Many of us here regard Lanza's recording of the Otello Monologue as
one of his greatest achievements -- and rightly so! -- but I would
also rate his Niun Mi Tema from the same opera as another of his
finest operatic accomplishments.
In fact, this rendition is the perfect antidote for countering the oft-
heard nonsense that Lanza always overdid the histrionics on his
operatic recordings. (David Denton, for example, writing in Records &
Recordings in 1973, claimed that the "affectations" on Lanza's 1958
version of Vesti la Giubba "result in almost making a caricature of
this famous aria".) By any standards, Mario is quite restrained here
-- perhaps *too* restrained for some tastes -- but, as Armando points
out in his book, by avoiding the usual scenery-chewing antics of, say,
a Del Monaco, Lanza's sombre, controlled rendition is all the more
moving. I especially love the sensitivity of his "E tu. . .come sei
pallida! e stanca, e muta, e bella" and from "Pria
d'ucciderti. . .sposa. . .ti baciai" (after he stabs himself) to the
end. Not to mention his sighs, on which he skillfully resists any
temptation to ham things up. That final, incomplete "bacio" ("kiss")
is devastating -- and a masterstroke to boot, since completing the
word (as some tenors do) is much less effective -- as is the poignant
quality in his voice on the difficult "morendo".
It helps, of course, that Lanza is in very fine vocal fettle indeed
here. His voice slightly darker and rounder than it is on the
Monologue recording of three years earlier, he sounds exactly right as
Otello. Back in 2004 tenor Joseph Calleja had this to say about
Lanza's Niun Mi Tema: "Very recently, thanks to one of the patrons of
Grandi-Tenori.com, actually, I heard his last Otello scene which was
recorded just a couple months before he died. [It was actually
recorded *13* months before he died.] And I was really impressed, the
colour of the voice, the shading ... it was one of the glorious tenor
sounds and there lies also the fact that it was thanks to him that I
first was attracted to opera."
Bravo, Joseph.
Incidentally, what a shame that no CD has yet featured both the
Monologue and the Death Scene on the same disc! These two recordings
cry out to be placed side by side on an operatic compilation, for they
offer compelling evidence of Lanza's great love and understanding of
this role. The only occasion to date (as far as I know) when the two
recordings did appear on the same disc was on an old RCA Italia LP
called, I think, Arie Italiane.
Purely as a reproduction of Lanza's voice, this is the best I've ever
heard his Niun Mi Tema:
http://www.4shared.com/account/file/67631415/150f26c6/Niun_Mi_Tema__VHS_.html
But for a stereo version that reveals much more orchestral detail
(and, in particular, emphasizes the haunting cor anglais that that
genius Verdi provided for here), as well as pushing Lanza more
appropriately back from "Pria d'ucciderti" onwards, this is very good:
http://www.4shared.com/account/file/67629323/2adac7ea/Niun_Mi_Tema__RCA_.html
(It's just a pity that the slight over-brightness of the sound here
makes Lanza's voice a little gritty or sandy.)
And here is the text, accompanied by the English translation:
Niun mi tema
S'anco armato mi vede. Ecco la fine
Del mio camin. . .Oh! Gloria! Otello fu.
E tu. . .come sei pallida! e stanca, e muta, e bella,
Pia creatura nata sotto maligna stella.
Fredda come la casta tua vita, e in cielo assorta.
Desdemona! Desdemona! . . . Ah ... morta! ... morta! ... morta! ...
Ho un'arma ancor!
Pria d'ucciderti. . .sposa. . .ti baciai.
Or morendo. . .nell'ombra. . . ov'io mi giacio. . .
Un bacio. . .un bacio ancora. . . un altro bacio. . .
Let no one fear me
Even seeing me armed. This is the end
Of my road . . . Oh! Glory!
Othello is dead.
And you . . . how pale you are! and
weary, and silent, and beautiful,
Sainted creature born under a malign
star.
Cold as your chaste life, and borne up to heaven.
Desdemona! Desdemona! . . . Ah . . .
dead! ... dead! ... dead! ...
I still have a weapon!
(stabs himself)
Before killing you . . . wife . . . I kissed you.
Now, dying . . . in the darkness ... where I lie . . .
A kiss ... a kiss again ... another kiss ...
(He dies.)