Rate These Recordings: the Otello Monologue and the Otello Finale

[Derek McGovern]

Since we're celebrating the 92nd anniversary of Mario Lanza's birth in just two days, I thought I'd create another "Rate These Recordings" page for his renditions of two arias from the opera in which he most wanted to perform on stage: Verdi's Otello. The arias are, of course, the Otello Monologue ("Dio! Mi Potevi Scagliar") and the Finale or Death Scene ("Niun Mi Tema").  

Here's the link, and as always, I hope you'll listen to the recordings, rate them on the online poll, and then return here to discuss your evaluations!  

http://www.mariolanzatenor.com/otello-monologue-and-finale.html

Cheers

Derek

[Derek McGovern]

Well, so far the Otello recordings have attracted no posts (too intimidating?!), but I see that people have been busy with the online polls at least :)

 

Interestingly, everyone so far is in almost complete agreement regarding the Death Scene, which has received either "Excellent" or "A Masterpiece" evaluations, while the Monologue has received a relatively stingy "very good" from 9% of respondents. Now if I could just coax even a few people into revealing why they awarded their respective evaluations, I'll be a very happy chappie... 

 

Cheers

Derek 

[Barnabas Nemeth]

Both arias rendered by Mario are "masterpiece" for me. Especially, the duett by Licia Albanese is one of my favourites. This has been a famous role sung by del Monaco or Domingo but this version is far more the best, in my view.

Barnabas

2013/1/29 Derek McGovern <derek.m...@gmail.com>

Derek

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[leeann]

Well, I think intimidating is probably a good reason why these two selections are difficult to write about. Overwhelming works too. But I suppose just to say, "Magnificent" isn't quite enough.

It rather amazes me that Lanza gives us these selections without having sung the entire opera; that he can pick up such intense, extraordinarily dramatic, psychologically entangled pieces, libretto so closely entwined with orchestration--and we get the full force of their complexity, their context. It would seem to me that each of these ranks among the best renditions ever done of these pieces.

I think some criticize Lanza's acting in "Niun mi tema", considering it overly dramatic. After watching a bit of Domingo in Zefirelli's 1986 movie of the opera and various excerpts also of Domingo, but also of other tenors, on YouTube--well, while those aren't exactly definitive--I have the sense that really, this role and the fact that this is opera, not theater, demands heightened drama, a theatricality that might be considered exaggerated under other circumstances. I'm curious about that.

It's interesting that reviews of the Otello debut in 1887 praised the tenor credited for creating the role, Francesco Tamagno for his artistry, but claimed his voice was too light, not suited to the part. (Here he is singing an excerpt from Act I.) In fact, Verdi didn't want Tamagno in the role at all.

But Verdi himself received 26 curtain calls at La Scala at that first performance, and when the opera came to America, one critic wrote "The opera must be accepted, I think, as a work of great genius, and this, too, a genius which has force enough to receive and assimilate new principles of life and action..."

 To me, Lanza's performance is also a work of great genius. Cheers, Lee Ann

[norma]

Personally I think the Monologue is indeed a masterpiece and I rated the Finale excellent.I prefer the Monologue because it is more melodic and complete in itself.
From a novice of opera Norma

[Derek McGovern]

Many thanks to everyone who's shared their thoughts so far on these two recordings.

 

I've always been fascinated by this extraordinary collaboration between composer Verdi and librettist Boito. Here were two Italians, both great artists in their own right, who took on one of the most celebrated of all English-language plays, and ended up creating an adaptation that, to quote Bernard Shaw, in some respects "transcends" the original work. In short, it's one heck of an opera :)    

 

As for what Lanza does with the Monologue and the Death Scene, these recordings are the perfect retort to anyone who insists his singing lacked in intelligence. Or the equally risible claim that he was not an operatic artist but rather "a movie singer." (And if they still persist with these claims in the face of such daunting evidence to the contrary, then clearly nothing that Lanza recorded is ever going to budge them!) I just wish these two renditions were as well known as some of his overblown operatic recordings that so many critics have pounced on (with some justification). Too many judge his operatic potential purely on the basis of his 1950-52 recordings---and understandably so, since they're the ones that are usually featured on compilations---overlooking the fact that those recordings only tell part of the Lanza (operatic) story. How many other great singers get judged on the basis of what they recorded over a two-year period? And at such a young age! 

 

Lanza grew as an artist---and what an artist he is on these two Otello recordings. It's almost inconceivable that the same man who roughhandled his way through recordings of those Butterfly and Traviata duets in April 1950, or performed that ghastly "Che Gelida Manina" on the Coke Shows two years later, could have gone on to sing the Otello Death Scene with such moving resignation.

