Gioachino ROSSINI (1792–1868)
Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816)
Maria Callas (soprano) – Rosina; Luigi Alva (tenor) – Il conte d’Almaviva; Tito Gobbi (baritone) – Figaro; Fritz Ollendorff (bass) – Bartolo; Nicola Zaccaria (bass) – Basilio; Gabriella Carturan (mezzo) – Berta; Mario Carlin (tenor) – Fiorello
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus/Alceo Galliera
rec. 7–14 February 1957, Kingsway Hall, London
Ambient Stereo (auditioned as download)
PRISTINE AUDIO PACO191 [59:44 + 70:04]
I included this classic recording in my survey of “Untouchable and Most Recommendable Recordings” as a timeless and perennial favourite and I reproduce here my opinion of it:
“Like many of my generation, I was indelibly imprinted with this performance as it was the first I encountered and still the best I know, despite the fact that it employs illegitimate orchestration and implements several cuts such that it now fits onto two CDs. Those cuts are not that damaging and were standard in that era; the only serious omission is Almaviva's last big aria, "Cessa di pił resistere"; otherwise, it is only recitativo scenes which are missing and we still get Bertha's perky aria, so often cut. For the complete score in a scholarly edition with the instrumentation Rossini actually wanted, the super-bargain Naxos issue remains the best bet although there is also a nice modern one starring Elina Garanča, Nathan Gunn and Lawrence Brownlee which is beautifully sung but perhaps a little po-faced compared with this one – and Garanča hasn’t Callas’ lower register.
This recording was made in London in 1957 following the troubled La Scala production the previous year - although you would hardly guess that there had been difficulties, as it exudes fun and high spirits. As ever, Gobbi exhibits some dryness on his top notes and Callas wobbles a bit in the stratosphere - perhaps unwisely singing a high D at one point which is true of intonation but shakes somewhat; otherwise, they give a masterclass in how to inflect comic Italian text. Gobbi's verbal dexterity is a marvel and Callas' single word "Ma" in her first big aria and "Un biglietto - eccolo qua" are similar cases in point; I can never understand how people could accuse her of being a humourless singer. She is certainly sharp and waspish but also charming and flirtatious - and her coloratura is superb, especially when she exploits her gift for perfectly even portamento. The dialogue/recitative leaps out of the speakers, it is so animated; the exchange between Figaro and "Lindoro" just before Rosina's first appearance and the famous "Dunque io son" duet between Figaro and Rosina are both further instances of great comic pace and timing.
Alva starts off just a little waveringly but soon shows his mettle, singing in honeyed tone and his divisions become firmer and better articulated. The supporting cast has a genuinely funny Bartolo in Fritz Ollendorff, a neat, richly voiced Gabriella Carturan as Bertha and a suitably sly, saturnine and oleaginous Bartolo in Nicola Zaccaria. Galliera galvanises the Philharmonia to play beautifully; everything is perfectly gauged and never dull.
More recent remasterings have made the sound a bit brittle and reproduced at too high a volume; by all accounts the earliest CD manifestation is the most successful but these things trouble me less than some audiophiles. I have the 1993 remastering and am happy with it. No other recording comes close to capturing the sheer, quicksilver fun of this score.”
Of course the last paragraph must now be modified with reference to this new remastering from Pristine. This was EMI’s first recording in stereo and was already very good but I now almost take for granted the many improvements Andrew Rose’s XR remastering has made; he has enhanced its spaciousness without artificiality and the sound now positively leaps out such that you would never guess that the recording is sixty-five years old as I write. There is virtually no hiss and the expert remastering certainly avoids the errors I refer to in the last paragraph of my previous review above. The improved sound here allows the listener to revel afresh in the aptness of Legge’s choice of a relatively unknown conductor and both the individuality and vocal expertise of the cast he assembled.
Perhaps older collectors who already have this on CD might not feel obliged to invest in this new issue but I would urge anyone new to this recording to go for the Pristine option; it is as good as it gets.
Ralph Moore
