# Might have beens



## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

The great Hans Knappertsbusch should have been employed to record more studio renditions of Wagner with the best singers available, IMO. Imagine an entire Ring with his conducting instead of Solti. I’m sure many of you already have. I Janos he loathed studio recordings but his talents were well worth it. For those that haven’t heard it I recommend owning the 1957 act 1 of Die Walküre with Flagstad. 

Maria Callas would have been quite the Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte if you ask me.

What other “might have beens” come to mind. I’m sure there are so many.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Music Snob said:


> Imagine an entire Ring with his [Knappertsbusch] conducting instead of Solti.


We really don't have to imagine it, since there are at least three complete Rings in decent sound from Bayreuth.

My "might have been" - Melchior as Bacchus and the Emperor in Strauss' operas.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I wish there were recordings of Flagstad in some of her pre-Met roles in Italian opera. She sang Puccini roles like Tosca, Butterfly, and Minnie, and Verdi roles like Aida. I would give quite a lot to hear her in _Fanciulla_ or in the title role in _Turandot_, even if she had to take the whole part down a half step. (Since we're fantasizing, throw in Lauritz Melchior as Calaf. Why not Lotte Lehmann as Liu?)

More realistically, I wish that record companies had not been so star struck during the fifties and sixties, and we could have heard lesser known but still excellent sopranos like Anita Cerquetti, Gigliola Frazzoni, Rosanna Carteri (who had the best recording career of these singers), Gabriella Tucci, Sara Scuderi, Maria Vitale, Clara Petrella, and Dorothy Kirsten, or excellent tenors like Gino Penno, Daniele Barioni, and Angelo LoForese given more leading roles in studio recordings instead of endless recordings of better known singers in roles that didn't suit them. Why do we have two or three Tebaldi studio Butterflys and Toscas, but no recordings of those roles from Tucci or Frazzoni or Scuderi or Kirsten? Why Tebaldi in _Il trovatore_, which despite her virtues is totally the wrong role for her, but not Cerquetti? I'm sure it has to do with promotions, licensing, sales and office politics, but it still bites.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

There are some operas Franco Corelli did perform but not record complete e.g. _Fedora_ and _Pirata_ but there are also a fair number of other operas that he either did not record complete or perform on stage: _Otello_, _Un Ballo in Maschera_, _Manon Lescaut_, _Tabarro_, _Rigoletto_, _La Traviata_, _Simon Boccanegra_, _Luisa Miller_. Was he in mind for Sutherland's first recording of _Puritani_? There was a tape of him rehearsing _Guglielmo Tell_, too.

I'll cop out and say Callas in everything soprano/mezzo she didn't record 

A fantasy could be Joan Sutherland as Adalgisa to Callas' Norma from that window when both were at EMI. Actually, I like a soprano Adalgisa so I'll speculate Victoria de los Angeles as Adalgisa would have been worth a listen too. Walter Legge went so far as to suggest Tebaldi and Callas alternate the parts.

Just thought of another one - Joan Sutherland in _Don Carlos_. 'Tu che le vanita' with those high notes... she sang various lyric roles at Covent Garden before _Lucia di Lammermoor_


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Revitalized Classics said:


> There are some operas Franco Corelli did perform but not record complete e.g. _Fedora_ and _Pirata_ but there are also a fair number of other operas that he either did not record complete or perform on stage: _Otello_, _Un Ballo in Maschera_, _Manon Lescaut_, _Tabarro_, _Rigoletto_, _La Traviata_, _Simon Boccanegra_, _Luisa Miller_. Was he in mind for Sutherland's first recording of _Puritani_? There was a tape of him rehearsing _Guglielmo Tell_, too.
> 
> I'll cop out and say Callas in everything soprano/mezzo she didn't record
> 
> ...


