Giuseppe
VERDI (1813 - 1901) Caro Nome
(Rigoletto) (1851) [3.51] (5)
Giacomo PUCCINI
(1858 - 1924)
Si, mi chiamano Mimi (La Boheme)
(1896) [4.21] (5)
O Soave Fanciulla (La Boheme) (1896)
[3.25] (1, 5))
Vissi d’arte (Tosca) (1900) [4.21]
(5)
Donde lieta usci al tuo grido d’amore(La
Boheme) (1835) [3.09] (5)
Charles GOUNOD
(1818 - 1893) Air de bijoux (Faust)
(1859) [3.09] (5)
Giuseppe VERDI
(1813 - 1901) Ah! Fors’e lui…Sempre
libera (La Traviata) (1853) [4.20]
(5)
Francesco Paolo
TOSTI (1848 - 1916)
Goodbye [4.17] (5); La Serenata
[3.47] (2)
Felice BLANGINI
(1781 - 1841) Per valli, per
boschi [2.15] (3, 5)
Herman BEMBERG
(1859 - 1931) Un ange est venu
[3.04] (3, 5)
Reynaldo HAHN(1875
- 1947) Si mes vers avaiet des ailes
[2.20] (2)
Wofgang Amadeus
MOZART (1756 - 1791) Voi che
sapete (Le nozze de Figaro) (1786)
[3.15] (5)
Ambroise THOMAS
(1811 - 1896) Mad Scene (Hamlet)
(1868) [7.53] (5)
Luigi ARDITI
(1822 - 1903) Se saran rose [3.08]
(5)
Gaetano DONIZETTI
(1797 - 1848) Mad Scene (Lucia
di Lammermoor) (1835) [4.07] (4,
5)
Henry BISHOP
(1786 - 1855) Lo! Here the Gentle
Lark [3.05] (4, 5)
George Frideric
HANDEL (1685 - 1739) Sweet Bird
(L’Allegro, il Penseroso et il Moderato)
(1740) [4.23] (4,5)
Francesco Paolo
TOSTI (1848 - 1916) Mattinata
[2.20] (6)
By my reckoning this
is the fifth Melba-Naxos release that
I’ve reviewed. The earlier volumes took
in the London and Paris sessions whilst
this one collates the 1907 New York
discs. Some revisit previous discographic
triumphs for the new market and this
indeed is the first of three such volumes
that will gives us her complete Victor
recordings from 1907-16.
With Melba it’s very
much a case of "same as before."
The voice didn’t deteriorate appreciably,
the technique remained largely intact
and the questions of interpretation
and impersonation remain as idiosyncratic
as ever. The copies used by Ward Marston
sound in good estate; there are a few
flaws in one or two but these sound
to be pressing bumps and are inherent
– otherwise we can listen with particular
pleasure. The repertoire is the by now
accustomed mixture of Verdi and Puccini,
French (canonic and contemporary), lighter
popular material and baroque showpieces.
Caro nome might
have been recorded expressly to cultivate
and promote the idea that Melba sang
with immaculate dullness. The tone is
white, the expressive potential severely
constrained, the sense of projection
limited. And yet this is not, and never
was, the full story. Sì, mi
chiamano Mimì has quick portamenti
and a very clean, clear unvarnished
tone, almost devoid of vibrato – and
the voice is rather backward in the
balance. She’s really no match for Caruso
in their duet together. The Blanche
tone sits incongruously against his,
though she’s not underpowered. Her Hahn,
a favourite, shows consistent adventure
in and understanding of the younger
French school; these are amongst her
most immediately intriguing and noteworthy
sides. One can contrast her Voi che
sapete with Patti’s (on Symposium,
recently reviewed) and find that Melba
is a model of restraint and style in
comparison. Even so the accelerandi
(par for the nineteenth century course
stylistically, it seems) and ritenuto
are still remarkable features and must
show us a glimpse of Mozartian style
prevailing at the time.
Her Thomas proves resilient
and impressive. The famous trill is
firmly centred, the yelp of pain and
the coloratura are mightily impressive
and a sense of expressive power (unusual
for her) certainly palpable. In the
relative confines of time and place
it’s a powerful recording. Characterisation
however comes second to precision in
the Donizetti Mad Scene, which sounds
to us badly under characterised. As
a final treat though there’s the self-accompanied
Mattinata.
A representative collection
of Melba is more of a necessity than
a luxury and admirers should have these
1907 sessions in their collection.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review
by Robert Hugill
Volume
1
Volume
2
Volume
3
Volume
4
Nellie Melba (soprano) 
