This is one of two recent discs that might be considered as bargain price
samplers for C Major’s
Tutto Verdi series.
The other,
Best of Verdi Opera Choruses, is
reviewed here. The series was
issued during 2013, the Verdi bicentenary and was claimed to be of all
Verdi’s twenty-six operas plus his
Requiem. In fact it did not
include the two major re-writes nor the alternative same name versions of
operas such as
Macbeth and
Don Carlo(
s).
That aside, it was an imaginative idea for C Major to undertake the
venture. They focused on the Teatro Regio at Parma, the major town nearest
Bussetto, Verdi’s birthplace where he later had his estate. The Teatro Regio
had been running an annual Verdi Festival for several years with some of the
productions filmed. The idea was to base the whole series on that theatre.
However, this was not to be for some of the early operas as well as for
Otello when a new production was cancelled late on. It should be
noted that the extracts from
Otello (CH. 22) are not from the same
set as that included in the
Tutto Verdi series. I give details
below where anything is from a theatre other than the Teatro Regio. Two
other venues used in this series were the tiny Teatro Verdi theatre in
Busseto that Verdi help fund, but never entered, and the Teatro Farnese in
Parma itself where
Falstaff was filmed (see
review).
In terms of the Italian opera scene, the premiere league is La Scala, with
Rome, Venice and Naples hanging on by their fingernails. Parma, whilst not
in the premier league, comes pretty near the top of the next down, excelling
in the quality of its chorus more than the soloists it attracts. It simply
does not have the drawing power of the major Italian theatres, with many of
the soloists plying their trade in the provincial houses of Italy and
Europe. There are notable exceptions such as Marcello Alvarez singing
Rodolfo in
Luisa Miller (CH.12) and Manrico in
Il
Trovatore (CH.14) where he brings real
lirico spinto heft,
tone and phrasing to his contributions. A welcome surprise is also Daniela
Dessi, better known in
bel canto, singing the bolero from
I
vespri siciliani with warm and flexible tone (CH.15). I exempt Leo
Nucci, born in 1942, who appears in no fewer that seven of the
Tutto
Verdi series. Yes, there are signs of wear in his voice, but all his
interpretations are ones that I am sure Verdi would have welcomed,
particularly that of
Rigoletto where his accusations to the
courtiers (CH.6) are very good indeed.
Rigoletto, introduces some
younger singers who may yet make an impact on the international stage. These
include Francesco Demuro as the Duke of Mantua, and Nino Machaidze as Gilda.
Likewise in the recording of
La Traviata where Svetla Vassileva and
Vladimir Stoyanov, both of whom appear in more than one of the series, make
appreciable contributions.
The weakness of some singers is evident in the extracts from
Don
Carlo,
Aida and
La Forza del Destino. This is
particularly in the tenor roles. The
Otello extracts feature a
well-acted duo with Carmela Remigio who is appealing as Desdemona, albeit
the venue contributes some quirky producer novelties including her
re-appearing and walking to the dying Otello for the final kiss he
demands.
Robert J Farr
Disc contents:
La traviata
1. È strano! È strano! … Ah, fors’è lui … Sempre libera
2. Lunge da lei … De’ miei bollenti spiriti
3. Di Provenza il mar, il suol
Violetta Valery, a courtesan, Svetla Vassileva (soprano); Alfredo Germont,
an ardent admirer, Massimo Giordano (tenor); Giorgio Germont, his father,
Vladimir Stoyanov (baritone)
Rigoletto
4. Questa o quella
5. Gualtier Maldè … Caro nome che il mio cor
6. Cortigiani, vil razza dannata
7. La donna è mobile
Duke of Mantua, a licentious nobleman - Francesco Demuro (tenor);
Rigoletto, his jester - Leo Nucci (baritone); Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter –
Nino Machaidze (soprano);
Don Carlo
8. Fontainebleau! … Io la vidi e al suo sorriso
9. Ah, più mai non vedrò la regina! … O don fatale
Don Carlos - Mario Malagnini (tenor); Eboli - Alla Pozniak (mezzo)
Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti Modena
Aida
10. Se quel guerrier io fossi! … Celeste Aida
11. Ritorna vincitor! … Numi, pietà del mio soffrir!
Radames, captain of the guards – Walter Fraccaro (tenor); Aida, an
Ethiopian Princess - Susan Branchini (soprano)
Luisa Miller
12. Quando le sere al placido
Rodolfo, Count Walter’s son - Marcelo Álvarez (tenor)
Il trovatore
13. Stride la vampa!
14. Ah! Sì, ben mio … L’onda de’ suoni mistici … Di quella pira
Manrico - Marcelo Álvarez (tenor); Azucena - Mzia Nioradze (mezzo);
I vespri siciliani
15. Mercé, dilette amiche
Duchess Elèna, sister of Duke Frederic of Austria - Daniela Dessi
(soprano)
Un ballo in maschera
16. Forse la soglia attinse … Ma se m’è forza perderti
Riccardo, Count of Warwick and Governor of Boston, USA - Francesco Meli
(tenor)
La forza del destino
17. Pace! Pace, mio Dio!
18. La vita è inferno all’infelice … O tu che in seno agli angeli
Leonora, his daughter – Dimitra Theodossiou (soprano); Don Alvaro, lover
of Leonora and of Royal Inca Indian descent – Aquiles Machado (tenor)
Otello
19. Piangea cantando nell’erma landa … Ave Maria, piena di grazia
20. Niun mi tema
Otello, commander in chief of the Venetian fleet - Gregory Kunde (tenor);
Desdemona, his wife - Carmela Remigio (soprano)
Orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice/Myung-Whun Chung
Performed in the Courtyard of the Ducal Palace, Venice
