Favourite Operas: Tosca

[Derek McGovern]

I'm a huge fan of Puccini's Tosca, and always make a point of
attending performances of this opera wherever I happen to be. Sure,
it's a violent story, with no fewer than three corpses by the end
(*four* if we include Angelotti's off-stage suicide -- and Puccini
once jokingly suggested that Spoleta, Scarpia's henchman, be bumped
off as well!)

I've found that Tosca makes a tremendous impact on first-time
operagoers. The second act, in particular, is riveting. It's also
interesting comparing it with Act III of Andrea Chénier (as I think
Shawn pointed out on the Chénier thread). In both acts the "evil"
baritone offers to save the poor tenor on the condition that the
soprano gives herself to him. The only difference is that in Andrea
Chénier, the soprano actually talks the baritone (Gérard) out of
enforcing his physical demands! Mind you, I heard one recording of
Tosca with a baritone (Juan Pons) so sympathetic-sounding that I
almost thought for a moment that Scarpia *would* change his mind :-)

A lot of musicologists frown on audiences enjoying Tosca. I've just
been reading Joseph Kerman's Opera as Drama, and in it he makes the
much-quoted observation that Tosca is "a shabby little
shocker." (Puccini's Turandot, he declares, is "even more depraved.")
Kerman's certainly not alone among "intellectuals" (who, as a whole,
see Puccini as a second-rate composer).

In terms of its dramatic story, though, even one of Puccini's
librettists complained that while "La Bohème was all poetry and no
plot, Tosca was all plot and no poetry."

I don't think that's fair. I actually find Tosca nicely balanced.
There are moments of haunting reflection (eg, the beautiful opening to
Act III, and the orchestral lead-up to E Lucevan le Stelle) as well as
pure drama. It's interesting, though, that Puccini at one point
considered cutting Tosca's only aria (the famous Vissi d'Arte) because
he felt it wrecked the pace of the drama. I'm glad he kept it in!

Anyway, I have far more I could say on this opera, but for now I'll
leave the comments to others. Here are a couple of questions that you
might want to chew over, though. Firstly, what are your favourite
recordings of Tosca? (There are certainly plenty to choose from.) And/
or: how do you rate Lanza's recordings of Recondita Armonia and E
Lucevan le Stelle alongside those of others?

[Tonytenor]

Hello Derek,

Great topic - FAVORITE OPERA - and indeed it is hard for one to narrow
it down, at least it is hard for me. TOSCA rates right up there and
for many of the reasons you stated. My favorite recording of the
opera is not the Callas / DiStefano but rather the RCA recording with
Zinka Milanov and Jussi Bjoerling. I just find that the best
"recorded" version of the opera.

As for live performances of it (and selections from it) I have to
relate a story that, as I look back on it, was really quite amazing
and serendipedous: Back in 1978 when I was living in NYC and coaching
with Constantine Callinicos, my mother (who had flown in for a visit)
and I got rush tickets to a performance of TOSCA at the Met. I think
the tickets were either 2 or 5 dollars then. In all events, it was
not a star studded cast, save for Cornell MacNeil who sang Scarpia.
The soprano was Teresa Zylis-Gara and the tenor was to be Carlo Bini.
Before the performance began however a gentleman (I assume it was the
production stage manager) stepped out in front of the house curtain
and announced that "Mr. Bini was ill and could not perform. There is
however a singer who is in town and who has graciously consented to
sing the performance. This evening the role of Mario Cavaradossi wil
be sung by Placido Domingo." Well, you can imagine the reaction of
the audience. It was a wonderful performance and since Domingo was
familiar with this particular production there were no staging, or
blocking issues.

One sad note I recall from that night was that Teresa Zylis-Gara was
booed after her "Vissi d'arte." The audience booed her too during the
second act curtain call. That is until Placido Domingo came out, took
her hands in his, then stepped back and began applauding her.
Needless to say, there was little to no booing the rest of the
evening.

I guess this was a case of being in the right place at the right
time. My mother and I were fortunate indeed to see this performance.

Now then, as to favorite operas. Mine is OTELLO, hands down. It is,
without doubt, a masterpiece and I think, subjectively, the greatest
opera written. There are moments in the opera where is rivals
Shakespeare, IMO. An ideal example is Iago's "Credo" in act two.
There is nothing in the play that gives the audience as clear a view
of the evil that is Iago. I will say it is my favorite opera with one
caveat: It can be one of the most dreadful of operatic experiences
when done with poor principles. I was spoiled. My first OTELLO was
Vickers and that is indeed a tough act to follow.

Ciao - Tony

[Derek McGovern]

Terrific post, Tony -- and what a lovely anecdote about the amazingly
generous Maestro Domingo! He's certainly one of the operatic world's
genuine nice guys.

I'm snowed under with work at the moment (PhD & a full-time job), but
will respond more fully to your post when I have more time. Meanwhile
I hope others will join in.

Feel free to create a separate thread on Otello (less messy that way).

Cheers
Derek

[Tonytenor]

Derek,

I got to thinking about TOSCA, all the bad press it has received over
the years - "A shabby little shocker!" God, how many times have we
heard that, eh? Anyway, I thought of something rather interesting and
that is that the famed tenor Beniamino Gigli thought very little of
TOSCA, and said as much in his autobiography. He felt it was
contrived and overly melodramatic. He also went on to say that the
opera is "redeemed" by the tenor's aria, "O dolci mani." I remember
reading that and being amazed. "O dolci mani"? Come on!!!! It's a
nice little arietta (that's how I would describe it) but what of the
REST of the opera and arias in it?

Curious I think to have such a remark from someone who sang, and
performed the opera many times. I guess he struggled through it like
a real trooper each time. By the way, I personally have never liked
Gigli in any of the TOSCA arias or his complete recording of the work
- his voice does not have the "bite" and proper color for Mario, IMO.
Perhaps - to my ears - his ambivalance for the opera shown through his
performances despite his great artistry.

All the best,

Tony

> > > Lucevan le Stelle alongside those of others?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Henry]

Puccini's masterpiece doesn't really need defending, few opera lovers
go to see opera because of the fantastic storyline. The music more
than justifies its popularity. Tosca's storyline is actually pretty
good though, compared to say I Puritani which has perhaps the worst
libretto ever (despite this, I Puritani is among my top 3 operas).
Musically, Tosca is a masterpiece. I had a look through my collection
and I've found an excellent 1994 Met Tosca which had a nice
intermission feature which defends Tosca. It's very good to listen to,
I'll put it on my YouTube profile sometime.

On the tenor music: Lanza's rendition of Recondita Armonia is good.
But this is true of many tenors with excellent legato and high notes.
I feel that what really separates a tenor from the rest when singing
Cavaradossi is E lucevan le stelle. I think that dynamic variation is
essential. This is where Lanza's renditions fall behind others.
Interpretatively, di Stefano's is the best. I really can't stand his
approach to the passagio though, it's painful. My favourite rendition
is actually a Pavarotti rendition (yes, I know you will think I'm
being biased), let me first say that most of Pavarotti's renditions
were fairly boring: beautiful singing with little dynamic variation.
But I have a recording of Pavarotti singing E lucevan le stelle in a
1973 Carnegie Hall recital (I own the source tape for this and I've
been asked not to release it unfortunately) where he sings it with
floating pianissimo which are almost (but not quite) as good as di
Stefano's. But the big difference is that the passagio is perfectly
attacked and the sound is perfectly placed.

I have some more things to write about Tosca, I'll add them when I
have more time.

[Shawn]

Nice thoughts, Henry. I agree that musically Tosca is a masterpiece.
It's just chock full of great music, hardly a dull moment.

