On 12 April this year (2013) Montserrat Caballé
celebrated her 80
th birthday. She could then look back on
a career covering almost six decades. Even though she officially quit
singing in the early 21
st century she is still giving master-classes,
thus carrying her art of singing over to the next generation. Whether
there is a new Montserrat Caballé among these hopeful candidates
is uncertain. One could put it more bluntly: “The Sound of Montserrat
Caballé” was unique, and just as there will never be a
new Flagstad, Nilsson, Callas or Leontyne Price there will never be
a new Caballé. This well-filled box presents “The Sound
of Montserrat Caballé” admirably in recordings from the
1970s when she was at the height of her powers. Anyone investing in
it can bask in the most beautiful soprano sounds ever recorded for innumerable
hours. This is a box to dip into for this or that favourite aria or
to play straight through (more than six hours!) at one sitting and still
feel that one can’t get enough of this incomparable sound. End
of review! Go out and buy!
No, my editor wouldn’t let me finish here and I feel myself that
I need to expound on my subject. So you are welcome to accompany me
through this delectable programme. We start in the company of Bellini,
the epitome of
bel canto melody. We don’t get Caballé’s
Norma, which she recorded for RCA, but the much earlier
Il
pirata from 1827, his third opera and his first great success. The
recording is from 1970, though the booklet says 1979, and here she is
not only in her vocal prime but also expressive in a somewhat recessed
way. The heart-on-the-sleeve emotions à la Callas was never her
cup of tea, but she reveals a certain vulnerability paired with regal
spinto tones. Her pianissimos, effortless and ethereal, and her pin-point
high notes were always her hallmarks and these can be admired over and
over again in these excerpts. Take
Col sorriso d’innocenza
CD 1 tr. 4) - one of Bellini’s most memorable arias: It is so
innocently sung and she floats the melodious phrases in masterly fashion.
Listen also to the elegant embellishments in the following cabaletta,
tossed off as in passing, and be impressed by her meaty chest notes
as well. In
I puritani from 1979 she is just as marvellous -
and this is certainly the most testing opera in the
bel canto
repertoire.
Son vergin vezzosa (CD 1 tr. 6) is like a dream and
Qui la voce (tr. 9) has not been more beautifully sung - not
even by Sutherland on “The Art of the Prima Donna” album.
Is there a mite more effort in
Vien diletto (tr. 10)? The complete
recording will be reviewed before long.
On CD 2 we get some excerpts from
Guillaume Tell - until quite
recently the only complete recording in the original French. Mathilde’s
Sombre forêt (
Selva opaca in Italian) (CD 2 tr.
2) is so noble and ravishing that one gets the feeling that Rossini
wrote the aria with Montserrat Caballé in mind. Her timbre blends
perfectly with the orchestral sonorities. In the two excerpts from act
III she is partnered by an heroic Nicolai Gedda as Arnold. Again this
music has never been better sung. Freni and Studer are never less than
very good, but Caballé is divine and the other two sing the role
in Italian.
In the
Poliuto scene she sings opposite her husband Bernabé
Marti, a well schooled but rather anonymous tenor. He shows signs of
strain in places where his wife sails effortlessly up in the air. Marti
seems more inspired in the
Huguenots scene and he hits the high
notes cleanly in
Tu l’as dit (tr. 8) - a stumbling block
for any tenor.
Some time ago I reviewed a mediocre complete
Giovanna d’Arco
with Polish singers on Dux. I then referred to this EMI recording as
the natural first choice. These snippets are proof indeed that I was
correct in my verdict. With Domingo and Milnes as partners and James
Levine in what was probably his first recording wringing all the drama
from this admittedly uneven score we get a lesson in how to sing early
Verdi. Some of the best moments in the work are on this disc. Try tr.
13, sung and played at white heat, unsubtle but thrilling, and try tr.
14 for the emotional apex of the work and Verdi at his most inspired
with delicate singing by Caballé.
More Verdi follows on CD 3. It is regrettable that she never recorded
La forza del destino complete, but at least EMI were clever to
record the two arias on a recital disc in 1971. She is in angelic voice
here - and what a magnificent end to
Pace, pace!
The
Don Carlo recording under Giulini is one of the great classics.
On (tr. 3) a glowing Placido Domingo inspires Caballé to great
things and the big aria from the last act (tr. 5) is for the reference
shelf. I bought this set on LPs and I only intended to dip in for a
taster but couldn’t interrupt my listening.
Aida under
Riccardo Muti is another classic and here my only regret is that we
couldn’t get the encounter between Aida and Amneris as well, the
latter sung by the greatest interpreter of the role this side WW2, Fiorenza
Cossotto.
