Toscanini’s famous 1947 performance of Verdi’s penultimate opera
has long been accorded the status of a gramophone classic. Toscanini,
played in the first performance of Otello at La Scala
in 1887 and here some sixty(!) years later his conducting of
the work was astounding in its fire and drive. Originally spread
over two evenings, the performance was subsequently issued on
LP minus the studio announcements; what we have here are remasterings
of the original lacquers of the complete studio performances,
including the announcer’s introduction and narration. This selfsame
studio broadcast - as opposed to the “tidied-up” commercial
release - also appeared on Guild a couple of years back. Guild
utilised the original studio masters rather than subsequent
RCA editions which attempted to superimpose artificial reverberation
to compensate for the dry studio acoustic. The sound on these
Naxos CDs is singularly clear and bright, with an amazing dynamic
range for its time. Given the notoriously dry acoustics of many
of Toscanini’s studio performances, there is a surprising amount
of depth and perspective in many of the large ensembles. The
inclusion of the announcer’s comments may be a mixed blessing
to some: on the one hand they help to recreate the feel of the
original broadcast, on the other hand many listeners may feel
that they interrupt the progress of the music. Easily remedied
by programming them out.
Ramón
Vinay, here captured at the outset of his career went on to
become one of the world’s reigning exponents of the taxing
title role before the appearance of the trumpet-toned but
unsubtle Mario del Monaco in the 1950s. Vinay’s baritonal
voice lent extra weight to this and subsequent heldentenor
excursions. He also sang Tristan, Siegmund and other roles
at Bayreuth and memorably undertook the role of Otello for
Furtwängler in Salzburg in 1951. His is a big, rather ungainly
voice, but what dramatic involvement! Toscanini himself said
of the singer “He is a complete artist, magnificent and unsurpassed
in roles which require power and violence. At the present
time no other artist comes near Vinay’s interpretation of
Otello.” The old Record Guide was a bit sniffy about
his performance, and it’s true that in recent years Placido
Domingo has created a more human, rounded portrayal of the
Moor. But Domingo has had the benefit of over thirty years
experience of the role which Vinay at this stage in his career
did not; his remains a remarkably imaginative performance.
Herva
Nelli’s Desdemona has also received some lukewarm responses
over the years. Hers is a pure, “white” sort of voice, not
lacking in power for some of the bigger ensembles but overall
giving a rather uninvolved impression, and perhaps lacking
just the last degree of imagination. She rises splendidly
to her Act IV scenes, however, and both the Willow Song and
Ave Maria are affectingly sung. The studio audience here and
elsewhere is remarkably quiet – they knew how to behave in
those days!
Valdengo
sings a characterful Iago; not as nuanced or as commanding
as Gobbi, for instance, but a fine performance nonetheless.
His Credo is magnificently sung, if rather generalised in
its portrayal of evil. Other singers have delved more deeply
into the psychological aspects of the character.
When
all is said and done it is Toscanini’s, or rather Verdi’s,
show. Listen to how, in the opening scenes, Toscanini is careful
to bring out the rhythmic energy of the music, allowing us
to hear orchestral figurations that are frequently overwhelmed
by a welter of sound. Then he can fine down his forces to
a mere whisper for the Act I duet or the Act IV scenes, but
at the same time never losing the sense of forward momentum
that characterises his performance. Acts 2 and 3, with Iago’s
plotting coming to its tragic fruition, are gripping in their
cumulative power. The spectacle of Desdemona’s humiliation
and Otello’s collapse against the very public background of
the big Act 3 ensembles are made to contrast with the personal
grief and tragedy of Desdemona’s murder in Act 4 and Otello’s
eventual discovery – too late – that he has been Iago’s pawn.
A truly great performance and one that does full justice to
Verdi’s masterpiece. A synopsis is included, but no texts
or translations.
Ewan McCormick
