| Details | | Playing Time: | 53 min. | | Contributing Artists: | Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Michael Chance, Stephen Varcoe | | Distributor: | Universal Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | DDD |
Album Notes In the 1930s and '40s, the great opera conductor Gino Marinuzzi conducted a number of notable 'Forza del destino' casts, yet this 1941 cast was surely one of the most successful. Marinuzzi possessed not only a brilliant sense of dramatic pacing but also a canny ability to tease out the best, vocally and dramatically, from his singers. The role of Leonora was entrusted to the leading Italian lyric-dramatic soprano the day, Maria Caniglia. Her rendition of "Pace, pace, mio Dio!" is ardent and convincing-finely turned but not too precious. This welcome lack of vocal fussiness, which graces all of the performances here, is no doubt due in part to the guiding integrity of Marinuzzi. The scenes between the very fine Verdi baritone Carlo Tagliabue (as Don Carlo) and the attractive tenor Galliano Masini (as Alvaro) are consistently absorbing; their compelling exchanges carry the third act. And as Preziosilla, Ebe Stignani (one of the leading Verdi mezzo-sopranos of her day) rounds out the act with rousing and vocally assured performances of "Venite all'indovina" and the famous "Rataplan" chorus. For a performance of this opera absent of divas and divos, this recording is hard to beat.
| See an error? Submit a change request |