Lanza's rendition of Recondita armonia is good indeed. As you say,
many singers have sung it well but what makes Lanza's rendition good
is the beauty and uniqueness of his voice, not just legato and high
notes, which as you say, many tenors have. Whether or not his voice
appeals to you is a personal thing of course. I get a lot more
excitement out Lanza's climactic "Tosca...sei tu!" than I get out of
Pavarotti's or Bjorling's, despite the fact that they can hit the
notes as easily as Lanza. But that's just me.

I agree that as far as "E lucevan" goes Di Stefano is the best
interpreter I've heard. Lanza's renditions are very good but could
have been superb with a little more contrast. In his defense though,
many successful tenors like Caruso and Tucker and even Corelli
sometimes just sang it straight too with little contrast.

If you haven't heard it, you might also like Lanza's rendition of
"Qual occhio al mondo."

Pavarotti sang it very well. It's a shame we can't hear your
definitive rendition though. :-)

P.S. Turandot get's my vote for worst libretto.... at least I Puritani
has a palatable ending.... :-P

I agree that Di Stefano's interpretation is the best. Lanza did little
dynamic contrast in his renditions, unfortunately,

[zsazsa]

Hi Henry and Shawn, I don`t know which interpretation you mean of
Mario, singing E*lucevan.. as he sang it many times. I, myself can
not immagine a more dramatic and greater interpretation of this aria
as Mario sings it in the 2nd Chrysler Show! I think Puccini has
written
this aria singing in the way as Mario does, heart-gripping and vocally
colourful and just great! I can tell only what I feel when I see and
hear
him singing this aria! Cheerio and Sempre per Mario! Susan

[Derek McGovern]

Hi everyone: I actually feel quite strongly that Lanza's 1950 RCA
rendition of E Lucevan le Stelle ranks alongside the best renditions
of Di Stefano, or those of any other tenor I've heard. True, Lanza
goes for broke on "O dolci baci, o languide carezze/ mentr'io fremente
le belle forme disciogliea dai veli!" (where others -- eg, Di Stefano
-- achieve magical effects on "disciogliea," in particular ), but his
full-blooded, intense approach here is valid too, I feel.

The point is: does Lanza's rendition convince us that it's the singing
of a man who believes he's about to leave a world that he desperately
wants to remain in? I believe it does. His singing of the climactic
line of the aria, right through to the last "la vita!", is thrillingly
intense without going over the top. Lanza doesn't cling to the high A
as many others have been tempted to do, and, vocally, as well as
dramatically, he's in superb form here.

I also love what he does with lines such as "mi cadea fra le braccia";
this is true vocal painting.

Perhaps Henry and Shawn haven't heard a decent reproduction of Mario's
1950 recording? I recommend the Encore CD, on which (for once) the
clarinet-playing at the beginning is passable.

One other thing we should remember about Lanza's RCA recording is that
the orchestra, as conducted by Callinicos, is as bland as can be. As
usual, Mario's having to do all the work! We tend to overlook the
vital role of the conductor, and in this respect, Di Stefano, Corelli,
Pavarotti, et al were much more fortunate.

E lucevan le stelle,
e olezzava la terra
stridea l'uscio dell'orto
e un passo sfiorava la rena.
Entrava ella fragrante,
mi cadea fra le braccia.

O dolci baci, o languide carezze,
mentr'io fremente le belle forme disciogliea dai veli!
Svanì per sempre il sogno mio d'amore.
L'ora è fuggita, e muoio disperato!
E non ho amato mai tanto la vita!

[Shawn]

Hi zsazsa and Derek: I hope I haven't given the wrong impression. I
love Lanza's 1950 RCA recording. I agree, his approach is certainly
valid, especially when, as I said, other greats like Tucker, Corelli,
and even Caruso have sung it in a similar fashion. However, Henry
feels that "dynamic variation is essential," and admittedly Lanza's
renditions have very little. I tend to agree with him that Di Stefano
has the most poignant interpretation. This doesn't change the fact
that I usually prefer Lanza's voice and singing in a general way.

That being said: It takes more than a simple reduction in volume on
certain phrases to make you feel the words. Lanza does make me feel
the words, so in that sense it's certainly a very fine rendition! And
your point about conducting is well made. I never payed much attention
to it before but this was a frequent disadvantage for Lanza. It's to
his credit that he still has so many admirers (yes, even among
informed opera fans!) despite having so much stacked against him.

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Shawn: I also find Di Stefano's version of E Lucevan le Stelle the
most poignant I've heard of this aria. (I presume you're referring to
his rendition from his first complete recording of the opera -- the
classic one with Callas & Gobbi?). And, certainly, if we compare
Pippo's earlier 1947 version with Lanza's Hollywood Bowl rendition
from the same year, Di Stefano's performance is the superior one,
interpretively speaking. No question about it (though, vocally, Mario
is stunning here.)

But I feel that on his RCA recording, Lanza comes into his own on this
aria -- even without "dynamic variation". What he offers is beautiful
phrasing and dramatic conviction. He also has exactly the right lirico
spinto sound for the role:

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/89453800/5850ef23/05_-_E_Lucevan_le_Stelle.html

Could Lanza have employed more dynamic variation if he'd wanted to? Of
course he could -- and perhaps if he'd been working with someone like
De Sabata or Serafin, he might well have been coaxed into doing so.
But for proof that he could master dynamics, we need look no further
than his MGM All the Things You Are:

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/38326755/3df7a3ac/All_The_Things_You_Are__rare_outtake__Lanza_1951_-_superb.html

> > E non ho amato mai tanto la vita!- Hide quoted text -

[Shawn]

This is my benchmark Di Stefano performance of the aria from 1952,
with Callas in Mexico City: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLD3fveuvBg

Despite the poor sound that version is just oh so moving. The studio
recording is equally good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnU9oZju76A

Absolutely I think Lanza could have done more contrast. In addition to
the "All the things you are" how about the Dio, mi potevi. These
examples just make it all the more sad that he didn't do it more (in
some ways), perhaps with better coaching as you say.

On Feb 25, 2:32 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Shawn: I also find Di Stefano's version of E Lucevan le Stelle the
> most poignant I've heard of this aria. (I presume you're referring to
> his rendition from his first complete recording of the opera -- the
> classic one with Callas & Gobbi?). And, certainly, if we compare
> Pippo's earlier 1947 version with Lanza's Hollywood Bowl rendition
> from the same year, Di Stefano's performance is the superior one,
> interpretively speaking. No question about it (though, vocally, Mario
> is stunning here.)
>
> But I feel that on his RCA recording, Lanza comes into his own on this
> aria -- even without "dynamic variation". What he offers is beautiful
> phrasing and dramatic conviction. He also has exactly the right lirico
> spinto sound for the role:
>

> http://www.4shared.com/account/file/89453800/5850ef23/05_-_E_Lucevan_...

>
> Could Lanza have employed more dynamic variation if he'd wanted to? Of
> course he could -- and perhaps if he'd been working with someone like
> De Sabata or Serafin, he might well have been coaxed into doing so.
> But for proof that he could master dynamics, we need look no further
> than his MGM All the Things You Are:
>

> http://www.4shared.com/account/file/38326755/3df7a3ac/All_The_Things_...

[Derek McGovern]

Thanks for those links, Shawn. I'll check out them out later, as I'm
not currently able to access YouTube.

Yes, I was also thinking of Lanza's Dio Mi Potevi (the Monologue from
Otello). In fact, that recording alone should be sufficient to prove
that he had not only the voice and musicality to sing on the operatic
stage, but that he also possessed the intelligence and nuance that a
great interpreter needs. It's an incredible recording.

The Dio Mi Potevi also shows what Mario was capable of achieving with
the help of a first-rate coach (in this case, Giacomo Spadoni).

