This is the first of
five original versions of Verdi operas
first recorded and broadcast by the
BBC in the 1970s. This Opera Rara
issue of Verdi’s original version of
Macbeth is shortly to be joined by ‘Simon
Boccanegra’, and in the autumn by ‘Les
Vêpres Siciliennes’; the remaining
two operas, ‘Don Carlos’ and ‘La Forza
del Destino’, will follow in 2005. This,
and the other impending releases in
this series, have been facilitated by
the support of the Peter Moores Foundation.
All Verdians will be grateful for the
opportunity these issues will provide
to compare the original with the better
known, often recorded, revisions.
There are 28 titles
in the Verdi operatic oeuvre of which
there are 26 musically distinct works.
The other two works, ‘Jerusalem’ and
‘Aroldo’, are re-writes, to different
libretti, of earlier works. The former
was the first re-write and was undertaken
to allow Verdi to dip his toes into
the money-pot and artistic quality of
opera performance in Paris. There costly
spectacle and ballet scenes were de
rigueur with musical standards far superior
to those found in Italy. The re-write
of Stiffelio, as Aroldo, was influenced
by the Italian censors who constantly
suppressed the original with its married
Protestant minister who returns home
to find his wife guilty of adultery
and ends up by forgiving her from the
pulpit. Verdi undertook substantial
re-writes of several of his other operas
without altering the title. These re-writes
were often associated with performances
in Paris and involved translation back
into Italian. This is the case with
Macbeth, originally his tenth opera
and very much a ‘risorgimento’ work,
complete with a nationalist chorus.
It was written for the Pergola Theatre,
Florence, where it was premiered on
14 March 1847 and it is in this original
form that this performance is presented.
This is the first official re-mastering
and issue of the broadcast of 15 April
1979. Interestingly the same principals
reprised the work at the BBC Proms later
that year. These five recordings, and
subsequent broadcasts, of the original
versions of Verdi operas, were made
under the aegis of Julian Budden then
head of opera at the BBC. Budden is
also known for his three volume ‘The
Operas of Verdi’ (Cassell 1973, 1978
and 1981).
Macbeth was revised
by Verdi for the Théâtre
Lyrique, Paris, where it was first produced
on 19 April 1865 after Verdi had spent
most of the previous winter working
on the re-composition including the
required ballet. All the previous studio
recordings have been of this later version,
most featuring a mezzo-soprano as the
Lady. In this performance Rita Hunter,
the British Brünnhilde of her generation,
sings the part. Only in Decca’s first
recording of the 1865 version, featuring
Birgit Nilsson, the international Brünnhilde
of her generation, is a similar voice
to be found on recordings of the complete
opera. Those who have the preferred
recordings of the later version featuring
Shirley Verrett (DG ‘Originals’ under
Abbado) or Fiorenza Cossotto (EMI under
Muti) might at first find the steely
timbre cutting through the orchestral
textures a little difficult to get used
to. They should persist because Hunter
has some lower voiced richness too and
brings insight as well as vocal clarity
and agility to the part. This is particularly
true of ‘Trionfai! Securi alfine’ (CD
1 tr. 17) the Act 2 aria that Verdi
replaced with ‘La luce langue’ for Paris
(CD 1 tr. 10 on the DG, tr. 20 on the
EMI). That is not to say that Hunter
is the perfect Lady Macbeth, there are
moments of unevenness but her Act 4
‘Sleep Walking Scene’ (CD 2 trs. 14-15)
is as good as any on disc
The part of Macbeth
himself has drawn all the great Verdi
baritones and a goodly number have been
privileged to set their interpretation
on record, albeit of the later version.
Warren (RCA), Taddei (Decca), Milnes
(EMI), Cappuccilli (DG) and Bruson (Philips)
are all distinguished Verdians with
the part in their discography. To their
number Tito Gobbi would have been added
but for illness when he was substituted
by the unidiomatic Fischer-Dieskau in
Decca’s 1971 recording made in Kingsway
Hall. Peter Glossop, the Macbeth here,
and then at the very peak of his powers,
would have made a far better substitute.
