Reviews for
GHCD 2309_10 - Fasltaff 26 February
1949
Fanfare March/April 2006
VERDI
Falstaff•
Fritz Reiner, cond;
Leopard Warren
(Falstaff);
Giuseppe Valdengo
(Ford);
Giuseppe di Stefano
(Fenton);
Regina Resnik
(Alice Ford);
Licia
Albanese (Nannetta);
Cloe Elmo (Dame Quickly);
Martha Lipton
(Meg Page);
Alessio de Paolis
(Bardolph);
Lorenzo Alvary
(Pistol);
Leslie Chabay
(Dr. Caius);
Metropolitan
O & Ch • GUILD GHCD 2309/10 (2 CDs: 130:58) Broadcast: New York
Verdi's
Falstaff
has never had the kind
of press or public support that many of his earlier works possess. Not that it
lies largely forgotten, a fate which has befallen many another last opera, but
some of the larger, more traditional opera houses have tended to give it short
shrift, citing poor box Office. The Metropolitan, for example, didn't perform it
between 1949-and within two weeks of the radio broadcast heard an this set-and
1964. Perhaps the fat knight will do better in the new century.
Certainly, we can hope
so, given the recent surge in staged performances an DVD, as well as new and
archival, commercial and private recordings that have made their way to CD.
This historic radio
broadcast is a strong, and an Occasion, a brilliant performance. Some of that,
of course, is due to Leonard Warren's assumption of the eponymous knight.
Richard Caniell (who also supplies the sound restoration) writes in his lengthy
liner notes that Warren starts off slightly unfocused, and this is true. The
honor monologue, while good in general, fails in detail, as though Warren's mind
was more an controlling his tone than the niceties of phrasing and
characterization. But he's far better in act II, despite an overly heavy "Quand'ero
paggio," and his act III monologue is first-rate. It's only a shame the Met
didn't record his other Falstaffs, so that we might have had the rich-voiced
Warren, with his thrilling upper register, an one of his uniformly excellent
days. At any rate, there are enough surviving broadcasts to show what he Gould
achieve an top form.
He's surrounded by the results of a
legacy for encouraging young, promising talent, undertaken throughout Edward
Johnson's administration. Performing alongside a talented veteran such as Licia
Albanese (who sounds fresh and involved throughout, despite problems maintaining
breath support in her act III aria) is a boyish Giuseppe di Stefano, exhibiting
that combination of golden tone, stylish approach, and seemingly effortless
production that raised enormous expectations for a decade. The Alice Ford of
Regina Resnik (she was 26 at the time, having been engaged by Johnson at the age
of 22) is the finest I've ever heard, and much the same can be said of the
seasoned Cloe Elmo's sly, mercurial Dame Quickly. Giuseppe Valdengo is a superb
Ford, dry of voice but alive to both the dramatic possibilities of the character
and Verdi's markings.
Reiner leads a
kinetically charged performance, inclining an a very few occasions to jump the
gun towards climaxes. (The opening of act III is like this.) But it is a taut
and structured reading with great textural clarity.
The sound quality is
surprisingly good-if you keep in mind that in those years, Texaco paid for a
live opera feed via phone live that cut off all frequency response above 1 OK.
Voices are never very close to microphones, but never very distant, and well
balanced with the orchestra. The ambiance is dry, and the sense of live theater
palpable. There's a fair amount of low-level grit that never goes away,
occasional ticks, and mistracking. None of it begins to approach the awful sound
of previous releases an LP and CD that I've heard of this broadcast. One further
note: all the between-scenes comments of Milton Cross, the broadcast's regular
announcer for decades, are included. These are separately banded, however, so
they can be conveniently skipped.
Fans of Warren, di
Stefano, Valdengo, and historic operatic broadcasts will want to give
consideration to this new release from Guild. It fully adheres to the high
Standards we've come to expect from this label.
Barry Brenesal
Music Web 09.08.2005
Giuseppe
VERDI (1813-1901)
Falstaff – opera in three acts after Shakespeare’s Henry IV,
Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. (1892)
Libretto by Arrigo Boito
Falstaff – Leonard Warren (baritone)
Ford – Giuseppe Valdengo (baritone)
Fenton – Giuseppe di Stefano (tenor)
Alice Ford – Regina Resnik (soprano)
Anne Ford (Nannetta) – Licia Albanese (soprano)
Dame Quickly – Cloe Elmo (contralto)
Meg Page – Martha Lipton (mezzo)
Bardolph – Alessio de Paolis (tenor)
Pistol – Lorenzo Alvary (bass)
Dr. Caius – Leslie Chabay (tenor)
Chorus
and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera/Fritz Reiner
Recorded broadcast of 26 February 1949.
GUILD
HISTORICAL GHCD 2309/10
[62:31 + 68:27]
Falstaff
holds
the distinction of not only being Verdi’s final opera but also his only
successful opera buffa; his first, written at the age of 27, was a total
failure. Verdi and his librettist, Boito, at first kept the composition of
Falstaff in complete secrecy, only revealing it publicly after the
completion of the first act. This work displays Verdi’s true versatility: the
soaring melodrama of his previous works is gone, replaced by music ingeniously
constructed to display charm, wit, and light-heartedness.
This
particular recording is notable for several reasons. First, the recording is not
just of the opera; instead, it is a recording of the Met broadcast of February
26, 1949 and includes commentary by Milton Cross. As the Richard Caniell’s liner
notes explain, this production was one of the huge hits of the 1948-49 season,
due, in part, to the illustrious conductor, Fritz Reiner, as well as to the
work’s rarity before 1949 - at least at the Met. Leonard Warren, Giuseppe Di
Stefano and Licia Albanese stand to this day as among the best voices of the 20th
century. These "time capsule" qualities alone make this recording worth owning.
The
recording holds some incredible singing and playing. The American baritone,
Leonard Warren, gives a great performance. His rich, dark timbre is perfect for
the bamboozling, obese Falstaff. As usual, his upper register is exciting — this
voice is rare in its naturally dark, yet resonant timbre in combination with a
virtually unlimited top. Di Stefano sings beautifully. Once again, the listener
is rewarded with a truly exceptional voice: full, lyrical, completely focused,
and produced with extreme ease. He and Licia Albanese make a remarkable
combination. The young, clandestine lovers sing sensitively together, and their
intermittent bouts of flirting are refreshing, passionate and quite hilarious.
Other members of the cast are equally adroit in their singing and
characterization. Giuseppe Valdengo as Ford works well with Warren, as their
baritone voices are strikingly different. Alessio de Paolis and Lorenzo Alvary
as Falstaff’s henchmen sing with incredible spirit and hilarious inflection.
Reiner’s conception of the piece is, at times, a bit haphazard. He allows the
orchestra to peak too often and too regularly rather than projecting the
dramatic action in large-scale phrases. The result is too much weight and
importance assigned to too many different occasions.
We
must not be surprised at the fallibility of the sound given the historical
nature of this recording of a live broadcast. An ambient hiss is present more
often than it isn’t, and in many places, the orchestra is somewhat obscured by a
sort of haze. For these reasons, it is difficult to make many specific comments
in regard to the performance. However, there is no doubt that this recording is
top notch. The questionable sound quality prevents it from being one’s primary
recording of this work; however, it offers much insight not only into Verdi’s
final opera but also into the operatic achievements of a previous generation.
Jonathan Rohr
Page revised Monday July 03 2006