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Peter Seiffert - Italian Opera Arias Umberto GIORDANO (1867–1948)
Fedora: 1. Amor ti vieta [1:50] Gaetano DONIZETTI (1797–1848)
Don Pasquale: 2. Com’è gentil [4:07]
L’Elisir d’amore: 3. Una furtive lagrima [4:57] Giacomo PUCCINI (1858–1924)
Gianni Schicchi: 4. Avete torto! … Firenze è come un
albero fiorito [3:12] Francesco CILEA (1866–1950)
Adriana Lecouvreur: 5. La dolcissima effigie [2:13];
6. L’anima ho stanca [2:02] Giuseppe VERDI (1813–1901)
Il trovatore: 7. Di quella pira [1:59] Amilcare PONCHIELLI (1834–1886)
La Gioconda: 8. Cielo e mar! [4:40] Umberto GIORDANO
Andrea Chenier: 9. Colpito qui m’aveta … Un di all’azzurro
spazio [5:40] Giuseppe VERDI
Aida: 10. Se quell guerrier io fossi … Celeste Aida [4:57] Giacomo PUCCINI
Turandot: 11. Nessun dorma [3:56]
La Bohème: 12. Che gelida manina [5:19] Pietro MASCAGNI (1863–1945)
Cavalleria rusticana: 13. Mamma, quel vino è generoso [4:54]
Peter Seiffert
(tenor),
Chorus (2, 7, 11) and Orchestra of Deutsche Oper Berlin/Ralf
Weikert
rec. 15-21 May 1993, Christuskirche, Berlin-Oberschöneweide
Texts and translations included. EMI CLASSICS 55010 [49:51]
Peter Seiffert has behind him a career of more than 25
years by now and during the last decade he has been increasingly
associated
with Wagner roles. He started as a lyrical tenor and in 1993
when this recital was recorded, he still refused to be pigeonholed
as a Mozart tenor or a Wagner tenor. He wanted to sing both
and anything in between. He sang Lohengrin, Ottavio and Tamino “in
rapid succession” at the Munich Opera Festival and his Wagner
profited from the lyrical qualities of his Mozart. He has
been singing operetta too and here we have him in a baker’s
dozen of Italian arias, spanning from the light lyrical,
almost tenorino role of Ernesto in Don Pasquale to
spinto roles like Manrico, Andrea Chenier, Radames and Calaf.
It is his lyrical singing that impresses most. He starts the recital
with a slow Amor ti vieta, lyrical but still with
some strain. Then follows his Ernesto with chorus, and here
he adopts a scaled-down, light and beautiful tone in the
Schipa or Valletti mould but the singer he reminds me most
of is Gösta Winbergh. I had been listening to his Ernesto
only hours before playing this disc and he was a singer with
the same development from Mozart singer to one of the important
Lohengrins and Walthers and Parsifals while retaining the
ability to sing lyrical roles with the same ease as before.
Both singers also had/have good taste and created their characters
with insight and intelligence. In Seiffert’s case his Ernesto
aria is marred by a too forceful and strained end, where
he should have contented himself with something more elegant. Una
furtiva lagrima is also well conceived. One hears that
it is a large voice that is being pared down but he has good
runs and the end is fine: a crescendo followed by a diminuendo
down to a soft pianissimo in one long phrase.
He is a lively and virile Rinuccio in the aria from Gianni Schicchi,
but tends to force towards the end. On the other hand the
two arias from Adriana Lecouvreur are splendidly sung,
again in a lyrical vein but with glow. His Di quella pira is
vigorous and more nuanced than most spinto tenors can manage,
but at this stage of his development it seems a number too
large for him and he has to slide up to the final note. Cielo
e mar! has a soft and lyrical opening and here he stays
within his natural boundaries, making this one of the most
satisfying numbers. In the aria from Andrea Chenier Giovanni
Martinelli’s acoustic recording has long been my benchmark
for its razor sharp intensity but Seiffert is not far behind.
Radames might have been too heavy a part for him back in
1993 but it is another lyrical and well conceived reading,
miles apart from the bawling Mario Del Monaco that I heard
the other day. More heavyweight fare comes up in the shape
of Nessun dorma but he has the measure of this aria
too and he follows up the Puccini stakes with a tasteful Che
gelida manina. It is only the high C that sticks out,
being insufficiently integrated in the dynamic process. Finally
he delivers a vibrant Mamma, quell vino è generoso from Cavalleria
rusticana, that is charged with emotion. This is definitely
one of the very best offerings on this recital.
Ralf Weikert leads his Berlin forces safely but with no special
insights and the recording is fine. As an extra bonus – nowadays – the
booklet contains not only a biography on the soloist but
also the sung texts with translations in German, English
and French. Full marks for that!
All the arias are well-known and every tenor of any importance has
recorded most of them. In other words: competition is formidable.
In spite of some reservations I think that Peter Seiffert
stands up well against many of his rivals and his nuanced,
tasteful and well considered readings should be attractive
to many readers, even though the playing time is parsimonious.
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