Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
La favorita (1840)
Fernando – Gianni Poggi (tenor)
Leonora – Giulietta Simionato (mezzo-soprano)
Alfonso – Ettore Bastianini (baritone)
Baldassare – Jerome Hines (bass)
Don Gasparo – Piero de Palma (tenor) 
Ines – Bice Magnani (soprano)
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Chorus & Orchestra/Alberto Erede
rec. 1955, Teatro Pergola, Florence, Italy
Reviewed as 24-bit FLAC download
Pristine Audio PACO200 [2 CDs: 129]

Despite having been a success after its premiere as La favorite in Paris and running for hundreds of performances over the 19C, this opera is no longer among Donizetti’s most popular and has received very few studio recordings – to my knowledge, only two in Italian and one in French, the discography otherwise consisting of live and radio broadcast performances – again, usually in Italian. This recording, then, was something of novelty on its appearance – although if they know of any recording, for most collectors that will probably be the 1973 account with a starry cast of Pavarotti, Cossotto, Bacquier, Ghiaurov and Cotrubas. This recording under review, however, is scarcely less stellar, with the exception of the casting of the tenor role of Fernando, as, for many, the presence of Gianni Poggi will present a distinct liability; I know it initially deterred me from acquiring it in favour of the later Bonynge version on Decca.

There are reasons for the opera’s current neglect; first, it is only intermittently inspired despite some lovely set pieces which have made their way into the concert repertoire – especially the tenor aria “Spirto gentil”. Secondly, there is no major role for a soprano, Ines being very secondary in importance to the mezzo-soprano lead, Leonora. Thirdly, it was too long to bear the weight of a relatively simple plot, with the ballet music running to three and a half hours – but this is a recording of a judiciously cut score, taking only ten minutes over the two-hour mark by adhering to standard cuts, including the loss of twenty minutes-worth of that ballet music.

It was always well recorded for its era, Decca having already embraced the new stereo technology. My comparison for purposes of sound evaluation is not with the Decca issue on CD but that remastered by the Urania label. As the notes remark, this XR remastering from Andrew Rose of Pristine builds on that technical excellence, “bringing a more rounded acoustic with extra body and presence to the production” and giving more prominence to the voices.

And what great voices these are. But before that, let me confirm the superiority of this remastering over my Urania issue which sounds muffled, distant and shallow compared with Pristine’s revitalisation. You can even hear something creak and the faintest of stifled coughs in this new incarnation – it is miraculously vivid. The opening “Sinfonia” is grand and imposing, suggestive of pomp and ceremony, and that quality is so much more vividly conveyed by Pristine’s treatment of the sound: voices and instruments have much more depth and roundness about them, with minimal hiss. There is a real gulf between the two, so much so that I have concluded that there is no point in my keeping the Urania set, as I shall not listen to it now this new remastering is available.

The contrast between Jerome Hines’ sonorous, hieratic tones and Poggi’s plaintive whine is less enchanting. He is not necessarily a bad singer but his timbre is intrinsically unattractive, especially if you have Pavarotti’s honied tenor in mind. Poggi bleats and emotes unrestrainedly and his first D-flat in “Un vergine, un angiol do Dio” is strenuous – although I suppose we must admire the fact that he can do it at all, even if Gallic elegance is in short supply.  Hines’ bass was a miracle of sorts: huge and dark, something of a throwback to basses of the José Mardones or Ivar Andresen school, whereas Poggi’s emission elicits no such admiring response from me. The voice of the virtually unknown and forgotten Bice Magnani, however, is a thing of beauty and makes me wonder how this soprano did not have a bigger career; she appears to have made only this one recording. The entrance of Giulietta Simionato’s vibrant mezzo-soprano is delayed until the end of Act I and once again we hear a voice of unrivalled magnificence, from its dark lower reaches up to the secure, ringing D-flat concluding her duet with Poggi, “Fia vero?” Bastianini’s first appearance is even further postponed to the opening of Act II. For me, the weakness of the Bonynge set is the rough, grainy baritone of Gabriel Bacquier; quite the reverse is true here, as Bastianini’s virile, saturnine elegance is a constant joy. Such is the immediacy of the sound here and the quality of his voice that even the contribution of comprimario Piero De Palma sounds like that of a primo tenore.

The singing is generally so good that the listener will be constantly entertained but it has to be reiterated that the quality of the music is inconsistent; for example, beautifully sung by Bastianini though it might be, Alfonso’s first aria “Vieni, amor!” and the ensuing cabaletta are essentially conventional and the set pieces rarely rise to the level of those in Donizetti’s finest operas. The highlights, however, are captivating, but as Poggi hardly provides any competition to Pavarotti in the most famous aria, listeners might instead gravitate towards “O mio Fernando”, so sensuously sung by Simionato.

Erede was an old hand and his direction is typically flexible and sensitive to his singers’ needs.

Regarding the desirability of this recording in comparison with the Bonynge version, Decca’s Cossotto is the equal of Simionato and Pavarotti immeasurably more attractive than Poggi, so despite the excellence of Pristine’s remastering, I cannot endorse this above the Bonynge set unless the marked superiority of Bastianini over his counterpart, Bacquier, is the decisive factor for you. Another option is the Cetra, now Warner Fonit, live radio broadcast, which features some fine singers conducted by the reliable Questa but is in comparatively dim mono – and once again, the lead tenor, while superior to Poggi, is no match for the young Pavarotti.

Ralph Moore