MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively
CD: Crotchet

 

Charles GOUNOD (1818–1893)
Faust (1859)
Giuliano Romagnoli (tenor) – Faust; Gemma Bosini (soprano) – Margherita; Fernando Autori (bass) – Mefistofeles; Gilda Timitz (soprano) – Siebel; Napoleone Limonta (baritone) – Wagner; Adolfo Pacini (baritone) – Valentino; Nelda Garrone (mezzo) – Marta
Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan/Carlo Sabajno
rec. Milan 1-14 June 1920
Italian libretto enclosed. English and French translations are available as a pdf file on disc B.
DIVINE ART DDH27810 [72:29 + 70:09]
Experience Classicsonline

Recorded acoustically in 1920 and sung in Italian by Italian singers this issue could easily be passed over as of limited interest – possibly only for historical freaks. I am one of those – I wouldn’t have opted for the set otherwise – but even I have to admit that it was a very pleasant surprise. One of the first notes I scribbled down on my review pad was ‘Superb sound!!’
 
I must be joking, mustn’t I? Actually no. Readers only familiar with state-of-the-art digital stereo recordings will probably frown at the sound here and quickly turn it off, but anyone who has ever heard the feeble, scrawny sound of the orchestra, the thin, undernourished tone of the singers and the appetizing sound of someone frying bacon in a nearby kitchen will sit up and reach for the booklet: Is it really 1920?
 
I have to qualify my verdict. The orchestra can never be mistaken for a modern one, the dynamics are limited but instrumental details are well caught, drums and trumpets in the opening of act II lifelike, the chorus has great impact, the singers leap out of the speakers with surprising realism, even in the quartet (CD 2 tr. 2-3) the voices are well separated, and the cook has closed the kitchen door. Andrew Rose has worked wonders with the original shellacs that obviously were of exceptional quality for their time in the first place. With very little adaptability it should be possible to enjoy the performance, once one has adjusted to the limitations.
 
That it is sung in Italian may seem as a drawback but one should bear in mind that the practice to perform operas in the original language is a rather late invention. This set, issued on twenty 12” discs, was no doubt intended for the Italian market. Italian is of course an eminently singable language and Italians singing in the vernacular give a stamp of authenticity. This is what it sounded like at La Scala around 1920.
 
Probably the cuts in the score were also those applied at performances eighty years ago. For so long an opera on shellacs it is fairly little truncated: the ballet scene is gone – no great loss – and there are minor cuts in the waltz, love duet, soldiers’ chorus and three in the final scene. The act IV prelude and Marguerite’s recitative is omitted.
 
Carlo Sabajno – who wasn’t named on the original labels – was a splendid conductor who recorded a considerable number of complete operas in the 1920s and 1930s. He secures fine playing and singing from the La Scala forces and paces the music as well as any of his competitors.
 
About the solo singing there may be some reservations, but also these are relatively marginal. The little known Giuliano Romagnoli in the title role sacrifices Gallic elegance for Italian passion in the title role but he is no mean singer. His legato isn’t always the best, he tends to over-emphasize in the Di Stefano manner and his high C in the cavatina is ugly but he manages a fine scaling down on the final note and his impassioned singing in the duet Il se fait tard is truly engaging. His Marguerite, Gemma Bosini, who besides this Faust also has a complete Bohčme to her credit, has an agreeable voice and more sense of style. She sings a fine Jewel song and in the duet she is heartrendingly vulnerable.
 
The star of the performance is however Fernando Autori as Mephistopheles. He has a magnificent black-tinted bass and his is a truly riveting reading of the role, expressive and dynamic. His rondo in act II (CD 1 tr. 11) is the tour de force it should be an altogether his is one of the most impressive devils on any recording.
 
In the minor roles veteran Napoleone Limonta is a rather wooden Wagner while Adolfo Pacini has a splendid voice but totally lacks light and shade in Valentin’s Avant de quitter ces lieux. He makes amends however on his return in act IV and his death scene is deeply involved. Nelda Garrone is a rather squally Marta but Gilda Timitz is an excellent Siebel and her/his flower song (CD 1 tr. 17) is one of the highlights of the whole performance.
 
André Cluytens’ stereo remake of Faust from 1959 with los Angeles, Gedda and Christoff (now in EMI’s GROC series) is still the recommendable ‘modern’ recording and there are several good alternatives, but readers with some historical interest will find a lot to admire on this almost 90-year-old surprisingly listenable version – and Fernando Autori’s Mephistopheles must be heard.
 
Göran Forsling
 


 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.