On September 30, 1966
I bought an EP entitled "Belcanto
in Opera". It contained four Puccini
arias. It also contained the most glorious
soprano singing I had ever heard. Since
then I have heard these arias sung,
live and on record, literally hundreds
of times but I have still had the sounds
from that old RCA EP singing inside
my head. The singer’s name was Leontyne
Price.
When I got this CD
for review and found out that here are
these four arias, two each from Butterfly
and Turandot, in the very recordings
I once had, it was with some trepidation
I put it in the CD player. Would it
be like those school reunion parties
where you go with high expectations
only to find out that you and that old
mate from the teens are not on speaking
terms any more? It wasn’t! Miss Price
still communicated just as vividly as
she did all those years ago, only with
even more power, more clarity, more
dynamics on this latest incarnation
of what was her debut recital. The new
disc is SACD and perhaps multi-channel
equipment would give an even stronger
experience, but through my old two-channel
system the sound was good enough to
move me, just as it did in my youth,
even if there were one or two signs
of distortion in the Trovatore excerpts.
But, never mind. This, dear reader,
is the most magnificent lirico-spinto
soprano sound committed to disc during
the last sixty years – with the possible
exception of Tebaldi on peak form. But
no, not even she could produce such
a golden stream of absolutely steady
tone, so beautiful, so penetrating,
so warm. Here at 33 the voice was still
so pure, free from the smoky quality
that became more and more prominent
later in her career.
"Now wait!"
I can hear some grumpy objections, "A
good voice it was but what about interpretations?"
All right, there have been singers who
have managed to delve deeper into these
characters, Callas for instance, but
Price was no mean actor and she never
for a second became bland. There is
an intensity in her singing that more
than compensates for any lack of voice
colouring. It could also be argued that
the singing is too formidable for the
seventeen-year-old Butterfly, but whatever
shortcomings there may be the singing
as pure singing silences any
criticism.
We also meet Miss Price
in three of her greatest roles, roles
that she continued to sing all through
her career. The booklet note quotes
a critic who heard her La Scala debut
(in 1960), saying "Our great Verdi
would have found her the ideal Aida".
She recorded this opera complete just
two years after this recital, again
in Rome with Solti conducting. Her O
patria mia at marginally slower
speed is perhaps a little more reflective,
but the singing is just as glorious.
That also goes for her complete Tosca
with Karajan the same year, while in
1972, when she recorded it again, this
time with Zubin Mehta, the voice has
thickened a little, even if it still
is a magnificent instrument. We also
have here Leonora’s two arias from Il
trovatore, recorded as early as 1959.
And this is another piece of thrilling
singing; just listen to her delivery
of the cabaletta Di tale amor.
Nothing to carp at,
then? There are no texts and translations,
but that doesn’t matter much since all
these arias are standards; and playing
time is short, even with almost 15 minutes
from the complete Trovatore thrown in
it plays at just over 46 minutes, but
46 minutes with singing of this calibre
is worth even twice the price. I do
not expect to hear a better recital
this side New Year’s Eve, probably not
afterwards either.
Göran Forsling
Leontyne Price, bLaura Londi (sopranos)
RCA RED SEAL LIVING STEREO SACD 82876 61395
2 [46’18] 