 

I was interested in Lee Ann's observation that some criticize Lanza's acting in the Otello scene in For the First Time. I'm perfectly fine with it (except for the way he falls, as I've mentioned elsewhere); it's the filming of it I have a few problems with! Besides, if critics want to find an example of bad acting with the identical staging to what we see in that movie, they need look no further than Mario I-learned-my-acting-from-watching-silent-films Del Monaco :) And this man performed the role of Otello more often than anyone else!

 

Lee Ann also mentioned the 1986 Zeffirelli film of Otello. I actually saw it for the first time in Italy, and it was interesting watching it in the presence of a largely Italian audience. Now goodness knows Domingo's in a completely different league, acting-wise, from Del Monaco (and I much prefer his singing), but even he has his hammy moments in the film, and I can vividly remember the audience giggling a few times at some of his visual exaggerations (especially during the Act III duet). All in all, then, I think Lanza does amazingly well in his on-screen Otello excerpts for a novice :)

 

Cheers

Derek            

 

[Lou]

Derek wrote: I think Lanza does amazingly well in his on-screen Otello excerpts for a novice. I fully agree, except that I would delete the qualifying phrase "for a novice." With the sheer beauty and power of his voice and his innate gift for musical characterization, Lanza delivers in each case a disciplined, emotionally textured performance that I dare say many an experienced Otello would give his  eyeteeth for. In my book, these recordings comfortably hold their own with the best versions of such celebrated Otellos as Jon Vickers, Placido Domingo, and (some say overrated) Mario Del Monaco. 

Lanza’s take on the Otello Monologue eschews histrionics, relying on his clear diction, imaginative phrasing, and opulent vocal palette to convincingly convey the turmoil in Otello’s soul. Starting in a mood of utter dejection (Dio! Mi potevi scagliar), Lanza’s Otello seamlessly shifts musical gears through the subsequent rapid changes in his emotional state, first rising to a controlled lyricism redolent of painful regret (Spento è quell sol…), then collapsing as he works himself into a manic fit of rage that culminates in a blood-curdling invective (Ah! Dannazione!), and finally soaring to unleash an outburst of unholy joy (Gioia!!) in anticipation of his terrible revenge. Electrifying!

I find Lanza’s death scene strikingly noble and dignified. Sans extra-musical “effects” (e.g., sobs and groans ala Del Monaco) except for an audible last gasp, it is a wrenching performance that immerses me in the pathos of Otello’s tragic end and leaves me with a rekindled sense of loss of potentially the greatest Otello ever.

Like Derek, I’m also interested in Lee Ann’s comment that some consider Lanza’s acting in the Otello Finale overly dramatic. As his vocal acting is subdued (appropriately so, in my opinion), I presume the criticism is directed at the physical aspect of his interpretation. If so, I wonder what these same critics have to say about Laurence Olivier’s bravura performance as Othello in the 1965 filmed staging of Shakespeare’s play., ‘regarded by many critics and actors as the greatest performance of the 20^th century.’ I may be putting my foot in my mouth when I say this, but I have reservations about Lord Olivier’s physical acting in the death scene: I can hardly take my eyes off his ultra-expressive face, but I’m distracted at times by his overly dramatic, almost hysterical gestures. Compared to his Othello, Lanza’s Otello is a model of restraint. Having said that, I do have one niggling reservation about Lanza’s physical acting: to my eyes, his hand gestures are Lanza’s, not Otello’s.  

I, too, have watched the 1986 Zeffirelli film of Otello as well as the three succeeding Otello DVDs headlined by Domingo. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the star tenor’s performance gets a little hammier, if perhaps more psychologically insightful, with each new version. But there’s no hint of ham in his first recorded Otello, also a Zeffirelli staging, which was filmed in 1976 to document Carlos Kleiber’s first conducting appearance at La Scala. Domingo was then 35 years old, about the same age as Lanza when the latter filmed the Otello Monologue and Finale, respectively. Many Domingo aficionados consider this his most thrilling and most vocally secure performance in the role. It is my Otello DVD of choice after Vickers’ 1978 live performance at the Met.

Cheers,

Lou

[leeann]

Lou and Derek, there's so much to think about in your posts, I'm not sure where to begin.