On Feb 26, 9:33 am, Shawn <sglassm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> This is my benchmark Di Stefano performance of the aria from 1952,
> with Callas in Mexico City:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLD3fveuvBg
>
> Despite the poor sound that version is just oh so moving. The studio

> recording is equally good.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnU9oZju76A

[Tonytenor]

Hi Derek,

Goodness, you really are not a fan of Callinicos' are you? I am
afraid I cannot agree with you about the continual "blandness" of his
conducting. Was it not the two CHENIER arias (conducted by
Callinicos), which remained unreleased for so long and for which Lanza
fans clamored for? Is it not Callinicos who is conducting for Mario's
searnig "Niun mi tema"?

When it comes to conductors, there are the great, good, famous and
INFAMOUS. Let's see, who might fall into the latter category? Von
Karajan, aside from his questionable activities during WW II,
certainly did not do Jose Carreras any favors - I think you would
agree with me on that. He was also rather tyranical apparently. He
conducted, staged and appeared in a rather abismal film of OTELLO with
Jon Vickers. Jon should never have signed the contract and should, I
think, reacess the high station Von Karajan holds in Vicker's mind.

Then there is good old Arturo. Besides being thoroughly over rated, I
think if any conductor of note takes first place for inappropriate
tempi it would be Toscanini. Now I know that he said Mario's was the
"greatest voice of the century" - at least we think (and want) him to
have said that. But I can think of only a handful of recordings with
Toscanini conducting which I think fall into the class of truly good
or possibly great recordings.

While we're at it and discussing bigger-than-life conductors, how
about Stokowski? As i am sure you know, he is either loved or hated -
very few music lovers that I know have a neutral opinion of him.
Myself? I enjoy some of his recordings, perhaps my favorite being the
recording of Canteloube's SONGS OF THE AUVERGNE which he did with Anna
Moffo.

My point here is, that do we really think that Lanza would have
produced superior recordings with a conductor "of note"? It has been
my experience, limited though it is, that conductors with a name also
come with the extra baggage of quite a strong temperament. I recall
Constantine teling me once that it was his opinion that it was crucial
the way Mario was "handled" by the conductor. I remember him saying
too that Mario could indeed be corrected and directed if he strayed or
made a mistake musically, but the way the conductor approached him was
the key. While I will agree with you that Callinicos does not (and
indeed never will) rank up there with the great opera / classical
conductors, I will argue that he was what Mario needed at the times he
needed it. I mean by that that Costa was simpatico with Mario and
recognised his great talent and made the decision to find the very
best way of working with him and, hopefully, getting the very best out
of him with each and every effort.

Lanza worked with several other capable and good (I would not say any
were great or overly gifted) conductors. I have often wondered how
each of them approaced their conducting Lanza. If the Hit Parade is
to be the litmus test, then Ray Sinatra certainly had that special
something as he did conduct for Mario on several of his "hits" and
that, in a way, is a mark of distinction. It is interesting to note
though that when it came to the classical repertoire, Sinatra fell
flat on his face. Granted he was probably told to conduct everything
for the Coke shows as fast as possible due to time constrants. But I
cannot think of very many recordings that fall in the classical
repertoire that Ray Sinatra did with Lanza that can compare to those
same works conducted by Callinicos. Let's be honest too though and
admit that no matter who the conductor might be, the opportunity, at
that time, of working with Mario Lanza would, in all likelihood, be a
very considered a feather in any conductor's cap. Especially if the
end result was a positive and successful one.

Just a few thoughts to toss out there for consideration.

Ciao,

Tony

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Tony: I seem to have touched a raw nerve with you regarding
Callinicos!

First, I'd like to clarify that it's his conducting of Lanza's
*operatic* work that bothers me in the main -- not the lighter
repertoire. If you sit down and listen simply to the *orchestra* on
something like the 1950 E Lucevan le Stelle, and then compare it with
the playing on virtually any other tenor's recording that I can think
of, I'm confident you'll hear what I'm talking about. There's no fire
in the orchestra on Lanza's recording and also no subtlety (where it's
needed) --and why Callinicos didn't simply stop the performance as
soon as the clarinettist muffed the opening bars is beyond me. I've
played this recording many times to musician friends, all of whom
cringed at the incompetence of the playing here. They couldn't believe
that something so amateurish was allowed to pass. But I think a lot of
Lanza fans are so focused on listening *purely to Mario* that they
don't notice how bland the orchestra often is.

Inappropriately fast tempi are also a major problem on many of the
operatic recordings that Callinicos conducted, eg, the Flower Song,
Questa o Quella, Parmi Veder le Lagrime, O Tu Che in Seno agli Angeli.
Just think of the expressive qualities that Callinicos might have
drawn from Lanza had the Flower Song, for example, been conducted at a
slower tempo. Callinicos also needed to correct Mario a lot more often
than he obviously did. Not just when he was singing sharp repeatedly
(eg, on the 1950 Cielo e Mar), but also when he was being far too
heavy-handed (eg, Una Furtiva Lagrima) or too emphatic (eg, O
Paradiso). I feel that Callinicos was in a unique position to correct
Lanza without fear of antagonizing him, since clearly he had his trust
and respect. Again, just imagine the different results we might be
enjoying today if Callinicos had taken Mario aside on the day he
recorded the Libiamo from La Traviata and the Butterfly Love Duet,
telling him (gently), "Look, Mario, I know we can do better than this.
Let's listen to the takes we've done and try to figure out where we're
going wrong."

I don't have a problem with the orchestral playing on the 1950
Improvviso, the Addio alla Madre, M'Appari', and one or two other
arias, but I disagree with you about the 1958 operatic material that
Lanza recorded with Callinicos at the Rome Opera. Mario's in
magnificent form, but, frankly, I find the orchestra lack-lustre
here.

You mentioned that Ray Sinatra's efforts were inferior to those of
Callinicos on many of the Coke Show arias. But it's actually
Callinicos, not Sinatra, who was the conductor on some of the worst of
the Coke operatic and Neapolitan material! (Until recently, though,
RCA always credited Sinatra as the sole conductor on these shows.)
Here are some examples of substandard Coke Neapolitan & operatic
recordings that Callinicos conducted: Santa Lucia Luntana, Canta Pe'
Me, Amor Ti Vieta, Celeste Aida, Maria Mari', Core n'grato, O Tu che
in Seno agli Angeli, etc. Even the ridiculously fast Serenade from The
Student Prince that featured on the CD Don't Forget Me was conducted
by Callinicos.

I honestly feel that Callinicos should have acknowledged his
limitations as a conductor when it came to Lanza's operatic
recordings, and stuck with the lighter material instead. As an example
of the latter, I can't criticize anything about his conducting on the
MGM Student Prince. But as Armando's often pointed out, there's a
world of difference between conducting musical comedy and, say, an
aria from Otello.

If you think about it, most of Mario's best operatic singing was with
other conductors: Ray Heindorf, Paul Scherman (the Toronto arias),
Eugene Ormandy (Hollywood Bowl), Peter Herman Adler (The Great
Caruso), etc. Lanza actually worked successfully with quite a number
of fine conductors, so I feel it's a myth that he only felt
comfortable (or performed at his best) when he was with Callinicos. I
know that Callinicos was upset that Lanza recorded the great "Mario!"
album with Franco Ferrara instead of him, but all I can say is, "Thank
God Mario made that decision!" There's no way that Callinicos would
have coaxed the kind of superior playing that the distinguished
Ferrara drew from his
orchestra on that recording -- nor (I suspect) would Mario himself
have performed quite as magnificently as he does here without the
inspiration and assistance of this top conductor. It's a wonderful
collaboration.

Sorry to have taken this discussion so far away from Tosca!!

