I didn’t approach this
reviewing project with any particular
enthusiasm although the 1948 date for
the Pagliacci promised at least reasonable
sonics. The expectation regarding the
sonics is fully realised with a good
body of sound. What I didn’t expect
was the vitality of the performance
under the baton of Giuseppe Antonicelli
or the strong open-toned singing of
Leonard Warren as Tonio. Although he
does force his tone on occasion, his
singing and characterisation are better
than on the EMI/Naxos
re-masterings with Jussi Björling
as Canio under Cellini. To balance matters
out, Björling’s Canio on that studio
recording is infinitely preferable to
Ramon Vinay’s baritonal tenor with its
squeezed climaxes. Also I did not expect,
to be bowled over by the Nedda of Florence
Quartararo. Had I been a little more
observant of the cover, or read Richard
Caniell’s usual comprehensive essay,
I would have realised something was
afoot. Quartararo’s well-coloured voice,
fine legato and characterisation point
new insights into the role of Nedda.
Her singing reveals greater depths in
the part than that of sadistic promiscuous
bitch.
I didn’t venture to
the second of the two discs, which is
wholly devoted to Florence Quartararo,
until I had read the essay. In it Mr
Caniell reveals how, as a young boy
in 1946, he had heard her at the Met
as Micaëla. He met her again for
a series of interviews in 1982 when
she passed to him private recordings
of various broadcast performances she
had made. An American of Italian parentage,
Quartararo had been discovered nearly
by accident when singing as an untrained
twenty-three year old. Two years later
she was on the stage of the Met. She
spent four years at the theatre singing
nine roles of which this Pagliacci was
the only performance broadcast. Having
met and married the bass Italo Tajo
she left singing to bring up their daughter,
Cecelia. She also left a studio legacy
of four 78rpm discs the contents of
which form the first tracks of the second
disc (CD 2 trs. 1-5). These well-reproduced
recordings include a beautifully coloured
and expressive Care Selve from Handel’s
Atlanta (tr. 1). Most notable, however,
is her Tacea la notte from Il Trovatore
(tr. 3). This is lyric soprano singing
of the very highest order. The voice
soars with clarity whilst words, expression,
legato and colouration combine to give
superb characterisation. These are words
and descriptions that I do not use lightly
about any singer. Why then is her name
not on every opera enthusiast’s list
of all-time greats? The answer can only
be familiarity, or more likely lack
of it. Florence Quartararo was invited
by Toscanini to sing Desdemona in his
broadcast Otello. Many critics believe
the recording from that broadcast to
be one of the monuments of recorded
opera. Guild recently issued a new re-mastering
from better sources than that used by
the RCA issues of the performance which
have long dominated the catalogue. (review)
Unfortunately for opera lovers, the
Met management refused to release Quartararo
for the detailed rehearsals that Toscanini
demanded and the great maestro turned
to his favourite Herva Nelli for the
role. I suggest that if Quartararo had
sung the Desdemona on that recording
she would not have been allowed to leave
the stage forever when she did and the
history of recorded opera on LP would
have been very different than that which
we now inherit on CD. I write that sentence
in full realisation of its implications.
On the evidence of the recordings on
this second CD Quartararo’s is a voice
to set alongside the giants of the 20th
century. Colleagues and other contemporaries
likened her voice and vocal skills to
that of Ponselle. There can be no greater
recommendation.
The remaining tracks
of CD 2 lack the sonic immediacy of
those derived from the 78s. They are,
however, sufficient to further illustrate
and support the claims I have outlined.
The phrasing, tonal beauty and support
for the voice in Dove Sono (tr. 11)
and the colouring and expression in
the Otello duet (tr. 14)are particularly
fine. At that I will rest my case and
suggest lovers of fine singing go out
and buy while stocks last. Once the
word gets out copies will surely fly
off the shelves. Richard Caniell promises
another issue derived from the singer’s
private recordings but it seems that
these sources do require quite a lot
of work.
Robert J Farr
GUILD HISTORICAL IMMORTAL PERFORMANCES
SERIES GHCD 2291-92 [72.08 +
79.10] 
