What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Tsaraslondon]

I'm sorry, but even if Callas is in the cast and she happens to be in good voice, that doesn't make it a good performance of the opera. It's not just the cuts (about a quarter of the score, including Fiorilla's last act aria) but the orchestral playing (ragged, with atrocious horn playing right from the beginning of the overture), and some undistinguished singing (Jolanda Gardino as Zaida is painful to listen to). Only Gedda rises to a thoroughly professional level. The lower voices (Stabile, Calabrese and Rossi-Lemeni sound old even if they act well with their voice. As a whole I find there are as many minuses as there are pluses.

The London Barbiere is in another class entirely.

Well, I'm not alone in enjoying the recording. Richard Osborne in Opera on Record 2 agrees that "horns and trumpets leave something to be desired" but finds the Scala woodwinds "wonderfully lithe and adept" and Gavazzeni's conducting "buoyant and often stylish".

Though he singles out Callas for special praise, and she is truly wonderful in this recording, showing that she could turn her hands to comedy in the right circumstances, he finds that the veteran Stabile "though dry of voice, has all the necessary presence required for the puppet-master poet", Rossi-Lemeni "has presence, but Filippo Galli's divisions in 1814 were probably quicker and smoother" and Calabrese has "quite the right hang-dog intonations".

Admittedly, when he was writing this the only alternative was the rather dull Chailly version with Caballé, textually complete and accurate, but nowhere near so enjoyable a performance. Osborne finds Chailly's conducting "efficient and unsmilng" and opines that most of the more modern Italian conductors "seem not to know that easy turn of the wrist which was so characteristic a feature of the conducting of men like Serafin, Gavazzeni, and, above all, Gui."

This was brought home to me only recently when I listened to Gui's recording of Le Comte Ory. The singing isn't perfect, by any means, but the set teems with high spirits and joy, something I find sadly lacking in so many modern Rossini performances these days.

Incidentally, there are quite a few cuts and textual inaccuracies in the Callas/Galliera Barbiere too, not that that bothers me unduly.

[Tsaraslondon]

I was unsure, but I did track it down. I don't even remember why this crossed my path or why I heard Gedda here before the Davis; I am not sure I even heard the whole recording:

Is that Markevitch performance live? There is n mention of it in Opera on Record.

[VonStupp]

Béla Bartók
Bluebeard's Castle
Christa Ludwig & Walter Berry
London Symphony Orchestra - István Kertész

I was going to pull out a Christa Ludwig recording around her death a month or so ago, but I was in the process of moving and never did. This is among a handful of performances where I immediately and specifically think of her. What an all-around terrific performance from everyone involved!

[VonStupp]

Is that Markevitch performance live? There is n mention of it in Opera on Record.

Yes. What little information I can glean mentions that it is live from 1959 with Markevitch leading the ORTF. I also think this is in mono, although it seems much, much better than I would expect from a live recording at that time. The remastering seems to have been done by the Andromeda label.

[JBS]

Persephone

[Mirror Image]

Béla Bartók
Bluebeard's Castle
Christa Ludwig & Walter Berry
London Symphony Orchestra - István Kertész

I was going to pull out a Christa Ludwig recording around her death a month or so ago, but I was in the process of moving and never did. This is among a handful of performances where I immediately and specifically think of her. What an all-around terrific performance from everyone involved!

It certainly is! A marvelous recording, but not my absolute favorite Bluebeard. My numero uno would be Troyanos/Nimsgern/Boulez on Columbia (Sony).

[André]

Quite unlike any other version for obvious reasons (it's sung in English) but also simply because it's conducted by Goodall.

The question of the text is not as clear cut as it would seem. Wagner devised and wrote his own librettos, so one would assume that it's unmusical to have different words sung on his music. Also, many hold Wagner's texts in high esteem. I don't. They're trite and a bit embarrassing in places. But when I listen to them in the original German I tend to forget about that. The translation brings the triteness to the fore. Repetitions and retellings of the same story are indeed one of the salient features of the librettos, for better and for worse. So, listening to the Ring in English brings clarity to the story but also evidence of verbosity and pompousness from Wagner the writer.

