Box Set Review: Puccini: The Operas

This doorstop box set surveys EMI Classics' efforts to record almost every opera written by Puccini. Although some of these recordings are not top-flight or essential, the budget price alone and the overall quality of the contents make this a must for the serious opera collector.


The set includes re-issues of two major performances by Birgit Nilsson. First: the 1965 Turandot where she squares off with tenor Franco Corelli. This is not the greatest recording of the opera in terms of atmosphere and orchestral color, but the singing is white-hot, especially when you add Renata Scotto as Líu. Second: a 1958 recording of La Fanciulla del West. Minnie is a treacherous role. It requires a lot of power, has many tricky passages and worst of all, she doesn't get an aria. However, Nilsson saddles up and charges into the thick of it, and is backed by a solid (if not first-rate) La Scala cast.

Next, the "other" Maria Callas Tosca made in 1965 when the singer was more svelte but starting her vocal decline. Teamed with Carlo Bergonzi and Tito Gobbi, La Callas gives a more over-the-top, hysterical performance in the title role, yet sings the best "Vissi d'arte" in the catalogue. Carlo Bergonzi is everything a tenor should be ("E lucevan la stelle" is heartbreaking) and Gobbi's snarling Scarpia is always welcome. The sound effects are good too, if no match for the Decca set starring Leontyne Price conducted by Karajan and produced by John Culshaw.


"Everything Else" is a strong bag of recordings indeed. The Il Trittico is simply awesome, pairing the classic 1958 Tito Gobbi recording of Gianni Schicchi with worthy 1996 recordings of Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica made by Antonio Pappano. The Alagnas show up (briefly) in Il Tabarro as the offstage lovers, and their recording of La Rondine is also included. Solid performances of Manon Lescaut (featuring Caballé), La Bohéme (with Freni and Nicolai Gedda) and Butterfly (with Björling and de Los Angeles) complete the lineup.

However, this set does not contain the Big Three EMI Puccini recordings:

• 1966 Madama Butterfly conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, with Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto
  
• 1953 Tosca conducted by Victor de Sabata, with Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Giuseppe di Stefano.
  
• 1956  La Bohéme conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, with Jussi Björling and Victoria de Los Angeles

Down to the Minors: More Problems at New York City Opera

Sometimes, a sign says it all

This is a sad day for opera lovers. According to recent news reports in the New York Times and on Bloomberg.com, the New York City Opera will cede four weeks of its fall season to the New York City Ballet, the primary tenant at the recently renamed and renovated David I. Koch Theater. In exchange, the struggling company gets a $9 million dollar payment. Apparently, the change is permanent.

Founded in 1943 the City Opera has traditionally "kicked off" the opera season for New Yorkers from its Lincoln Center home, as it would open three weeks before the Met. Known for producing many modern and off-beat works, City Opera has been home to notable singers like soprano Lauren Flanigan, bass Samuel Ramey and mezzo Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, whose 1997 appearance in the title role of Handel's Xerxes spear-headed the baroque opera revival of the last decade.

However, since moving to Lincoln Center in 1966 the company has always toiled in the shadow of the Metropolitan Opera next door, competing with the bigger house for artists, donations, and audiences. The competition became one-sided when City Opera went dark for the 2008-2009 season, following the abrupt departure of artistic director Gerard Mortier. Under union contract, the company was forced to pay its singers and orchestra members--which resulted in a catastrophic drain of $23.5 million.

The short 2009 Fall season was a successful comeback, with a revival of Esther starring Flanigan and an acclaimed re-thinking of Don Giovanni that packed in audiences and presented the kind of audacious theater that the NYCO is known for. This latest announcement, however, may drive this once-great opera company deep into the minor leagues.

DVD Review: I due Foscari at La Scala

Renato Bruson as Francesco Foscari.

