RECORDINGS & REVIEWS
[from Macbeth to Pikovaya Dama]
14.01.1960 MACBETH
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Massimo di Palermo
Vittorio Gui
Giuseppe Taddei (Macbeth); Leyla Gencer (Lady Macbeth); Ferruccio Mazzoli
(Banco); Mirto Picchi (Macduff); Franco Ricciardi (Malcolm); Stefania Malagu
(una dama di Lady Macbeth); Giudo Malfatti (un medico); Leonardo Ciriminna (un
domestico); Ugo Miraglia (un sicario); Giorgio Rossetti (un araldo)
Cedar – 2 CDs
FANFARE MAGAZINE
VERDI Macbeth • Vittorio Gui, cond; Giuseppe Taddei (Macbeth); Leyla Gencer (Lady
Macbeth); Stefania Malagu (Lady-in-waiting); Mirto Picchi (Macduff); Ferruccio
Mazzoli (Banquo); Franco Ricciardi (Malcolm); Teatro Massimo di Palermo O &
Ch • URANIA 22.407, mono (2 CDs: 142:38) Live: Palermo 1/14/1960.
This is one of those frustrating live recordings that
opera fans, particularly Leyla Gencer fans, both live and die for. It’s also,
in this particular incarnation, an excellent performance presented in the
cheapest, junkiest packaging imaginable: a flip-over, double-CD box with a
four-page “booklet” (I’m being charitable by calling it a booklet) that simply
lists the cast and track index. But I suppose we should be grateful that it’s
even out. Formerly available on Great Opera Performances (1993), Pantheon (1995),
and Living Stage (1999), all its earlier issues have sunk without a trace, so
the Urania release is the only one you can get.
The sound quality is awful, and difficult to listen
to. Both voices and orchestra were cramped to an almost unbelievable degree by
the original tape recording, making it even shriller than the 1952 Callas
performance conducted by de Sabata. Unluckily, I never heard Gencer live, but I
did hear Taddei, and this recording is a mere shadow of his voice. Urania has
attempted to correct some of the harshness of sound by introducing a fairly
hefty amount of reverberation. I commend them in their efforts, but the result
is kind of like listening to a very shrill bell ringing in an empty locker
room. What they needed to do was rather less reverb and more equalization:
restore some of those missing mid- and low-range frequencies.
Vittorio Gui was a good, solid, but unimaginative
conductor. His work in this opera lies somewhere between the badly misjudged
phrasing and lack of flow on the Erich Leinsdorf recording (RCA) and the highly
imaginative, atmospheric conducting of de Sabata (EMI). He imparts drama,
cohesion, and a good musical flow, but just misses on atmosphere. Gencer’s
characterization of Lady Macbeth is very good, technically more secure but not
as emotionally intense as Leonie Rysanek or Callas. She was to perfect her characterization
further by the time of her 1968 performance, though by then the steely security
of her high range had become rather more careful. Taddei is one of the most
imaginative and intense Macbeths on record, in his own way the equal of Leonard
Warren. The vastly underrated Mirto Picchi didn’t have a beautiful tenor voice
but he was a great actor, and Macduff’s aria here has real depth and meaning.
Shockingly, it sounds as if there were only 30 people in the audience that
night.
I’m not sure if this recording can be helped by
re-equalization, but you might give it a shot. Except for the Callas
performance, there’s none really finer, no matter how superior studio sound may
be. Your reaction may differ.
FANFARE MAGAZINE
VERDI Macbeth, Don Carlos: Duets. • Tito Gobbi, baritone (Macbeth); Amy Shuard, soprano (Lady
Macbeth); Andre Turp, tenor (Macduff); Joseph Rouleau, bass (Banco); Chorus
& Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Francesco
Molinari-Pradelli; Jon Vickers, tenor (Carlos); Tito Gobbi (Rodrigo); Chorus
& Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Carlo
Maria Giulini. • MELODRAM 435 (three discs, mono; live performances: Macbeth,
March 31, 1960; Don Carlo, May 12, 1958), $32.94 [distributed by German News].
VERDI Macbeth. • Giuseppe Taddei, baritone (Macbeth); Leyla Gencer, soprano (Lady
Macbeth); Mirto Picchi, tenor (Macduff); Ferruccio Mazzoli, bass (Banco);
Chorus & Orchestra of Teatro Massimo, Palermo, conducted by Vittorio Gui. • REPLICA ARPL 32451 (three discs, mono; live
performance January 14, 1960), $29.94 [distributed by German News].
Neither performance is likely to displace your
favorite from among studio recordings of the Callas “pirate,” but both are
worth investigating, less because of the Macbeths than because of their Ladies,
neither of whom recorded the role (or much else for that matter) commercially.
Taddei's solid, sturdy Verdian baritone is heard to better advantage in the
superior sound of his commercial release (London A-1380; no longer listed in
Schwann) while Gobbi would surely not want this Macbeth to be the one by which
he is remembered. This was, I believe, Shuard's first attempt at the part. She
is at her best neither on her entrance nor her final appearance, and, though
much of what she does in between is commendable, these first and last
impressions are the ones which endure. Macbeth's letter is not so much read as
amateurishly declaimed in dreadfully accented Italian, while her terror is so
self-consciously externalized in the scene Verdi saw fit to ennoble by titling
it “Gran scena del sonnambulismo” that it emerges as just another soprano aria:
its climactic high D sung, not con fil di voce as Verdi instructs, but at full
tilt and held for a beat or two longer than necessary. Her brightly luminous
soprano is one I fancy more in Sieglinde's and Turandot's (to name but two
roles for which she is noted) music than in this opera, and though its gleam
does bestow a touch of brilliance to the “Brindisi” (even as it draws unwelcome
attention to a previously unsuspected kinship with its more famous counterpart
in Traviata), I prefer in'this opera a timbre more cupo: precisely, in fact,
that of Gencer whose Lady Macbeth (and, some might say, entire career) was
overshadowed by Callas'. Unlike Sutherland, Caballé, and Tebaldi, whose
qualities differed sufficiently from Callas' for record company moguls to
promote them as worthy rivals, Gencer's strengths were all too similar though
differing in degree. Thus, though she is likely to sound like Callas on a
“good” night vocally, she lacks, to some extent, Callas' intensity and sense of
textual nuance. That is, perhaps, an oversimplification, but it's a reasonable
description of Gencer's performance here. Since she is a better foil than
Nilsson to Taddei's Macbeth, her presence further enhances his dramatic
effectiveness.
Gobbi, Melodram's Macbeth, was obviously out of vocal
sorts. High notes are lunged at rather than sung (give him credit though; he
doesn't shy away from them or transpose), his voice grows huskier as the
evening wears on, and his most lyric aria, “Pietà, rispetto, amore,” is omitted
entirely. According to Verdi, the third most important character in the opera
after Mr and Mrs Macbeth was the witch coven, and the ladies of the Covent
Garden chorus and their uncredited chorus master deserve much praise. For once,
the cackling is neither embarrassing nor quaint. The last line of each of the
first-act prophecies fades into nothingness to chilling effect, and the
(unwritten) laughter they supply during the vocally blank bars following their
tale of the drowned sailor is most effective. The men are their match in the
usually risible “Assassins' Chorus,” and together they supply one of the most
touching renditions of “Patria oppressa” I have ever heard. In contrast, the
Palermo choristers, though no less precise, are nowhere near as characterful:
the witches, especially, ignore Verdi's instructions to sound like witches.
