Herkulessaal, Munich
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mario Rossi conductor
Bruno Pizzi chorus master
Leyla Gencer soprano
Binaca Maria Casoni mezzo-soprano
Luigi Alva tenor
Forbes Robinson bass
Nuova Era – 1 CD
STABAT MATER 1968
FANFARE MUSIC MAGAZINE
RALP V. LUCANO
ROSSINI Stabat Mater. •
Mario Rossi, conductor; Leyla Gencer, soprano; Bianca Maria Casoni, mezzo-soprano;
Luigi Alva, tenor; Forbes Robinson, bass; Bavarian Radio Chorus &
Orchestra. • NUOVA ERA 2250 [AAD]; 59:00.
(Distributed by Qualiton.) LIVE performance: Monaco, 1967.
I won't speculate on how a Bavarian chorus and
orchestra, an Italian conductor, and an odd assortment of soloists came to
perform Rossini's Stabat Mater in Monaco on an unspecified date in 1967, but
the outcome is surprisingly agreeable. Rossi eschews sanctimony and moves
things along smartly, though he's perhaps too relaxed in "Sancta
Mater" and "Fac ut portem." Aside from the predictable
exception, the vocalists are a modest, genteel group. Casoni is straightforward
and rather faceless. Alva is sweet and buoyant, a far cry from the muscular
Merritt and Pavarotti. He needs a good admixture of falsetto to reach his top
Db. Robinson lacks weight on bottom but sings with feeling and intelligence; he
knows exactly how his music should go. Gencer is in capital voice, free and
soaring on top. A few glottal grunts notwithstanding, this is lovely singing,
yet there's no want of power and temperament. The chorus is competent but not
flattered by the compressed, muddy sound. (The soloists, incidentally, take "Quando
corpus morietur.") Even if the sonics were first-rate, however, I wouldn't
rate this performance above Kertész's (London) or Scimone's (Erato) and commend
it primarily to fans of Gencer.
Messa da Requiem –
Verdi [Live]
1967.11.26
Teatro Margherita, Genoa
Orchestra e Coro del Sinfonica di Teatro Comunale di Genoa
Sir John Barbirolli conductor
Bruno Pizzi chorus master
Leyla Gencer soprano
Franca Mattiucci mezzo-soprano
David Hughes tenor
Marius Rintzler bass
Opera Depot – 1 CD
MESSA DA REQUIEM 1967
Messa di Requiem per Bellini – Donizetti [Live]
1970.06.20
Teatro La Fenice, Venezia
Gianandrea Gavazzeni conductor
Corrado Mirandola chorus master
DONIZETTI Belisario • Giandrea Gavazzeni, cond; Leyla Gencer
(Antonina); Mima Pecite (Irene); Rina Pallini (Eudora); Umberto Grilli
(Alamiro); Bruno Sebastian (Eutropio); Giuseppe Taddei (Belisario); Giovanni
Antonini (Eusebio); Niccola Saccaria (Giustiniano); Augusto Veronese (Ottano);
Alberto Carusi (Centurione); La Fenice O & Ch • MONDO MUSICA MFOH 10301 (2
CDs: 119:58)
DONIZETTI Messa di Requiem. PIZZETTI Introduzione all'Agamennone di
Eschile • Gianandrea Gavazzeni, cond; Leyla Gencer (sop); Mima Pecile (mez);
Armando Moretti (ten); Alessandro Cassis (bar); Eftimios Michalopoulos (bs); La
Fenice O & Ch • MONDO MUSICA MFOH 10201 (2 CDs: 87:51)
Myto lives up to its name in resuscitating a
treasurable recording of Rossini's Cenerentola that allows us to revel in the
special qualities of Sara (aka Zara) Dolukhanova. In the two sources I
consulted, the recording variously dates from 1951 or 1953, information lacking
in the summary notes provided with the set. For its age, the sound is not bad:
Presumably Myto had access to either original tapes or pristine masters. if it
is for Dolukhanova that one is first drawn to these discs, listeners will not
be disappointed. The smoothness of her singing can still be a model today,
imparting character at the same time as we marvel at her way with the
coloratura. Conductor Onissim Bron has the measure of the piece, but his
treatment of the text has its moments of shock. While the (then) customary
cuts—and others as well—are made, Cenerentola gets an extra solo before the act
I finale, a cabaletta to Malcolm's aria interpolated from Donna del Lago, but
that is nothing compared to the shock in store when we get to the heroine's
rondo-finale, which is parceled out between her and the tenor, negating
Rossinian logic. The notes give us biographical information about soprano,
tenor, and conductor, evidently forgetting that Belov had his moment as Onegin
for Vishnevskaya's first recorded Tatiana. Unfortunately, Rossini's demands are
not the same as Tchaikovsky's, and we hear a lot of sliding around the notes
instead of cleanly articulated runs. Orfenov also has his problems dealing with
Rossinian intricacies but is a far cry from the namby-pamby hero too long
perpetuated as the ideal in the West. Once over the initial shock of Clorinda's
first words emerging as "Nyet, nyet, nyet, nyet" instead of "No,
no, no, no," it is easy to overlook this drawback in the face of
characterful singing, particularly when it is the mezzo.