[Derek McGovern]

On Feb 26, 9:33 am, Shawn <sglassm...@gmail.com> wrote:

> This is my benchmark Di Stefano performance of the aria from 1952,
> with Callas in Mexico City:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLD3fveuvBg
>
> Despite the poor sound that version is just oh so moving. The studio
> recording is equally good.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnU9oZju76A

Hi Shawn: Those are great renditions. I especially like the Mexico
performance (which I was familiar with), and I wasn't bothered by some
of the musical liberties he takes, eg, breaking the line between
"languide" and "carezze" and holding on to "tanto" at the end. What
the heck; it's just such a wonderfully compelling interpretation.
Vocally, though, he is pushing himself to his absolute limit here. On
the studio version you can definitely hear a hardening in his timbre
when he's singing full voice and his high A lacks ring. But what he
does with the words is *wonderful*.

Cheers
Derek

[Shawn]

Yeah. It's probably a legitimate argument that he never should have
been singing the role to begin with. But I'm glad he did. ;-)

It still amazes me how seamlessly and easily he could switch to
pianissimo.

[Tonytenor]

Derek, My Good Friend,

You've not touched a nerve with me and the Callinicos thing, I just
feel he (Callinicos) does not always get the credit when and where
credit is due him. I realize Mario was a gifted artist with a very
powerful personality - that I think everyone can agree with. I just
wonder sometimes how pleasant it was to be around Lanza when he was in
a less than jovial mood. And working with him, during those times,
might very well have been hell on earth. I don't know about this for
sure, perhaps Armando could comment on this, what with all the
interviews he has done with former colleagues, etc...

But to TOSCA. One thing I have always enjoyed about Mario's rendition
of "E lucevan le stelle" on the Royal Albert Hall recording is his
venturing emotionally right to the edge, especially with his last high
A. Clearly at this point in the recital he was both at ease with the
audience and connected to his his voice (not something I think he
always was). He knew, at this point, what he could and could not do
with his voice and I think it comes through clearly in his RAH reading
of "E lucevan le stelle."

By the way, another favorite of mine in TOSCA is Giuseppe Giacomini.
What a very interesting voice and I find it exciting to hear him in
the Verismo repertoire. I know his voice is not for all tastes, but
to hear (and see) him sing one of the arias from TOSCA and also
"Nessun dorma" (all of which can be viewed on YouTube) is quite
something.

Cheers my friend and thanks for your detailed opinions. It is always
a joy to banter things about.

Tony

[Tonytenor]

Derek (and all), here is the link to Giacomini's "E lucevan le stelle"
on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn08P5arR2Y&feature=related

Ciao, Tony

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Tony: Thanks for your posts. I'll check out the Giacomini Tosca
aria when I'm on my home computer. (I'm at work at present & YouTube
is not available here.)

Armando may want to elaborate, but the impression I've always had from
reading & listening to interviews with people who worked with Lanza is
that he was usually easy to be around in the recording studio. For
example, MGM conductor John Green told Armando that he had mostly fond
memories of their time together. Sopranos Gloria Boh, Licia Albanese
and Elaine Malbin had nothing but the highest praise for him. And the
Coke Show musicians whom Bessette interviewed for his book mentioned
that (unlike conductor Ray Sinatra) Lanza never got angry when a
member of the orchestra mucked up a take.

While I have no doubt that when confronted with an unsympathetic
authority figure (eg, Dore Schary, Curtis Bernhardt), Lanza could
indeed be "hell on earth" to work with, I think that most of the time
Lanza's film colleagues found him easy to get on with as well. Ann
Blyth was very fond of him, Vincent Price enjoyed his company, and
Johanna Von Koczian found him delightful. Gloria Boh felt that the
temperamental side of Lanza was reserved for the "people
upstairs" (eg, the studio executives), and I'm sure she was right.

Cheers
Derek

[Michael McAdam]

I thought it might be fun to leave the tenors alone this time out and look at this great opera from the "distaff" side? One of my favourite soprano arias has always been Vissi d'Arte. And in the right hands (or larynx ;-), it can be a real tear-jerker. I have included links to five YouTube performances which, to me, are among the best renditions of this piece.   The yardstick against which all sopranos who take on the role of Floria Tosca must be measured seems to be, by consensus, Maria Callas? One of her best performances is included here; from a 1958 Met performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAqZ6TgW8AA&NR=1   And, another great version from that exquisite 'note floater' Montserrat Caballé : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNp_m_EJKEQ&feature=related . Perhaps being a large woman gave her that fantastic breath control? Love the way she hits that climactic high note and the emotion in her performance. She certainly deserved those shouted brava's at the close.   The inimitable Renata Tebaldi, of course. this performance from the early 60's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7u77WFkcKQ&feature=related   An American soprano I tended to overlook I am listening to more of late: Renée Fleming While I've found her a little inconsistent in her highlighted performances on YouTube, here, even tho' taking a few liberties near the aria's end, I think she gives a pretty decent interpretation :   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNx6hh-cCa8&feature=related   Last, but not least, a soprano I became (temporarily) besotted with a while back: Angela Gheorghiu. She tends to be a bit of a 'showboat' and a little full of herself but, dang....she is a captivating singer. This 2009 Kennedy Centre performance obviously moved the aria's recipient, Grace Bumbry and even Met alumnus Anna Netrebko is near tears at the end (I read a report somewhere of Meryl Streep descending the aisle to stagefront during the standing ovation and kneeling before the soprano?). But, not to be one-eyed here, I agree with Derek's assertion in an earlier thread that Angela's middle and lower registers sound a bit sparse and unsupported. Hell of a top though! This video is a visual and aural delight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbwGhZUCQyY   I must make mention of Canada's Sondra Radvonovsky. One of the up-and-comers, according to reports, she has one heck of a voice with squillo to spare and...I find a lot of beauty in her range. More on this lass at another time.   How about your opinions on my choices here? You may have other favourites (most of the top-ranked sopranos sang this aria, of course). M.

 

[Derek McGovern]

Great post, Mike!

Curiously, it's the two Lanza-inspired sopranos -- Fleming and Gheorghiu -- whom I liked the least here. I usually enjoy Fleming (and I love her in the Met production of Eugene Onegin with Hvorostovsky), but here she's breathy-toned and self-indulgent. All that unwritten clinging to the "Ah"s at the end wrecks it for me, as she throws the aria out of whack, and I find it strange that she's smiling while singing about her hour of grief! She's been far better than this.  

Gheorghiu? Well, it didn't help that the tempo was much too fast, but I never truly believed her performance. (The audience certainly did, though!) I also found this performance difficult to watch, as she moved around far too much -- not just with her hands (had she just been watching Mario sing Granada in Because You're Mine?!), but with her head. Callas could certainly teach her a thing or two about economy of movement :) And she sure likes rolling those 'r's! ("Perrrrrrrrrrche....")

But the other three sopranos? Ahhh :) 

Caballe does a few odd things -- e.g., crying histrionically before "Sempre con fè sincera" & not singing "così" at the end (instead she sings "co-o"). But what the heck: Lanza does a similar thing at the end of his live Addio! Addio! (that's definitely not a "te" that he's singing when he goes for that D-flat :)), and inserts sobs in his Great Caruso rendition of Vesti la Giubba, so who am I to criticize Caballe? A fine performance, though I still prefer her on her early 70s studio version of the aria with Charles Mackerras. (Vince will no doubt agree.)  

The best two performances for me were those of Callas and Tebaldi. Neither is perfect vocally (for example, that climactic B-flat troubles them both), but I found both renditions very moving. Tebaldi's version features the slowest tempo I've heard, but it worked for me. By the way, Callas' performance is from the Paris Opera on 19 December 1958 -- and it's this gala concert (she only sang the second act of Tosca that evening) that's mentioned on page 271 of Armando's book. Lanza watched the event live (before heading off to the studio to record some numbers for the Mario! album), and according to the account of some British fans who were with him at the time (in the Villa Badoglio), it was fascinating listening to his comments about Callas' performance. I'm sure he was impressed.  