The obvious one for me is *Macbeth* with Callas, Gobbi, Di Stefano and Zaccaraia and the forces of La Scala conducted by Serafin, or maybe Karajan. They were all in the EMI stable and 1955 would have been a good year.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Callas in Semiramide early on before 1952 with High E's.
Ponselle as Arsace in Semiramide. She would have been better even than Horne.
Sutherland in Strauss's The Egyptian Helen: Can you imagine her Db's in Zweite Brautnacht. It would be a good dramatic soprano role for her that would not have damaged her coloratura.
Jessye Norman as Erda
Finally: a decent studio recording of Armida with Callas in 1952 while she still had those good god high notes.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

The missed chance was when Karajan in vienna and Decca were to record Tristan with Nilsson and Uhl. For some reason Ciulshaw asked then inexperienced Solti to conduct instead ofbthe man who had wowed audiences for years with the work.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Another might have been, which is an almost was, is a Callas/Beecham *Carmen*. According to Walter Legge, Callas was Beecham's first choice, but she turned him down, saying she didn't think her French was good enough yet. (She probably also thought that the critics would be saying she had lost her top register, which she wasn't about to admit even to herself.)

De Los Angeles was Beecham's next choice and of course Callas went on to record the role in 1964 under Georges Prêtre, but I sometimes wonder what a Beecham/Callas Carmen would have been like.


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## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

wkasimer said:


> We really don't have to imagine it, since there are at least three complete Rings in decent sound from Bayreuth.


I actually prefer mono to stereo, and the Kna recordings are my go-to Rings. However they don't exactly have the crystal clear sound quality that the Decca engines can give us in the studio with the VPO... Kna's disdain for the studio notwithstanding.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Another might have been, which is an almost was, is a Callas/Beecham *Carmen*. According to Walter Legge, Callas was Beecham's first choice, but she turned him down, saying she didn't think her French was good enough yet. (She probably also thought that the critics would be saying she had lost her top register, which she wasn't about to admit even to herself.)
> 
> De Los Angeles was Beecham's next choice and of course Callas went on to record the role in 1964 under Georges Prêtre, but I sometimes wonder what a Beecham/Callas Carmen would have been like.


Legge did not produce Carmen for Beecham. EMI was at first not sure of who to use for their first stereo recording of Carmen, originally having planned a recording with Karajan and Callas, and using Walter Legge as producer. This didn't come off and left the way open for the rival version produced by that veteran, Victor Olof, under Beecham. Callas was never in the frame under Beecham. Beecham chose Victoria de los Angeles as his Carmen, after originally having chosen the young Swedish singer, Kersten Meyer. His apprehension with de los Angeles may have been due to her voice being a little high for the part. She had never of course sung the part on stage.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I wish for a _Tristan_ with Flagstad and Melchior without the cuts which were traditional back then. Actually, Melchior still had the voice to have participated in the complete 1952 Flagstad/Furtwangler recording. Suthaus made an estimable Tristan, but vocally he was no Melchior.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Handelian said:


> Legge did not produce Carmen for Beecham. EMI was at first not sure of who to use for their first stereo recording of Carmen, originally having planned a recording with Karajan and Callas, and using Walter Legge as producer. This didn't come off and left the way open for the rival version produced by that veteran, Victor Olof, under Beecham. Callas was never in the frame under Beecham. Beecham chose Victoria de los Angeles as his Carmen, after originally having chosen the young Swedish singer, Kersten Meyer. His apprehension with de los Angeles may have been due to her voice being a little high for the part. She had never of course sung the part on stage.


This is from Legge's chapter on Beecham in _On and Off the Record_



> One morning in the fifties, T.B. telephoned me and began rather pompously, "I am informed that you are the only person on whose musical judgement a certain Madame Callas relies implicitly. I am recording Carmen in Paris next year for EMI. Do you believe the lady could sing the title role to my satisfaction? And if so will she place at my disposal the time I require for rehearsals and recording?" I rold him that if she agreed to do it he would have every reason to be satisfied. I talked over the project with her, stressing that even for her there was an added nimbus of recording with Beecham. She declined with more than habitual grace: " I don't think my French is good enough yet and I won't take the risk of some damn' fool critic saying that I've lost my top - which I haven't - and that now I'm only a mezzo." All the same *Carmen* ranks among Beecham's best operatic recordings , surpassed only by *Zauberflöte* and *Bohème*. Alas not among Callas'!


