According to the
online performance archive available
on the Herbert von Karajan Centrum
website, there were no performances
of Il Trovatore from him in
the opera house between an early 1931
event in Ulm and the 1962 revival
in Salzburg. His 1956 La Scala recording
therefore came after a gap of some
25 years, and this allowed Karajan’s
approach to Verdi’s old warhorse to
be strikingly fresh. Rhythms are pointed
and the playing of the La Scala orchestra
is well-drilled and accurate, which
was not always the case around this
time.
This recording has
been much reissued in recent years
by EMI; both in a Great Recordings
of the Century incarnation and on
the cheaper EMI Classics bargain line.
As with other issues in the Naxos
Historical series, this one uses pristine
original LPs transferred faithfully
by Mark Obert-Thorn. They preserve
the original realistic balance and
perspective of Walter Legge’s production,
made at the same time as the sessions
for Un Ballo in Maschera which
I reviewed earlier.
Unlike Amelia in
Ballo or the Forza del Destino
Leonora, Callas had sung the Trovatore
Leonora several times in her career
and did so to great acclaim. Notwithstanding
her greatness in the recordings of
the other operas, the benefit of stage
experience allows Callas to add an
extra dimension. That, coupled with
a rare vocal security, creates a portrayal
that is deeply affecting both in its
dramatic and musical aspects. Those
who prefer voices with the spinto
qualities of a Tebaldi or Milanov
may feel Callas’s tone production
is something of an acquired taste
but her dramatic involvement is never
in doubt.
The late Giuseppe
Di Stefano was not Legge’s first choice
for the role of Manrico - originally
the part was to have gone to Richard
Tucker who withdrew due to the conductor’s
wartime associations. Di Stefano makes
a brave shot at it and it is refreshing
to hear much of the role sung with
a finesse that is often absent. However
in the big moments like Di quella
pira we are made aware that Di
Stefano is singing outwith his natural
compass, although he covers it with
consummate skill. Around this time
the tenor began to take on a number
of roles that were, with hindsight,
too heavy for his essentially light
voice. These contributed to his subsequent
vocal decline.
Fedora Barbieri is
a powerful Azucena, her Stride
la vampa sung with an old-school,
no-holds-barred approach and Panerai
a competent if hardly outstanding
Di Luna. Smaller roles are cast from
strength from the La Scala ranks.
As usual with this
Naxos series there are good notes
on the performance and a synopsis
but no texts or translations.
Karajan’s imaginative,
pointed conducting and Callas’s noble
Leonora are this set’s two selling
points. A bargain - don’t miss it!
Ewan McCormick
Chorus of La Scala, Milan/Norberto Mola