Cheers

Derek

[Armando]

Hi Mike: For me the great Toscas are: Callas, Tebaldi, Price and Kabaivanska.

I also like Scotto’s 1981 recording and Freni’s 1990. 

Saw Caballe in 1981, the usual splendid pianissimos and beautiful phrasing but dramatically unconvincing as Tosca.

Also saw Sondra Radvonovsky in January at the Met -far, far, better than either Fleming,who’s concept and singing of the aria on this evidence is non existent, while Gheorghiou is simply laughable and makes a travesty of  the aria with her hammy “look at me” gestures and overblown singing. 

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Armando and Mike:

I grew up on (Leontyne) Price's early 60s RCA version of "Vissi d'Arte" (from a complete recording, I think it was) and I still think it's the best all-round version I've heard -- vocally and dramatically. That lovely dark quality in Price's voice, her vocal security and her sense of drama; it just all came together for me. The recording may be on YouTube -- I'll have to have a hunt around.

I liked Kabaivanska very much in the Tosca film that she made with Domingo in the mid-1970s.  

Cheers

Derek

[Steff]

Derek,

I agree with you regarding Leontyne Price. I have an LP (RCA) with highlights of "Tosca" (not sure if there's also a complete recording). I just had a look at the cover. It was recorded in England in August 1972, with Domingo and Sherril Milnes (a perfect combination anyway), conducted by Zubin Metha.  For me, this recordings sounded just perfect. Then, years later,  I purchased a complete  "Tosca" recording with Freni/Domingo/Ramey/Sinopoli (from 1992) and was terribly disappointed. The tempo was so slowed down that I missed the dramatic that the early recording had shown. I've noticed this "slowing down" a few times when it comes to Sinopoli recordings).  

Steff

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Steff: The recording of Vissi d'Arte by Price that I'm thinking of was definitely recorded in the early 1960s. (Actually, it may not have been taken from a complete recording, as I see that it was one of the arias that she recorded for an RCA release in 1961.) 

As for Sinopoli and his fondness for the slow tempo -- yes, he was famous/notorious for that! I have a Madama Butterfly on CD with Carreras and Freni that he conducted in 1987, and it's extraordinarily slow. In fact, I recall one critic who reviewed it at the time claiming that its running time (at 154 minutes) was at least twenty minutes longer than Puccini himself had timed the opera.     

Cheers

Derek

[Michael McAdam]

Derek: Wow! that 1962  version of Leontyne's you alluded to may have been this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2A8dJex1t4 

What a bloomin' performance! The ending could bring one to tears. I did find her lower register passages a little muffled on this recording, however. Overall though I'd give this a 9/10. Great singing.

 

Found this one by Magda Olivero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaIPjW1u1TE&NR=1 Not familiar with her but, as an Anglo, one of the few times I can actually hear the pronunciation of every Italian lyric here. Love her lower register.

 

Armando: speaking of lower registers, can you enlighten me/us as to what Callas does on the closing lyric ('cosi') of both these equally-riveting  performances of this aria. The first here from a wildly received 1956 Met performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMbJvEnOW6E&feature=related and the second, a filmed 1964 performance from Covent Garden:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g21UHxcasc&NR=1

 

She hits that final note ( "....perché me ne rimuneri così?") the same way in both clips; really gives me a buzz! (however, she approaches it differently in most of her other recordings).

Is that the passagio she comes through to hit that note?  (Albanese used to do this sort of 'yodel' as she came from her middle to her lower register).

 

Re Kabaivanska, Armando...which one of her dozen or so YouTube performances is the most appealing to you? To me, she has a piercing but pleasant tonal quality to her voice. Sounds as if it might fracture crystal.

 

BTW, while doing some photo retouching and working on the layout of my next Lanza project (oh, and also pulling weeds with remote cordless headphones;-) Ilistened to ten more versions of Vissi d'Arte. I must say the most perfect ones to me were two different performances by Leontyne Price. Very consistent artist, technically excellent and also very moving. Yes, I've gone off Angela G. a great deal after watching/listening to more of her.

[Armando]

Hi Mike: There’s nothing in particular that Callas does on either of the closing ‘cosi’ in the aria. It’s simply a combination her individual sound, not the most beautiful at the best of time, and her interpretation of the aria. She is still singing in her chest voice (the notes are D and E flat). Generally the passaggio for most sopranos and mezzos lies around F sharp or G. 

I didn’t see any of the Kabaivanska’s clips on youtube, I am merely basing my assessment of her Tosca on complete live performances at La Scala and the Rome Opera. Like Callas and Olivero (another great Tosca which I forgot to mention) Kabaivanska’s is not the most beautiful of voices –it could indeed be described as piercing- but what a singer! 

Ultimately it’s rather difficult to judge a singer’s performance of Tosca on the evidence of  this aria. Tosca is a spinto role but you don’t need a spinto voice to sing Vissi D’Arte.  

  

[Armando]

P.S. I should add that “cosi’ is marked  ‘singhiozzando’ ( sobbing) in the score, which, obviously, is what Callas does in both instances.    

[Savage]

Hi  Mike!

     I must confess I haven't heard all the clips yet but I did recall an Eileen Farrell rendition from an old LP I have in my collection.  This is another (unfortunately primitively recorded ) version by Farrell.  The LP version is more dramatic and displays a full voiced mature singer.  This primitive recording is still worth a listen.  Price will still emerge as the clear winner, I believe.

                                                                                                                                                         David

PS  -  Good God!  No wonder the recording sounds primitive.  It was done eleven days before I was born in September of '43.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eileen+farrell+vissi+d%27arte

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Mike: That's a great Price performance -- not that I've ever heard a bad rendition of the aria from her -- but it's not the studio version I was thinking of. "My" rendition comes from this album, I think:

http://www.amazon.com/Leontyne-Price--Arias-Price/dp/B0002TKFRW/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1310609759&sr=1-5

Magda Olivero sang an amazing Tosca at the Met in 1975, when she was 65! Never the most beautiful of voices, as Armando has pointed out, but a heck of a singer. She's still alive too at 101, and just two years ago sang in public on her birthday! 

Cheers

Derek

[leeann]

Dear Mike, amid all the amazing listening of Vissi d'Arte this week and the comments your thread opened up, I noticed one small thing might have slipped by. You mention photo retouching and layout of your next Lanza project? Will it be revealed in due time? Best, Lee Ann

[Tony Partington]

In discussing TOSCA, a personal favorite of mine by the way, I couldn't help but listen to Lanza's different recordings of excerpts and arias from TOSCA and I found myself thinking what a wonderful vehicle it would have been for him.  Indeed, if there was an offer made to Mario to do the opera at La Scala then those proposing the engagement and formally offering a contract were right on the money.  TOSCA would have been one of the "standards" in the Lanza repertoire.  So right was his voice and temperament for the role of Mario Cavaradossi that I daresay he would have redefined the role for his time.  Oh yes I know he would have been up against some truly major competition: Corelli, Di Stefano, Bjoerling, Tucker, Peerce, Del Monaco and many others I'm sure.  But I really think that had Mario Lanza been given the opportunity to learn and truly come to know the character of Cavaradossi he would have brought to it, both vocally and dramatically, that which no other artist of his day (or of days prior) were capable of.  We have discussed, many times, Lanza's innate ability as an actor and I do not think it is too great a statement to make when I say that, if Mario Lanza had trod the boards on the opera houses of the world - and they would have been the major houses, I know that - his artistry as a singing actor would have "raised the bar" for virtually all operatic performers of his time.

