Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Il trovatore (1853)
Manrico – Franco Corelli (tenor)
Leonora – Leontyne Price (soprano)
Azucena – Irene Dalis (mezzo-soprano)
Conte di Luna – Mario Sereni (baritone)
Ferrando – William Wilderman (bass)
Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra/Fausto Cleva
rec. live broadcast, 27 January 1961
Reviewed as 24-bit FLAC download
Pristine Audio PACO 224 [132]

I was familiar with this radio broadcast of the Met debuts of two legendary artists but from the mono issue on Sony Classical. Now it has been subjected to Andrew Rose’s Ambient Stereo XR remastering treatment and as ever the results reflect the difference between two and three-dimensional sound but considering that we are listening to an opera sung a lifetime ago, this is a pretty rewarding aural experience. I refer you to my colleague Göran Forsling’s review of 2012 for background to this recording and an admiring assessment of its virtues. As he says, this cannot be a reference recording, insofar as neither the sound – even greatly enhanced as it is now by Pristine – nor the supporting cast, nor even perhaps the two principal singers are the last word in performance of this most popular of operas.

The first voice we hear is Met stalwart William Wildermann – a solid, sonorous bass of no special character or distinction, perhaps but much more than adequate. The very young Teresa Stratas is a pleasantly bright Ines. Obviously, however, the focus here is upon the two debutants: first, Leontyne Price, her smoky, fluid tones instantly recognisable – and in her younger years she could call upon more of a lower register which, in my opinion, for all her greatness, was never wholly, properly developed. She celebrated her 98^th birthday last February as I write and has an imperishable place in the annals of operatic history; the ease, amplitude and splendour of her delivery of her opening aria and cabaletta are witness to her stature and the audience reaction is commensurate.

Another Met regular, Mario Sereni has always been a favourite of mine among baritones; there is something about the grainy character of his timbre, gift for smooth legato and incisive diction which I find most appealing. He was a late substitute for another great Di Luna, Robert Merrill, but is in fact more a singer in the Italianate school of Rolando Panerai and Tito Gobbi.

Corelli presents his calling card by hanging on absurdly long to the B flat culminating his opening aria “Deserto sulla terra” and getting the round of intrusive applause he was angling for, no doubt. He is out to impress and subtlety is not required. He even gets another burst of clapping, interrupting Price’s singing, when he walks on stage for “Infida!” Then he impudently joins Price on a top D-flat  for the close of the act. In “Ah sì, ben mio”, he unashamedly “tears a passion to tatters” and is again rewarded with an ovation. “Di quella pira” is capped with a ringing top…B – because it is transposed down a semitone. Of course, the following year the same dream pair sang these roles in Salzburg under Karajan with an even better cast.

Irene Dalis is a fine Azucena, baleful, with a good trill and plenty of bite, but Simionato is even better.

The glory of this performance, however, is the last act – once the audience has stopped coughing. Price floats ”D’amor sull’ali rosee” ethereally, employing portamento liberally. and drives her audience wild. The dungeon serenade scene is a dream and the denouement highly dramatic; Dalis, too, is lovely here as she croons her half-crazed dream and caps her performance with a strong, held B-flat.

The highly experienced Fausto Cleva conducts unobtrusively throughout as the perfect accompanist, without much putting his own mark on proceedings.

Pristine keeps Milton Cross’ opening and closing announcements, adding atmosphere. This becomes instantly by default the best souvenir of a great artistic event, though not necessarily the best account of this perennially popular opera.

Ralph Moore

Other cast
Ines – Teresa Stratas (soprano)
Ruiz – Charles Anthony (tenor)
Un vecchio zingaro – Carlo Tomanelli (bass)
Un messo – Robert Nagy (tenor)