Falstaff: Padron; di la c'e un certo Mastro Fontana
Falstaff: Signore, v'assista il cielo!
Falstaff: Io l'amo e lei non m'ama
Falstaff: Il diavolo se lo porti all'inferno
Falstaff: E sogno? o realta?
Falstaff: Eccomi qua
Track Listings (30) - Disc #2
Falstaff: Presenteremo un bill, per una tassa
Falstaff: Giunta all'Albergo della Giarrettiera
Falstaff: Nannetta, e tu non ridi?
Falstaff: Gaie comari di Windsor!
Falstaff: Alfin t'ho colto
Falstaff: Quand'ero pagio
Falstaff: Mia signora!
Falstaff: Il diavolo cavalca
Falstaff: Vien qua
Falstaff: Al ladro!
Falstaff: Se t'agguanto!
Falstaff: Ned! Will! Tom! Isaac!
Falstaff: Ehi! Taverniere!
Falstaff: Reverenza
Falstaff: Legge
Falstaff: Quando il rintocco
Falstaff: Provvedi le lanterne
Falstaff: Dal labbro il canto
Falstaff: Nossignore!
Falstaff: Una, due, tre, quatro
Falstaff: Odo un soave passo!
Falstaff: Ninfe! Elfi! Silfi!
Falstaff: Sul fil d'un sofio etesio
Falstaff: Alto la! - Ci va la?
Falstaff: Ruzzola, ruzzola
Falstaff: Naso vermiglio!
Falstaff: Cavaliero - Reverenza
Falstaff: Ogni sorta di gente dozzinale
Falstaff: Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Falstaff: Tutto nel mondo e burla
According to Toscanini's biographer Harvey Sachs, the Maestro viewed Falstaff as the most successful marriage of words and music in the history of the lyric theater. The same can be said about his 1950 NBC broadcast per... more »formance of Verdi's final opera. Karajan's EMI traversal from the '50s has the advantage of stereo and stronger solo singers, yet Toscanini achieves a remarkable synergy among pit, stage, and text that honors the composer's ensemble values with heartfelt brilliance at every turn. The orchestra not only sings: it talks, weaving incisive yet never obtrusive commentary around the vocalists, while sailing effortlessly through a maze of mood and tempo changes. By all accounts, Toscanini coached his cast to the extreme, and it shows. The excellent mono recording is well-balanced and still vivid after all these years. If I had to choose but one recording to demonstrate Toscanini's unique artistry, it would be this. Full texts and translations are included. --Jed Distler« less
According to Toscanini's biographer Harvey Sachs, the Maestro viewed Falstaff as the most successful marriage of words and music in the history of the lyric theater. The same can be said about his 1950 NBC broadcast performance of Verdi's final opera. Karajan's EMI traversal from the '50s has the advantage of stereo and stronger solo singers, yet Toscanini achieves a remarkable synergy among pit, stage, and text that honors the composer's ensemble values with heartfelt brilliance at every turn. The orchestra not only sings: it talks, weaving incisive yet never obtrusive commentary around the vocalists, while sailing effortlessly through a maze of mood and tempo changes. By all accounts, Toscanini coached his cast to the extreme, and it shows. The excellent mono recording is well-balanced and still vivid after all these years. If I had to choose but one recording to demonstrate Toscanini's unique artistry, it would be this. Full texts and translations are included. --Jed Distler
CD Reviews
Nobody does it better
Marmez1@aol.com | Los Angeles, CA USA | 02/06/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First, let me make it clear that I love this opera from the time I first heard it on LP as a teenager. I have seen it performed several times and have viewed all the available videos. If you are reading this review, chances are you know the opera at least somewhat. Some of the things I love about the opera are the mixture of comic and tragic elements, the continuous flow of music and plot (in contrast to the more episodic style of Verdi's middle period), and the range of vocal textures the opera permits and requires. For my money, no one understood this opera as well as Toscanini. Perhaps only Guiseppe Valdengo and Teresa Stich-Randall were truly world class singers, but the cast blends extremely well. This is an opera performance in which ensemble singing supercedes individual arias. Of course, Robert Shaw's choral forces are first rate, as always. But it is the energy and propulsion of Toscanini that makes this version soar. None of the other versions, admittedly excellent also, capture the thrust and forward movement of this one. The sound transfer is pretty good for a mono opera recording of 1950. While it is not as sonically satisfying as some of the more modern versions, the musical interpretation is without peer. For those who want a modern stereo version, my preference is for Guilini. Bernstein's version has erratic tempos, Karajan's has great singers but just doesn't jell for me, Solti's is also pretty good, especially his Falstaff, but none matches the depth and understanding of Toscanini."
Good, but not great
madamemusico | Cincinnati, Ohio USA | 10/07/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Here we have one of those choices between great sound and great performance. This 1950 broadcast is wonderful, yes, but there is little humor in the performance; only Cloe Elmo as Dame Quickly sounds like she's having any fun. On the other hand, the astounding 1937 Salzburg performance--now newly-remastered with quite acceptable sound (see: Toscanini - The Salzburg Experience, Vol. 4, Falstaff)--has life, wit and whimsy along with outstanding singing. Also, Dino Borgioli, the Fenton on the Salzburg set, is the best on records, while the singer in this 1950 performance is quite terrible.If you want a good performance you will listen to a few times, buy this version. If you want a timeless performance that will reveal new hidden beauties every time you put it on, spend the extra $10 for the "Salzburg Experience.""
Brings Back Memories
Howard G Brown | Port St. Lucie, FL USA | 01/28/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While not a knee-jerk Toscanini fan, I am a great fan of this recording. It reminds me of my childhood, hearing Met broadcasts on a good radio -- AM, yes; mono, yes; but with a firm tone and just enough warmth to invite one to stick around for the broadcast. This recording is my benchmark for Falstaff."
A bouquet to Valdengo
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The other revieewers have already praised the revitalized sound of this 1950 Falstaff, which brings the performance into a soft, warm, human dimension. Toscanini conducts without a trace of the hardness and hectic tempos associated with his old age. He paces the opera with utmost flexibility, bending every phrase to Verdi's mercurial imagination. We find ourselves in a world as sparkling as that of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
But above eall this opera needs a great vocal actor to protray Falstaff himself. From the first words he utters, Giuseppe Valdengo makes some things abundantly clear: Sir John is fat and gross but still proud. He is a mixture of sly and degraded, hot-headed and witty. Valdengo makes us believe that the higher morality is to flout convention and sail through the world a free spirit, but always with the melancholy awareness that flights come to earth with crashing shards of self-delusion. Jack Falstaff is a world unto himself, so both Shakespeare and Verdi intended, and both see him with worldly compassion. Valdengo manages to hold the center of gravity every moment, something that Tito Gobbi, for all his artistry, had to strain to achieve, and then only partially. Togeehter, Valdengo and Toscanini inspire everyone else. For two hours the magic spell holds, from a slovenly tavern hangover to a fairy night's enchantment. Bravo!"
Brilliant performance by a true master.
L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 08/28/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a magnificent performance of one of the greatest of all operas.
Regarding the previous comments on sound quality, I weep for those whose ears are acute but whose souls are deaf."
Track Listings (24) - Disc #1