I've just watched this particular version of Jon Vickers's "Niun mi tema" (an upload from Onegin on YouTube). His interpretation held me totally spellbound. I don't know if it's the 1978 performance you refer to, Lou, but it's hypnotic--and yes, extraordinarily dramatic. (I also appreciated going back to an earlier thread on "Niun mi tema" here on the forum where you all and others have talked in depth about various artists, performances, and challenges of the Otello role.)

Lanza's interpretation, I think grasps so well the necessity and nuances (as Lou describes it: "disciplined, emotionally textured")--of a theatricality that could so easily collapse into melodrama  rather than the projection of the intense, profoundly complex view of Otello that Verdi gives us. Again, I've got a bit of awe that Lanza's  doing this in one-off arias in the context of a film--so different from the character and plot development afforded in a total opera or even a concert performance and so subject to film editors and film conventions (well, that's a problem with Lanza films, isn't it--there just weren't conventions for his movies, really, no matter how hard producers and directors tried)  of this genre of movie and of his time! I agree with Derek--the cameras don't  build on the potential of this scene at all, and the technology and artistry was there for the taking when this film was made!

Verdi's opera crystallizes emotional situations through libretto and music, and I'm always struck at how the distillation in this particular opera seems to just holler out certain eternal commonalities of the human experience that transcend time and circumstance. Lanza just got it as well as (or better than) those tenors who were singing at the Met and La Scala and other great venues. I'm not a big fan of retrospective wishing that things had been different, but in this case (and agreeing with Lou's comment on that earlier thread that there's no such thing as a definitive performance), I really do wish he'd done a total  Otello and that it were part of our heritage of great music now. Lee Ann

[leeann]

In another thread, Barnabas linked to an @hour-long, Villazon-narrated, BBC4 production, "What Makes a Great Tenor?" At about 39:30, there's a look at Domingo's Otello and, while the focus is on Domingo, he (and others) speaks about the difficulties of the role as he portrayed it. Lee Ann

[Lou]

Yes, Lee Ann, that version of Vickers's "Niun mi tema" that you've watched is from the 1978 Met performance I refer to. Here's a link to another spellbinding Vickers performance (audio only) as Otello: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpAtpUQXW0Q. "Niun mi tema" starts at 2:14:19. I've always found the tempo in this 1973 version a tad too slow, though, and to my ears, the lack of visuals in the YouTube clip emphasizes the slowness. 

Cheers,

Lou

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lou: I do find the tempo too slow on that 1973 Vickers version, especially in the last section after Otello has stabbed himself. My ideal tempo would probably be the more consistent one heard here on this excellent 1996 Met performance by Domingo:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcye5OpNLR8

 

Now I wish that Lanza had been able to sing it at this tempo. So many more opportunities for expressiveness! Don't get me wrong: I love Lanza's recording of the Death Scene---he's in great voice and he sings the aria convincingly---and like Armando, I think the closing moments are wonderfully inspired (and quite unlike anyone else's). But I just wish Callinicos had slowed things down. Mario's having to rush on lines like "E tu. . .come sei pallida!/ E stanca, e muta, e bella," and when I hear what what Domingo's able to do with these lines because of the luxury of that slower tempo, my heart weeps at what might have been....  

 

Cheers

Derek

[Derek McGovern]

Interestingly, the most-visited page from our Rate These Recordings feature over the last couple of months has been the one devoted to the Otello Monologue and Death Scene (closely followed by "Nessun Dorma"). The average amount of time spent on this page is an encouraging 31 minutes, which suggests that visitors are playing the two recordings repeatedly. The only other recordings included in this feature that have attracted visitors for a similar amount of time have been the two renditions of "Fenesta Che Lucive," with an average viewing of 26 minutes. (The three versions of the arguably much more famous "Granada," in comparison, have attracted visitors for an average of just 16 minutes.)

Surprisingly, though, very few people have actually rated the Otello recordings on the polls provided (or, for that matter, the two renditions of "Fenesta Che Lucive"). While the last thing I want is for every recording in this feature to be evaluated as a "masterpiece" (as a few over-exuberant fans have done :)), it's always interesting to see how the various Lanza renditions are received. 

Anyway, if you haven't cast your votes yet on these two Otello recordings, then please be my guest:      

http://www.mariolanzatenor.com/otello-monologue-and-finale.html

And by all means post your thoughts on these recordings here. Remember: we welcome diverse views! I would love to hear, for example, from those who rated Lanza's singing of the Otello Monologue as just "so-so."

Cheers

Derek

P.S. I haven't provided the video clips for the two Otello recordings, as I wanted listeners to focus on the singing rather than being distracted by on-screen business. The Otello clips (courtesy of Vince) do appear elsewhere on our main site, though.