Molinari-Pradelli is, for the most part, a secure and knowledgeable conductor,
though, under his baton, the end of the opera (from Macbeth's death on) is more
than a little perfunctory, as though all the important parts had been played
and a “let's get it over with” attitude had taken over. Gui's fiery reading is
more to my taste, especially since in the intervening decade between this
performance and the Florence May Festival one I reviewed in Fanfare VIII: 1 he
apparently learned how to coax the requisite slancio and expansiveness for the
first- and second-act finales out of his colleagues. Apart from Rouleau's
better-than-average Banco on Melodram and Replica's Physician (whose Italian,
unlike that of his London-based counterpart's, does not grate the ear), the
supporting singers on both sets range from adequate on down. Neither
performance is complete. Both abridge Duncan's entry march and omit the second
verse of Lady Macbeth's cabaletta (“Or tutti, sorgete”) as well as the chorus
of Aerial Spirits in the third act (though not, curiously, the line calling
upon them to appear!). In addition, Covent Garden omits the witches' return at
the end of Act I, scene 1 (retained by Gui who cuts, instead, their jaunty
chorus immediately preceding Macbeth's and Banco's entrance) and the extended
ballet sequence.
With but one awkward, avoidable side break, Melodram
manages to squeeze Macbeth onto five sides which allows for a bonus. Though
merely referred to as Don Carlos “Duets” on the cover, Side 6 actually contains
most of the first San Just scene (from Rodrigo's entrance to the end) and the
dungeon scene through Rodrigo's death, with both singers and conductor in top
form.
Melodram's clean, mono sound (probably of broadcast
origin) is consistently better than Replica's which is patched from various
sources. Most of the latter is dim and distant, but Macduff's and Macbeth's
arias, by contrast, are in so jarringly different an acoustic (loud, echoey,
and vocally unflattering) as to raise doubts they are from the same
performance. Surfaces are good on both sets (there are some inexplicable thumps
on Replica's Side 4) and audience noises are at a minimum on both, though the Sicilians
are quicker to applaud than the Londoners. Both boxed sets contain librettos in
Italian only (Replica's tailored to fit the text as sung; Melodram's a standard
reprint oblivious of cuts) but no notes.
Though Callas' Lady Macbeth (Turnabout THS 65131/3)
reigns supreme, her vis-a-vis (Enzo Mascherini) is one of the weakest on disc,
and there is no set which, in my opinion, I can unequivocally recommend over
the others. In my last Macbeth review, I did ultimately opt for the Angel
recording under Muti (SX3833). Given the constraints of space, I shall have to
direct you to that review if you care to know why.
FANFARE MAGAZINE
VERDI Macbeth. • Leyla Gencer, soprano (Lady Macbeth); Giuseppe Taddei, baritone
(Macbeth); Mirto Picchi, tenor (Macduff); Ferruccio Mazzoli, bass; Chorus &
Orchestra of the Palermo Opera, conducted by Vittorio Gui. • RODOLPHE RP 12440/42 (three discs, mono), $35.94
[distributed by Harmonia Mundi USA].
There are a number of problems with this set. The
sound is muddy and dry for a 1960 radio broadcast, and suffers from tape
dropout throughout and distortion at climaxes. The secondary roles are not well
sung. Mirto Picchi's unvaried whine makes one grateful that Verdi gave Macduff
little to sing, the choral work is dismally raw-toned and ragged, and the
orchestral execution is sloppy despite inspired conducting.
If those are the reasons one cannot recommend this set
as a “basic” Macbeth, there are contradictory factors that will appeal to all
Verdians. Taddei, Gencer, and Gui all turn this affair into gripping operatic
drama, something substantially more than the sum of its parts.
Taddei is an intensely dramatic, incisive Macbeth with
a full comprehension of the Verdi phrase, and the vocal technique and sound to deliver
it. There are moments when he pushes the voice sharp, and others where he
misjudges an effect, but his is a performance of enormous conviction and
presence and a great deal of dramatic specificity. It is that latter attribute
that sets Taddei's Macbeth above virtually all of his recorded competition.
Leyla Gencer cannot be mentioned without the Callas
comparison, not only because of Callas' supremacy in this role but because
Gencer seems to imitate Callas in many matters of phrasing and shading. What
Gencer cannot do is bring Callas' enormous (uniquely so) range of vocal color
to this music. Taken on its own terms, though, Gencer's is a wonderful
performance. Her voice is a very flexible and more traditionally attractive
soprano voice, and she sings with abandon. Her approach does not explore the variety
inherent in Callas' realization of this complex role. However, Gencer soars
through this difficult music with technical security and a great deal of
passion. It is a performance I am very glad to know.
Vittorio Gui's conducting is just what you would
expect from this veteran—dramatic, but with many lyrical and delicate touches.
His tender accompaniment to “Pietà, rispetto, amore” is very beautiful, but he
is also capable of whipping up a heady storm. Minimal notes, in French, on
Gencer are included, as is an Italian-only libretto.
OPERADIS
Recordings of Macbeth by
Giuseppe Verdi are surveyed in the following publications:
HARRIS p.162; Opera on Record p.201; CELLETTI p.936; Opera on CD (1) p.47
(2) p.53 (3) p.66; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.40 p.106, mise à jour septembre 2000;
MET p.573; MET(VID) p.359; PENGUIN p.487; GIUDICI p.881 (2) p.1431; Opéra
International No.72 septembre 1994 p.112; Répertoire No.108 décembre 1997 p.8;
International Opera Collector Winter 1998 No.10 p.32; Opéra Interational
février 1999 No.232 p.68, No.266 mars 2002 p.18
This recording is reviewed in the following publications:
Orpheus - Juni 1995 S.61
Opera Quarterly - Vol.4 No.2 Summer 1986 pp.138-142 [DAF]
THE GAZETTE
DIE TAGESZEITUNG
L'OPERA IN CD E VIDEO
OPERA (GUIA UNIVERSAL DE LA OPERA DISCOGRAFIA
09.04.1968 MACBETH
Orchestra e Coro del Grande Teatro La Fenice
Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Giangiacomo Guelfi (Macbeth); Leyla Gencer (Lady Macbeth); Lorenzo Gaetani
(Banco); Giorgio Lamberti (Macduff); Giampaolo Corradi (Malcolm); Mirella
Fiorentini (una dama di Lady Macbeth); Ledo Freschi (un domestico di Macbeth);
Alessandro Maddalena (un medico); Bruno Tessari (un sicario); Alberto Carusi
(un araldo); Alberto Carusi (prima apparizione); Eva Bianchi (seconda
apparizione); Anna Lia Bazzani (terza apparizione)
Italian Opera – 2 CDs
FANFARE MAGAZINE
VERDI Macbeth, (complete)1; Excerpts2. • Gianandrea Gavazzeni, conductor;
Giangiacomo Guelfi, baritone (Macbeth); Leyla Gencer, soprano (Lady Macbeth);
Giorgio Casellato Lamberti, tenor (Macduff); Lorenzo Gaetani, bass (Banquo);
Chorus & Orchestra of Teatro La Fenice, Venice; Victor de Sabata,
conductor; Maria Callas, soprano (Lady Macbeth); Angela Vercelli, soprano
(Lady-in-waiting); Dario Caselli, bass (Physician); Chorus & Orchestra of
Teatro alla Scala, Milan. • OPERA ITALIANA OPM
1 [ADD]; two discs: 74:31, 75:54. Produced by Sabina di Nicoli. (Distributed by Qualiton.) LIVE performance: December
7, 1952. LIVE performance: April 9, 19681.
According to the accompanying booklet (Italian only),
this recording “offers a cast outstanding for the names of Leyla Gencer,
Giangiacomo Guelfi, and Giorgio Casellato Lamberti” all head-liners who got
scant attention from commercial recording interests. Later on, one discovers
that its chief purpose is to memorialize the Lady Macbeth of Gencer, “the
choicest Lady of our times since Callas.”
Leyla Gencer was born in Ankara, Turkey—the date is
apparently up for grabs—and made her operatic debut there in 1950. After three
further years of study in Italy, she launched a major career there at the
Teatro San Carlo, Naples, in 1953. Three years later she was called to San
Francisco to take over for Renata Tebaldi, who had canceled her appearances in
Francesca da Rimini. She sang there sporadically for a number of years, and was
heard in Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and other American cities, but never at
the Metropolitan, and the most of her quite successful career was in Europe. (I
heard her in Attila in Newark in 1972.)