Ritorna vincitor (tr. 6) is so sensitive,
O patria
mia glows of passion - and again her pianissimos are magical. From
this third act we also hear Piero Cappuccilli as Amonasro, the outstanding
Verdi baritone of his day. Domingo is an ideal Radamès in
Pur
ti riveggo in sappiest voice and Caballé is the weak, vulnerable
princess who even makes Domingo scale down and sing pianissimo. Unfortunately
the music is faded out before Amonasro appears from his hiding place,
which means that we miss the concluding trio that eventually becomes
a quintet when Amneris and Ramfis also join in.
O terra addio
is superior to most other recordings, Björling-Milanov and Bergonzi-Tebaldi
possibly excepted.
On CD 4 we get two more scenes from the sessions where the
Forza
arias were recorded. The sleepwalking scene from
Macbeth is a
psychological masterpiece and Caballé depicts Lady Macbeth’s
contrition in touching terms. Her Desdemona in the last act of
Otello
is no less moving. Lovely singing! Superb vocalism also in the aria
from
Mefistofele.
Caballé was also ideally suited to the music of Puccini. I bought
the complete
Manon Lescaut when it was new in 1972 and recently
reviewed its CD reissue (
review).
I see that I found her singing at the beginning of the opera a bit lethargic
but the three excerpts chosen for this box are truly superb. Tracks
8 - 13 on this disc and tracks 5 - 8 on CD 5 are all from a Puccini
recital committed in 1970 with Sir Charles Mackerras as conductor. I
wrote a rave
review
when the recital appeared on CD some years ago and summarized my impressions
thus:
After this general panegyric I can identify some features that will
prove my point better than any deep analysis:-
• the final pianissimo in
Signore ascolta!
- like a long, thin silver thread that disappears into the distance
• the exquisite shadings in
Un bel di vedremo,
heartfelt and no playing to the gallery
• the caressing of every phrase in
O mio babbino
caro and the final note again ethereal
• the inwardness of her conversation with the Lord
in Tosca’s prayer
• the innocence of
Mi chiamano Mimi, and
• the weightless floating of the pianissimo in the
lovely aria from
La rondine
CD 5 opens with three scenes from
Cavalleria rusticana, conducted
by Riccardo Muti.
Voi lo sapete (tr. 2) is full of pain and in
the big duet with Turiddu both she and José Carreras are wholeheartedly
involved and powerful. We also get a glimpse of Astrid Varnay as Mamma
Lucia and Julia Hamari’s characterful Lola. The end is bloodcurdling.
The final duet from
Andrea Chenier with Bernabé Marti
as Chenier is also strong and powerful. In the 1980s she also recorded
this opera complete for Decca with Pavarotti as Chenier. Finally we
have some excerpts from
Turandot. She took part in the famous
Decca recording under Zubin Mehta from the early 1970s in the role of
Liù opposite Sutherland’s Turandot and Pavarotti’s
Calaf. A few years later she upgraded to the icy princess and duly recorded
it in 1977 with Carreras as Calaf and Mirella Freni as Liù.
I
reviewed a highlights disc from that recording some years ago and
found it rather small-scale, but rehearing some of it in this box I
admired Caballé’s
In questa reggia a lot. There
is more warmth than ice in the heart of this princess and she sounds
positively humane - and still has the required power and glory to execute
the superhuman last part of the aria. As I pointed out in my review
then she recorded the role before she had sung it on stage, and that
may explain the somewhat laid-back approach. Another matter is the lacklustre
conducting of Alain Lombard.
It is a pity that the last items on this set should be less than superb,
but with so much else that is in the desert island category, this box
should be in every true opera lover’s collection. Go out and buy.
Göran Forsling
Track listing
CD 1 [71:38]
Vincenzo BELLINI (1801 - 1835)
Il pirata
1.
Sorgete ... Lo sognai ferito ... [5:00]
2.
Quando a un tratto ... Sventurata, anch’io deliro (Act
I) [7:58]
3.
Oh! s’io potessi ... [4:14]
4.
Col sorriso d’innocenza ... [3:28]
5.
Qual suono ... Oh Sole! ti vela (Act II) [4:04]
I puritani
6.
Son vergin vezzosa (Act I) [5:22]
7.
Dov’è Arturo? ... [4:14]
8.
Ah, vieni al tempio (Act I) [8:23]
9.
O rendetemi la speme ... Qui la voce ... [10:27]
10.
Tornò il riso ... Vien diletto (Act II) [6:27]
11.
Finì, me lassa! ... Ch’ei provò lontan da
me? ... [6:45]
12.
