An unjustly overlooked recording?(转发)

While I agree with much that the Santa Fe listener says in his review, I think his verdict a little harsh. This set has a lot going for it: an all Italian cast; a superlative Di Luna, Azucena and Ferrando in Bastianini, Cossotto and Vinco respectively; probably the greatest Italian conductor of his generation, and a chance for Bergonzi fans to hear him tackle a role at the limit of his capability.

It is true that Serafin is sometimes a little too relaxed; his "Squilli, echeggi la tromba" at the start of Part III is simply too slow and lacking in martial bravura but elsewhere he displays his mastery of the score and is always considerate of his singers. There is a problem with Stella's Leonora; it is most noticeable in her placid, careful opening aria, "Tacea la notte". She is "correct" in everything she does but hardly ever makes your pulse rush (as she can and does in her 1964 recording of "Andrea Chenier" with Corelli, for example). However, if you do not lose patience with her, she warms up considerably and by Part IV uses a combination of her gutsy lower register and floating top notes to make an excellent job of the "D'amor sull'ali rose" and the "Miserere".

I do not think that Bergonzi sounds as if he is stretched beyond his limits in the "Di quella pira" - although I agree that he probably is stretched TO his limits. He manages plenty of squillo in his sound and of course phrases wonderfully. Corelli he ain't - but his is a successful way of doing Manrico, I think.

Bastianini is wonderful, even if he could occasionally temper that big brazen sound and show a little more tenderness in phrases such as "O Leonora" in the "In braccio al mio rival". His "Il balen" is truly beautiful; not a hint of the hoarseness which presaged the throat cancer which ended his career a mere three years later and his life two years after that at 44. His breath control and top G are astounding; the latter attacked cleanly and held effortlessly.

Cossotto is in slightly fresher voice as Azucena than in the later celebrated Mehta recording; powerful and affecting; a wholly successful assumption of that demanding role from an artist at the top of her form.

Finally, Vinco gives us the most vividly characterised and beautifully vocalised Ferrando on record.

So a "near miss" is too unkind a verdict; Stella is by no means a disaster and there is much pleasure to be had from listening to this set. I would not say that the Callas or Bjorling sets are superior, as although Bjorling, like Bergonzi, sang Manrico frequently on stage to great acclaim, some might prefer a heftier tenor with more steel in his voice and a more assertive top C. The Mehta or the later Karajan probably still hold sway for most listeners - and then there is the live Karajan performance with Corelli, Price and Bastianini - or what about the old EMI studio recording with Corelli and Merrill, great Verdi singers both? We have an "embarras de richesses", thank goodness, to choose from - but I am still happy to make room on my shelves for this 1962 Serafin set.