I wasn't making it up.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Sorry I misread title and thought this was about the fantastic Baked Beans as a complete food...


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Dan Ante said:


> Sorry I misread title and thought this was about the fantastic Baked Beans as a complete food...


An illustration of the importance of grammar (and spelling).


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> This is from Legge's chapter on Beecham in _On and Off the Record_
> 
> I wasn't making it up.


Neither was I. It depends who you read. Legge's memoirs sometimes fanciful. The original plan was with Karajan as they had recorded Butterfly and Trovatore together.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Handelian said:


> Neither was I. It depends who you read. Legge's memoirs sometimes fanciful. The original plan was with Karajan as they had recorded Butterfly and Trovatore together.


Where does the idea that Beecham never considered Callas come from and who said that it was originally a plan with Karajan/Callas?

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Handelian said:


> Neither was I. It depends who you read. Legge's memoirs sometimes fanciful. The original plan was with Karajan as they had recorded Butterfly and Trovatore together.


Do you have inside information then? Even if the possiblity of a Callas/Karajan Carmen was mooted (though this is the first I've heard of it, as opposed to a Callas/Karajan Tosca or a Callas/Karajan Traviata, which I have read about before) it does not negate Legge's recollection. Or is it just that if you read it it must be true, whereas if someone reads something else it isn't?


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

The Conte said:


> Where does the idea that Beecham never considered Callas come from and who said that it was originally a plan with Karajan/Callas?
> 
> N.


Callas was not considered in the Beecham *stereo* recording because (as I said) it was made with Olof and not with Legge. Legge was not involved. Which is what I said. Callas is not even mentioned in Beecham's biography by Lucas. Concerning the Karajan / Callas / Carmen - where we get all our information from - I read it. Of course, whether what I read was accurate is another matter but that is what it said. Certainly it wouldn't have surprised me if Legge hadn't mooted going behind Beecham's back to record it with Karajan.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Handelian said:


> Callas was not considered in the Beecham stereo recording because (as I said) it was made with Olof and not with Legge. Legge was not involved. Which is what I said. Callas is not even mentioned in Beecham's biography by Lucas.


Oh here we go. Why can't you ever admit that someone else might be right even when they quote sources? There is a lengthy chapter on Sir Thomas in _On and Off the Record_, which shows that he and Legge had a long association and quite a bit of written correspondence. The Beecham Carmen was issued in 1960 and therefore would have been planned in the late 1950s. Indeed in 1959, Callas recorded *Lucia di Lammermoor* and *La Gioconda*, both very much soprano roles. It is perfectly feasible that Beecham conisdered Callas for the recording and would have consulted his erstwhile colleague and friend, Legge, as it was Legge who brought Callas into the EMI stable and produced most of her records up until then. Why would Legge lie about it in his memoirs? There is absolutely no logical reason why he should.

You state categorically that Callas was not considered. Walter Legge begs to differ. I know who I believe.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Oh here we go. Why can't you ever admit that someone else might be right even when they quote sources? There is a lengthy chapter on Sir Thomas in _On and Off the Record_, which shows that he and Legge had a long association and quite a bit of written correspondence. The Beecham Carmen was issued in 1960 and therefore would have been planned in the late 1950s. Indeed in 1959, Callas recorded *Lucia di Lammermoor* and *La Gioconda*, both very much soprano roles. It is perfectly feasible that Beecham conisdered Callas for the recording and would have consulted his erstwhile colleague and friend, Legge, as it was Legge who brought Callas into the EMI stable and produced most of her records up until then. Why would Legge lie about it in his memoirs? There is absolutely no logical reason why he should.
> 
> You state categorically that Callas was not considered. Walter Legge begs to differ. I know who I believe.


