Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)
Luisa Miller - tragic melodrama in three acts (1849)
Count Walter, local landowner – Giorgio Tozzi (bass); Rodolfo, Count Walter’s
son – Richard Tucker (tenor); Federica, Duchess of Ostheim and Walter’s niece
– Louise Pearl (mezzo); Wurm, Count Walter’s steward – Ezio Flagello (bass);
Miller, a retired soldier – Sherrill Milnes (baritone); Luisa, Miller’s daughter
– Montserrat Caballé (soprano)
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus/Thomas Schippers
rec. live, 17 February 1968, The Metropolitan Opera. Mono
SONY CLASSICAL 88691 90994 2 [66:54 + 62:54]
This is yet another in the series of re-mastered issues of Saturday matinee
broadcasts from the Met. Its from what now looks like the Met’s heyday. While
it stands to reason that not all of them are equally valuable, the standard
has been astonishingly high. It serves to remind us what a really top-class
cast looks like when drawn from a roster which has talent in depth. Compare
that with today’s unseemly scramble by the big houses to nab the one or two
singers in the world capable of singing Verdi to the requisite standard. As
they are all recorded live in mono sound, their desirability might depend
upon the availability of competitive studio recordings in stereo. Certainly,
before you buy it, you should be sure that this issue has advantages over
the 1975 Decca set made with two of the same principals. Decca sported a singer
(Pavarotti) arguably much better suited to the demands of the heroic tenor
lead and, by and large, a superior supporting cast. They are recorded in splendid
stereo. However, it must be admitted that both the performance and the sound
are so good on this Sony set that one almost forgets it is mono.
I am certainly not trying to dissuade anyone from purchasing this. For one
thing, good as she is for Decca seven years later, Caballé is decidedly more
delicate here in this live performance. She floats her trademark top Bs so
seductively whereas in 1975 she goes for power more often. On the other hand,
here, live at the Met, some top notes are a little shrill. Milnes is less
nuanced than for Peter Maag. Also Maag’s more experienced direction is decidedly
more subtle by comparison with Schippers’ energised approach. This was, after
all, a transitional and experimental opera for Verdi. It is much gentler and
rather pastoral in character, employing prominent woodwind and a cantilena
more in the line of Bellini; the music responds to a lighter hand. Luisa
Miller was the last of Verdi’s anni de galera operas, ushering
in a more mature style with stronger lyrical elements and greater psychological
penetration. The father-daughter exchanges beginning Act III are especially
touching, foreshadowing Rigoletto, as is the insight and novelty
of the a cappella quartet which ends Act II. The latter is here beautifully
sung with no sagging of pitch and lovely ensemble in the matching of the voices.
There is no doubt that we have some faintly inappropriate casting with a young,
virile-sounding Milnes as Luisa’s father, supposedly “un vecchio debole” (weak
old man). Richard Tucker, in the latter years of his career, sounds heroic
but decidedly mature for the callow, headstrong lover who rebels against his
father’s wishes. This is another reason why the later Decca set is preferable
with a fresh-sounding Pavarotti and Milnes’ more seasoned characterisation
of Miller. While Tucker’s passion is impressive and clearly appreciated by
the audience, all those gulps and sobs can become irritating on repeated listening.
Still, he is in good voice and his fans will know what to expect. Flagello
is malice incarnate as Wurm, Tozzi resonant as the Count, Louise Pearl adequate
as Federica.
There is some great singing here, not least in the superb finale. This is
an opera which has never been very popular in comparison with its immediate
successors. Sony’s version makes a very good case for the work’s dramatic
impact – as long as you can manage without a libretto.
Ralph Moore
Some great singing here and Sony makes a very good case for the work’s dramatic
impact.