Search - Verdi, Di Stefano, Palacio De Bellas Artes :: Rigoletto (Mexico City 6/22/48 Live)

Both beautiful and frustrating

gks5q@virginia.edu | 06/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't even know how to rate this recording... It has big pluses and, alas, big minuses. On the plus side, the young di Stefano's voice is fantastic - that glowing, dewy timbre that turned him into an overnight sensation. Valdengo's Rigoletto is quite good. The Gilda is not exceptional, but she does okay. On the minus side, the recorded sound is awful. This is a 1948 live recording from Mexico, so when I say "awful" I mean pretty awful. Di Stefano's technique is also pretty awful. He sings Ella Mi Fu Rapita totally out of tune. He misses the beat in La Donna E Mobile TWICE, and does it again on bis. There are other mistakes too. Di Stefano's voice production is effortless and beautiful, but his handling of his voice is not yet as suave as it was going to get during his La Scala reign in the 50's. Yet, I will repeat, the voice itself is gorgeous. It alone probably justifies the investment in this recording. Di Stefano himself never lived up to his own promise, but the early recordings such as this one give a tantalizing flavor of the full glory that might have been."