Gencer did indeed follow the Callas path, singing
coloratura, spinto, and dramatic roles. Her coloratura technique was
remarkable, but there were vocal problems from the start, which she largely
obscured by the passion of her singing and the effectiveness of her acting. She
took advantage of the bel canto revival of her era and left a number of
“private” recordings of then-obscure Donizetti and Verdi operas.
Verdi's intentions for his Lady Macbeth are well known
from a famous letter he wrote Salvatore Cammarano on the subject in 1848. He
saw her as “ugly and evil.” He did not want her to sing in the usual sense of
the word. He wanted her voice to be “harsh, smothered, hollow” in sum,
“diabolic.” On the occasion of Gencer's Venice appearance in the role, a local
critic heard her not as a flawed singer, but as carrying out Verdi's wishes to
the letter.
Perhaps she was, but the recorded result, however
harsh at times, sounds neither hollow nor smothered to these ears. What they
hear all too often is a vibrato a yard wide. The voice sounds old and worn
rather than evil. But perhaps the effect is intended, for though the flaw is
there on my Attila piracy (on the Robin Hood label) taped four years later, it
is by no means so obvious.
Certainly, Gencer pours temperament into her
interpretation, but for me it fails to add up to any clear-cut
characterization. Perhaps one needed to be there. The sleep-walking scene,
which can under usual circumstances stand my hair on end, seems endless and she
eschews the high note at the end. Unfortunately for Gencer, the producers, for
comparison, include in an “appendix” that scene and “Vieni! T' affretta!” as
sung by Callas, supported by de Sabata, in 1952. Even through the dreadful
recording, hers is a character one can believe in.
I have never heard the tremendous size of Guelfi's
voice so well underlined on records, but that is about all we get from him.
Here and there he indulges in some shading—in the “dagger” scene, for instance,
or at the end of the banquet—but mostly he is content to roar. Casellato
Lamberti is a Martinelli-type tenor, wiry and strenuous. Gaetani, about whom I
have no information save that he also was featured in arecently issued “live”
recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's “Maid of Pskov” with Boris Christoff, offers an
effective Banquo. The women of the chorus are frequently sour. Gavazzeni leads
a respectable performance from the orchestra, though the latter is sometimes
sloppy.
The booklet would be a model if only it made some
concessions to non-Italians. It is beautifully printed on high-quality paper,
has art-nouveau decorations, and contains, beside the libretto, a table of the
main events in Verdi's life, a plot-synopsis, a history of the opera, two
articles on Lady Macbeth, and a discography of integral recordings.
In the end, however, this strikes me as the sort of
Macbeth one is apt to get on most nights in most major Italian cities—nothing
special. (The sound, by the way, is adequate if slightly compressed. There is
some audience-noise, a ubiquitous prompter, and at one point a snare-drum
stationed next to the microphone.) Most of the commercial versions I find more
satisfying. If I had to have one only, I'd go with Cappuccini-Verrett-Abbado on
DG.
FANFARE MAGAZINE
VERDI Macbeth: Highlights. • Gianandrea Gavazzeni, conductor Leyla Gencer, soprano (Lady
Macbeth); Giangiacomo Guelfi, baritone (Macbeth); Giorgio Casselato-Lamberti,
tenor (Macduff); Lorenzo Gaetani, bass (Banco); Chorus & Orchestra of
Teatro La Fenice, Venice. • MELODRAM MEL 15002 [AAD]; 74:19. (Distributed by
Qualiton.) LIVE performance March 9, 1968.
About one hour of the opera is not presented here.
Almost all of the witches music, the solo chorus work, the trio of murderers,
the ballet, and other parts aficianados tend to sit through impatiently have
been excized. If I were cutting Macbeth to fit it on one generously packed CD,
I'd cut it exactly like this, and so, I think, would you. (I can hear the
purists yelling.) And to boot, this is a great performance, with the strongest
Macbeth on discs.
Giangiacomo Guelfi had a thrilling, huge sound. Here,
near the end of his career, he reins it in after the first scene, singing more
expressively than any other recorded Macbeth, including Leonard Warren. Just
listen to his “O vista, o vista orribile” in his first-act duet with his Lady
for real fear and trembling, the descent into lunacy in the Banquet Scene, and
the combination of arrogance, regret, and sadness in his final aria. His vocal
powers may have been on the wane (the waning sounds deliberate here most of the
time in keeping with the character), but his interpretive powers were at their
pinnacle. Great going.
His Lady is Leyla Gencer, the singing vampiress.
Regular readers know how much I admire this controversial singer, she of the
disembodied top, glottal attacks, raw middle, and gutter-level chest voice.
Well, never has she sounded so at home—this was the voice Verdi meant in the
famous “your voice is too beautiful” letter. She skips the fil de voce Db at
the close of the Sleepwalking Scene, although elsewhere the top of her voice is
incredibly free and easy, but it doesn't spoil the moment. Her reading of that
scene lacks the word-for-word spellbinding effect that Callas brought to it,
but it will still cause chills, hampered only by Gavazzeni's rather routine
conducting. Her second-act Brindisi is terrific—she differentiates completely
between the two verses while still managing every one of the notes. Her second
verse is more deliberate and pointed—the Lady is trying to act cool.
Casselato-Lamberti is an impassioned Macduff (he has
his aria and the whole finale to the first act), and Gaetani's Banco (the duet
in the first scene and aria in Act II are included) is good without knocking us
flat. The Fenice forces are in fine shape for Gavazzeni's less-than-taut
leadership: This opera, I think, was out of his Fach and he minces where he
should underline. The sound is surprisingly good. Packaging is, as usual,
sleazy but acceptable—jewel box and one folded sheet with a snapshot of Gencer
and a listing of the 19 index points. The cover is red, not blue—Melodram must
have hired someone to head their marketing department.
I wish I had been at this performance, and next to
video, this is the next best thing. Even if you're mad for Verrett, Rysanek,
Warren, Cossotto, and Milnes, you need this.