 

Tony

[Lou]

Mike: I’m not much into sopranos, but I’ve made an exception of Callas. Along with the videos of her Tosca Act 2 in Paris (1958) and Covent Garden (1964) and a couple of late-career concerts, I own some of her recordings of complete operas. As you noted, there seems to be a happy unanimity among opera critics and other listeners that Callas’s interpretation of Tosca is the yardstick against which sopranos aspiring to the role are measured. The two Act 2  DVDs render masterful live performances of that scene in terms of both acting and singing, but the 1964 recording, which I find the more gripping of the two, reveals Callas’s vocal weaknesses – by that time she had reached the end of her career. (The complete performance of the 1964 Act 2 is on YouTube. If you haven’t seen the parts before and after Vissi d’Arte, do yourself a favor and check them out at the first opportunity. As Armando wrote earlier, “it’s rather difficult to judge a singer’s performance of Tosca on the evidence of [Vissi d’arte].”  I believe Callas’s interpretative genius is even better captured in the benchmark 1953 studio recording under De Sabata, in which Callas is very much in her vocal prime. Here’s the link to Vissi d’Arte as well as the deaths of Scarpia, Cavaradossi, and Tosca:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jpu40Iq8WI

If I may digress for a moment from Vissi d’Arte, I remember reading that when Franco Zeffirelli was directing the Covent Garden Tosca Act 2, he suggested that Tosca discovers a desire for Scarpia that so horrifies her, she has to kill him in order to destroy it. He also made a similar suggestion as director of the 1985 Behrens/Domingo Tosca.  Perhaps I’m just obtuse, but despite repeated viewings of both videos, I never got the impression that either Callas or Behrens, as Tosca,  is sexually attracted to Scarpia. In fact, none of the other sopranos in my assorted Tosca videos gave that impression, except Catherine Malfitano. In the 1992 “live” telecast of Tosca, for which she received an Emmy award, Malfitano’s vividly acted and ably sung Scarpia murder scene could have been directed by Zeffirelli himself. Her voluptuous physicality and vulnerable volatility underscores her conflicted and ambiguous interaction with the handsome, aristocratic, and seductively evil Scarpia of Ruggero Raimondi. Still, it comes as a shock when, before  writing the safe-conduct pass for Tosca and Cavaradossi in Act 2, Scarpia pulls her into his arms for an exploratory kiss that is as passionate as it is endless. Even more shocking is the unmistakable sexual excitement reflected in Malfitano’s post-kiss facial expression. This puts Tosca’s ensuing murder of Scarpia in a different light: is her spur-of-the moment decision  sparked by her repulsion towards the man himself or towards her dawning sexual attraction to him? Here’s the link to that intriguing scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I8JCNUe_wI

And to get back on topic, here’s Malfitano’s Vissi d’Arte: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQUzUT9r5Es

Cheers,

Lou

 

[Lou]

Derek: I haven’t heard Caballe’s early 70s studio version of Vissi d’Arte with Mackerras, but I love her in the 1976 recording with Colin Davis. The way she sings the climactic three long notes in a single breath is astounding and very beautiful. I also find her diminuendo at the end of the aria impressive. (Is this diminuendo interpolated? So far, I’ve heard it sung only by Caballe and by Callas in her 1953 recording.)  But does she sound like a woman at the end of her tether? Not to my ears.

I, too, find that smile on Fleming’s face totally inappropriate. She looks clueless (though I’m sure she’s not) about the meaning of the aria. Interestingly, a reviewer, commenting on her concert at the Barbican (if I remember correctly), wrote that her rendition of Vissi d’Arte would have been perfect had she removed the smile from her face. Strange indeed, considering that she is known for her intelligent and analytical approach to character interpretation ( I too like her in Eugene Onegin with Hvorostovsky as well as in Manon with Alvarez.).

By the way, I didn’t know that Gheorghiou, like her husband, Alagna, had been inspired by Lanza. 

Cheers,

Lou

[Lou]

Derek: I thought you were referring to the Vissi d'Arte from Karajan's 1962 studio recording of the complete opera.  Here Price is in phenomenal vocal form, and to my ears her reading of the aria, if less nuanced than Callas's, is one for the ages. I find her distinctively smoky voice hypnotic. In her second studio recording of the complete opera, with Mehta in 1973, Price is louder and just this side of melodramatic but the smoky glamour of her voice is intact. Here's the link to her Vissi d’Arte: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDafTBI5ZoQ 

(Mike, is this one of the two "perfect" Price performances you were referring to?)

 

Cheers,

Lou

[Michael McAdam]

Hey Lee Ann: back to posting for a wee bit as I come up for a breather in the weeding, cutting, mulching, painting, rabbit-chasing, deer-scaring etc which goes along with 2 acres in the country. Bah! A condo is really starting to sound good right about now ;-)

 

To answer your question: my new effort (likely coming to fruition during our 11-month winter ;-)) will be "Coca-Cola presents "The Mario Lanza Show ~ Great Takes, Outtakes & Mistakes". If it turns out as I have 'storyboarded' it, you should be tickled with the end result. Any excerpts used from the so-called Blue Tape,btw, will be quasi-tasteful ones....few that there are!

 

M.

[Michael McAdam]

Hi Lou: Although Maria's crescendo high notes can sound like a scream (as her critics assert) they are, nevertheless a very musical scream, wot? This 1953 deSabata-conducted recording I am listening to right now is riveting. What a musician! 

 

I had watched the complete 1964 Callas/Gobbi  Act II on YouTube and as you say it is a great piece of singing and theatre; for both Tosca and Scarpia. The 1964 version of this subject aria is great but maybe the much slower vibrato and that 'yodel' into her lower register in the final "...rimuneri co...si" is perhaps a sign of a failing voice? Personally, I love this affectation of hers. She did the same vocal Maria-isms ;-) in her "Gypsy Love Song" from her Georges Prétre-conducted Carmen recording with tenor Nicolai Gedda. That sound of hers me go out and buy the LP. Go figure!

 

Catherine Malfitano is very sexual and a good actress for sure. Her voice doesn't really do it for me though and she is a tad hard-looking (guess they can't all look like Netrebko, right?)

 

All in all, of the sopranos I've watched and/or listened to since starting this Vissi d'Arte thread...Callas, Price and Marton are at the top.

 

M.

[norma]

Dear Mike ,

                 I am really looking forward to your latest project , Blue tape excerpts and all . I think recordings of mistakes and fluffs show us more of the human side of Mario.

 

                                                                                                                                                                   Norma

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lou: Price's 1962 recording with Von Karajan is certainly a hypnotic rendition! I've just been listening to it on YouTube, where someone has uploaded the entire second act of that recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnXY-Q1m0F8

Vissi d'Arte's at the 27-minute mark. I love Von Karajan's slow tempo here, and he draws out a sweetness in Price's voice that we don't always hear. (She's definitely harder-toned on the 1973 version.) Some might say she almost does a Fleming by clinging a little long to one of her "Ah"s (just before the final line), but it doesn't bother me at all here. Yes, this is the best rendition I've heard from her -- and that includes the 1961 studio version, which I've finally located:    

http://www.4shared.com/audio/8wCCVTsr/Price-_Vissi_darte.html

It wasn't quite as perfect as I remembered it from my teenage years :( Price's diction's a little muddy in places (probably not helped by the rather loud orchestra), and she's actually sharp on the climactic note. Still, a moving rendition.

And here's Caballé's beautiful studio recording that I mentioned earlier from 1971:

http://www.4shared.com/audio/uqrjc_nM/Vissi_DArte.html

Cheers

Derek

[leeann]

Dear Mike, Thank you for the preview! I've read mention of the Blue Tape, but I'm not really sure what it is or what's on it.

Tasteful with you, one takes for granted.

But hope you don't take for granted how much your work is always anticipated.

