Certainly, the Cetra operas (on Cetra-Soria in America, this long before Dario Soria developed his deluxe slip-case packaging for LPs!). Indeed,
most of them were the first-ever issues of their respective works ever, while others were reissues of pre-war Cetra 78rpm recordings (e.g., La
forza del destino, Norma, L'Amico Fritz, Turandot, et al.). The early
Verdi operas stemmed from the observances of the fiftieth anniversary of Verdi's death, when RAI broadcast performances of all of that composer's operas. These Verdi recordings had rough-and-ready casts (e.g., the over-the-top recording of Il trovatore with Mancini, Pirazzini,
Lauri-Volpi, and Tagliabue), but most of these remained for many years
the de facto single recordings of them.
Certainly, the Zandonai opera Francesca da Rimini (on CD from Warner
Fonit Cetra 8573 87470-2, two CDs) was a rarity outside Italy.
Another, Verdi's I due Foscari (Warner Fonit Cetra 8573 83515-2, two
CDs) was not published on LP SFAIK, and appears here for the first time.
And there were other operas that were the only recordings for a great
many years. I'm thinking of A. Scarlatti's Il trionfo dell'onore (cond. Giulini!) and Wolf-Ferrari's I quatro rusteghi, the latter a really fun opera that should be better-known. Cetra also published a later
recording from La Scala, 1954, on DOC 26, three LPs, with a very starry cast: Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Cloe Elmo, Rosanna Carteri, Cesare Valletti,
Ilve Ligabue, and Melchiorre Luise, among others, cond. Antonino Votto. --E.A.C.
--
hrabanus
But here is something to be said for the idiomatic 'rightness" of
these performances. There is a feeling that the singers have worked together, are comfortable with each other and know the scores inside
out. The vocalism is often rough but the feelings are sincere and
heartfelt and that counts for a lot. The conductors too share that
feeling and often seem to be more interested in getting the dramatic
points across than orchestral perfection.
Wagner fan
On Tuesday, 8 May 2012 at 11:31:21 UTC+1, wagnerfan wrote:world. But I wouldn't call the Czech recordings "rough" - far from it. Some great musicians in Czech orchestras and string quartets.
But here is something to be said for the idiomatic 'rightness" of
these performances. There is a feeling that the singers have worked together, are comfortable with each other and know the scores inside
out. The vocalism is often rough but the feelings are sincere and heartfelt and that counts for a lot. The conductors too share that
feeling and often seem to be more interested in getting the dramatic points across than orchestral perfection.
Wagner fan
This reminds me of why I listen to all the Janacek operas in the Czech Supraphon versions and never in the highly over-touted Mackerras recordings. They know the scores inside out and have the music in the souls - it makes all the difference in the
I acquired the Mackerras recordings only when unable to get the Czech alternative. Like yourself, I can never quite understand the big hype over Mackerras, despite the fact that he undeniably knows these operas very well.
Ray Hall, Taree
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