OPERADIS
Recordings of Macbeth by
Giuseppe Verdi are surveyed in the following publications:
HARRIS p.162; Opera on Record p.201; CELLETTI p.936; Opera on CD (1) p.47
(2) p.53 (3) p.66; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.40 p.106, mise à jour septembre 2000;
MET p.573; MET(VID) p.359; PENGUIN p.487; GIUDICI p.881 (2) p.1431; Opéra
International No.72 septembre 1994 p.112; Répertoire No.108 décembre 1997 p.8;
International Opera Collector Winter 1998 No.10 p.32; Opéra Interational
février 1999 No.232 p.68, No.266 mars 2002 p.18
This recording is reviewed in the following publications:
Orpheus - Mai 1998 S.57 [IW]; August/September 2000 S.86 [IW]
American Record Guide - May/June 1998 Vol.61 No.3 p.199 [MM]
L'opera (Milano) - Supplemento al n.119 maggio 1998 p.29 [GL]
Ópera Actual (Barcelona) - junio-agosto 1998 No.28 p.104 [LB]
Das Opernglas - März 1998 S.69 [ML]
COURIER-POST
AKOB MAGAZINE
12.01.1969 MACBETH
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Firenze
Bruno Bartoletti
Cornell MacNeil (Macbeth); Leyla Gencer (Lady Macbeth); Luigi Roni (Banco);
Angelo Mori (Macduff); Dino Formichini (Malcolm); Isabella Fite (Dama);
Graziano Del Vivo (Medico); Angelo Frati (Domestico); Guerrando Rigiri (Sivaro)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
OPERADIS
Recordings of Macbeth by
Giuseppe Verdi are surveyed in the following publications:
HARRIS p.162; Opera on Record p.201; CELLETTI p.936; Opera on CD (1) p.47
(2) p.53 (3) p.66; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.40 p.106, mise à jour septembre 2000;
MET p.573; MET(VID) p.359; PENGUIN p.487; GIUDICI p.881 (2) p.1431; Opéra
International No.72 septembre 1994 p.112; Répertoire No.108 décembre 1997 p.8;
International Opera Collector Winter 1998 No.10 p.32; Opéra Interational
février 1999 No.232 p.68, No.266 mars 2002 p.18
16.05.1975 MACBETH
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Firenze
Riccardo Muti
Leyla Gencer (Lady Macbeth); Kostas Paskalis (Macbeth); Franco Tagliavini
(Macduff); Aage Haugland (Banco); Carlo Del Bosco (Medico); Maria Borgata
(Dama); Giuliani Bernardi (Malcom)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
OPERADIS
Recordings of Macbeth by
Giuseppe Verdi are surveyed in the following publications:
HARRIS p.162; Opera on Record p.201; CELLETTI p.936; Opera on CD (1) p.47
(2) p.53 (3) p.66; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.40 p.106, mise à jour septembre 2000;
MET p.573; MET(VID) p.359; PENGUIN p.487; GIUDICI p.881 (2) p.1431; Opéra
International No.72 septembre 1994 p.112; Répertoire No.108 décembre 1997 p.8;
International Opera Collector Winter 1998 No.10 p.32; Opéra Interational
février 1999 No.232 p.68, No.266 mars 2002 p.18
Comments: Recording of a
performance at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (May or June 1975). There is a
review of a performance with the alternative cast in OPERA November 1975
pp.1027-1029. The CDRs issued by Celestial Audio are (were?) listed as New
issues in their website on 1 November 2004
18.05.1975 MACBETH
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Firenze
Riccardo Muti
Leyla Gencer (Lady Macbeth); Kostas Paskalis (Macbeth); Franco Tagliavini
(Macduff); Aage Haugland (Banco); Carlo Del Bosco (Medico); Maria Borgata
(Dama); Giuliani Bernardi (Malcom)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
11.11.1977 MACBETH
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Treviso
Maurizio Arena
Leyla Gencer (Lady Macbeth); Renato Bruson (Macbet); Ferruccio Furlanetto
(Banco); Luciano Saldari (Macduff); Osvaldo Alemanno (Malcolm); Marisa Zotti
(Dama); Ledo Freschi (Medico); Gianni Brunelli; (Domestico) Bruno Tessari (Sicaro)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
08.11.1979 MACBETH
Orchestra e coro del Teatro Sociale di Mantova
Francesco Maria Martini
Leyla Gencer (Lady Macbeth); Juan Galindo (Macbeth); Leonida Bergamonti
(Banco); Luciano Saldari (Macduff); Emilio Salvoldi (Malcolm); Gigliola Caputi
(Dama); Giacomo Bertasi (Medico)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
Madama Butterfly [Live]
11.02.1954 MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli
Gabriele Santini
Leyla Gencer (Cio-Cio San); Fernanda Cadoni (Suzuki); Maria Rosaria
Cinquergrana (Kate Pinkerton); Giancinto Prandelli (Pinkerton); Mario Borriello
(Sharpless); Piero de Palma (Goro); Gerardo Gaudioso (Il commissario
Imperiale); Cristiano Dalamagas (Yamadori); Giovanni Amadeo (Bonzo)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
Maria Stuarda [Live]
02.05.1967 MARIA STUARDA
Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Leyla Gencer (Maria Stuarda); Shirley Verrett (Elisabetta I); Franco
Tagliavini (Roberto, conte di Leicester); Agostino Ferrin (Sir Giorgio Talbot);
Giulio Fioravanti (Lord Cecil); Mafalda Masini (Anna Kennedy); Mario Frosini
(un araldo)
Hunt – 2 CDs
FANFARE MAGAZINE
DONIZETTI Maria Stuarda. • Leyla Gencer (Maria Stuarda); Shirley Verrett (Elisabetta); Franco
Tagliavini (Leicester); Giulio Fioravanti (Lord Cecil); Agostino Ferrin
(Talbot); Chorus & Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, conducted by
Francesco Molinari Pradelli. • HUNT PRODUCTIONS 2 HUNT CD 543 (two compact
discs [AAD]; 69:04, 58:03) [distributed by Qualiton]. RECORDED live, Florence,
May 2, 1967.
For anyone unfamiliar with the great, underrecorded
Leyla Gencer, this set will serve as an excellent introduction. Gencer's voice
was (indeed, probably is) a very complicated instrument. In the early and
middle '50s she was best known as a Verdi soprano, and the sound was even,
rich, and well produced, with slightly disembodied piannissimi. By the end of
the decade and during the '60s she had moved into the bel canto repertoire,
singing Lucia, Elvira ml puritani, a Rossini rarity or two, Donizetti's three queens
(Maria Stuarda, Elisabetta, and Anna Bolena—this last she took over from Callas
at La Scala), and kept characters like Lady Macbeth and Donna Anna (!). By then
the voice had become less well integrated but more interesting—it was in three
relatively distinct pieces. It consisted, to make a difficult discussion easy,
of a raw, very effective and dramatic if hardly beautiful chest voice, a rather
hollow, unfocused (at times) but also colorful middle, and a spectacular,
bright, huge top, healthy up to an Eb above high C. The disembodied soft notes
remained, always sounding as if they wre coming from the spirit world—sort of
the singing vampiress.
Gencer was adored all over Europe but ignored by the
record companies and most of the United States, probably because her repertoire
so closely mirrored first Tebaldi's and then Callas'. Not only did they get
there first, but the former offered creamier sound and the latter deeper
portrayals. Both the Turkish Gencer and the Greek Callas had voices which were
acquired tastes: Callas had an extra dose of genius or two and so hers was more
easily acquired. At any rate, our friendly pirates performed a great service
when they began taping her—she's very special, offers thrills galore, and
deserves to be heard.
Two of Gencer's Queens have now appeared on CD, on a
label called Hunt, and much of the re-mastering is impressive. Even if it
weren't, I would have to recommend this release—of the three available on discs
(although the other two are only out on black disc), this is the finest. Sills
is superb, if overembellished, but the conducting is mopey and the remainder of
the cast are not bel canto people. Sutherland is out of her league. She sings
beautifully at times and offers some impressive fireworks, but much of this
role, in particular its crucial middle act, sits in the weakest part of La
Stupenda's voice and she transposes almost every line up in a most unwelcome
and un-Maria-Stuarda-like way. She is more dramatic than one might have
guessed, but her reading can not be deemed a success.
In brief, the opera, based on Schiller's play, has as
its centerpiece a fictional meeting between Mary Stuart and Elisabeth I in
Fotheringay Park. Mary is proud and Elisabeth is jealous of her beauty.
Elisabeth insults the prisoner Mary and Mary loses her cool entirely—she calls
the Queen “impure child of Anne Boleyn” and a “vile bastard,” thus sealing her
own fate. It is a scene of unsurpassed power in Donizetti, and fans of great
hair-pulling and mud wrestling have a field day with it. Mary's long third-act
scenes, too, are rich in melodic and dramatic invention.
In the pivotal Fotheringay Act (II), Gencer sings her
opening aria dreamily, at exquisite mezza voce—Maria is recalling happier days.
When she hears that Elisabeth is nearing, she turns arrogant and the voice
harshens to good effect. When she does hurl her insults, she sings the notes of
recitative precisely as written—deep, cruel, voice-wrecking. It's
overwhelming—and so is the rest of her portrayal. All the notes, a few slurs in
fioriture aside, are there, and the top is rock solid; indeed, the top D natural
with which she ends the second act is mind-blowingly loud and brilliant.
Gencer is in good company here. Shirley Verrett made
somewhat of a speciality of this Elisabetta, and with very uningratiating music
to sing (Donizetti knew who his heroine was, even though he gave the whole
first act to Elisabetta) she still makes quite an impression. She is
dramatically right on the money and matches Gencer's vituperati veness in Act
II. It is hard to believe that anyone can sing so relentlessly loud without
losing either her voice or her mind, but Verrett manages it. (In her Act 1 duet
with Leicester he sounds like he walked out in the middle.) She was a great
mezzo.
