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Mario del Monaco Live Vincenzo BELLINI (1801–1835) Norma:
1. Svanire le voci … Meco all’altar di venere [8:01] Giuseppe VERDI (1813–1901) Ernani:
2. Mercč diletti amici … Come rugiada al cespite [5:42] Il trovatore:
3. Qual d’armi fragor … Di quella pira [8:51]
4. Madre, non dormi? Ecco l’istante [16:52] La forza del destino:
5. Ah, per sempre, o mio bell’angiol [9:22]
6. La vita č inferno all’infelice … O tu che in seno [9:04] Aida:
7. Se quel guerrier io fossi … Celeste Aida [4:18]
8. Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida [13:03]
Mario del
Monaco (tenor)
Athos Cesarini (tenor) (1; 3); Leyla Gencer (soprano) (3;
4); Fedora Barbieri (mezzo) (4); Ettore Bastianini (baritone)
(4); Maria Callas (soprano) (8); Giuseppe Taddei (baritone)
(8); Oralia Dominguez (mezzo) (8)
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI/Tullio Serafin (1);
Metropolitan Orchestra/Dimitri Mitropoulos (2); Orchestra
Sinfonica di Milano della RAI/Fernando Previtali (3; 4);
Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Dimitri Mitropoulos
(5; 6); Orchestra del Palacio de Bellas Artes/Oliviero de
Fabritiis (7; 8)
rec. live, 1951 (1, 7, 8), 1953 (5, 6), 1956 (2 – 4) ISTITUTO
DISCOGRAFICO ITALIANO IDIS6518 [75:16]
Mario del Monaco was born in Florence in 1915 and studied singing
in Pesaro. He made his operatic debut at the early age of
22 at Cagli, where he sang Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana. Singing
mostly in small opera houses during the war, mainly in more
lyrical parts, after the war he moved over to dramatic roles:
Calaf, Andrea Chenier and Radames. As Radames he made tremendous
success at the Arena di Verona in 1946 and this was his springboard
to fame in the big houses. He came to Covent Garden shortly
after Verona, singing Canio in Pagliacci, and in January
1949 reached La Scala. In 1950 he sang his first Otello,
which was to be his signature role. He reportedly sang this
strenuous part 427 times until 1972, but a book published
by Elisabetta Romagnolo: Mario del Monaco, Monumentum
aere perennius, Azzali 2002 lists only 218 appearances
as Otello.
Be that as it may he was equipped with a glorious
voice, baritonal in timbre, a heroic ring and a lung capacity
that made it possible to hold high final notes for ever.
He was riotously admired in his native land while elsewhere
he was often criticized for his unsubtle style complete with
Giglian sobs and intrusive ‘h’s and a tendency to sing everything
at forte and above. On most of his commercial recordings – and
he was busy in the recording studios for close to 25 years – his can
belto singing can be rather exhausting, but no one can
deny that he was a wholehearted singer. He was never bland,
even though nuances were not his cup of tea. His best recording,
and one of the great classics, is probably his second Otello,
recorded in magnificent Decca sound in Vienna with Karajan
conducting and Renata Tebaldi and Aldo Protti in the other
central roles. There Karajan forced him to scale down and
save blood and thunder for the big dramatic outbreaks; the
result is impressive. Del Monaco himself was very disappointed
with this recording. I have owned it for more than 40 years
and it is still my preferred version. Most of his other complete
opera sets are thrilling but insensitive and that was what
I expected from these live recordings, made between 1951
and 1956, when his voice was at its most glorious. Luckily
my misgivings turned out to be only half justified.
Initially I heard exactly what I had expected. The Norma aria
is glorious but stentorian and the Ernani scene, which
he recorded on a recital disc somewhat later, isn’t much
better. When we reach Il trovatore it’s time to modify
the verdict a bit. The first excerpt is the whole second
scene of act 3, starting with the dialogue with Leonora,
followed by Manrico’s Ah! si, ben mio, the short duet
in unison, the dramatic dialogue with Ruiz and finally Di
quella pira. Here Del Monaco surprises with a quite poetic Ah!
si, ben mio, sensitively phrased although a bit over-emphatic.
The duet is beautiful and Di quella pira is as full-throated
as could be – impressive but rather clumsy in places.
Even more does he impress in the final scene of the opera, where he sings
with true feeling for the vocal line and the dramatic situation:
lyrical restraint in Ai nostri monti and then with
all the glowing golden tone that was his hallmark. With the
exception of the aforementioned Otello with Karajan
this is the best I have heard of him. It may be that the
partnership with the superb Fedora Barbieri as Azucena had
inspired him. The little recorded Leyla Gencer is also heard
as Leonora in both scenes. At the very end of the opera we
also get a couple of glimpses of another glorious but often
also unsubtle singer, Ettore Bastianini.
The two excerpts from La forza del destino also show Del Monaco
in a positive light. In the first scene, from the first act,
we hear a good soprano, un-named in the booklet. Del Monaco
is again both virile and sensitive. The ovations after the
aria are close to hysterical, only to be expected in his
native town. Unfortunately the two concluding numbers, from Aida,
find him at his most unsubtle. The recitative Se quel
guerrier is as forceful and martial as one could wish
but the aria proper is totally devoid of poetry. It’s glorious
but insensitive. Even worse is the end of the Nile scene,
where it’s full throttle all the way and his poor Aida’s
first lines seem to be sung from a very distant corner of
the stage where she was obviously blown by the sheer air-pressure
of his singing. When finally she has staggered to the footlights
we hear one of the finest Aidas imaginable, girlish in timbre,
inward and nuanced and when she opens up she is formidable.
Yes, it is the young Maria Callas; such glorious steady tone
was to become increasingly rare only a couple of years later.
Towards the end of the scene, in the trio, we encounter another
superb singing actor, Giuseppe Taddei, as an expressive Amonasro.
Admirers of Mario Del Monaco will need no encouragement to buy this disc
and will not be discouraged by this review. Readers who think
they know Del Monaco may be in for a couple of surprises
and are recommended to try the Trovatore excerpts
before purchase. They should also know that the sound quality
is variable and at its worst barely tolerable. Playing time
is generous. The booklet has a biography in Italian and English
and a photo of the tenor, who will be long remembered.
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