording; she was 45, while Alagna, at 30, was only five years out from winning the Pavarotti competition. Not surprisingly, Alagna is still active today (2012); amazingly, so is Devia, and singing, by all reports, very well. Her only competition as Adina on record is Ileana Cotrubas, who recorded the role with Domingo and Pritchard in the 1970's. Sutherland recorded the role too, of course, with Pavarotti, but her singing and acting aren't as pointed as Devia's. All of these Elisirs are worth hearing, but this one is the one I keep coming back to. Marcello Viotti conducts with great feeling for the pace of the scenes, the sound quality of the recording is excellent, the ensembles aren't cramped, and the supporting singers - mainly the light-voiced basses Spagnoli and Pratico are perfect for the kind of patter this comedy requires.