Mondo Musica has been given access to the Fenice
archives so that the reconstruction fund will be the beneficiary. Why, however,
have they found it necessary to duplicate so much material that has already
been through countless reincarnations throughout the LP and CD eras? Yes,
Belisario is a product of Donizetti's maturity and worthy of study as a Verdian
precursor in its treatment of father-daughter relations, but its otherwise
clunky libretto shows that Cammarano, despite Lucia, still had not entirely found
his way. The set is recommended only to collectors who do not already possess a
copy of the performance of May 14, 1969, especially as the sound offers
virtually no improvement over previous editions: Onstage movements, stagehands'
conversations, and an odd occasional crackle are still present. In other
respects, the performance retains its privileged status, as it is unlikely that
you will hear a more representative performance from Leyla Gencer as Antonina.
All the familiar elements are there, including the heavenly fil di voce, so
that we are reminded of how few singers today are capable of investing
themselves so totally in a performance, Nelly Miricioiu being one of the very
few carrying on this tradition. Giuseppe Taddei's noble baritone in the title
role is the other major attribute, leaving Mirna Pecile's tremulous, lightish
mezzo Irene and Umberto Grilli's tenorino Alamiro as honorable colleagues. Once
again, it is Gianandrea Gavazzeni who leads us through the work, even though he
has performed various bits of surgery, though not the evisceration to which he
subjected Anna Bolena; but then Belisario is considerably more concise.
Even odder is the Donizetti-Pizzetti pairing. It is
difficult to be much kinder to this performance than I was to that by Alexander
Rahbari on the Discover label that I reviewed in the July 1998 issue of
Fanfare. Gavazzeni leads an inflamed performance that might offer more pleasure
if the sound were less murky, as if it were recorded from behind the fire
curtain. And despite the conductor's lifelong advocacy and defense of
Donizetti, I would be curious to know the authorization for turning the tenor's
solo in the Ingemisco over to the soprano, however wonderfully Gencer sings it,
or allowing her some beautifully floated high notes in the "Libera
Me." The other soloists are credible, but it is clear that Gencer is the
star. Why, however, we are asked to purchase a double album with only 87
minutes of music to hear the Donizetti Requiem (66 minutes) and Ildebrando
Pizzetti's "Introduction to Aeschylus's Agamemnon" (21 minutes) is
something that defies logic. The Pizzetti starts out with brass fanfares and an
impressive slow introduction, but then rapidly deteriorates into Hollywood epic
background music, replete with a wordless chorus that moans and groans as well.
