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IL TROVATORE
--Standard Repertory--
By Giuseppe Verdi
VIDEO: Mario del Monaco, Fedora Barbieri, Leyla
Gencer, Ettore Bastianini, Previtali conducts; RAI Italiana, 1957; no
subtitles, B & W; BCS [Bel Canto Society] 005
Not as profound a work as some of Verdi's others, but the
individual vocal characterizations can bring out the best in many a
superb singer, worth hearing different interpretations for that
reason
AUDIO: A) RCA: Jussi Bjoerling, Fedora Barbieri,
Zinka Milanov, Leonard Warren, Cellini conducting; Robert Shaw
Chorale; 1952; Gold Seal 60191-2-RG; a consistently authoritative
cast, and all at their vocal best; some traditional cuts,
unfortunately, but energetic leadership from Cellini and superb work
by the Robert Shaw Chorale top a very special recording; a
TROVATORE whose virtues across the board impress more and more
after repeated exposure to the inadequacies, whether negligible or
acute, in so many other sets; in good mono [G.R.]
B) GALA (rumor has it that a state-of-the-art DG pressing
of this is being made available in the U.S.A; will believe it when I
see it; meanwhile this GALA pressing is really quite good--and
reasonably priced): Franco Corelli, Giulietta Simionato, Leontyne
Price, Ettore Bastianini, von Karajan conducting ("live," Salzburg,
July '62); in sheer vocal daring, flamboyance, energy and power, the
most striking set yet; Price as Leonora and Simionato as Azucena are
as special in their way as Milanov and Barbieri in A; maybe,
von Karajan's conducting brings out too many of Corelli's exclamatory
tendencies, jeopardizing some of the broader phrasing and softer
dynamics heard from Corelli's Manrico elsewhere (see E); but
von Karajan presides over an exciting show overall, the "live"
ambience making all the difference compared with the more stately
theatre and more scrupulous musicianship in AUDIO A; a few
cuts [G.R.]
C) EMI: Giuseppe di Stefano, Fedora Barbieri, Maria Callas,
Rolando Panerai, von Karajan conducting (1956); though not literally
complete, most of the traditional cuts are opened up here, and this
recording features the most satisfactory cast to be heard in such a
full edition; while di Stefano does not have the full vocal power for
Manrico (granted, neither does Bjoerling in A, though
Bjoerling, with his superior technique, copes better than most with
Verdi's appalling demands), di Stefano is, at the same time, uniquely
warm and engaging; Callas does not match what she achieves in
F-1 below, but she passes muster and sounds easier and more
plausible than in her disappointing studio Ballo
in Maschera from this same year; Barbieri remains as potent
an interpreter as in A; mono [G.R.]
D) DG: Carlo Bergonzi, Fiorenza Cossotto, Antonietta
Stella, Ettore Bastianini, Serafin conducting (1962); a master of the
tradition, the superb Serafin presides over almost as complete an
account as Item C; features Bergonzi's peerless Manrico
setting the standard in this role, encompassing the suppleness of
Bjoerling with somewhat greater power, the sweeping legato of
Corelli, much of the warmth of di Stefano, and musicianship that is
second to none (who else combines all this in "Di quella pira," to
take just one obvious example?); his colleagues come off as
accomplished, though they don't dominate their roles; in excellent
stereo[G.R.]
E) MELODRAM: Franco Corelli, Fiorenza Cossotto, Antonietta
Stella, Ettore Bastianini, Gavazzeni conducting ("live," La Scala,
Opening Night, Dec. 7, 1962); neither Stella nor Cossotto, good as
they are here, efface impressions of
Milanov(A)/Price(B) or of
Barbieri(A)/Simionato(B), but Bastianini and Corelli
(the latter with broader and more nuanced phrasing than in B)
bring great verve to their roles, and Gavazzeni, while not so strong
in contrasts or in ensemble cohesion as von Karajan, imparts, as
always, a natural flow to the music that sometimes eludes von
Karajan--Gavazzeni practically owned Opening Night at La Scala during
this period, and, listening, one can understand why; a few cuts
[G.R.]
F-1) MELODRAM: Kurt Baum, Giulietta Simionato, Maria
Callas, Leonard Warren, Picco conducting ("live," Mexico City, 1950);
striking memento of Callas's Leonora at its best; a younger
Simionato's Azucena is already highly individual; the Callas/Warren
confrontation in Act IV is almost worth the whole performance; in
so-so mono [G.R.]
F-2) RCA: Placido Domingo, Fiorenza Cossotto, Leontyne
Price, Sherrill Milnes, Mehta conducting (c. 1970); featuring a
musically accomplished, technically alert, if slightly overparted
lirico spinto (Domingo) as the drammatico Manrico, this
recording is notable chiefly for including every note of Verdis
score with a cast that, at the very least, sustains certain basic
standards, the fine Azucena/Leonora pairing of Cossotto and Price
accomplishing much more than just that; for one thing, though others
may interpret Azucena with greater imagination, Cossottos
Azucena is at her vocal peak here, becoming, for the first time, the
only one that encompasses successfully all the heroic strength needed
for the declamatory passages in the middle and low, all the bel
canto flexibility needed for Azucenas florid passagework,
and all the ease needed on top (yes, including the high C in
Perigliarti ognor languente!); Stereo
[G.R.]
For Further Reading:
The
Operas of Verdi : From Il Trovatore to La Forza Del Destino (Vol. 2,
Revised), by Julian Budden
Encounters
with Verdi, by Marcello Conati, Richard Stokes, Julian
Budden
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