Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)
Otello (1884-1886)
Otello – Mario del Monaco (tenor)
Desdemona – Victoria de los Ángeles (soprano)
Iago – Leonard Warren (baritone)
Emilia – Rosalind Elias (mezzo-soprano)
Cassio – Paul Franke (tenor)
Lodovico – Nicola Moscona (baritone)
Montàno – Clifford Harvuot (baritone)
Roderigo – Charles Anthony (tenor)
Herald – Calvin Marsh (baritone)
Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera/Fausto Cleva
rec. live, 8 March 1958 at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York
Reviewed as 16 bit FLAC download
PRISTINE AUDIO PACO154 [2 CDs: 123:32]
This was my first experience with Pristine Audio’s download service. They, like many other companies offer CD-quality downloadable files that can be converted into CDs or listened to in the FLAC format that they use. They are playable according to your system’s ability to handle the differing file formats. Additionally, they offer the same files as MP3s at a lower cost. I chose the CD quality files and then converted them into CDs as the optimal way for me to audition the release.
This performance of Otello was reviewed previously for MusicWeb readers by my colleague Paul
Steinson.
In 1958 the Metropolitan Opera in New York managed quite a coup in bringing three of the world’s most celebrated opera singers together for this performance, which was their second run at it. There would be only one further performance in New York and another one at a theater in Baltimore. One nice feature of this recording is that it retains some of Milton Cross’s announcements at the beginning and most of the applause commentary after the final Act. This gives a good sense of its history when listening to it today. Pristine’s Ambient Stereo transfer offers a sound which is noticeably open and provides more perspective for the orchestra than when I have heard this in the past. The opening organ pedal note is very present and audible. There are occasional moments of trouble that derive from the original radio engineers. One such is a sudden wide increase in the volume of the microphones during the opening chorus; however, this does not seriously get in the way of enjoyment.
Mario del Monaco’s gale force tenor was in fine, clarion fettle that afternoon. His opening “Esultate”
brings on a vociferous burst of applause from the audience. Act One is where he is most challenged
mainly by the sensitive vocal writing of the love duet. He, like many other tenors have difficulty grinding out the low note on the word “Mondo” and elsewhere he has a tendency to sing flat during the softer phrases. After this hurdle is over with, he is on sure footing for the rest of the afternoon. He certainly produces a veritable tidal wave of sound for “Ora per sempre addio”.
Leonard Warren paints an outsized Iago with somewhat broader brush strokes than some, most notably Gobbi and Fischer-Dieskau. His beautiful, bronze-coloured tone is well deployed throughout much of the role. He takes on a sort of sneering sound during the plotting of Act Two but who has ever sung the repeated “vigilate” to Otello with a more sumptuous sound? From the point in Act Two where Otello tries to strangle Iago, the two superstars spur each other to a white heat all the way to the conclusion. It is quite simply ten or so minutes of the most fearless singing I have ever encountered.
Victoria de los Ángeles is an artist that I always associate with grace, delicacy and tenderness. I was
surprised then by the level of passion that she finds as the opera proceeds. To be sure, the delicacy and sensitive phrasing are there in abundance such as in the Act One duet with Otello. Where she took me by surprise was in the Act Three duet; the sudden panic and terror in her voice at “In te parla una furia” is something I am not accustomed to finding in her recordings. She finds a level of passion in the great ensemble that is quite stunning. Her Willow song and Ave Maria in the final act are as delicate and beautiful as one could ever encounter. There have been other singers who delivered Desdemona with more of a fighting spirit and certainly more volume but for those who admire the legend of de los Ángeles, this is a “must hear” recording.
There is some great support from Paul Franke as a Cassio with a substantial voice and a quite voluptuous sounding Emilia by the young, smoky-toned Rosalind Elias. Sadly, by this time Nicola Moscona had begun to sound somewhat hollow of voice as Lodovico.
Fausto Cleva conducts a briskly paced account of the score for the most part. He is generally efficient
rather than inspired. At one point in “Dunque senza velami” Mario del Monaco has trouble keeping up to his pace. Cleva does manage to catch on fire no doubt due to the two firebrands on stage during the latter half of Act Two.
Pristine has not only done a great job with the audio engineering of this transfer but they also provide the added benefit of including the CD cover artwork to print at home. They also include two PDF files of both the full orchestral score and a piano-vocal edition enabling people to follow along at home on a device such as a tablet or an e-reader.
Mike Parr
Previous reviews:
Margarida Mota-Bull ~ Paul Steinson