Let's say I'm very happy to have listened to them and understanding most of the text. The case of Götterdämmerung though is a special one. Wagner's writing for the voices is different, less lyrical than in Walküre or Siegfried. Singers often resort to shouting and attempts to enunciate the text sometimes fail to convey any sense of what's happening. For example, I read in Wiki that « The great German bass Kurt Moll pointed out that the part of the principal villain, Hagen, is unique in the bass repertoire: it requires a shouting, blaring vocal technique which risks damaging the singer's voice; only very large-voiced, powerful singers can sing it. Moll himself avoided the role« .

Which brings me to the singers. The casting is mostly among the best these operas have received in the stereo era. Remedios, Grant, Hunter, Bailey, Haugland are as good as any of their counterparts who have sung the roles. Remedios, singing both Siegmund and Siegfried, is simply wonderful, the voice supple and lyrical, never dry or forced. His Siegfried from the eponymous opera is just glorious. Hunter has a powerful, sometimes piercing voice but she holds her own against the others and the orchestra. Haugland's Hagen is a powerhouse account of this difficult part. By comparison his half-brother Gunther sounds puny, one of the few disappointments in this very large cast.

Goodall and the ENO are for many the main reason for listening to these english versions at all. Jed Distler in Classicstoday wrote this: « Goodall's slow-motion tempos and Knapperstbuschian gait may conjure up images of magisterial, rolling paragraphs, but the paragraphs lack punctuation. There's little rhythmic inflection and forward-moving impetus from the pit, although the quieter, more conversational episodes flow without dragging« . He has a point and I can't deny that Goodall's tempi are slow. But in the context of an opera designed as a series of monologues or dialogues with no ensembles at all, those  'conversational episodes' make up about 80% of the time spent listening to the Ring. Balancing flow and clarity of utterance is crucial in my opinion. In that context Goodall's tempo choices make sense and most of the time they actually help the singers.

Some of the orchestral playing is rough, but this is easily forgiven considering these are live performances . What's truly amazing is the unfailing concentration displayed by everybody over the course of these long evenings. Contrary to Distler in his review of Walküre, I find the sound mostly excellent: big, beefy, with good presence. The big orchestral conclusion to the Immolation Scene with its huge percussion is perfectly handled by the engineers.

Now I feel ready - better equipped - to listen to one of the 3 Rings that have been waiting on my shelves for the past few years. 

[Mirror Image]

Cross-posted from the 'Listening' thread -

NP:

Delius
A Village Romeo & Juliet
Benjamin Luxon (Manz), Noel Mangin (Marti), Colin Manley (Sali - as a child), Wendy Eathorne (Vrenchen - as a child), Elizabeth Harwood (Vrenchen), Robert Tear (Sali), John Shirley-Quirk (The Dark Fiddler)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
Meredith Davies

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with calling this work an 'opera'. I suppose it's a hybrid of sorts much like what Berlioz was doing. This is certainly of Delius' own design --- A Village Romeo & Juliet sounds like a tone painting of an opera and I don't mean this as a criticism, but there isn't hardly any dramatic moments throughout the hour and half of its duration. Of course, this work opened Delius up to many critical attacks, which weren't uncommon for him. He must be counted as one of the more misunderstood composers of the 20th Century. This 'opera' or shall I just call it a 'lyric drama', will not win the composer any new fans, but those who already enjoy his music may find this a bit of a slog to get through, but I honestly think that despite whatever criticisms I may have, it contains some remarkable moments throughout.

[Tsaraslondon]

Cross-posted from the 'Listening' thread -

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with calling this work an 'opera'. I suppose it's a hybrid of sorts much like what Berlioz was doing. This is certainly of Delius' own design --- A Village Romeo & Juliet sounds like a tone painting of an opera and I don't mean this as a criticism, but there isn't hardly any dramatic moments throughout the hour and half of its duration. Of course, this work opened Delius up to many critical attacks, which weren't uncommon for him. He must be counted as one of the more misunderstood composers of the 20th Century. This 'opera' or shall I just call it a 'lyric drama', will not win the composer any new fans, but those who already enjoy his music may find this a bit of a slog to get through, but I honestly think that despite whatever criticisms I may have, it contains some remarkable moments throughout.

I have the Mackerras version and I really love the piece. I suppose it is a little lacking in drama, but I feel it captures the atmosphere of the original Keller tale really well. Sensitively staged, I'm sure it could work very well in the opera house.

[Tsaraslondon]

If a better performance of Norma has ever been committed to disc then I've yet to hear it. It wasn't captured complete and Divina have here added the Sinfonia and Oroveso's aria from a performance under Gavazzeni in 1965 (still with Zaccaria) and some of Del Monaco's music from a performance under Serafin from the same year, but you don't really notice any joins.

