Search - Verdi :: Il Trovatore

A whiff of the opera house

Mark McCue | Denver | 04/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This exemplary production was a radio production, of all things, because it has the excitement of a great night at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome.The sound is excellent, the conducting by Previtali superior (this really was his opera) and all the characterizations deep and beautifully sung. It's the kind of distinguished work we rarely hear (see) in opera houses outside Italy any more.I can tell one difference, though--this performance sounds better on my Foyer vinyl that I got about 20 years ago. If you remember that series you remember fine processing, packaging, quiet surfaces and great sound. Barring having vinyl, get this live RAI-Rome masterpiece of a production to supplement your studio recordings. I bet you end up listening to it more than your studio selections."

FIERY TROVATORE AT THE 1951 VERDIAN CELEBRATIONS

jfmaniaci | Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia | 06/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is a great pity that this studio recording of Trovatore is currently out of stock. It is a feast of bel canto and heroic top notes (Lauri Volpi), musicality and scenic authority (Pirazzini), ample voice and resonance (Mancini), wisdom and dramatic spirit (Tagliabue). Add to it a lively and fast-paced score conducted by Previtali at the RAI studios of Rome in the winter of 1951.The sound is excellent and the voices soar above the orchestra radiantly. Buy the CD if you are a diehard fan (like me) of Lauri Volpi, the greatest Italian tenor ever, the supreme tenor for excellence and dedication. Eminent Italian music critics coined him the scarlet larynx. If you are a lover of showstoppers like Trovatore, dramatic phrasing and feline bursts abound: "il figlio mio" (a desperate Azucena in Act I), "all'armi" (a heroic troubadour in Act III), "Manrico" (a dying Leonora in Act IV), and "quale orror" (a mesmerised Count Di Luna in Act IV). At 58 years of age, Lauri Volpi was still the unmatched Manrico with a voice of rare brilliance, freshness and extension. His heroic top notes were unequalled for agility, resonance and breath. His memorable "Pira" ends with the famous squillo "All'armi" as a message sent to the moon! Pirazzini (Azucena), one of the few and authentic mezzos in the postwar period, sings with a romantic and not too dark timbre. Listen to her brilliant top note "Sei vendicata, o madre!" at the very end of the opera. Admittedly, Mancini (Leonora), a dramatic soprano with acute notes like stilettos, is not really at ease with the Verdi diabolical texture of "D'amor sull'ali rosee". In this famous aria, a youthful Callas triumphed one month earlier at the San Carlo Opera House. Who was Manrico then? Lauri Volpi, the scarlet larynx, of course. The final trio in Act I, the famous "Pira" and the Miserere are extremely notable."

Excellent Italian cast swaggers and lets it rip.

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 01/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Il trovatore" is one of the silliest of operas and one of the most sublime. The Marx Brothers knew exactly what they were doing when they sent it up in "A Night at the Opera" for, as Groucho later wrote, "you can't burlesque a bad act." This recording fully captures both the silliness and the sublimity.I confess that I am a stone Trovatore-freak, even to the extent of owning and--heaven help me!--enjoying that weird old album of thirty different tenors consecutively singing "Di quella pira". Of all the performances I know, this is the one that swaggers and roisters and goes about its business in the most enjoyable manner. The conductor, Fernando Previtali, molded the performance with the hand of a master. If he allowed the occasional long-held high note for no better reason than the thrill of the sound, he never let the forward pace of the piece be less than headlong.

On my shelves are the recorded Manricos of Neri, Bjorling, Del Monaco, Corelli, Bergonzi, and even that guy who sang with Callas in Mexico City. I have heard the attempts of Pavarotti, Domingo, Licitra and Alvares, as well as a couple on the stage of the San Francisco Opera whose names are faded from my memory. It is to Giacomo Lauri-Volpi on this recording that I listen regularly. His voice is by turns powerful, eloquent, fiery, caressing and thrilling. His characterization of Manrico is dead on: a perfect fool, swaggering and passionately self-centered--an even dumber jock than poor old Othello. Carlo Tagliabue is in good voice here. He is fine Conte di Luna, by turns love sick, fatuous, frustrated and ferocious. I quite like the dramatic soprano, the much underappreciated Caterina Mancini, and Miriam Pirazzini more than holds her own against very strong competition in the role of Azucena.Give this one a try for a good wallow in the most Italian of operas."