Messa di Requiem per
Bellini – Donizetti [Live]
1971.03.26
Sala Verdi, Milano
Orchestra e Coro della RAI [Radio Broadcast]
Gianandrea Gavazzeni conductor
Mino Bordignon chorus master
Leyla Gencer soprano
Mirna Pecile mezzo-soprano
Armando Moretti tenor
Alessandro Casis bass
Agostino Ferrin bass
Opera Depot – 1 CD
MESSA DI REQUIEM 1971
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Requiem et Kyrie Requiem aeternam
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Requiem et Kyrie Te decet hymnus
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Requiem et Kyrie Kyrie
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Requiem et KyrieIn memoria aeterna
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeDies irae
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeTuba mirum
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeJudex ergo cum sedebit
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeRex tremendae majestatis
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeRecordare Jesu pie
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeIngemisco tamquam reus
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraePreces meae sunt dignae
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeConfutatis maledictis
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeOro supplex et acclinis
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies iraeLacrymosa dies illa
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Domine Jesu Christe
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Lux aeterna
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Libera me, Domine
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Dies irae
Messa da requiem, Op. 73 Libera me, Domine
ARTMUSIC LOUNGE
LYNN RENE BAYLEY
2019.09.15
Donizetti’s Excellent “Requiem”
DONIZETTI: Messa de
Requiem, “To the Memory of Vincenzo Bellini”
Leyla
Gencer, sop; Mirna Pecile, mezzo-soprano; Ennio Carlo
Buoso, ten; Alessandro Cassis, bar; Agostino
Ferrin, bs; Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro d Milano della RAI; Gianadrea
Gavazzeni, cond / Archipel ARPCD0475 (live: Milan, March 26,
1971)
I was poking around on the Naxos website for reviewers, trying to see what
recordings were available with soprano Leyla Gencer, when I tripped across this
release. At first, I thought it was a misprint: a Requiem Mass
by Donizetti? Surely, they were wrong. But they weren’t.
Where they were wrong, however, was in the identification of the
tenor, listing one Armando Moretti instead of Ennio Buoso; the elimination of
the fifth soloist, bass Agostino Ferrin, who sings on two numbers; and the year
of the performance, giving 1971 instead of 1961. I found the correct listing of
the soloists and the correct date on a posting of this recording on YouTube, and checked it out. Ennio
Buoso does have one other posting on YouTube, singing “Vengo à stringerti, dolce mia vita,” and by making a careful
comparison I determined that his was, indeed, the tenor voice on this
recording, thus I also accepted the later date. Another reason I believed the
later date was that soprano Leyla Gencer’s voice has here that unusual flutter which
she only picked up around 1965 or so. If you listen to Gencer’s earlier
recordings, such as the video of Il Trovatore with Mario del Monaco
or the 1960 Don Giovanni which I reviewed earlier on this blog, you
will discover that she did not have that flutter in the late
1950s/early ‘60s. But Archipel is a small Italian label of indefinite origin
with only three major outlets, Naxos, Presto Classical and Berkshire Record
Outlet, and I’m only too familiar with how often the Italians get things wrong.
I doubt that many opera lovers will know (I sure didn’t!) that Gaetano
Donizetti wrote more than 100 sacred works, most of them unpublished, although
the majority of these are short occasional works and academic exercises penned
when he was being tutored by Simone Mayr. After 1824 he wrote only a few such
works, a Miserere for voices and orchestra, an Ave
Maria, and this Requiem. It was the last of his sacred pieces,
begun in 1835 in memory of the death of Vincenzo Bellini, his friend and rival
in the opera houses. It was finished by December, when it was to be performed,
but for some unknown reason the plans for it fell through. It was finally
premiered in 1870, 22 years after Donizetti’s death, in a performance heavily
criticized by the Italian press for being weak. And that was the end of its
performance history in Italy until this performance was given a century and one
year later.
The work is often claimed to be “operatic,” but the vocal writing bears only a
small resemblance to Donizetti’s operas. The choral and orchestral passages are
richly detailed and quite dramatic, including some rigorous counterpoint in
the Kyrie and Lacrimosa. Another interesting aspect is that
the soprano and mezzo get very little to sing in this work except in a few
ensemble passages; most of the solo vocal writing is given to the tenor and
first bass (baritone), with a second, lower bass voice added in two selections,
the “Tuba mirum” and the “Confutatis maledictus.” Because Gavazzeni hired the
famous soprano Gencer for this performance, and she wanted a solo to sing, he
gave her the tenor’s “Ingemisco,” a much slower, quieter and more lyrical piece
than the one by Verdi. (This may also have been conditioned by the fact that
the tenor in this performance, Ennio Carlo Buoso, was a “crossover” artist of
his time, like Kenneth MacKellar in the U.K. and Sergio Franchi in the U.S.)