I am not saying you are wrong. What I am saying is that Callas was not in the picture for the stereo recording. In fact you have said it yourself - Legge himself says she didn't want it. In any case Legge did not produce the HMV Carmen. Let's not argue. Surely it is obvious by the time Beecham actually came to record carmen Callas was not in the frame. BTW I can't see what Lucia and Gioconda have to do with Carmen as Carmen is a mezzo role.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Handelian said:


> I am not saying you are wrong. What I am saying is that Callas was not in the picture for the stereo recording. In fact you have said it yourself - Legge himself says she didn't want it. In any case Legge did not produce the HMV Carmen. I never see why you want to argue. Surely it is obvious by the time Beecham actually came to record carmen Callas was not in the frame. I also can't see what Lucia and Gioconda have to do with Carmen as Carmen is a mezzo role.


I am arguinng because you categorically stated that Callas was not considered for the recording, when, according to Legge, Beecham did _at first_ consider her, meaning when Beecham first started thinking about recording the opera. Legge discussed it with her and she turned him down before the real planning started. My meaning is obvious to any reasonable person. The reason people argue with you is no doubt perfectly clear to everyone else, even if it isn't to you. If you had been paying attention, you would also have seen that in Walter Legge's quote Callas was at that time concerned that critics would say she was losing her top and had become a mezzo, which is why I noted that in 1959, when the idea would have been mooted, she was still recording soprano roles.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I am arguinng because you categorically stated that Callas was not considered for the recording, when, according to Legge, Beecham did _at first_ consider her, meaning when Beecham first started thinking about recording the opera. Legge discussed it with her and she turned him down before the real planning started. My meaning is obvious to any reasonable person. The reason people argue with you is no doubt perfectly clear to everyone else, even if it isn't to you. If you had been paying attention, you would also have seen that in Walter Legge's quote Callas was at that time concerned that critics would say she was losing her top and had become a mezzo, which is why I noted that in 1959, when the idea would have been mooted, she was still recording soprano roles.


I said she was not considered by the time HMV came to record the work in stereo as both she and Legge were out of the picture and Olof was the producer. Please read what I put.Have you a date as to when the conversation between Legge and Beecham took place?
It was certainly not clear to me why you mentioned Lucia and Gioconda and if you read your post again you will see why as you have not joined your reasoning up at all. If you want people to get the point you must use joined up reasoning as just to say Callas had recorded a couple of soprano roles does not bear any relevance to Carmen unless you join your thinking up. Please, say what you mean; you cannot expect people to read between the lines all the time.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I am arguinng because you categorically stated that Callas was not considered for the recording, when, according to Legge, Beecham did _at first_ consider her, meaning when Beecham first started thinking about recording the opera. Legge discussed it with her and she turned him down before the real planning started. My meaning is obvious to any reasonable person. The reason people argue with you is no doubt perfectly clear to everyone else, even if it isn't to you. If you had been paying attention, you would also have seen that in Walter Legge's quote Callas was at that time concerned that critics would say she was losing her top and had become a mezzo, which is why I noted that in 1959, when the idea would have been mooted, she was still recording soprano roles.


I wish Callas had said "Yes" - that would have been interesting!

I don't read anything into Legge not eventually producing the recording - his involvement was probably conditional on Callas accepting the part: where she went, he followed.

I sometimes regret reading about exclusive contracts at the time. 
I compared Frank Hamilton's chronology for Callas and Corelli and noticed that Corelli was available in July '57 when she recorded _Turandot_. 
Callas - _Corelli_ - Schwarzkopf - Zaccaria - Serafin has a certain lustre.

Barbieri managed to record _Aida_ with Callas and Serafin in '55 despite singing the opera at Verona with a certain Mr Corelli. 
Callas - _Corelli_ - Barbieri - Gobbi - Zaccaria - Serafin
Corelli was still with Cetra so it is all moot but it still narks a little that but-for-fortune there could be a different legacy.

