Search - Verdi, Price :: Il Trovatore

LEONTYNE PRICE IS THE SHINING STAR HERE

lesismore26 | Chicago, Illinois USA | 11/28/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This 1959 RCA "Trovatore" was received quite positively upon it's original release. Today, however, it has long been surpassed by other versions on various labels. The recording remains valid because it marked the first "Trovatore" recorded by Leontyne Price. The other cast members were notable, but none of them are particularly memorable in their respective roles.Richard Tucker, a great tenor to be sure, was simply not a Manrico. His singing is sure, solid and reliable, but his Manrico has a stodgy and staid quality to it that I find all wrong (this is a role for a Corelli in full cry, a Domingo, or, from a lyrical standpoint, a Bjoerling). The di Luna of Leonard Warren is fine ---- until you compare it to his RCA 1952 recording with Zinka Milanov and Jussi Bjoerling, and you can hear the difference seven years made in his vocal health.Rosiland Elias was a fine lyric mezzo, but she was miles away from the crazed gypsy crone Azucena, which calls for a much darker and powerful voice.Arturo Basile's conducting was adequate. And what about the Leonora of Leontyne Price?In the springtime of her great career, her voice is ravishing in sound, so much so that it spoils you for others in this role. But as good as she is here, she actually got even better in the years to come, and can be heard to even better advantage on RCA's 1969 "Trovatore" opposite Placido Domingo, and conducted by Zubin Mehta. Moreover, Price can be heard in a mono-only peformance from the 1962 Salzburg Festival alongside Franco Corell's torrid Manrico, and Gulietta Simionato's deranged Azucena ----- and conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Now HERE is a "Trovatore" on fire! I would recommend this recording as a reference point in the growth of Leontyne Price from an incredibly vocally gifted soprano (which she certainly is here) to one of the great artists of the twentieth century."

Very Good But Not The Best

Steven Muni | Sutter Creek, CA USA | 01/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Il Trovatore, with its ridiculous and convoluted plot about stolen babies and burned witches, needs four superb singers to make it work. This recording has four such singers, among the top American singers of the late 50s and early 60s.



Massachusetts native Rosalind Elias brings her warm mezzo to the role of Azucena, although at only 30 years old she sounds a little young to be anyone's mother. Giorgio Tozzi, who despite his Italian name hailed from Chicago, sings Ferrando with a rich and noble bass. The great baritone Leonard Warren, with his wide and pliable voice, excellent top notes and great breath control, sings a wonderful Count di Luna. And Richard Tucker as Manrico, who is normally not my favorite singer, being a little too overly dramatic and hambone for my taste, sings one of his most direct and unaffected performances, with very few gasps and other disquieting vocal mannerisms meant to show great emotion. He actually has a very nice voice when he's not over-acting.



The heroine of the recording is, of course, the 32-year old Leontyne Price, just two years after her debut at the Met in the vary same role. With her clear and brilliant top register, she brings a lightness and freshness to the role that to my way of thinking fits the part perfectly. Arturo Basile conducts the Rome Opera Orchestra and Chorus competantly and they perform adequately if not brilliantly. The stereo sound is excellent as half-century old stereo recordings go. It was recorded at the Rome Opera in July, 1959. I give it only 4 stars because good as it is, this recording just doesn't catch fire. It's good, but not great. That said, it is a must for any fan of Leontyne Price or Leonard Warren.



It is interestin to compare this recording to Ms. Price's Trovatore of 10 years later, with Placido Domingo, Sherill Milnes, and Fiorenza Cossuto. Although Price's voice is more mature and heavier in the later recording, she brings more depth to the role, and her fellow cast members are equally as strong.



The most exciting Price Trovatore is the 1962 live recording from the Salzburg Festival, with Franco Corelli as Manrico, Giulietta Simionato as Azucena, the great (and often underrated) Italian baritone Ettore Bastianini as the Count di Luna, and Nicola Zaccaria as Ferrando. With the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by von Karajan, the entire performance simply crackles with energy and drama, without sounding forced or stagey. Why they couldn't do stereo recording at Salzburg (when they were doing it at Bayreuth by 1955) I can't imagine. Remastered and released on Deutsche Grammaphon, the recording is in adequate mono, which is all right, but when you think of what it could be...well, it's still the mist exciting Price Trovatore and one of the most exciting versions of the opera recorded.



So back to this recording--definitely recommended, but not my first choice. But if, like me, you are a fan of Leontyne Price, then it is a "must have"."

Radiant performances by Price, Tucker, Warren

Paul E. Logan | Washington, D. C., District of Columbia USA | 05/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording was my first full-length opera purchase many years ago, and I feared that my review would be tinged with nostalgia. However, I returned to it recently and was absolutely astounded at the high level of artistry that the principal singers displayed. It stands the test of time when one compares it with the other commercial and private label recordings of Il Trovatore on which Price takes possession of the role of Leonora and with those on which other sopranos have placed their imprint. Simply put, there is no soprano who has surpassed Miss Price; her sense of line and phrasing as well as the sheer beauty of the instrument provides the listener with countless moments of insurmountable pleasure. Tucker is dutifully passionate, displaying his penchant for verismo singing, and Warren memorializes his impeccable Count Luna -- a role which he was performing at the time of his untimely death on the stage of the old Met. It is indeed difficult for some opera-lovers to admit that Miss Price excelled in this rare art form, and we understand why. Get over it!"