Tenor Franco Tagliavini, as Leicester, the man between
the queens, outshines both Stuart Burrows with Sills and Pavarotti with
Sutherland. The role is thankless and lies in the dangerous e-f-g-a part of the
voice, but he manages it with passion and handsome tone. Agostino Ferrin's Lord
Talbot is impressive and sympathetic, particularly in Maria's confession scene,
and the rest of the cast, chorus, and orchestra are mightily impressive under
Molinari Pradelli's leadership.
The tape has two blips in it: In the middle of the
great confrontation/hair pulling scene five measures drop out and similarly,
eight bars in the Act III scene between Elisabetta and Cecil have disappeared.
The engineers have nicely spliced everything together, but it's pretty jarring.
The sound, as mentioned above, is acceptable. Don't miss this one. Now, where
is the also-pirated 1973 Caballé-Carreras version of this opera?
OPERADIS
Recordings of Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti are surveyed in the
following publications:
Opera on Record 3 p.57; CELLETTI p.243; MET p.110; MET(VID) p.62; PENGUIN
p.82; GIUDICI p.186 (2) p.305; Opéra International mars 1997 No.211 p.14;
L'Avant Scène Opéra No.225 p.96
This recording is reviewed in the following publications:
Opera News - December 11 1993 p.44
Opera Quarterly - Vol.6 No.3 Spring 1989 pp.135-137 [WA]
Opéra International - mars 1995 No.189 p.71
American Record Guide - July/August 2002 Vol.65 No.4 p.91 [DA]
Ópera Actual (Barcelona) - No.54 octubre 2002 p.79 [MC]
DICTIONAIRE DE DISQUES
L'OPERA IN CD E VIDEO
OPERA (GUIA UNIVERSAL DE LA OPERA DISCOGRAFIA
CLASSICAL MUSIC
29.12.1969 MARIA STUARDA
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro San Carlo, Napoli
Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Leyla Gencer (Maria Stuarda); Shirley Verrett (Elisabetta I); Juan Oncina
(Roberto, conte di Leicester); Plinio Clabassi (Sir Giorgio Talbot); Giulio
Fioravanti (Lord Cecil); Vera Magrini (Anna Kennedy)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
25.08.1969 MARIA STUARDA
Edinburgh International Festival
Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Nino Sanzogno
Leyla Gencer (Maria Stuarda); Shirley Verrett (Elisabetta I); Franco
Tagliavini (Roberto, conte di Leicester); Agostino Ferrin (Sir Giorgio Talbot);
Giulio Fioravanti (Lord Cecil); Mafalda Masini (Anna Kennedy); Mario Frosini
(un araldo)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
OPERADIS
Recordings of Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti are surveyed in the following publications:
Opera on Record 3 p.57; CELLETTI p.243; MET p.110; MET(VID) p.62; PENGUIN p.82; GIUDICI p.186 (2) p.305; Opéra International mars 1997 No.211 p.14; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.225 p.96
Medea [Live]
15.12.1968 MEDEA
Orchestra e Coro del Grande Teatro La Fenice
Carlo Franci
Leyla Gencer (Medea); Aldo Bottion (Giasone); Giovanna Fioroni (Neris);
Ruggero Raimondi (Creonte); Daniela Mazzuccato (Glauce); Rina Pallini (prima
ancella); Anna Lia Bazzani (seconda ancella); Alessandro Maddalena (un capo
delle guadrie)
Gala – 2 CDs
OPERADIS
Recordings of Médée [Medea] by Luigi Cherubini are surveyed in the
following publications:
Opera on Record 3 p.30; CELLETTI p.146; MET p.79; PENGUIN p.59; GIUDICI
p.119 (2) p.196
This recording is reviewed in the following publications:
Orpheus - Juli 2001 S.74 [SL]
Classic Record Collector - Spring 2002 pp.100-101 [JTH]
American Record Guide - March/April 2002 Vol.65 No.2 p.226 [MM]
CLASSICAL MUSIC
04.06.1969 MEDEA
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova
Paolo Peloso
Leyla Gencer (Medea); Aldo Bottion (Giasone); Adriana Lazarini (Neris);
Paolo Washington (Creonte); Rita Talarico (Glauce); Rina Pallini (prima
ancella); Anna Di Stasio (seconda ancella); Giovanni Antonini (un capo
delle guardie)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
Medea in Corinto [Live]
20.03.1977 MEDEA IN CORINTO
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo
Maurizio Arena
Leyla Gencer (Medea); William Johns (Giasone); Cecilia Fusco (Creusa);
Gianfranco Casarini (Creonte); Gianfranco Pastine (Egeo); Ermanno Lorenzi
(Tideo); Luigi Paolillo (Evandro); Ivana Cavallini (Ismene)
Bonus Tracks
13.03.1977 Medea in Corinto
(General Rehearsal)
Myto – 3 CDs
FANFARE MAGAZINE
MAYR Medea in Corinto • Maurizio Arena, cond; Leyla Gencer (Medea);
William Johns (Giasone); Cecilia Fusco (Creusa); Gianfranco Pastine (Egeo);
Gianfranco Casarini (Creonte); et al; Ch & O del Teatro di San Cario di
Napoli • MYTO 3MCD 993.211 (3 CDs 2007:38) Live 3/20/77
Giovanni Simone Mayr was born Johann Simon Mayr in
Bavaria in 1763. His musical talent
was developed at Ingolstadt University, and his first and only composition in
his native tongue was Leider beim Klavier, published in 1786. The following
year he emigrated to Italy, and his first opera, Saffo, premiered in 1794.
During the next 30 years Mayr composed 68 operas, mostly opera buffe. From 1801
to 1821 about 30 of his operas premiered at La Scala. In 1805 he founded a
conservatory in Bergamo. He established what was hailed as a definite concept
in Italy, known as the "Mayr School of Opera." His most illustrious
pupil was Gaetano Donizetti, whom he taught for 10 years. What Mayr did was to
combine the orchestral effects of Viennese Classicism with the more majestic
declamation of the French school, and fuse these two elements with the Italian
melodic line. His influence was much greater than his own accomplishments. He
was much admired by Rossini, and without Mayr we would not have Donizetti, and
without Donizetti we would not have Verdi.
Mayr was forgotten in his native Germany, being
considered a deserter. On the bicentennial of his birth a concert version of
Medea in Corinto, prepared by Heinrich Bauer, was performed by the Bavarian
State Radio. In 1969 a joint edition of the score, prepared by Bauer and Newell
Jenkins, was presented as the first staged opera given at Alice Tully Hall in
Lincoln Center. The performance, featuring Marissá Gal vany, was subsequently
recorded and released on LP by Vanguard. In 1823 Mayr revised certain sections
of the score, and the recording prepared by Jenkins includes certain sections
taken from the 1823 revision, and also eliminated the characters of Evandro and
Tido. This recording if faithful to the original 1813 score. In the 1994 Opera
Rara CD recording, the 1813 version is augmented in bonus tracks with the
revisions Mayr made in 1823. That recording is conducted by David Parry and
features Jane Eaglen, Bruce Ford, Raul Giménez, Alistar Miles, and Yvonne
Kenny.
Felice Romani 's libretto differs from the more
familiar treatment of the Euripedes drama that François Benoit Homann fashioned
for Cherubini. Romani adds the character of Egeo, the King of Athens, a
rejected suitor of Creusa, who supports Medea. In the most compelling dramatic
scene in the opera Medea invokes the furies from the underworld to poison the
bridal dress of Creusa. In the Cheurbini opera it is Medea's children who give
the poisoned dress to Glauce. Herbert Weinstock, in a review of the stated performance
at Alice Tully Hall on December 2, 1969, stated that the work is "a much
more substantial, dramatic, and convincing as a musico-dramatic entity than
many other operas still often performed." I would have to state that this
recording certainly supports that opinion.