Besides that, there are the pairings which were all-to-rare - e.g. Callas & Bjorling, Callas & Vickers - or which did not happen through cancellations e.g. Callas & Vinay for the _Aida_ at Covent Garden with Barbirolli  and the much later Callas & Pavarotti recording of _Traviata_.

Imagining big changes - say, Callas moving to Decca at the same times as di Stefano - is a whole daydream on its own


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Revitalized Classics said:


> I wish Callas had said "Yes" - that would have been interesting!
> 
> I don't read anything into Legge not eventually producing the recording - his involvement was probably conditional on Callas accepting the part: where she went, he followed.


Legge was elsewhere when the Carmen was recorded I believe. It would have been better for Callas to have recorded Carmen at the earlier stage in her career rather than wait until her voice had sadly deteriorated.

When it comes to interest, the Carmen sessions with Beecham and Los Angeles resulted in a huge fall-out with the soprano walking out half way through. Beecham thought she was incredibly conceited (the pot calling the kettle, one might say!). Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the recording was finished the next year. It might have been interesting what would have happened between Beecham and la Callas!


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Revitalized Classics said:


> I wish Callas had said "Yes" - that would have been interesting!
> 
> I don't read anything into Legge not eventually producing the recording - his involvement was probably conditional on Callas accepting the part: where she went, he followed.
> 
> ...


I agree with all of this (and with the suggestions so far relating to Callas) except for one detail, which I will return to. One of the remarkable things about the Callas legacy is that Decca had somewhat more going for their Italian opera series (Simionato over Barbieri and an earlier introduction of stereo) in which they mostly used the same casts around Tebaldi (Simionato, Del Monaco, Bastianini and Siepi). Callas had some great colleagues, Di Stefano and Gobbi among the better ones, but she sometimes sang with lesser singers in those EMI sets (Elena Nicolai and Stignani, Fillipeschi and Fernandi). If only Corelli had been on that Turandot and her earlier Forza and Aida (although Tucker is pretty good). It's a shame that the careers of Corelli and Callas only just crossed.

My great might have been would be an all star definitive Trovatore with Corelli, Callas, Simionato, Gobbi and Zaccaria conducted by Serafin.

When it comes to a Callas/Beecham Carmen I'm not that bothered. I think Callas' Pretre Carmen is the best recording of the work as an opera and I really like his conducting. Beecham is a touch more refined, but I don't particularly prefer him to Pretre. The main reason I would hesitate before wishing for such a set would be the loss of De los Angeles' Carmen. It shouldn't work and it is a very different approach to the role than Callas or the mezzos who sang it on disc, but it has its own charm and I can go with it due to De los Angeles' supreme artistry. Her Violetta is another Callas signature role that she shone in on disc.

Talking of De los Angeles, I would have liked a De los Angeles/Jussi Bjorling Manon Lescaut.

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Handelian said:


> I said she was not considered by the time HMV came to record the work in stereo as both she and Legge were out of the picture and Olof was the producer. Please read what I put.Have you a date as to when the conversation between Legge and Beecham took place?
> It was certainly not clear to me why you mentioned Lucia and Gioconda and if you read your post again you will see why as you have not joined your reasoning up at all. If you want people to get the point you must use joined up reasoning as just to say Callas had recorded a couple of soprano roles does not bear any relevance to Carmen unless you join your thinking up. Please, say what you mean; you cannot expect people to read between the lines all the time.


As usual you bend your meaning to suit whatever you are saying at any given point. According to Legge, Callas was definitely considered by Beecham in the intital stages (but only a year before he made the recording, according to Beecham himself). As she turned it down, she was then no longer in contention. Nothing you have said negates or disproves Legge's recollection. Your pedantry is like saying that Vivien Leigh was the only actress ever considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in _Gone With The Wind_, when we know that virtually every actress in Hollywood screen tested for the part.

