Montserrat Caballe is a name I don't encounter on these boards, though as I can detect, next to no one is interested in vocal music. Feeding her name into the search facility brought up a surprising 50 hits; but in looking through he posts, almost all of them merely mention her as being in such and such a recording and there is no discussion of her abilities.
First of all, there is her voice; it was remarkable, very beautiful, she could sing with unusally soft tone, exceptionally quiet yet projected pianissimo, the flexibility to perform colouratura without asperating the runs, wonderful breath control and yet there were reserves of strength that allowed her to sing Isolde.
We tend more to think of her in the Sutherland type of roles, bel-canto, some Verdi, Puccini. But her range was actually enormous. Rossini, Richard Strauss' Salome, Turandot, Norma, Violetta, Rosenkavalier, Aida, Elizabeth in Don Carlo, Venus in Tannhauser, Lady Macbeth...and so on and on.
It has been a long career and a bit in the way that Pavarotti devalued his currency, her over-the-hill concert appearances and promotion of her modestly talented daughter have perhaps slightly tarnished the reputation of a really great singer, one who was also a great artist.
So, to the disc; it is a conflation by EMI of several sources, but it works well, except for one very black mark, but that is for EMI, not the singer.
She was yet another who fell under the shadow of Callas. I recall her almost monthly complete opera discs, often with Domingo, were received with many a....yes, but characterisation is a bit generalised, she does not have the vocal face of Callas....but who ever has or did? In retrospect however the value of a lot of her work shines through. So her Aida is often now regarded as a touchstone, also her Violetta.
This disc starts with Bellini, then moves to Verdi.
The Bellini brings out the soft tone, floating phrases and pinging top notes. Her legato is wonderful, no bumps or tooth past squeezing, the sheer sound is beautiful and she puts expression into the words. The musical line makes sense, it is not just decoration. There are three pieces each from Pirata and Puritani. These are taken from complete sets and you get the accompanying singers where appropriate.
We then move to an almost complete recital disc of Verdi with a couple of interpolations from complete sets, Aida, Don Carlos, La Forza, Macbeth and Otello. Every aria is given due attention. There is nothing in the least routine. I recall the LP of the Verdi and a highlight was the Lady Macbeth sleepwalking scene. She digs into the words, the tone of course is beautiful rather than the she devil sound Verdi wanted, but it is a reading that makes sense. However, EMI have seen fit to excise the entirety of the introduction, so you jump in at the start of the main aria, vandalism really. The Aida is dreamy and impassioned and dramatic, no one negotiates the music in a more musical fashion.
This is a budget price issue, get it if you can.
Mike