Leyla Gencer clearly outshines her competitors as
Medea. She floats her exquisite soft tones in her opening aria "Sommi dei,
che giuramenti," and makes a tour de force in the invocation of the
furies. The supporting cast, although not quite equal to the level of Gencer,
acquits itself well. William Johns, with the exception of a few forced and
flawed high notes, phrases well and modulates his tones in the bel canto style.
Cecilia Fusco's bright coloratura soprano is well suited to the role of Creusa,
and Gianfranco Pastini capably handles the foratura of the lyric tenor role of
Egeo. Maurizio Arena's feeling for the score is quite evident, and his
treatment is authoritative.
The sound is quite acceptable. The booklet contains
brief notes and a libretto in Italian only. There are no timings of the bands,
and the libretto causes problems in act I, scene 12. In the libretto with
translation in the Opera Rara set it is noted, "At this point the first
libretto prints a long passage—a quartet for Egeo, Medea, Creonte, and
Giasone—which we do not include since Mayr does not appear to have ever set
it." This booklet prints the quartet despite the fact that it does not exist.
On the cover page the name of the tenor Pastine is misspelled. There are eight
bonus tracks, which consist of Medea's principal arias and scenes recorded from
the March 13 performance, so Gencer fans have a double dose of her artistry,
although the sound on these tracks is not as good as the sound on the complete
performance.
The Opera Rara recording has to be the first choice.
Eaglen is a fine Medea, vocally more even than Gencer, though she lacks the
passion and fire that Gencer commands. Yvonne Kenney's Creusa is first-rate.
Although Bruce Ford's lyric tenor lacks the heft that William Johns's spinto
provides, he is able to handle the high notes that trouble Johns (both tenors
sing these high notes from the chest, a practice that did not exist in Mayr's
time). Raul Giménez outshines Pastine. Gencer fans should not hesitate, and
anyone interested in the development of the bel canto tradition should have a
recording of this opera.
OPERADIS
Recordings of Medea in Corinto by Giovanni Simone Mayr are surveyed in the
following publications:
CELLETTI p.414; GIUDICI p.375
This recording is reviewed in the following publications:
Fanfare - Vol.23 No.4 March/April 2000 p.272 [BR]
American Record Guide - March/April 2000 Vol.63 No.2 p.147 [CHP]
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Monte Ivnor [Studio]
17.10.1957 MONTE IVNOR
Orchestra e Coro della RAI Milano
Armando La Rosa Parodi
Leyla Gencer (Edali); Renato Gavarini (Imar); Miriam Pirazzini (La
vecchia); Nestre Catalani (Tepurlov); Anselmo Colzani (Wladimiro Kirlatos);
Leonardo Montreale (Ileapo dei gendarmi / Maravid); Miriam Pirazzini (Naiké);
Salvatore de Tommasso (Droboj); Walter Brunelli (Ivanaj / Un operaio); Agusto
Pedroni (Danilo); Giorgio Alporta (Gregor Miroj); Jole de Maria (Kuttarin)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
OPERADIS
This recording is reviewed in the following publications:
Orpheus - März + April 2008 S.57 [KC]
Classic Record Collector - Winter 2007 pp.96-97 [JTH]
Comments: According to the EJS discography (p.384) this recording was made on 16
March 1957 and broadcast on 17 October 1957 by RAI Torino. However, it is
listed as a production of RAI Milano in «50 anni di opera lirica alla RAI
1931-1980» (p.147)
Norma [Live]
18.07.1964 NORMA
Orquesta y Coro Estables del Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires
Bruno Bartoletti
Leyla Gencer (Norma); Adriana Lazzarini (Adalgisa); Bruno Prevedi
(Pollione); William Wildermann (Oroveso); Sofia Schultz (Clotilde); Italo Tajo
(Flavioa)
House of Opera – 2 CDs
FANFARE MAGAZINE
VERDI Ernani. • Manno
Wolf-Ferrari, conductor; Leyla Gencer, soprano (Elvira); Gianfranco Checchele,
tenor (Ernani); Giuseppe Taddei, baritone (Carlo); Ruggero Raimondi, bass
(Silva); Orchestra, ABAO Chorus of Bilbao; Bruno
BELLINI Norma: Oh
rimembranza; Deh, con te lie prendi... Mira, o Norma.
Bartoletti, cond; Leyla Gencer, soprano (Norma);
Adriana Lazzarini, mezzo-soprano (Adalgisa); Orchestra of the Teatro Colon,
Buenos Aires. • GIUSEPPE DI STEFANO GDS 21031 [AAD]; two discs: 66:55, 58:47.
(Distributed by Qualiton.) LIVE performance:
Oviedo Festival; September 3, 1968 1. LIVE performance: July 12, 1964
2.
I expounded at some length about Ernani—the opera and
various recordings—in the very last issue; this new release from Giuseppe Di
Stefano follows hard upon. The Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer—a stimulating,
quirky, unpredictable artist—and stalwart Italian baritone Giuseppe Taddei are
the drawing-cards here; unfortunately, in neither case were my hopes fulfilled.
Gencer's opening scene isn't entirely comfortable—there's a certain amount of
under pitch singing in the aria, and the fioritura at the end is pushed and
rhythmically insecure. The cabaletta is better, despite some ill-tuned high
notes and guttural scooping (a trademark effect that figures prominently also
in act IV). Better still, in her duet with Carlo, she makes telling use of
chest voice (another signature), and of the dotted rhythms so prominent
throughout Verdi's score. But in act II her timbre turns markedly sour during
her duet with Ernani (she and Checchele are both out of tune by the time it's
over), and she later comes to grief in act III (at “Ah! signor, se t'è
concesso”), where, scrambling to stay in place and seemingly short of breath,
she misses her re-entrance after Carlo's interjection and ends up vocalizing
wordlessly until her last few syllables. In act IV she caps the final trio with
an interpolated, dead-on high D, to the clear delight of the audience, but to
no musical or dramatic purpose whatsoever. In sum, a performance of interest
only to Gencer devotees. (Attention, newcomers: Robert Levine [Fanfare]
provides thoughtful comments about this soprano in Fanfare 12:2,
November/December 1988, in his reviews of four Donizetti portrayals on Hunt.)
Taddei offers a generalized Carlo, displaying a high degree of rhythmic
imprecision, a monochromatic “Oh de' verd'anni miei” and an ineffective “O
sommo Carlo” Tenor Checchele can sing tolerably but lacks dramatic presence and
vocal staying power; his intonation ultimately goes away, especially when he
tries to moderate his volume, and his death scene makes no effect whatsoever.
(Some sort of buzzer goes off between his final cries of Elvira's name; his
time is obviously up.) Aside from a misplaced entrance at one point in act II,
Raimondi provides a solidly sung Silva, but since he sounds younger than
Taddei, the dramatic balance isn't convincing. The erratic conducting is marked
by a singular lack of coordination between stage and pit; the orchestral
playing is sloppy, the chorus terrible; numerous standard cuts are taken
(including Suva's cabaletta); and the audience often seems unsure of whether or
not to applaud. The sound is harsh; the overall perspective, plus fluctuations
in pitch and volume, bear witness to a hand-held tape recorder; a few measures
of music are lost here and there (including the opening drumroll). There are
seventeen cueing points on the first disc and twelve on the second, with the
break between acts II and III. An Italian-only libretto is provided, plus
pictures of Gencer, Taddei, and, in living color as usual, Mr. Di Stefano. The
Norma duets, from a 1964 broadcast, are well sung, but don't leave much of an
impression beyond that.