Best, Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lou: Just in case you miss it: I've posted a link to Caballe's 1971 recording of Vissi d'Arte with Mackerras in my reply to one of your other comments on this thread.

I have her complete recording of Tosca from 1976, and I agree that she doesn't exactly sound like a woman "at the end of her tether" :) You could say the same about her 1971 recording -- but, oh, what beautiful sounds she makes! 

Yes, Angela Gheorghiu has spoken of Lanza as one of her major inspirations. Some years back, she and her then-husband Roberto Alagna were interviewed during the intermission on a broadcast from the Met, and they both raved about Lanza. I'm sure she's discussed him publicly on other occasions as well.        

Cheers

Derek

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lee Ann: The so-called Blue Tape is a collection of some of Lanza's naughtiest off-air moments from the Coke Shows (fluffed spoken intros as well as singing), and is not the sort of thing I'd want my mother to hear :) It's pretty crude!! It was culled by announcer Bill Baldwin and the recording engineers on the Coke Shows, and given to Lanza as a surprise gift.

I hope it never finds its way on to YouTube!

Cheers

Derek 

[Michael McAdam]

Lee Ann: further to Derek's comment about the crude nature of the Coke Show "Blue" tape: it is so crude at times that it makes one wonder if some of Lanza's crude acts toward women described by his 'friend' Terry Robinson in the "Lanza: His Tragic Life" book may have a modicum of truth behind them?

Anyway, I don't want to open up that can of slithery biographical critters again nor would I ever send a lady friend a copy of this recording (and I'm sure our moderator feels the same). Nuff said!

Back to Tosca!

 

M.

[Lou]

Hi Derek: Thanks a lot for the link to Caballe's 1971 Vissi d'Arte with Mackerras. The sheer beauty of her voice and her singing is indeed irresistible. Is this rendition taken from a complete recording, and if so, who is the Cavaradossi? Truth to tell, I purchased her 1976 Tosca recording solely for the glorious singing and glowing tones of the youthful Carreras; Caballe was an unexpected bonus.

Cheers,
Lou

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lou: Caballé's 1971 "Vissi d'Arte" isn't from a complete recording of Tosca; it comes from an album titled Puccini Arias (EMI/Angel). There are twelve arias from eight Puccini operas -- and every one a gem!

Carreras is in glorious voice on that 1976 Tosca! It was one of the first recordings I heard of him, and, like everything he touched in the mid-1970s, one could hardly imagine a more beautiful lyric tenor. While his actual interpretation of Cavaradossi is arguably better on his two later recordings, vocally he's at his peak here.

I also love Swedish baritone Ingvar Wixell, the Scarpia on that 1976 recording. He has an unusual voice -- it's somehow gritty and bright at the same time -- and it's certainly not an Italianate sound, but he conveys menace and lust magnificently! He's also on the 1984 performance from Verona with Eva Marton and Giacomo Aragall.

Cheers

Derek             

[Lou]

Hi Derek:  I'm a bit disappointed that Caballe's 1971 Vissi d'Arte didn't come from a complete recording. I was hoping that Carreras, Birgit Nilsson's 1974 "Baby Cavaradossi,"  had an even earlier recording with Caballe.

 

It seems that Ingvar Wixell has always been underrated as Scarpia. Some say he doesn't sound evil enough. Is it because of the tenor-like brightness of his voice? Or is it because he doesn't snarl nor engage in hammy theatricals that can easily tip the role into cartoon villain territory?  I like my villains subtle and believable, and Wixell more than fills the bill. You say his voice is not an Italianate sound. Not to hijack this thread, but I've always wondered about the term Italianate sound: how would you describe it? How is it distinguished from a Germanic sound? I presume it has nothing to do with diction. Armando's  input will also be most welcome.

 

Cheers,

Lou

 

 

[Michael McAdam]

Lou: I'm happy you asked that question because I would like to get a proper definition there also,

That being said, I can always hear Björling's non-Italian ring to his Italian arias as one likely example of that particular "sound" Armando often refers to (although a neophyte tenor afficionado might be hard pressed to detect it with Jussi?). Also, German singers always sound "German" to me. Not sure whether it's the way they shape their vowels or squeeze their nasal passages etc. Some sort of inflection.

Armando, Tony, Derek et al will know what I mean, no doubt. We shall await responses with tainted ;-)) breath, Lou.

M.

(P.S: you are so correct about Wixell. Perfect Scarpia)

[Armando]

Hi Lou: Definition of Italianate voice?  I would say that it’s a voice that is warm and round but there’s really more to it than just the timbre. It has a lot to do with phrasing, interpretation and the use of the language, particularly in enunciating the vowels.

Having said this, and I hope it’s reasonably clear, makes it easier to answer your other question about Wixell, and while I’m at it Mike’s about Bjorling.

Musically, Wixell was a good singer. He did not have a great timbre, his phrasing while good tended to be monotonous and overall he lacked charisma.

Bjorling had a first class voice, a shining silvery timbre combined with a solid musicianship and technique. But he lacked both expression and a true interpretive personality. He also had a little too much vibrato for my liking and his Italian, while not bad, never sounded totally convincing.

Well, there you have it.  Now I’ll let others express their views, and I hope they do!

P.S. Mike: Thank goodness for you humour! I often have a chuckle when I read one of your asides!

 

[Derek McGovern]

This is a re-post, as I don't think I was clear enough in my earlier reply.

Hi Lou, Mike and Armando: For me, explaining what I mean by "Italianate" is about as difficult as pinpointing what it is about Elgar's music that makes it unmistakably "English." But I'll give it a try:

Yes, it is a combination of things, as Armando's already pointed out: roundness, warmth -- the basic tone of the voice -- and, of course, the phrasing and pronunciation. How the words flow. Do they sound like an extension of spoken Italian? Compare, say, Tucker and Lanza singing "Cielo e Mar," and you'll hear completely different phrasing. Lanza sounds entirely at home in the language -- warmly caressing the phrases in the manner of one who understands and feels every word -- while Tucker would never be mistaken for an Italian, with his plummy vowels and slightly choppy phrasing.

Baritone Thomas Hampson is another example of a singer who never sounds Italianate to me. He's a fine singer, to be sure, but when I listen to him in Italian I hear a certain "correctness" in his approach that verges on the aloof and an almost self-conscious over-enunciation of the vowels.

Wixell doesn't have an Italianate sound either, but I still find him a memorable Scarpia, albeit for other reasons. He makes me believe, for example, that Scarpia is both dangerous and lecherous. There's an appropriately malevolent quality in that gritty voice (which, incidentally, sounds more Slavic than anything else). But listen to him as Marcello in La Boheme, and he's all wrong in the part. There's no Italianate warmth in his voice (or in his approach), and in every other respect he sounds about as bohemian as Rupert Murdoch :)

These things are highly subjective, of course. To my ears, Björling's silvery sound is generally monochromatic in timbre, and I can only listen to him for a limited amount of time. I long for a wider palette of colours and more involvement with the words. Yet others hear the opposite. Domingo, for example, is on record as saying that while "Some have accused [Björling] of coldness, none of his recordings has ever left me cold."

Pavarotti sounds more Nordic (à la Björling) to me with his tightly focused, rather silvery voice than many other Italian tenors. Yet (English-speaking) reviewers back in the early 1980s were fond of employing such cliches as "Italian sunshine" to describe his voice and singing. But if anyone deserved that description it was Di Stefano---one of the most Italianate of them all.

Cheers
Derek

[leeann]

I recently learned that Muriel Agnello whose beautiful essays fill the website lives not too far from me. (Some of Muriel's writing pops up through this link.)  We met for the second time last weekend to see the Washington National Opera's staging of Tosca at the Kennedy Center.

