I grew up in a home
where a large acoustic gramophone, complete
with wind-up handle, dominated one corner
of the living room. The nearby sideboard
housed the family collection of 78rpm
records. Although there was a set of
Horowitz competing with Toscanini to
finish Tchaikovsky’s B minor concerto,
most of the 10-inch and 12-inch shellac
discs were of operatic and vocal items.
There were records of Chaliapin, Dawson,
McCormack, Schipa, Pons and a clutch
of British singers performing in English.
The latter were on HMVs cheaper Plum
label whilst the famous international
singers such as Gigli (1890-1957) were
to be heard on the premier Red label.
These Red label discs retailed at 9
shillings and 6 pence, or 45 pence in
today’s money. Peanuts by today’s values,
but in those far-off days a skilled
working man earned around 5 pounds sterling
per week of 45 hours. Whilst the Red
label was considered HMVs premier priced
label there was another at twice the
price, no less! One issue on this White
label, DQ102, had the performance of
the Rigoletto quartet found on this
issue (tr.11) with the sextet from Lucia
(tr.10 here) being on the second side.
After much saving and sacrifice this
White label issue arrived in our household.
We marvelled at the lyric beauty and
legato of Gigli’s voice as he launched
the opening phrases of Bella figlia
del’amore and his expressive nuances
in the sextet on the second side of
the record. We had to be careful that
even with a new thorn needle for every
playing, that our luxurious White label
78, with its less than four and a half
minutes per side, wasn’t soon worn out.
Whilst we marvelled at De Luca’s Rigoletto
it was not until the arrival of the
Cetra LPs of the complete work (now
on Fonit Cetra) that we realised that
some of the bite of the drama was lacking
in the lovely singing. This lack is
less evident in the Donizetti, partly
because of the nature of the piece and
the opera itself. The young Pinza’s
sonorous, tuneful and well supported
voice can be heard in the sextet and
also in Giust cielo (trs.5 and 8) and
Tu che a dio (trs. 6 and 9). The scene
is repeated on this CD from different
takes of an extended part of the final
scene of the opera. It is labelled Act
3 here, but is really scene 3 of act
2. This scene starts with Edgardo’s
Tombe degl’ avi miei (trs. 4 and 7)
and concludes with his death at the
end of Tu che Dio spiegasti l’ali (trs.
6 and 9). These three tracks give thirteen
and a half minutes of this final scene
and show Gigli at his lyrical, expressive
and dramatic best in a role he sang
21 times at the Met. He doesn’t over
agonise when he hears that Lucia is
dead. His vocal expression says it all
without losing its lyrical beauty. Similar
vocal strengths are heard in his joyful
Brindisi from La Traviata (tr. 14) and
in Meyerbeer’s O paradiso (tr. 17) and
when more heft is needed, as in Cavalleria
rusticana, it is there in abundance
without any strain or loss of legato
or line.
The Temple Duet (tr.1)
sounds a little strange in Italian and
is hardly idiomatic. The Gioconda duet,
Enzo Grimaldo, Principe di Santifior,
with De Luca (trs. 2 and 3) is interesting
for its comparison with the recording
of Gigli with Tito Ruffo that is found
on Vol.
4 of this series . Although older
than Ruffo, De Luca is firmer, smoother
and clearer than his younger compatriot;
Gigli responds similarly.
Mark Obert-Thorn’s
has remastered this collection to improve
on his work previously issued on Romophone.
The sound is certainly far superior
than we ever got from the White label
issue, even when it was played on a
Garrard 301 deck, a lightweight stylus
and via a Briggs designed amplifier
with its two KT 66s in push-pull. Some
golden ears reckon CD spoils the sound
of the original. I don’t know which
planet they live on particularly when
the remastering is of the quality found
here. At £5 when a skilled man’s wage
is well over £200 pounds per week the
price really is peanuts. Where else
could you pay peanuts and mine gold
like this? Whatever else you buy in
this or any other remasterings of 78rpm
discs, buy this issue and listen to
great singers and particularly one of
the greatest tenors of the 20th
century.
I heard Gigli live
when he was over sixty. His singing
still retained so much of the qualities
outlined here. It is singing of a standard
rarely heard since and I don’t hear
it in any of the tenors around today.
This CD should be in
every opera lover’s collection. I cannot
recommend it highly enough for its inherent
quality no matter my personal experiences
of listening to the original 78s all
those years ago.
Robert J Farr
see also reviews
by Colin
Clarke and Jonathan
Woolf
Beniamino Gigli (tenor) 
