February: Featured Classical Music

La Forza Del Destino
OP1407. Live Performance, 23 Sept., 1960, w.Mitropoulos Cond. Vienna Staatsoper Ensemble; Antonietta Stella, Giuseppe di Stefano, Ettore Bastianini, Walter Kreppel, Giulietta Simionato, Karl Dönch, etc. (Austria) 2-Orfeo C 681 0621. $35.90, the Set.

“This production of FORZA was presented to much acclaim during the Karajan era at the Vienna State Opera. Mitropoulos, who had only weeks to live, returned to a work he much loved….With the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in glowing form, the results are very special….Bastianini…presents Don Carlo in all his menacing, vengeful fury with that dark-hued, Immensely powerful baritone of his. As his antagonist he has di Stefano as Alvaro in his most eloquent, incisive and appealing form, relishing every word and note….Stella had a brief period when she was fully the equal of Tebaldi and here she is in the middle of it, singing the role as well as, if not better than any soprano on disc. Tebaldi-like in her full, Italianate tone, Caniglia-like in her identification with Leonora’s plight, from start to finish she is magnificent, and she crowns her portrayal with a finely nuanced and felt ‘Pace, pace’ in the final act….In this the performance’s first official appearance, the sound is by and large excellent.”

- Alan Blyth, GRAMOPHONE, Feb., 2007

Il Trovatore
OP1405. Live Performance, 27 Feb., 1960, w.Cleva Cond. Antonietta Stella, Carlo Bergonzi, Giulietta Simionato, Ettore Bastianini, William Wildermann, etc. (Slovenia) 2-Myto 071.342. $33.95, the Set.

“Bergonzi reveals his merits in full fettle. Has anyone in recent memory – exempt Björling – tossed off the serenade with equal aplomb?….The grand recitative preceding ‘Ah sì, ben mio’ recalls Martinelli’s command of line….When Leonora faces Manrico in prison, he blazes out with a brilliance quite startling for one known primarily for his lyrical gift….Simionato’s vivid characterization of the gypsy occupies pride of place….[she] is overwhelming as the gypsy mother….by the time she peals out the final high G of the [‘Stride la vampa’], we know that a voice like hers has not been heard on the Metropolitan stage for years. Thereafter, all is glory….Mention must also be made of William Wildermann, who sings one of the more musical and dramatically astute Ferrandos of broadcast history.”

- Paul Jackson, SIGN-OFF FOR THE OLD MET, pp.370-73

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