This recording can
claim to be seminal in the history of
both recorded opera and theatre scheduling
over the past fifty years. Maria Callas’s
performance as Elvira, and as the eponymous
tragic heroine in the contemporaneous
recording of Lucia di Lammermoor could
justifiably claim to have kick started
interest in the bel-canto repertoire.
This was greatly aided both by the Callas’s
performances in the theatre and the
parallel emergence of the LP record.
Callas’s very first
recordings, taken from a Turin radio
broadcast of 1949, were issued on the
Cetra label the same year, on 78rpm
discs. These included ‘Qui la voce sua
soave’ and ‘Vien diletto’ from this
opera (CD 2. Trs. 6 and 7 on this issue).
1949 was the year that the diva broke
into widespread recognition in Italy
by singing Brünnhilde in ‘Die Walküre’
and when at La Fenice in Venice the
contracted singer for the part of Elvira
in ‘I Puritani’ withdrew. Serafin, who
had been a considerable influence on
Callas, persuaded her to take the role.
She learnt it in five days during which
she also sang three performances of
the Wagner opera! It was the key to
her La Scala debut as Aida, modestly
received, in April 1950. Two years later,
Walter Legge, head of A and R at EMI’s
Columbia label (Angel in the US), came
to Italy to sign her to an exclusive
contract. She was by then the star of
La Scala, and feted elsewhere as one
great first night followed another.
However, Callas was already contracted
to three opera recordings for Cetra
only two of which were made, both in
September 1952. These were La Traviata
and La Gioconda, the latter also in
this Naxos series and to be reviewed
by me on this site. First off under
the Legge contract was Callas’s first
recording of Lucia, made in Florence
in February 1953. But a major focus
of the contract was the involvement
of the chorus and orchestra of La Scala,
the pre-eminent Italian opera house.
For whatever reason, unlike the later
Callas/La Scala recordings, which were
made in the theatre itself, this ‘Puritani’
was recorded in the city’s Santa Eufemia
Basilica. On the original LPs the excessive
reverberation considerably muddied the
orchestral detail. This and the variable
vocal performances of some of the main
protagonists perhaps contributed to
its long absence from the catalogue
until its re-appearance on CD in 1989,
at full price. By this time there was
strong competition from Sutherland (under
Bonynge on Decca) and Caballé
(under Muti on EMI).
Perhaps the most important
thing to say about this Naxos issue
is that restorer Mark Obert-Thorn’s
magic makes the performance eminently
more listenable than the original LPs
(do I remember correctly that side 6
of the 3LP set was a blank?). He has
‘lifted’ the voices out of the muddy
background allowing them to be heard
in all their strengths and weaknesses.
The orchestra and chorus are generally
set well back and it has not been possible
to clean up all the textures, there
being significant differences between
the opening of acts 1 and 2 (CD 1. Tr.
1 and CD 2. Tr. 1) and the much clearer
open orchestral sound of act 3 (CD 2.
Tr. 3). It was always contended that
Legge tried to surround his star diva
with voices of stature. Well on the
evidence of my ears he was not wholly
successful. Then there is the matter
of style in respect of the long lovely
cantilena of Bellini’s last opera. As
the tenor hero, and Elvira’s betrothed,
di Stefano sings with light lyric tone
and in the original key, but his singing
is not in sympathy with Bellinian style.
He fails to inflect those long phrases
with the elegance that Pavarotti brings
to the role (Decca), often labouring
the long lovely line (CD 1. Tr. 12).
As the spurned suitor, Rolando Panerai
(b. 1924), who was to have a long and
distinguished career on record and in
the theatre, is a severe disappointment.
Like di Stefano he is not sympathetic
to the style as well as being dry, thin
of tone and lacking legato (CD 1. Tr.
6). Perhaps this was nerves in his first
recording, but he is no competitor to
Cappuccilli whose long-breathed and
well-covered tone is a delight on the
Decca. However, in the long Act 2 duet
with Giorgio (CD 2. Trs. 8-11) he is
much better. Of the men Rossi-Lemeni’s
Giorgio has most to offer in terms of
both style and vocal sonority. Although
his intonation has a tendency to sag
from time to time, he sings a gracefully
phrased ‘Cinta di fiori’ (CD 2. Tr.
3) and is a tower of strength in the
duet with the Riccardo of Panerai.
As Elvira, Callas,
the raison d’être of the
recording, gives one of her best performances
on record in terms of both characterization,
never a problem with her, but also in
terms of vocal quality. Her singing
fortunately lacks the curdled middle
voice and squally top that were to mar
so many of her later recordings. Hearing
performances such as this, one can better
understand the furore in the theatre,
when in addition to her singing, her
consummate acting made for wonderful
operatic events! Her coloratura is not
as secure or as florid as Sutherland’s,
but her diction is infinitely superior,
as is her characterization. That is
not to imply that this Callas portrayal
is perfect vocally. There is the odd
hardness at the top of the voice and
a slight unsteadiness at forte.
Although Serafin opens
up cuts traditional in the theatre at
the time, this recording is still around
32 minutes less than Bonynge’s complete
version on Decca; such was contemporary
practice. This Naxos issue is but a
quarter of the normal price of the Decca,
although in the UK superstores the latter
is often available at discount. This
is very much an issue for Callas fans
and those who wonder what all the fuss
was about. As I have already indicated,
unlike on some other, later, recordings
by the diva, the listener can hear a
truly great performance from her. It
is in far better sound than we have
had hitherto from this 1953 recording.
Robert J Farr
Chorus and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala, Milan/Tullio
Serafin 