# Verdi by his creators



## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

I see Malibran has just issued a CD set of "Massenet by his creators." Makes me wonder if something similar could be done with Verdi.

How many singers who created roles in Verdi's operas recorded any of Verdi's music? Here's my reckoning (1881 = the revised Simon Boccanegra, 1884 = the revised Don Carlos, 1887 = Otello, 1893 = Falstaff):

Francesco *Tamagno* (tenor): performed Adorno 1881, Carlos 1884, Otello 1887; recorded Otello and Manrico.

Victor *Maurel* (baritone): performed Boccanegra 1881, Iago 1887, Falstaff 1893; recorded Iago and Falstaff.

Antonio *Pini-Corsi* (baritone): performed Ford 1893; recorded Falstaff and Melitone.

Édouard *de Reszke* (bass): performed Fiesco 1881; recorded Silva.

Francesco *Navarini* (bass): performed Inquisitor 1884, Lodovico 1887; recorded Philip II and Fiesco.

Vittorio *Arimondi* (bass): performed Pistola 1893; recorded Fiesco.

Edoardo *Garbin* (tenor): performed Fenton 1893; recorded Radames (in duet) and Alvaro (in duet), but I might choose his Boito Faust solos in preference (they give more sense of what he might have done with Fenton-and although they have a different composer, they do have the correct librettist!).

I don't think all those recordings have ever been brought together on disc, but they would fit on a single CD comfortably. There might also be room for two other singers who didn't record anything by Verdi, but did record ensembles by other composers:

Adelina *Stehle* (soprano): performed Nannetta 1893; recorded Adriana (in duet) and Musetta (in quartet), both with Garbin.

Virginia *Guerrini* (mezzo): performed Meg 1893; recorded Adalgisa (in two duets) with Russ.

These recordings have special interest, because they show what kinds of voices Verdi either chose or accepted for certain specific roles, in the days when he presumably could have summoned or vetoed any singer from the whole of Italy (and perhaps most of Europe)! And, even though most of these performers were recorded at the very end of their careers, at least five of them (Tamagno, Maurel, Pini-Corsi, Navarini, Guerrini) still sound pretty impressive.

Of course, we can't assume that any of the above recordings show how Verdi _wanted_ his music sung. We know he had misgivings about Garbin. Garbin's recordings show flashes of brilliance interspersed with patches of waywardness. It's easy to understand why Verdi wasn't entirely happy with him-but also why Verdi was willing to accept him in the cast. On the night, he would probably exasperate, but he certainly wouldn't be dull!

Incidentally, as a student Maurel had serendipitiously also appeared in the 1867 première of the original Paris Don Carlos, while two recordings of an unspecified elderly French baritone have occasionally been claimed to preserve the voice of Jean-Baptiste Faure (Rodrigue in 1867)-though I believe that claim is now generally rejected.

Does anyone know if any of the following artists made records? The standard reference works don't mention any.

Giuseppina *Pasqua* (contralto): performed Eboli 1884, Quickly 1893.

Giovanni *Paroli* (tenor): performed Cassio 1887, Caius 1893.

Vincenzo *Fornari* (tenor): performed Roderigo 1887.

Paolo *Pelagalli-Rossetti* (tenor): performed Bardolfo 1893.

Paul *Lhérie* (baritone): performed Rodrigo 1884.


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

If anyone is hunting for CD transfers of any of the above singers, I'd suggest the following (taking into account sound quality and completeness):

*Tamagno:* Complete published recordings and reportedly all the alternate takes that can be salvaged (including the rare Otello vengeance duet) on Malibran (1 CD).

*Maurel:* Complete recordings on either Malibran or Pearl (1 CD).

*Navarini:* Complete recordings on Preiser (1 CD). Although it isn't mentioned on the front cover, this CD also includes selected recordings of *Arimondi* (including his Fiesco solo).

Édouard *de Reszke:* Complete 78s (including an alternate take of the Verdi) in Sony's "1903 Grand Opera Series" 2 CD set. (He can also be heard within ensembles on some Mapleson cylinders.)

*Garbin:* Selected recordings (including Dai campi, the Aida temple duet, and the Adriana duet with *Stehle*) on Bongiovanni (1 CD).

Antonio *Pini-Corsi* (NB: beware! several other members of the Pini-Corsi family also recorded): Not sure. An Ebay seller advertises a disc devoted to his work, but for all I know it might be a home-made CD-R compiled from Youtube mp3 downloads.

(NB: In each of the above cases, most of the items on the disc are not by Verdi.)


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

How interesting!

I have the complete Maurel recordings coupled with Patti's on the Marston label, is the Malibran or Pearl release likely to have better sound?

I also have the old Pearl/Opal CD of Tamagno, any idea how that compares with the Malibran version?

N.


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

The Conte said:


> How interesting!
> 
> I have the complete Maurel recordings coupled with Patti's on the Marston label, is the Malibran or Pearl release likely to have better sound?
> 
> ...


Yes, I have the Pearl Opal Tamagno. It and the Malibran disc were transferred in fairly similar ways (leaving most of the 78 surface noise untouched so as not to damage the voice). The voice appears to me slightly more "in focus" on Malibran (which you'd expect, since it used technology 27 years more recent), but the basic approach to transfer isn't different and wouldn't seem to me to justify another purchase. In my opinion the only significant reason for buying the Malibran would be that it has 2 valuable extra items: the Otello vengeance duet with an unknown baritone (possibly Tamagno's brother Giovanni), and an aria from Isidore de Lara's _Messaline_ (another opera in which Tamagno created the tenor role). That's why I listed it in preference.

Anyone wanting less surface noise might note that there's also a collected Tamagno on Symposium. But inevitably it removes a little of the body of the voice as well (although not much!).

I don't have the Marston Maurel; indeed I'd forgotten its existence. But I'd expect it to be an absolutely first-rate transfer, and I think the items on it would be exactly the same as on Malibran and Pearl, so I can't see any reason for duplication there.


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