Karajan's Trovatore

[Lilas Pastia]

I recently pourchased Karajan's Staatsoper recording from 1978:



This is the 4th Karajan Trovatore I've tried, and it trumps my previous favourite, the EMI Salzburg one (with Price and Bonisolli). Other easy to find versions are the 1962 Salzburg with Corelli and Price, and the mono EMI with Callas and Di Stefano. There may be some others around, as this was the Maestro's favourite Verdi opera. The ones I refer to are the 2 studio recordings (La Scala 1955 and Berlin 1977) and the 2 live ones from Salzburg/Vienna with the Staatsoper (1962 and 1978)

The very informative BMG booklet informs us that Troubadour (as K calls it) has been with him since his debut at Ulm (1929) and that he programmed it throughout his carreer (Aachen, Berlin, Salzburg, Vienna). When this was put down on May 1, 1978, he had been conducting it for almost 50 years. Apparently Karajan  believed very strongly in what Verdi apparently expected, a 'hard' sound from the orchestra. This is readily obvious from the first recorded effort, (La Scala, 1955) and it also comes up very strongly in the 1977 EMI Berlin. In Vienna, though, there is a warmth and affection that are unmistakable and quite striking. Any 'hardness' one can find is the result of an extremely wide dynamic range. I was surprised to hear many of the 'strange' balances that mar the second EMI release. I had always thought some sound engineer on crack had officiated at the console, but the BMG being recorded live from the pit of the Staatsoper, it's obvious these are Karajan's balances, not the engineer's. The difference is that they are less extreme and do not spotlight solo instruments. In sonic terms the BMG is definitely the best and apart from the gorgeous Giulini, simply the best sounding, period (I honestly think I've heard most of them). It goes without saying that the playing is simply drop dead gorgeous.

Then there's of course the matter of casting. I've never warmed to the 1955 version. Callas was not at her best in that recording and although she is quite unique, the sound she produces is not what I'm looking for in this role, probably Verdi's most gorgeously voluptuous in sheer vocal terms. The rest of her colleagues are quite below her standard and the sound is dead (no warmth at all). The 1962 Corelli-Price-Bastianini-Simionato is quite extraordinary in sheer vocal opulence and all involved play the histrionic card to the hilt. This is mustache-twirling, eyes-rolling, carpet-chewing vocal acting of a unique kind. I don't think the roles have been taken by better singers in any recording since. Then there is the unique 1977 version with Price, Price, Price and Price. The diva is sometimes perilously close to vocal caricature, but there are countless flashes of vocal genius that leave me panting every time. Her gleaming, phosphorescent high Bs and Cs are a thing of wonder. This is the only recording in which all interpolated high notes are used, a strange indulgence from Karajan, who obviously loved Price's way with the work. The other singers are quite good (the barrel-chested Obraztsova singing like Ulrica). But there is that impossible sound that makes a travesty of Karajan's conception.

That carefully conceived verdian conception comes triumphantly to the fore in the BMG set. As I said, the sound is beautiful and the orchestra play with an opulent beauty of tone that totally gives the lie to the old cliché of the "giant guitar" verdian orchestra. The cast includes Domingo as a magnificent Manrico, singing the most heart-stoppingly beautiful Ah si ben mio imaginable; the Bolshoi trained bulgarian Raina Kabaivanska as Leonora, a sound that is sometimes close to the vocal equivalent of low fat plain yogurt, but with plenty of surprisingly ethereal, floated high pianissimos. Her singing goes from strength to strength, and this is something I've noticed of all the principals (the first act only catches fire in the last scene. From there on it burns incandescently until the last note). Cossotto was by then a mature Azucena, and there's no mistaking the bright soprano tones from a mezzo who at the time was also singing Lady Macbeth. She is just perfect in the last two acts, a very touching portrayal. The normally staid Cappuccilli rises surprisingly to the occasion in a manly portrayal of the 'villain' di Luna. The last two acts (CD 2) elevate this recording to the status of 'legendary'. Indeed, I've never heard more beautiful and emotionally engaged singing from Domingo (with a heroic high C to boot), and extraordinarily acute verbal acting from all concerned (examples abound throughout that second part).

The only caveat I have with this recording is that it is not quite complete. It's the exact same text as the well-known Corelli-Schippers (EMI): no second verses in the arias, no Tu vedrai che amore in terra from Leonora (Act III). Other than that, it is a wonderful testament to Karajan's greatness as one of the great verdians. It is now my favourite version.

Other worthies are the Schippers and Giulini, and for Leontyne Price, the 1977 Karajan and, to a lesser extent, the Tebaldi Erede (for Tebaldi and Simionato mostly, though del Monaco is no slouch as Manrico). I don't care much for the first commercial Price (RCA - she developed into a more complete artist later, and it's quite uneven on other accounts), the RCA Björling-Milanov (absurdly cut), the Davis, Pappano or Bonynge versions (the first two light-weight vocally and undistinguished, the latter opulently cast but suspension from disbelief is necessary to enjoy that on the dramatic POV). I haven't heard the DG Serafin. Although I'm in the minority here, I don't root for the Mehta-Price recording (Domingo and Cossotto again). Although it's luxury casting throughout, it has a hint of the glib and glitzy that makes one understand why it's often relegated into the 'minor' Verdi works. Listening to the Staatsoper Karajan  eloquently demonstrates what's missing.

[oabmarcus]

I just love the Callas one, my all time recording/opera of all time. It's a magical recording, how else can u explain the fact that i have probably listened to it over 100 times?