Patricia Racette sang Tosca, and her Vissi d'Arte held the audience (at least those sitting around us) breathless. I honestly couldn't say much about her voice--it must have been gorgeous because I totally got lost in her dramatic interpretation. It was lovely, and as she finished there was that suspended moment of silence, then enormous applause.

Of course, Tosca's dramatic final leap off the ramparts leads to a lot of conversation, including "how did you do that's" during the Question and Answer period that followed the performance.  Director David Kneuss had already talked to the press about  past and present Toscas, and how each negotiated that flying moment.

I love the story he recalled about our Mario-friend Renata Tebaldi.

“I remember when I first started working at the Met there was a very famous soprano, Renata Tebaldi. The New Year’s Eve performance was her last performance as Tosca, and the guys who [played] the spies came offstage afterward and said, ‘We’re going to be fired.’ . . . They said, ‘We went up and Ms. Tebaldi stopped; she wouldn’t jump.’ And I said, ‘Well, what do you mean? She jumped.’ And they said, ‘No, we pushed her.’

The full article from the Washington Post is "Taking on Tosca's Deadly Dive"--and also highlights the trompe l'oeil of Monserrat Caballe, who also refused the jump!  Best, Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

My father is keen to buy a DVD of the best-available live version of Tosca, and would appreciate your recommendations. Off the top of my head, I can't think of an ideal cast of all three principals. My father (like me) is rather partial to the Caballe/Carreras/Wixell audio recording of 1976, but I'm not aware of any filmed productions with these three. (There was a Tokyo production, though, with Carreras and Caballe around the same time.) He's seen the Marton/Aragall/Wixell version from La Scala---and likes it---but would prefer a different coupling of Tosca and Cavaradossi.  

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Derek 

[Derek McGovern]

P.S. Thanks for the report above, Lee Ann, on the recent Tosca you attended with Muriella. I love that article on the jumping Toscas from the Washington Post!

[Lou]

Hi Derek,

I have a DVD of the 1979 ROH Tokyo production with Caballe/Carreras/Wixell in color. Like the 1976 Phillips audio recording, it is conducted by Colin Davis. The screen is snowy so most of the long shots are slightly to badly blurred (though still recognizable), but the close-ups are clear. The sound is good to my unsophisticated ears. This version, which I've had for years, has Japanese subtitles, but there is a newer release with English ones. The DVD is available for $4.99 (blowout sale price effective until October 7) from Ed Rosen's Premiere Opera. I have no ethical qualms about buying from this source when a commercial version is not available, as in this case.

Cheers,
Lou

 

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lou: Thanks for that. I hadn't realized that Wixell was also in the cast, having seen just a snippet of it at a friend's house in the UK in 1982. I do remember it being very dark, and that the reason, according to my friend, was that the Tokyo Opera House wouldn't allow the usual extra lighting that a televised operatic production requires.

I think I might order that DVD for myself. My father was wanting to show it to a gathering of his friends---some of whom don't have the greatest eyesight to begin with---and I think the blurriness may be too much for his guests!

Cheers
Derek

[Derek McGovern]

Today I watched the recent Covent Garden production of Tosca with Gheorghiu, Kaufmann and Terfel, as mentioned by Terri in her post here.

Like Lee Ann and Mike, I enjoyed this performance very much. The sets are nicely atmospheric---good to see a non-"updated" production again!---and visually it's a treat. (Someone should tell the director that cigarettes weren't around in the Italy of 1800, though! :))

I felt that Bryn Terfel stole the show as Scarpia. Yes, as Mike has already pointed out, the long lank hair is all wrong, making this Scarpia the most dishevelled one I've ever seen---and looking more like one of his henchmen than a baron---but once I got used to Terfel's appearance, it didn't bother me. All rolling eyes and often outrageously lascivious, Terfel's acting veers towards ham, but he's always a succulent one (as Leslie Halliwell once wrote of Charles Laughton). What he lacked in subtlety, he made up for in sheer charisma, and this head-butting, well-fed and super-sexual Scarpia is quite something. I had to pity Angela Gheorgiu contending with his bulk on top of her when she stabbed him :) (Which reminds me, the blood-soaked letter of safe conduct was a first----very effective theatrically, but I did wonder at its legibility after all that blood!) 

Terfel's upper register let him down a couple of times ("t'avro'!" was an effort), but otherwise I found his the most consistent vocal performance of the night. But the weird thing about hearing his opening notes in Act I was that, even as a bass-baritone, his voice sounded lighter than Kaufmann's. Scarpia's voice should be menacing and much darker than Cavaradossi's, yet here we have a bright-sounding bass-baritone and a tenor who sounds like a baritone.

There's no doubt about Kaufmann's star quality, though. I suspect that some in the audience would applaud him no matter how well he sang, as he's certainly dashing. I had a few reservations about his acting in Act I, but I thought he was brilliant in Act III, particularly during his "E Lucevan le Stelle" rendition. Vocally, on the other hand, the man is a puzzle: impressively stentorian at times, dry and ropy-sounding (as the San Francisco Chronicle's Joshua Kosman recently complained) at others, and also capable of beautiful soft touches---such as the beginning of "Qual Occhio al Mondo" in the Act I duet---that suddenly become breathy. At his best, oddly enough, he sounds like baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky (whose upper register is such that he could probably reach all of Cavaradossi's notes). But one of the great tenor voices in recorded history? No. (Sorry, Terri.) Not when there have been voices this magnificent in my lifetime. But I'll give Kaufmann this: he's an arresting and musical performer, and if he's drawing people to opera who would normally give the art form a miss, then more power to him.

I liked Angela Gheorgiu's Tosca, but I wasn't as moved by her portrayal as I have been with some sopranos. I thought it was a good solid performance, histrionically and vocally. 

Thanks, Terri, for the link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGD2SuL5w40&feature=youtu.be), and I'd urge anyone who loves Tosca to watch this on YouTube while there's still time! 

Cheers

Derek

                

[Derek McGovern]

Glad you enjoyed Tosca, David. But it's Terri whom we should thank for the link (that's if I haven't driven her away with my recent criticisms of Kaufmann and Giacomini! :))

I've just realized, by the way, that I misspelled Angela Gheorghiu's name in most of my last post.

[Terri Knudsen]

I'm not scared off, I've just pretty much landed from planning and surviving a 50th birthday party abroad (in London) and I've been so stressed I swear it nearly killed me. I'm also swamped with work these days, but I'm still alive ;)

Best
Terri

[Savage]

Thanks for the great link, Terri.  That was a fine performance with an excellent cast and very convincing acting. Hope you get a chance to relax from your ordeal and enjoy some music.

                                                                     David

[Terri Knudsen]

My pleasure :) And; I'm looking forward to the weekend when I'm going to do absolutely nothing at all!

Best
Terri

[leeann]

For your reading pleasure (with apologies if this is beating the Kaufmann subject to death), but Derek wrote:

"...I'll give Kaufmann this: he's an arresting and musical performer, and if he's drawing people to opera who would normally give the art form a miss, then more power to him."

Here's another very readable opera blogger, a grad student, who wrote this post last year, "Being Turned on by the Opera: Die Walküre, my mother, and Jonas Kaufmann."

That's power indeed! Controversial as his voice is, there certainly doesn't seem to be much disagreement about the drama he brings to performances. Four hours of Wagner doesn't seem like the most intuitive point of entry for a non-opera lover into opera appreciation--but I'm more a Puccini/Verdi fan! Best, Leeann

[Savage]

Thanks, Derek, for the link to this fine performance.  I would definitely have purchased a ticket to this one.  Your critical remarks are very accurate.  As a drama, it was quite impressive.  Both the love and love-hate scenes were passionate and convincing.  Just got a chance to watch it yesterday at long last.

                                                                              David