As for saying what you mean, I am not the first person to point out that you bend and change your meaning from post to post, whenever you are challenged. Really I've done with you. I honestly don't know how I got drawn in. I was following the whole thread. You evidently were not.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Revitalized Classics said:


> I wish Callas had said "Yes" - that would have been interesting!
> 
> I don't read anything into Legge not eventually producing the recording - his involvement was probably conditional on Callas accepting the part: where she went, he followed.
> 
> ...


Yes to all of that. I honestly can't understand why Corelli had to wait until 1960 to record with Callas when he appeared on stage with her quite a lot, probably as much as Di Stefano did.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Another of Legge's dreams was to do a recording with all three of EMI's top sopranos, Callas, Schwarzkopf and De Los Angeles. It was his original idea for *Les contes d'Hoffmann*, but, as he himself said, the project lost its lustre after he left EMI. Callas might well have been able to sing Olympie in the early 50s, but, histrionically, it would have been a bit of a waste. Another possibility once mooted was to cast them all in *Don Giovanni*, but these were all pipe dreams and never really taken too seriously. I can't really think of an opera with a good role for all of them.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Another of Legge's dreams was to do a recording with all three of EMI's top sopranos, Callas, Schwarzkopf and De Los Angeles. It was his original idea for *Les contes d'Hoffmann*, but, as he himself said, the project lost its lustre after he left EMI. Callas might well have been able to sing Olympie in the early 50s, but, histrionically, it would have been a bit of a waste. Another possibility once mooted was to cast them all in *Don Giovanni*, but these were all pipe dreams and never really taken too seriously. I can't really think of an opera with a good role for all of them.


I would have cast Hoffmann diferently with Callas as Antonia and De los Angeles as Olympia. De los Angeles as Zerlina would be extremely luxurious casting and I think Callas was a better Elvira than Anna (who was presumably what Legge had in mind for Callas). The interesting thing is that Callas and Schwarzkopf did end up singing in the same recording, but I would have preferred De los Angeles as Liu, the perfect role for her.

N.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> As usual you bend your meaning to suit whatever you are saying at any given point. According to Legge, Callas was definitely considered by Beecham in the intital stages (but only a year before he made the recording, according to Beecham himself). As she turned it down, she was then no longer in contention. Nothing you have said negates or disproves Legge's recollection. Your pedantry is like saying that Vivien Leigh was the only actress ever considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in _Gone With The Wind_, when we know that virtually every actress in Hollywood screen tested for the part.
> 
> As for saying what you mean, I am not the first person to point out that you bend and change your meaning from post to post, whenever you are challenged. Really I've done with you. I honestly don't know how I got drawn in. I was following the whole thread. You evidently were not.


Please don't take offence at a discussion so readily. I have never said anything to negate Legge's recollection apart from the fact that he often wasn't the most reliable witness. Just where does the recollection from Beecham come from that it was a year before he recorded it? Nothing about it in the books I have on Beecham. Sorry but this isn't personal. I am just after information as I'm interested. It is just an enquiry after facts.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I can't really think of an opera with a good role for all of them.


Rosenkavalier with Callas as Octavian, but she wouldn't have accepted.

N.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Just an occasion when Beecham and Callas had an exchange:


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

The Conte said:


> I agree with all of this (and with the suggestions so far relating to Callas) except for one detail, which I will return to. One of the remarkable things about the Callas legacy is that Decca had somewhat more going for their Italian opera series (Simionato over Barbieri and an earlier introduction of stereo) in which they mostly used the same casts around Tebaldi (Simionato, Del Monaco, Bastianini and Siepi). Callas had some great colleagues, Di Stefano and Gobbi among the better ones, but she sometimes sang with lesser singers in those EMI sets (Elena Nicolai and Stignani, Fillipeschi and Fernandi). If only Corelli had been on that Turandot and her earlier Forza and Aida (although Tucker is pretty good). It's a shame that the careers of Corelli and Callas only just crossed.
> 
> My great might have been would be an all star definitive Trovatore with Corelli, Callas, Simionato, Gobbi and Zaccaria conducted by Serafin.
> 
> ...


