Cesare Siepi attended
the Milan Conservatoire, but only for
a short time. By the time he was 18
he had made his stage debut as Sparafucile
in Rigoletto, a remarkably achievement
for someone who was substantially self-taught.
His career was interrupted by the 2nd
World War; a critic of the Fascist regime
in Italy he fled to Switzerland and
was interned there. He found time to
take further singing lessons. His post-war
career was extensive and long: he was
still singing while in his 60s.
Siepi's discography
is substantial, with many recordings
of complete operas. For this recital
disc, Nimbus have concentrated on Siepi's
first recordings, made for Cetra when
he was 24. These sound like the recordings
of a far older singer, the voice has
the depth and weight which we associate
with older basses. The distinctive dark
colour and sonority of his voice are
present.
The singer’s youth
can perhaps be detected in the flexibility
of line, even at the top and when under
pressure. This is no baritone voice
though, the lower range is impressive
as well.
Here we get a selection
of arias from roles in operas that we
can associate with the singer., Mozart's
Don Giovanni is a role that would
be much associated with Siepi and we
could wish that he had recorded more
from it. This, and the other tracks,
all show him to possess a wonderfully
elegant line, with superb legato. This
elegance and a sense that he never forces,
make me think of the tenor Alfredo Kraus
- they were virtually contemporaries
Siepi being born in 1923 and Kraus in
1927. Another quality which distinguishes
many of the Verdi roles on the disc
is gravitas, the young Siepi seems to
have had no trouble at playing older
than his years. His Philippo in Don
Carlos is beautifully world-weary
without ever sounding stagy. And in
O tu Palermo from I Vespri
Siciliani, he finds a fine nobility
in the character.
In Satan's summoning
of evil spirits from Mefistofile
his rendition is truly high-spirited
with some wonderful whistling; evidently
Satan traditionally summons his spirits
via ear-piercing whistles! The two Rossini
pieces both display a neat sense of
humour and Siepi has little trouble
moving his dark voice around Rossini's
vocal lines.
The ten operatic arias
are accompanied by a group of eight
popular songs by Tosti, Denza, Rotoli
and Billi. These are usually associated
with tenors or sopranos but Siepi's
flexibility and elegance of line stand
him in good stead. He manages to sound
suitably passionate and charming without
being overly heavy or over-dramatic.
I could have done with slightly fewer
of these and more arias - for me a little
Tosti goes a long way. An interesting
note is how static the repertoire seems
have become. Whilst Siepi did appear
in new operas, this recorded repertoire
is very firmly based around dead composers;
whereas a singer of an earlier generation,
such as Caruso, was recording many items
by living composers.
The disc is in Nimbus's
Prima Voce series, which means that
the 78s have been transferred by playing
the original discs back on a custom-built
horn gramophone. I rather like this
process, finding the results warm and
realistic, though not everyone does.
I have not been able to hear these discs
in alternative pressings but I can see
no reason not to be entirely satisfied
with Nimbus's transfers. The recordings
rather favour the voice over the orchestra,
but the orchestral accompaniment is
generally adequate and sometimes rather
more so. The CD booklet includes an
extensive biographical article with
a short introduction to the arias, but
there are no song texts.
This is an excellent
introduction to the work of an outstanding
Italian bass, heard in his impressively
youthful prime.
Robert Hugill
see also review
by Goran Forsling
Cesare Siepi (bass) 
