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
Pristine Audio PACO200 [2 CDs: 129]

Among Donizetti’s operatic output, his French extravaganza La Favorita received a surprising amount of attention by the recordings companies in the first 60 years of the 20^th century. The first complete recording of the full French version was made by the Pathé company in 1912; amazingly, it included part of the ballet music. This version is still obtainable digitally from the Marston Records website. The next recording to appear was a heavily abridged version of the Italian score from La Scala in 1930, conducted by the excellent Lorenzo Molajoli on Columbia. To my knowledge this has yet to be issued on CD, although it can be heard in its entirety on You Tube. Still in Italian, 1954 brought the world a “complete “version from Cetra via the Italian Radio, with a decent cast under Angelo Questa. Then in 1955 came this one, the first in genuine stereo, newly available from Pristine Audio. Quite a remarkable standing for one of Donizetti’s lesser performed works. By comparison, Lucia di Lammermoor had achieved exactly that number of commercial studio recordings during that same period.

Pristine’s version uses their XR remastering process which has been remarkably successful in bringing new life to older, predominantly mono recordings. This is my first sampling of one of their stereo efforts. I have owned the original Decca CD release for many years which enabled me to make a side by side comparison of the two. The original CDs showed that the recording team preferred a rather straight box-like sound, with the artists recorded very close to the microphones. Pristine has given them a new slightly reverberant audio perspective which goes some way to flattering the voices more than the original. The sound is certainly warmer, although even Pristine can seem to do nothing about the very tinny-sounding cymbal clashes. However; when one turns to the Decca release it is immediately apparent that the soloists and instruments are more clearly placed around the soundstage than they are on the Pristine issue. Distortion in the louder passages is also more frequently heard on Pristine, no doubt due to the original vinyl transfer process rather than anything attributable to Pristine. On the Decca, distortion is rarely encountered.

The cast is quite a respectable one, in general. I seem to have less issue with Gianni Poggi’s Fernando than Ralph Moore does in his review of this same release. To my ears Poggi has a reasonably firm, almost vibrato-less tenor. Not quite heroic sounding but serviceable enough. His biggest problem is the completely unsophisticated in the way he sings all of his music. He makes no real attempt to shade or caress the vocal lines: back in the 1950’s this type of singing was referred to as “provincial” and Poggi gives a good demonstration of exactly what that meant. He is outperformed on nearly every other recording, particularly by Alfredo Kraus on the Gala recording with Eve Queler, but also by Luciano Pavarotti on the later Decca version and Ramòn Vargas on RCA.

Leonora is quite another matter. Giulietta Simionato’s contract with Decca was probably the main reason this recording was made and she certainly demonstrates that the project was worthwhile. Her burnished copper tone is luxuriously deployed to make the listener respond to Leonora’s plight. Phrase after phrase emerges with distinction, and in the famous Act Three aria, virtuosity. She also seems to galvanize the other singers to make a better effort in their duets, particularly so in the case of Poggi.

Ettore Bastianini was a star baritone during the 1950’s whose career was a little hampered by the fact that he was terrified of flying, so he only took engagement s where he could travel easily by land transportation. His King Alfonso shows that he could be an artist who gives equal amounts of pleasure and frustration. His high-gloss baritone is absolutely solid throughout an impressive range. The beautiful, even tone he produces in “A tanto amor” falls very gratefully on the ear. The frustrating side of Bastianini is that with such a glorious sound, he confines himself mostly to pumping out volume and completely misses the boat when it comes to shading and characterization. After a while he becomes a bit tiring to listen to. One longs to be able to say to him, “Ettore, I know that you can sing at full volume but what else can you show me?”

Jerome Hines is a wonderfully authoritative Baldassare. His bottomless bass unfurls impressively and combined with a smooth top range, this makes him possibly the finest of all the artists who recorded the role. His portrayal of the occasionally fierce Abbot is preferable to Nicolai Ghiaurov’s on the Bonynge recording. The smaller roles are all quite decently sung. Bice Magnani sings Ines’ short scene rather brightly and her tone has a definite ping, except above the staff where her sound turns a bit edgy.

The orchestra and chorus from Florence are reliable but not outstanding under Alberto Erede’s securely paced leadership. He doesn’t attempt anything flashy with the score but he manages to keep the few less inspired sections of the score from venturing into the banal or boring. Ideally one should experience the original French version of this score, which differs in many respects from the later, less accurate Italian hash job of Donizetti’s opera. The recording made at live concerts in 1999 by RCA, featuring Ramòn Vargas and Vesselina Kasarova (review), is probably the best way to hear the opera as Donizetti intended. Many listeners will prefer the 1977 Decca recording with Pavarotti and Fiorenza Cossotto, of the usual Italian edition of this score, more complete than on this one. Still this is a recording that really complements those others and is certainly worth acquiring for the contributions of Simionato and Hines, and to a lesser degree Bastianini. The original Decca CD issue, in my opinion, is preferable to this; they are now not easy to obtain copies of. If that is so, the Pristine set is a good second option.

Mike Parr

Previous review: Ralph Moore (April 2023)