This is 1955, post weight loss for Callas, but the voice is still in fine shape and I feel this is the performance of the opera when voice and artistry find their truest equilibrium. The second studio recording of 1960 will find her peering ever more deeply into Norma's psyche, but there she will not have the power she unleashes here (a blazing top D at the end of Act I). Simionato, Del Monaco and Zaccaria are all superb and Votto, though not so positive a presence as Serafin or Gui, accompanies well, which is perhaps all he needed to do with such a cast.

A desert island set if ever ther was one. More detailed review on my blog http://tsaraslondon.com/2020/04/08/norma-7-december-1955/

[André]

A memorable performance indeed, especially in this fine transfer.

[ritter]

Revisiting this recording of one of Gaetano Donizetti's lesser-known operas, the late Caterina Cornaro:



I've never been much of a fan of Donizetti (IMHO, he did not have the genius of Rossini nor the melodic gift of Bellini, and was the precursor of the undeniably vulgar and provincial streak that permeates much of Italian opera in the second half of the 19th century), and this is certainly not one of his better scores.

I'm actually listening to this as background music while reading this book on the conductor Gianandrea Gavazzeni:



The recording of Caterina Cornaro was made live in 1995–the year before the conductor's death at the age of 86—in Gavazzeni's (and Donizetti's) hometown of Bergamo, with the conductor's second wife, the estimable soprano Denia Mazzola, in the lead. It could therefore not be more appropriate, and as background music works perfectly well  .

What a fascinating figure Gavazzeni was! A grand seigneur of the baton and the operatic pit, a very gifted writer, and an indefatigable champion of obscure works (many of which, truth be said, lapsed back into oblivion immediately after he had revived them). He was a man of wide-ranging cultural interests, and seems to have met and befriended most of the leading Italian cultural luminaries of the 20th century (in music, painting, and literature). Even if he concentrated his conducting activity mostly on the Italian operatic repertoire of the 19th and early 20th century, his writings display an acute appraisal of —and respect for— styles that were diametrically opposed to his tastes. He was, for instance, a good friend of Petrassi, frequented Luigi Nono, and collaborated with Sylvano Bussotti (the latter was stage director for several opera productions led by Gavazzeni).

Gavazzeni was also a composer, but stopped writing music around 1940 (when he realised his works were out of step with modern trends). As far as I know, none of his compositional output has ever been recorded.

He's one of the few artists who have been given the greatest tribute at La Scala when he died: Riccardo Muti conducted the funeral march of Beethoven's Eroica in the empty theatre, with all the doors open so that the music could be heard on the streets surrounding the opera house.

For someone who never achieved (probably never sought) star status, there's a very sizeable bibliography on the man and his art (apart from his own writings, which are really enjoyable, particularly his dairies from 1950 to 1976, Il sipario rosso). The book I'm reading now is loving tribute to the man, his art, his writing, and the places he frequented (starting with Bergamo). A delightful read!

[Mirror Image]

I have the Mackerras version and I really love the piece. I suppose it is a little lacking in drama, but I feel it captures the atmosphere of the original Keller tale really well. Sensitively staged, I'm sure it could work very well in the opera house.

It's been staged a few times, but not to any great success.

[Tsaraslondon]

Revisiting this recording of one of Gaetano Donizetti's lesser-known operas, the late Caterina Cornaro:



I've never been much of a fan of Donizetti (IMHO, he did not have the genius of Rossini nor the melodic gift of Bellini, and was the precursor of the undeniably vulgar and provincial streak that permeates much of Italian opera in the second half of the 19th century), and this is certainly not one of his better scores.

I'm actually listening to this as background music while reading this book on the conductor Gianandrea Gavazzeni:



The recording of Caterina Cornaro was made live in 1995–the year before the conductor's death at the age of 86—in Gavazzeni's (and Donizetti's) hometown of Bergamo, with the conductor's second wife, the estimable soprano Denia Mazzola, in the lead. It could therefore not be more appropriate, and as background music works perfectly well  .