My first-choice Ernani remains the 1956
Mitropoulos-led Met broadcast, with Milanov, del Monaco, Warren, and Siepi,
which made just as strong an impression on my recently acquired Foyer CDs as it
did on borrowed Foyer LPs the last time 'round. Once past a weak first act,
Muti's Scala performance on EMI, with Domingo, Freni, Bruson, and Ghiaurov, is
an otherwise good bet in digital sound.
OPERADIS
Recordings of Norma by Vincenzo Bellini are surveyed in the following
publications:
Opera January 1958 p.12; Opera on Record p.154; CELLETTI p.50; Opera on CD
(1) p.40 (2) p.46 (3) p.51; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.29 p.106: No.236 p.76; MET
p.21; MET(VID) p.10; PENGUIN p.10; Orpheus No.13 1994 Festival p.22; GIUDICI
p.31 (2) p.57; Diapason No.439 juillet-aoüt 1997 p.48; Répertoire No.112 avril
1998 p.86; Opéra International juin 2000 No.247 pp.66-70; Donizetti Society
Newsletter June 2000 pp.21-23; American Record Guide September/October 2000
Vol.63 No.5 pp.73-83; Gramophone January 2002 p.28; Classica Répertoire No.94
juillet-aoüt 2007 p.66
THE ASSOLUTA VOICE IN OPERA
09.01.1965 NORMA
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala
Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Leyla Gencer (Norma); Bruno Prevedi (Pollione); Giulietta Simionato
(Adalgisa); Nicola Zaccaria (Oroveso); Piero de Palma (Flavio); Luciana Piccolo
(Clotilde)
Bonus Tracks
HIGHLIGHTS NORMA
30.01.1965 NORMA
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo / Fernando Previtali
Leyla Gencer (Norma); Fiorenza Cossotto (Adalgisa); Gianfranco Cecchele
(Pollione); Ivo Vinco (Oroveso)
24.07.1965 NORMA
Orchestra e Coro dell'Arena di Verona / Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Leyla Gencer (Norma); Fiorenza Cossotto (Adalgisa); Bruno Prevedi
(Pollione); Ivo Vinco (Oroveso)
18.07.1964 NORMA
Orquesta y Coro Estables del Teatro Colon / Bruno Bartoletti
Leyla Gencer (Norma); Adriana Lazzarini (Adalgisa); Bruno Prevedi
(Pollione); William Wildermann (Oroveso)
Myto – 3 CDs
FANFARE MAGAZINE
BELLINI Norma. •
Leyla Gencer, soprano (Norma); Giulietta Simionato, mezzo-soprano
(Adalgisa); Bruno Prevedi, tenor (Pollione); Nicola Zaccaria, bass
(Oroveso); Chorus & Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala, Milan, conducted by
Gianandrea Gavazzeni. •
MELODRAM 468(3) (Three discs, mono) [distributed by German News].
Leyla Gencer, a Turkish soprano born in 1924 or 1928
(depending on which reference source you consult) must be a puzzling case to
all who know her singing. Even in the era of Tebaldi and Callas (and the waning
years of Milanov and Albanese) she should have had a more significant career
than she did. Were she to arrive on the scene today, she would be embraced.
Gencer was not completely unknown; she had a
respectable career in Italy through the 1950s and '60s, specializing in the bel
canto repertory as well as in Verdi. She clearly had a following, for a number
of her live performances have been circulating for years in the tape and record
“underground” and one can hear tumultuous ovations after many of her better
performances. I have heard from more than one conductor that one of the
limiting factors on her career was behaviour that was often unpredictable even
by prima donna standards, but who knows what the whole truth is.
What is demonstrable is that Gencer was a soprano of
genuine stature. She may well have been able to achieve greater fame had she
not overlapped repertoire with Callas, and had she also not overlapped with her
more famous colleague in some matters of style and approach to this music. Like
Callas, Gencer was adept at bringing out the pathos in a dramatic situation,
and of appealing directly to the heart with a style that was at once tender and
affecting. Also, like Callas she threw herself completely into what she sang;
Gencer did not give studied, restrained portrayals, choosing instead to invest
each performance with a considerable part of herself.
Where Gencer cannot compare with Callas is in variety
of vocal colour. Callas had a tremendous variety of colours and shades
available, thus giving her at any moment a range of interpretive choices not
possible for other singers. Added to that variety of vocal colour was Callas'
intelligence and her highly musical instincts, all leading her to make good
choices in almost every instance. Because Gencer did not have that kind of
coloristic variety her performances lacked the range and dramatic specificity
of Callas. Given Callas' complete identification with the role of Norma, it is
certainly not possible to say that if you are going to own one recording of
Norma, this Gencer 1965 performance should be the one. If, however, Norma is an
opera that is important to you, this recording belongs in your collection.
Where Gencer scores, even over Callas, is in vocal
equipment that did her bidding reliably and beautifully. There is no wobble,
plenty of genuine tonal gleam, a smooth legato when she chooses to apply it,
and a ravishing pianissimo liberally used. She does tend to use the gottal
attack perhaps too frequently to depict anger, and she is hardly at ease with
the coloratura, but this is an important soprano singing an important role
central to the repertoire in which she specialized, and it is very much worth preserving
Simionato is an impassioned Adalgisa, Prevedi a stentorian and rather bullish
Pollione, and Zaccaria a fine Oroveso. Gavazzeni conducts without all of the
passion and shading that Serafin brought to this opera, but with much that is
good. Melodram as usual provides no commentary, and the basic sound is quite
good for a broadcast.
OPERADIS
Recordings of Norma by Vincenzo Bellini are surveyed in the following
publications:
Opera January 1958 p.12; Opera on Record p.154; CELLETTI p.50; Opera on CD
(1) p.40 (2) p.46 (3) p.51; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.29 p.106: No.236 p.76; MET
p.21; MET(VID) p.10; PENGUIN p.10; Orpheus No.13 1994 Festival p.22; GIUDICI
p.31 (2) p.57; Diapason No.439 juillet-aoüt 1997 p.48; Répertoire No.112 avril
1998 p.86; Opéra International juin 2000 No.247 pp.66-70; Donizetti Society
Newsletter June 2000 pp.21-23; American Record Guide September/October 2000
Vol.63 No.5 pp.73-83; Gramophone January 2002 p.28; Classica Répertoire No.94
juillet-aoüt 2007 p.66
This recording is reviewed in the following publication:
Opera Quarterly - Vol.21 No.3 Summer 2005 (published March 2006) pp.
551-555 [NEL]
Comments: Recording of a performance at La Scala (January 1965; see OPERA March
1965 pp.203-204; «Simionato» by Jean-Jacques Hanine Roussel pp.83-85)
30.01.1965 NORMA
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli
Fernando Previtali
Leyla Gencer (Norma); Fiorenza Cossotto (Adalgisa); Gianfranco
Cecchele (Pollione); Ivo Vinco (Oroveso)
Hardy – 2 CDs
06.10.1966 NORMA
Lausanne, Theatre de Beaulieu
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Oliviero de Fabritiis
Leyla Gencer (Norma); Fiorenza Cossotto (Adalgisa); Gastone Limarilli
(Pollione); Ivo Vinco (Oroveso); Anna Lia Bazzani (Clotilde); Vittorio
Pandano (Flavio)
Myto – 3 CDs
OPERA (GUIA UNIVERSAL DE LA OPERA DISCOGRAFIA
OPERADIS
Recordings of Norma by Vincenzo Bellini are surveyed in the following
publications:
Opera January 1958 p.12; Opera on Record p.154; CELLETTI p.50; Opera on CD
(1) p.40 (2) p.46 (3) p.51; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.29 p.106: No.236 p.76; MET
p.21; MET(VID) p.10; PENGUIN p.10; Orpheus No.13 1994 Festival p.22; GIUDICI
p.31 (2) p.57; Diapason No.439 juillet-aoüt 1997 p.48; Répertoire No.112 avril
1998 p.86; Opéra International juin 2000 No.247 pp.66-70; Donizetti Society
Newsletter June 2000 pp.21-23; American Record Guide September/October 2000
Vol.63 No.5 pp.73-83; Gramophone January 2002 p.28; Classica Répertoire No.94
juillet-aoüt 2007 p.66
This recording is reviewed in the following publications:
Opera News - July 1998 p.40 [CJL]
Orpheus - April 1998 p.62 [GH]
L'Avant Scène Opéra - No.187 p.139
Classical Express - Issue 96 March 1998 p.3 [MT]
American Record Guide - May/June 1998 Vol.61 No.3 p.98 [MM]
Ópera Actual (Barcelona) - marzo-mayo 1998 No.27 p.83 [LB]
Pikovaya Dama [Live]
12.02.1961 PIKOVAYA DAMA
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala
Nino Sanzogno
Antonio Annaloro (Ermanno); Leyla Gencer (Lisa); Maryana Radev (La
contessa); Sesto Bruscantini (Principe Jelenzky); Adriana Lazzarini (Paolini);
Walter Gullino (Cekalinski); Ivo Vinco (Surin); Angelo Mercuriali (Ciaplinski);
Leonardo Monreale (Narumov); Ivo Vinco (Conte Tomsky); Aurora Cattelani (La
Governante); Jeda Valtriani (Masha); Giuseppe Bertinazzo (Maestro di casa);
Edith Martelli (Prilepa)
GL – 2 CDs
FANFARE MAGAZINE
TCHAIKOVSKY The Queen of Spades: MASSENET Werther. Selections2. Werther.
