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Butterfly was a role de los Angeles sang on stage as well as making two commercial recordings of it. Freni said she never sang it on stage because it was too heavy emotionally, which tends to constrict throat muscles. I guess an artist must make that kind of choices for the sake of preserving a healthy physical/mental balance.
This is the stereo recording from 1959 with Björling, and it is conducted by Gabriele Santini. It is 11 minutes shorter than the mono version from 1954 with di Stefano and Gobbi. I don’t know if it’s due to faster tempi or cuts in the first recording ? In any case de los Angeles sings it beautifully and with much feeling. No optional high D in her entrance scene, but she doesn’t make it sound like she’s ducking any difficulties. She wouldn’t sing an E flat in
Sempre libera either. Dignity and a sad smile were pretty much her emotional trademarks. Amazing how these feelings can be evoked by mere vocal means.
Björling’s tenor sounds almost too gorgeous for the role of the the selfish, reckless Pinkerton. This was to be his last commercial recording. He was very ill at the time and died the next year. Both singers are splendid in the love duet. Although neither had a very large voice, their vocal size and slightly squeezed type of emission are perfectly matched.
Santini’s conducting is very attentive. One can hear him tailoring his every moves to the singers’, never overwhelming them even in the biggest moments. Quite different from Karajan (w. Callas or Freni), who is not afraid to open the floodgates (to thrilling effect). Santini is the more conversational conductor here.
The sound is still quite good, with effective stereo separation and commendable clarity.