Vieni fra queste braccia (Act III) [4:55]
CD 2 [77:50]
Gioachino ROSSINI (1792 - 1868)
Guillaume Tell
1.
Ils s’éloignent enfin ... [3:24]
2.
Sombre forêt (Act II) [4:54]
3.
Arnold, d’où nait ce désespoir? ... Pour notre
amour plus despérance (Act III) [6:07]
4.
Quel bruit arrive à mon oreille? ... Sur la rive étrangère
(Act III) [4:37]
Gaetano DONIZETTI (1797 - 1848)
Poliuto
5.
Donna! Malvagio! ... [5:28]
6.
Ah fuggi da morte ... Il suon dell’arpe angeliche (Act
III) [6:31]
Giacomo MEYERBEER (1791 - 1864)
Les Huguenots
7.
Oh ciel où courez-vous? [6:07]
8.
Tu l’as dit ... [5:43]
9.
Plus d’amour! plus d’ivresse! (Act IV) [5:27]
Giuseppe VERDI (1813 - 1901)
Giovanna d’Arco
10.
Oh, ben saddice ... Sempre all’alba (Prologue) [6:15]
11.
Qui! qui ... O fatidica foresta (Act I) [5:23]
12.
I Franchi! ... Oh qual mi scuote ... Amai, ma un solo instante
(Act III) [6:42]
13.
Tu che all’eletto Sàulo ... Or dai padre benedetta
(Act III) [3:23]
14.
Che mai fu? ... S’apre il cielo (Act III) [7:20]
CD 3 [71:59]
La forza del destino
1.
La Vergine degli’angeli (Act II) [3:30]
2.
Pace, pace, mio Dio (Act IV) [5:38]
Don Carlo
3.
Io vengo a domendar (Act II) [10:44]
4.
Non pianger mia compagna (Act II) [4:24]
5.
Tu che le vanità (Act V) [11:04]
Aïda
6.
Ritorna vincitor! (Act I) [6:30]
7.
Qui Radamès verrà ... O patria mia (Act III)
[6:53]
8.
Ciel! Mio padre! (Act III) [8:07]
9.
Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida (Act III) [9:52]
10.
O terra, addio (Act IV) [4:48]
CD 4 [77:24]
Macbeth
1.
Vegliammo invan due notti ... Una macchia (Act IV) [7:54]
Otello
2.
Era più calmo? ... Mia madre aveva una povera ancella
(Act IV) [10:08]
3.
Ave Maria (Act IV) [4:24]
Arrigo BOITO (1842 - 1918)
Mefistofele
4.
L’altra notte in fondo al mare (Act III) [6:23]
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858 - 1924)
Manon Lescaut
5.
In quelle trine morbide (Act II) [2:23]
6.
Oh, sarò la più bella! ... Tu, tu, amore? Tu?
(Act II) [8:03]
7.
Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Act IV) [11:53]
Le villi
8.
Se come voi piccina io fossi (Act I) [5:17]
La bohème
9.
Si. Mi chiamano Mimi (Act I) [5:15]
10.
Donde lieta uscì (Act III) [3:24]
Tosca
11.
Vissi d’arte (Act II) [3:36]
Madama Butterfly
12.
Un bel di vedremo (Act II) [5:24]
13.
Tu, tu, piccolo iddio (Act II) [2:37]
CD 5 [77:19]
Pietro MASCAGNI (1863 - 1945)
Cavalleria rusticana
1.
Regina Coeli ... Ineggiamo, il Signor non è morte [5:36]
2.
Voi lo sapete, o mamma [5:47]
3.
Tu qui, Santuzza? ... No, no, Turiddu [12:16]
Umberto GIORDANO (1867 - 1948)
Andrea Chenier
4.
Vicino a te (Act IV) [7:30]
Giacomo PUCCINI
Gianni Schicchi
5.
O mio babbino caro [2:44]
La rondine
6.
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta (Act I) [3:05]
Turandot (role of Liù)
7.
Signore, ascolta! (Act I) [2:29]
8.
Tu che di gel sei cinta (Act III) [2:28]
Turandot (role of Turandot)
9.
In questa reggia (Act II) [7:11]
10.
Straniero, ascolta! (Act II) [8:00]
11.
Gloria, o vincitore ... Figlio del cielo (Act II) [4:14]
12.
Principessa di morte! ... che è mai di me? Perduta!
(Act III) [6:22]
13.
Del primo pianto ... La mia gloria è il tuo amplesso!
(Act III) [5:21]
14.
Diecimila anni al nostro imperatore! (Act III) [3:40]