• Carlo Felice Cillario, conductor; Feruccio Tagliavini, tenor (Werther); Leyla
Gencer, soprano (Charlotte); Mario Boriello, baritone (Albert); Giuliana
Tavolaccini, soprano (Sophie); Vito Susca, bass (Le Bailli); Raimondo
Botteghelli, tenor (Schmidt); Eno Mocchiutti, bass (Johann); Chorus & Orchestra
of the Teatro Verdi, Trieste; Nino Sanzogno, conductor; Leyla Gencer, soprano
(Lisa); Antonio Annaloro, tenor (Herman); Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala,
Milan. • ARKADIA CDHP599.2 [ADD]; two monaural discs: 68:08, 70:26.
Produced by Nikos Velissiotis. (Distributed by Qualiton.) 20, 19591. 2, I9602.
LIVE performance: Milan; Feb. LIVE performance: Trieste; Jan.
I reviewed an earlier (1951) Tagliavini performance of Werther (Bongiovanni
GBl 101/02) in a recent issue, and called it interesting but technically
lacking. This one seems to me at least marginally superior in every way, though
the sound is not up to state-of-the-art standards.
The intended emphasis here is not on Tagliavini but on
Leyla Gencer. That this Turkish soprano with her immense popularity and her
wide range of roles should have been wholly ignored by the commercial record
producers is one of the great mysteries. However, the so-called “pirates” have
made up for it with innumerable unauthorized recordings, of which this one has
a certain uniqueness. In 1954 Gencer, then at the start of her career, was
asked to play Charlotte in a pioneering TV production for RAI. She demurred,
mostly, it appears, because she did not want to be overshadowed by the
tenor-protagonist. But then Tullio Serafin stepped in and told her that it
would be good for her to learn to love a part that she thought she might not
like. So she accepted the offer and televised her role opposite Juan Oncina.
However, she sang Charlotte on stage only once in her long career—in Trieste
five years later, whence this recording.
Charlotte is usually sung by mezzos (Giulietta
Simionato in the Bongiovanni recording), but Gencer, with her rich firm lower
register, has no trouble with the tessitura. She is perhaps more restrained
than Simionato, but is quite convincing throughout, especially in the final
scenes. And, frankly, I like the sound of her voice better.
In 1959 Tagliavini had been singing for more than
twenty years, but is still recognizably Tagliavini. Some of the velvet may have
rubbed off, but the soft tones still caress and the loud ones seem less
ostentatious than in the earlier set. Clearly his concept of Werther has
matured and he is much more “into” the part than he was in 1951.
Mario Boriello is infinitely superior to the nearly
anonymous Gino Orlandini. His voice, per se, is nothing remarkable, but he
phrases with artistry and his diction is impeccable. In fact, it seems to me,
he makes Albert, small as the role is, a three-dimensional character. The other
male singers are a pretty rough bunch—which may be appropriate. Where I draw
the line is at Tavolaccini's fluttery, squeaky Sophie.
The recording is, both vocally and instrumentally,
close-up and slightly unreverberant. One hears every now and again a discreet
prompter. The audience is quiet. An occasional spatter of applause sounds as
though about twenty people are participating in it (the Teatro Verdi is a small
jewelbox of a house), though they are aroused to whoop and holler after
Werther's big third-act aria.
The “bonus” selections from The Queen of Spades
consist of Lisa's first-act aria and her “suicide” scene, with Annaloro as a
melodramatic Herman.
Everything is sung in Italian. An Italian-only
libretto is provided for the Massenet. There is an essay in Italian with the
goldarndest English translation you'll ever encounter. Sample: “exactly one
year later the touching Carlotta was written for the television: her amber
voice, her real tears, and with trepidation of the fate of Leyla Gencer.”
Recommended to the attention of sophisticated opera buffs.
OPERADIS
Recordings of The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky are surveyed
in the following publications:
Opera on Record 2 p.268; CELLETTI p.158; Opera on CD (1) p.92 (2) p.102 (3)
p.113; MET p.557; MET(VID) p.338; Opera on Video p.159; GIUDICI p.129 (2)
p.214; L'Avant Scène Opéra No.119/120, mise à
jour septembre 2004; American
Record Guide May/June 2003 Vol.66 No.3 pp.54-63
Links from OPERA NEWS
Archives related with Leyla Gencer's Performances
Abbreviations of operadis
(STU), "STUDIO" Recording
(SE), "STUDIO" Recording of Excerpts
(STC), Composite "STUDIO" Recording made up from more than one source
(SCE), Composite "STUDIO" Recording of Excerpts from more than one
source
(LI), "LIVE" Recording
(LE), "LIVE" Recording of Excerpts
(LC), "LIVE" Composite Recording from more than one performance
(LCE), Excerpts from more than one "LIVE" Performance
(RA), A Radio Performance
(RE), Excerpts from a Radio Performance
(RC), Composite Radio Performance from more than one broadcast
(RCE), Excerpts from more than one broadcast performance
(FI), Film or/and sound track of a film
(FE), Excerpts of an opera from a film or/and the sound track of a film
CELLETTI, Il Teatro d'Opera in Disco by Rodolfo Celletti - Rizzoli - 1988
EJS Discography, EJS: Discography of the Edward J. Smith Recordings - The
Golden Age of Opera, 1956-71 by William Shaman, William J. Collins, and Calvin
M. Goodwin - GreenwoodPress - 1994
GIUDICI, L'Opera in CD e Video by Elvio Giudici - il Saggiatore Milano - 1995.
Second Edition - 1999 - is indicated by (2)
HARRIS, Opera Recordings - A Critical Guide by Kenn Harris - David and Charles
- 1973
MARINELLI, Opere in Disco by Carlo Marinelli - Discanto Edizione - 1982
MET, The Metropolitan Opera Guide to Recorded Opera - edited by Paul Gruber -
Thames and Hudson - 1993
MET(VID), The Metropolitan Guide to Opera on Video - edited by Paul Gruber -
W.W. Norton & Co. Ltd. - 1997
More EJS, More EJS: Discography of the Edward J. Smith Recordings by William
Shaman - William J. Collins - Calvin M. Goodwin - Greenwood Press 1999
NEWTON (Verdi), Verdi - Tutti i libretti d'opera edited by Piero Mioli
PENGUIN, The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Discs by Edwin Greenfield -
Robert Layton - Ivan March - Penguin Books 1993
Discos Gramófono (Barcelona), Compañía del Gramófono Sociedad Anónima Española