This is a fascinating DVD, filmed at La Scala in 1988 and originally broadcast on RAI Rome Television. Written right after Ernani, I due Foscari is based on a play by Lord Byron, andremains one of the least-known early Verdi operas. Frankly, while the music is quite wonderful, the libretto (an early Piave effort) lacks drama. It is a story of power and politics, the wheels of justice in 15th century Venice, and of a father and son caught in their gears.

One reason to see this opera is the performance of baritone Renato Bruson in the leading role Francesco Foscari, the Doge of Venice. Old Foscari is a father who is about to lose his son, who has been convicted of murder. Instead, he loses everything, including his crown and his life. Bruson is simply towering in the opening scenes and then frail and vulnerable in the final act. This role is ideally suited to the great baritone, and is one of his finest performances available on home video.


The role of Jacopo Foscari is an ungrateful one. The Doge's son copes with his murder conviction by singing a lot of treacherous high notes. (That's the other reason you don't see this opera too often.) Tenor Albert Cupido hits the notes, but his piercing delivery and stiff "tenor-ish" acting fail to draw the viewer's sympathy, especially in the crucial prison scene. As Lucrezia, soprano Linda Roark-Strummer sings with a sharp, incisive attack that makes the character memorable, if not always likeable.

The production is a curious modern staging with all the action of this very dark opera taking place in…the dark. Even thes simulated grand canals of Venice look as if they have seen better days in this grim setting , dominated by a huge throne and giant staircase. The whole affair is ably conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni, who displays mastery of the early Verdi style. I due Foscari is not the most interesting or spectacular of Verdi's "galley years" operas, but this DVD may be your only chance to see it.




Watch a scene from I due Foscari

DVD Review: The Swiss Miss

Guglielmo Tell filmed at La Scala.

by Paul Pelkonen

Is this the DisneyWorld ride "Soarin'"? No, it's Gugliemo Tell from La Scala

As of this writing, this is the only DVD performance available of Rossini's final opera.  Tell is better known for its overture than the work itself, which was one of the most important grand operas of the 19th century and the final stage work by Giacchino Rossini. This is a magnificent score, with Rossini at the height of his powers, presented here by an excellent conductor with absolute respect for the composer's written notes. The results are entirely mixed.

To start with, it's in Italian. Rossini intended for his opera to be sung in French, and while the transliteration from Guillaume to Guglielmo is an acceptable one, the opera works better in its original language. (Compare it to this superb French recording conducted by Lamberto Gardelli and then let me know what you think.) The three leads are acceptable, but not great. (For "great", pick up the Chailly recording with Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballé in the lead roles.)

Chris Merritt's high-range tenor passes the vocal torture test that is the part of Arnold. He has a slight metallic bite to his voice, but he shines in the big Act II duet. Cheryl Studer, then in her brief prime, sings well as Mathilde but lacks emotional warmth. Giorgio Zancanarai is a solid Tell, tender and militant at the same time. In the treacherous "Resta immobile" Zancanari slips easily into the high tessitura and does not miss a single note.

The team of director Luca Ronconi and designer Gianni Quaranta opted to place the action in front of huge projection-screen televisions, that are used to place the actors against lakes, rivers, forests and even a huge medieval church. However, this method serves to neutralize the acting space. Singers are confined to wooden pews in the opening scene. An enormous tree rises out of the stage in Act II, unfolding like Fafner the dragon. The church scene looks like Cheryl Studer and Chris Merritt are warbling in a movie theater. The finale jumps the shark completely, when the Swiss scenery is replaced by shots of conductor Riccardo Muti toiling in the orchestra pit. We waited four hours, just to look at the conductor?

With its killer tenor role, long part for soprano and heroic baritone lead, the story of the legendary Swiss revolutionary leader is almost impossible to put on the stage today. And as this DVD shows, it was damn near impossible twenty years ago. Singers who can handle Arnold's Act IV cabaletta are few and far between. Mathilde isn't an easy sing either. It's a miracle that we have any performances of this opera at all, so this La Scala production (filmed in 1988) despite its flaws, will have to do.

Don't believe me? Watch the finale here.