What a fascinating figure Gavazzeni was! A grand seigneur of the baton and the operatic pit, a very gifted writer, and an indefatigable champion of obscure works (many of which, truth be said, lapsed back into oblivion immediately after he had revived them). He was a man of wide-ranging cultural interests, and seems to have met and befriended most of the leading Italian cultural luminaries of the 20th century (in music, painting, and literature). Even if he concentrated his conducting activity mostly on the Italian operatic repertoire of the 19th and early 20th century, his writings display an acute appraisal of —and respect for— styles that were diametrically opposed to his tastes. He was, for instance, a good friend of Petrassi, frequented Luigi Nono, and collaborated with Sylvano Bussotti (the latter was stage director for several opera productions led by Gavazzeni).

Gavazzeni was also a composer, but stopped writing music around 1940 (when he realised his works were out of step with modern trends). As far as I know, none of his compositional output has ever been recorded.

He's one of the few artists who have been given the greatest tribute at La Scala when he died: Riccardo Muti conducted the funeral march of Beethoven's Eroica in the empty theatre, with all the doors open so that the music could be heard on the streets surrounding the opera house.

For someone who never achieved (probably never sought) star status, there's a very sizeable bibliography on the man and his art (apart from his own writings, which are really enjoyable, particularly his dairies from 1950 to 1976, Il sipario rosso). The book I'm reading now is loving tribute to the man, his art, his writing, and the places he frequented (starting with Bergamo). A delightful read!

I used to have a live recording on LP with Caballé in the lead. I think Aragall was the tenor. I don't think I found it interesting enough to want to get in on CD. I don't think it was particularly memorable, so maybe background listening is the best way to enjoy it.

Gavazzeni had an illustrious career and I have a few opera recordings with him conducting. One of the reasons I prefer De Los Angeles's first Madama Butterfly is that he is a much more dramatic and propulsive conductor than Patané on the second. He also, as you probably know, worked quite often with Callas, though only once in the studio (Il Turco in Italia).

[ritter]

...
Gavazzeni had an illustrious career and I have a few opera recordings with him conducting. One of the reasons I prefer De Los Angeles's first Madama Butterfly is that he is a much more dramatic and propulsive conductor than Patané on the second. He also, as you probably know, worked quite often with Callas, though only once in the studio (Il Turco in Italia).

Yes, Gavazzeni had a very illustrious career indeed, the peak of which probably was his two seasons at the helm of his beloved Scala (in the mid 60s).

He's often been reproached for tinkering (some would say, butchering) scores: Il turco in Italia—discussed earlier in this same thread—, the legendary La Scala Anna Bolena (with Callas and Simionato), alleged fiddling with the scoring of L'amico Fritz in the lovely recording with Pavarotti and Freni, but I believe he made these "adjustments" out of love for the music and to facilitate its initial (re)acceptance by sceptical audiences. There'd be plenty of time later for Urtext or critical editions.

But, thanks to him, we have—studio or broadcast—recordings of works like Boito's Nerone, Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù, Ponchielli's I lituani, Mascagni's Parisina, and so on, and invariably his interpretations in obscure or well-known repertoire, display an authentic theatrical flair, an excellent sense of how to accompany and support the singers, and a deep love for the music.

THREAD DUTY:

A typical Gavazzeni foray into off the beaten track repertoire, Amilcare Ponchielli's I lituani:



Not terribly refined music, but Ponchielli's scapigliatura style, transitional between Verdi and the giovane scuola, can be exciting and has its interest.

[André]

Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù

I forgot about that one. It's a very beautiful work. I should get it out of its box some day.

[VonStupp]

Zoltán Kodály
Háry János, op. 15
György Melis, Erzsébet Komlóssy, Peter Ustinov, et al.
London Symphony Orchestra
István Kertész

If you have only listened to the orchestral Suite to Háry János, you have heard the most impressive parts of Kodály's folk opera. The work reminds me a bit of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale in that there is as much narration as there is music. I have some comparison's to make to other versions, but I will save that for the Kodály thread.



Re-listening right now, Peter Ustinov's English narration will irk many. He goes for broad comedy complete with accents and sound effects, but Ustinov gave my family the giggles throughout, so I view his contributions as a boon. Kertész and his Hungarian cast are good, as is the LSO from the 60's. The sound isn't as good as the accompanying Bluebeard's Castle, and the two works couldn't be more different, but I found the whole experience favorable if not essential.

[Ganondorf]

By comparison his half-brother Gunther sounds puny, one of the few disappointments in this very large cast.

Although, since Gunther's main character trait is his weakness, perhaps puny voice is fitting, no? 

Just kidding, I like Gunther strong-voiced such as the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

[JBS]

[JBS]