Although this Requiem is not quite on the same exalted level as those
of Cherubini, which preceded it, or Verdi, which followed it (and which was
clearly influenced by Donizetti’s, particularly in the “Dies irae,” it shares
with the Requiems of those two composers the fact that it is the
greatest work that those three composers wrote. The
Cherubini Requiem is also little known, mostly because it has no solo
singers but only a chorus, yet as Toscanini’s recording proved it is a
masterpiece, and every opera lover worth his or her salt knows that the
Verdi Requiem is superb from start to finish.
Indeed, as you go through this work you will continually discover outstanding
passages. Although much of the music is lyrical, none of it is banal. Donizetti
avoids giving the singers high notes or even melodic lines that resemble arias.
Moreover, one can tell that this piece was really written from the heart; at
times, it is deeply moving.
There are two other recordings of this Requiem commercially
available, a live performance on Dynamic and a studio recording from 1988 on
Orfeo. The first of these has a rather weak conductor and defective singers and
adds a one minute and nine-second prelude played by an organ that I found
superfluous. The second of these features some outstanding singers,
particularly soprano Cheryl Studer and first bass Jan Hendrik Rootering, but
this edition adds much music that Donizetti meant to be cut from the finished
work and the conducting is so lackluster as to make an “Adagio” of the entire
piece, robbing it of energy and vitality. That leaves only this one as really
good representative of the Requiem. Gavazzeni conducts it almost with the
energy of a Cantelli or Toscanini; both the orchestra and chorus give a much
better account of themselves than was usual for Italian forces of that era.
Occasionally, one of the solo voices seems to be a little off mic: Ferrin is
just barely audible in the “Confutatis maledictus,” which may be what gave
Archipel the idea that there was only one bass in the performance.
Regardless of the caveats mentioned earlier, this is a piece, and a
performance, that all music lovers should hear. It will give you an entirely
different perspective on the composer of such tripe as the “Queen Trilogy”
operas.
Links to OPERA NEWS Archives related with Leyla
Gencer's Recordings
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... Adrift and Sheppard's Missa Cantate; recitals by Iris Vermillion,
Anne-Sophie Schmidt,
Marie-Nicole Lemieux; historic Gounod La Colombe; Gencer and Bergonzi in ...
... of that exciting period of rediscovery was that the piece in question
provide a
vehicle for a prima donna; Maria Callas, Leyla Gencer, Joan Sutherland ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... sang the title roles in Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, and so, like
Montserrat Caballé,
the Gemma on this recording (and Beverly Sills, Leyla Gencer and Edita ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... Olivero, like Leyla Gencer, is a singer whose importance is based
largely upon her
legacy of pirated and broadcast live performances, and therefore another ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... Leyla Gencer, the Turkish soprano beloved in Italy in the 1950s and
'60s for her
service to Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi, can now be heard as Norma in this ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... JC. Leyla Gencer ARIAS from Anna Bolena, Assassinio nella Cattedrale,
Due Foscari,
Forza, Lucia, Suor Angelica, Tabarro, Trovatore (1957-58). No texts. ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... an early Rossini (1815) and a mature Donizetti (1837), revolve around
episodes in
the reign of Elizabeth I. Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer, a contemporary of ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... Caught in late career, the dramatically and stylistically authoritative
but vocally
unsteady Leyla Gencer mars her Falena, the enchantress role, with hoarse ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... In Sills's day, Leyla Gencer and Montserrat Caballé sang Elisabetta
more powerfully
or more beautifully, and nowadays, Edita Gruberova enjoys success in the ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... In the title parts, Leyla Gencer and Renato Cioni, sensitive and
colorful, are more
persuasive than the authoritative Maria Caniglia (heard in 1951, late in ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... Legato LCD-159 (2). Leyla Gencer and Maria Callas began the postwar
restoration
of bel canto opera, but Montserrat Caballé has done even more for the cause.
...
... Leyla Gencer as the
put-upon heroine is vibrant and touching in her finest
late-career form. Renato Bruson is strong and sympathetic as King Lusignano. ..
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... Joan Sutherland and Leyla Gencer, who made something of its dull title
role, perhaps
inspired Mirella Freni to take it on in 1976 in Bologna. ...
Recordings > Opera
News > The Met Opera Guild ... remastering of a 1967 Maggio Musicale Stuarda, while thoroughly
accomplished under
Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, exists mainly for the Maria of Leyla Gencer. ...
