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Rosa Ponselle - American Recordings
1923-1929: Volume 4 Giuseppe VERDI (1813–1901) La forza del destino:
1. Pace, pace, mio Dio [4:37]
2. Pace, pace, mio Dio [4:42]
Ernani:
3. Ernani! Ernani involami [4:40]
Antonin DVOŘÁK
(1841–1904) 4. Songs My Mother Taughts Me [2:41]
Anton RUBINSTEIN (1829–1894) 5. Since I First Met Thee [3:16]
Giuseppe VERDI La forza del destino:
6. Io muoio! [3:28]
7. Non imprecare, umiliati [4:40]
8. Io muoio! [3:27]
9. Non imprecare, umiliati [4:42]
Aida:
10. Ritorna vincitor [4:49]
Il trovatore:
11. Miserere [4:30]
12. Miserere [4:28]
La forza del destino:
13. La vergine degli angeli [4:33]
Vincenzo BELLINI (1801-1835) Norma:
14. Sediziose voci … Casta diva [4:51]
15. Ah! bello a me ritorna (Cabaletta) [3:03]
16. Mira, o Norma [7:20]
Rosa Ponselle
(soprano); Marion Telva (contralto) (16), Giovanni Martinelli (tenor)
(6-9, 11, 12), Ezio Pinza (bass) (6-9, 13); Metropolitan Opera Chorus
(11-16), orchestra/Giulio Setti (11-16); Rosario Bourdon (1-10)
rec. Camden, NJ, 17 January 1928 (1-5), 18 January
1928 (6-10), 23 January 1928 (11-13), 31 December 1928 (15); 30
January 1929 (14, 16)
Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer: Ward Marston
NAXOS 8.111141
[69:48]
Like
its predecessor, which I reviewed
last month, this disc contains some takes that were not published
on 78 rpm. These are tracks 2, 6 and 7. In all likelihood you
can add track 11 or 12, since these are also first and second
takes of the same duet and it doesn’t make sense that they both
should have been published as Victor 8097A, the reverse side being
the Forza duet La vergine degli angeli (tr. 13).
In Europe this was released as HMV DB 1199 and remained in the
catalogue until the end of the 78 rpm era.
It
is no overstatement to claim that here is some of the most accomplished
Verdi singing ever put on records, from Rosa Ponselle as well
as her male partners. Just take the first two tracks, two takes
of the aria Pace, pace, mio Dio from La forza del
destino. The glorious tone and the ability to live the part
are of course admirable and never to be taken for granted, but
even more notable are the superb technical control and exquisite
phrasing. The first long note is started at an almost inaudible
pianissimo, then swells to a forte and then back again with
complete dynamic control. Both takes are as perfect as it is
possible to imagine from a living creature, with the possible
exception of the final note of the second take, which seems
to be less than ideally nourished. The Ernani aria is
sung with a certain swagger, she has a perfect trill and the
florid passages of the cabaletta are sung with a light touch.
The seductive ritardando is highly effective – self-indulgent
perhaps but this is a freedom that I believe Verdi himself would
have endorsed. The legato in the Dvořák is masterly and
she sings Rubinstein’s rarely heard song with glow.
The
two versions of the finale from La forza del destino
are also difficult to fault, though it seems that they are even
more involving in the second take, which was also the one that
was published. It is always good to hear the noble and warm
voice of Pinza – Non imprecare – and incandescent tone
of Martinelli. In Ritorna vincitor from Aida Ponselle
floats her tone magically, whereas in the Miserere from
Il trovatore she is more vibrant. It can be noted that
Martinelli is as closely recorded as Ponselle and that he, surprisingly,
uses the intrusive ‘h’ a couple of times.
The
duet from Forza is a classic and so is Ponselle’s Norma,
the role that was arguably her greatest success. Sediziose
voce is grand and vibrant though she begins Casta diva
so softly and inwardly, while the cabaletta is again powerful.
The duet, Mira, o Norma, was legendarily recorded in
the 1960s by Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne but Ponselle
and Telva are on the same level and are just as beautifully
matched when singing in unison. They are even more delicate
with the superbly timed ritardandi.
After
these Norma sides in 1929 Ponselle didn’t return to a
gramophone studio for more than a decade. They are glorious
documents of her singing during her heyday – as are the rest
of the tracks on this disc. The sound is everything one could
wish for and there are good liner notes by Bill Park.
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