Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Lucia di Lammermoor (1835)
Lucia, Maria Callas (soprano); Edgardo, Ferruccio Tagliavini (tenor); Enrico, Piero Cappuccilli (baritone); Raimondo, Bernard Ladysz (bass)
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus/Tullio Serafin
rec. 16-21 March 1959, Kingsway Hall, London
Full score, vocal score and libretto with English translation available as downloads
Reviewed as download from press preview
Pristine Audio PACO207 [2 CDs: 111]
Lucia was one of Maria Callas’ signature roles, and she recorded it twice in the studio with an interval of six years. Besides those, there exist a number of live recordings, including a famous performance from Berlin, conducted by Herbert von Karajan. The first studio effort from 1953, where she was partnered with her ‘regulars’ Giuseppe di Stefano and Tito Gobbi, was of course recorded in mono, and when producer Walter Legge at long last gave in to the fashionable whim, according to him, of stereo, he found that it was time for an update of Callas’ interpretation. It could have been tempting to gather the same trio again – as EMI did with Faust and Decca did with Otello at roughly the same time – but di Stefano’s voice had begun to deteriorate, and Gobbi was also in decline, and so Legge picked the young Cappuccilli and the old Tagliavini. The latter was a choice heavily criticised by the reviewers.
Tagliavini was one of the foremost lyrical tenors of the forties and early fifties, trained by Tito Schipa and the closest follower to Beniamino Gigli, with the same honeyed pianissimo but without the exaggerated sentimentality. Unfortunately Tagliavini was a bit past his best; his tone had dried out and there were signs of strain. While I principally agree – the superb vocalism one can enjoy on his 78rpm recordings from the 40s and his complete La Bohème and Rigoletto on Cetra from the early 50s are beyond his reach here – but to my mind he has still retained enough of his former mellifluousness and tenderness to make his participation worthwhile. His first entrance in the second scene of act one, the encounter with Lucia, is admittedly dryish and when they reach the duet proper, Sulla tomba che rinserra does lack the last ounce of warmth, and is a little prosaic, perhaps, but when they get as far as exchanging rings, he is transformed, and one is reminded of times gone by. From there until the end of the act there is some magical singing from both, and this is something to treasure. However, it is his singing in the final scene at the cemetery of Ravenswood Castle that leaves the greatest impression. Here, he reminds me of Gigli in his famous recording of this scene from the late 1920s. This was my first recording of this music, and ever since then it has also been my benchmark reading. It is true that Gigli is a mite too lachrymose, but it is an honest feeling that comes from within, and I must admit that my eyes brim with tears when I hear Gigli – and so they did when I returned to Tagliavini after too many years.
Piero Cappuccilli was one of the best baritones in the Italian repertoire in a generation that also could boast Wixell, Milnes, Bruson, Manuguerra, Zancanaro, and Nucci. His breath control was legendary, and he had a long and distinguished career. His professional debut took place in 1957, so this must be one of his earliest recordings. He is fresh-voiced and quite expressive, but lacks the monumental power of Ettore Bastianini, who recorded the role the year before with the young Renata Scotto and di Stefano – a set that has also a lot to recommend it. Cappuccilli returned to the role twice on records; the last time was in 1970 opposite Beverly Sills and Carlo Bergonzi.
Honourable as Edgardo and Enrico are, this is Lucia’s opera, and what most opera lovers want to know is: was it worth the effort to re-record her six years later? Wasn’t her 1953 reading good enough? Hadn’t her voice deteriorated during the intervening years? Yes and no. Her first recording was, and is also today, a tremendous achievement. Certainly the intensity of her singing and some of her choices of repertoire had taken its toll, possibly most of all her taking on Turandot. But the truth is that she is mostly in exceptionally healthy voice here. There are some wobbly notes here and there, a sour high C once, but first and foremost she is deeply inside the role, and has rethought the interpretation considerably. Callas never did her roles half-heartedly, and there could be some misses, but she has to be accepted ‘warts and all’, as the saying is. The biggest difference from 1953 is that she has toned down the outward drama in favour of a softer, inward portrait. There is a lot of soft, beautiful singing. I have already mentioned the end of Act One, and it is just as distinctive in the long scene with Enrico in act two. Listen to Soffriva nel pianto (CD 1 track 16), where the text says: ‘I suffered in tears, I languished with grief’. We hear a very frail and vulnerable woman, and the occasional unsteadiness can easily be interpreted as her mental brittleness. Both her two set pieces, Regnava nel silenzio in the first act and the mad scene in the third act, are also subdued and more inward than in the older recording and thus even more touching.
Of the supporting cast, Polish bass-baritone Bernard Ladysz sings Raimondo’s aria Dalle stanze, just before the mad scene with deep feeling. He had an important international career – and in his native Poland he also had a career as film actor – but as a recording artist he is best remembered through this Lucia. He was granted a long life, and died as recently as 2020, the day after his 98th birthday.
The recording offered in its original shape excellent sound, and after Andrew Rose’s XR remastering it is fresh as new paint. I was almost stunned by the lifelike presence of the harp at the beginning of the second scene in act one. Tullio Serafin’s conducting is unobtrusive but wholly idiomatic.
But do I need this one when I already have the first one? If you have read my brief analysis above I believe you will understand that you need this one too. Six years later Maria Callas had matured and deepened her reading, making it more human.
Göran Forsling
Availability: Pristine Classical
Other cast
Arturo, Leonard del Ferro (tenor); Alisa, Margareta Elkins (mezzo-soprano); Normanno, Renzo Casellato (tenor)