Born 1928 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, he
studied privately whilst working as
a bank clerk before joining the London-based
Sadlers Wells Opera Company as a chorister
in 1952, becoming a principal a year
later. He sang the major Italian roles
with that Company, in London and on
tour in the U.K., before making his
Covent Garden debut in 1961. Glossop
made a considerable mark as a Verdian
in the ‘bear pit’ provincial opera theatres
of Italy, (Parma, Palermo and Naples),
where any non-Italian, particularly
in this fach, was subject to stringent
analysis, before debuting at La Scala
in 1966. An extrovert performer he gave
himself unstintingly to every role,
always using his full-toned and powerful
Verdi baritone in the service of the
music. I consider myself to be particularly
fortunate to have heard him in all the
major Verdi baritone parts in his repertoire.
Unfortunately the recording companies
used him only sparingly and then in
only one Verdi role (other than Rigoletto
highlights in English) and that was
at the behest of Karajan who cast him
as Iago in his early 1970s Salzburg
Otello. Never one to hide his light
under a bushel this irked Glossop greatly,
and I suspect will be commented on in
his forthcoming autobiography which
will, I think, make interesting reading.
The bad news for Glossop admirers such
as myself is that this 1979 reading
finds him past his prime. The characterisation
of the facets of Macbeth, his grasping
at the prospects of the crown, complicity
in murder and then disintegration and
resignation to death are fully conveyed,
but the voice itself is raw in patches,
lacking the refulgent generosity of
tone he always gave at his peak, and
further aggravated by some uneven legato.
It is a pity that this recording does
not better represent the finest British
Verdi baritone of at least the last
sixty years. If not perfection there
are many moments to enjoy such as the
Act 3 scene with the witches (CD 2 trs.
3-7), the Act 4 ‘Perfidi ‘ and aria
‘Pietta, rispetto, amore’ and resignation
to death (trs. 14-15 and 17).
Another stalwart of
the UK opera scene of the 1970s was
Kenneth Collins, here singing Macduff.
He debuted at Covent Garden as Arturo
to Sills’ Lucia and made his debut at
New York’s City Opera in 1975, returning
in 1978 to sing leading roles in Mefistofele,
Rigoletto, Carmen and Pagliacci. His
strong virile Italianate true tenor
tone is heard to good effect in this
performance (CD 2 trs. 9-10 ‘O figli,
... Ah la paterno mano’). Equally effective
is John Tomlinson as Banquo; another
British singer who came to enjoy a considerable
international career and reputation
as the Wotan of his time. In pristine
voice he conveys Banquo’s inner reflections
on the prophecies (CD 1 trs. 3-4) and
then his fears for his son (tr. 9) and
he does this with sonority and steadiness.
The lesser parts are all well cast with
the likes of Ludmilla Andrew, herself
a Lady Macbeth, as the nurse. The conducting
of John Matheson is not in the Abbado
(DG) or Gardelli (Decca) class, but
he certainly has more feel for Verdian
line than Sinopoli (Philips) or Leinsdorf
(RCA), all conducting the later version.
However, this 1847 version is a ‘risorgimento’
opera, complete with a nationalist chorus;
‘Patria oppressa’ (Oppressed homeland’
–CD 2 tr. 8) and I longed for some orchestral
passion here and elsewhere. The chorus
hasn’t that ‘squilla’ of native Italians
but they give a full and virile sound
in a relatively lean acoustic. The chorus
in particular would have benefited from
more warmth and bloom. However, the
soloists are set in a clear slightly
forward acoustic; no false ambience
around them, for which I give thanks.
The booklet provides
a full libretto with translations in
English, French and German. There are
no artist profiles. It would have been
helpful if the synopsis had been track-related
and the track listings had indicated
which role was singing. However, these
are minor criticisms to set against
the welcome opportunity to hear Verdi’s
first intentions for this opera so well
realised and presented.
Robert J Farr
BBC Singers 