That _Trovatore_ cast is tantalising.

You're right that forgoing de los Angeles' Carmen would be a hardship. I think it is just the thought that bringing together two titans like Callas and Beecham would somehow make it super-*super*-dooper 

Although in reality the so-called Callas/Tebaldi rivalry would perhaps have nixed the idea, arguably Callas' recorded legacy would have benefited from Decca's strengths.

Sutherland and Tebaldi were able to happily coexist at Decca through the late 50s til the 1970s without any talk of rivalry: Callas could have sung all the parts that suited her best but which eventually went to Sutherland and Souliotis: Norma, Traviata, Puritani, Anna Bolena, Lady Macbeth, Abigaille...in stereo...uncut.

It's enough to make you weep :lol:

Speaking of Victoria de los Angeles - you're right that her voice would have been lovelier than Albanese in that _Manon Lescaut_ - that reminds me of another 'might-have-been': I believe Jussi Bjorling was planned for the Massenet _Manon_ with Montreux?

Bjorling/de los Angeles are another one of those couples who would need blood transfusions to keep up with the never-ending repertoire I'd love to hear them sing...


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> Rosenkavalier with Callas as Octavian, but she wouldn't have accepted.
> 
> N.


De Los Angeles as Sophie? Those high lying phrases might have been a bit of a stretch for her. Nor do I think Callas and Strauss would have been a good fit.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> De Los Angeles as Sophie? Those high lying phrases might have been a bit of a stretch for her. Nor do I think Callas and Strauss would have been a good fit.


Callas said at some time that she wouldn't sing in German due to having lived through the German occupation of Greece (the Italian occupiers treated the Greeks quite differently to how the Germans treated them when they took over), so it's very much a hypothetical. I wonder what she would have sounded like in Strauss, though. I think she would have made a superb Empress in FROSCH and been a wonderful Klytemnestra, then what might she have done as Salome or Elektra?

Whilst I think an Octavian would have been interesting, I don't miss that it never happened.

N.


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## mparta (Sep 29, 2020)

I cannot wrap my ears around Callas and Strauss.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

I think this is going to take some out-of-the-box-thinking :lol:

Zauberflote?
Pamina - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Queen of the Night - Maria Callas
Papagena - Victoria de los Angeles

Idomeneo?
Idamante - Victoria de los Angeles
Ilia - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elettra - Maria Callas

Trittico?
Tabarro w. Maria Callas
Suor Angelica w. Victoria de los Angeles
Gianni Schicchi w. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf...


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> Callas said at some time that she wouldn't sing in German due to having lived through the German occupation of Greece (the Italian occupiers treated the Greeks quite differently to how the Germans treated them when they took over), so it's very much a hypothetical. I wonder what she would have sounded like in Strauss, though. I think she would have made a superb Empress in FROSCH and been a wonderful Klytemnestra, then what might she have done as Salome or Elektra?
> 
> Whilst I think an Octavian would have been interesting, I don't miss that it never happened.
> 
> N.


Well I suppose when she was singing Wagner, she might have attempted Salome and Elektra. That might have been something.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Revitalized Classics said:


> I think this is going to take some out-of-the-box-thinking :lol:
> 
> Zauberflote?
> Pamina - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
> ...


I'm liking the Idomeneo cast, but De Los Angeles gets a bit of a bad deal in Zauberflöte. Papagena doesn't have that mich to do after all.

That Trittico might have been interesting too.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> Rosenkavalier with Callas as Octavian, but she wouldn't have accepted.
> 
> N.


Callas playing a teenage boy? Pre- or post-weight loss? And what Marschallin could handle her? How about a cross-dressing Franco Fagioli?


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Callas playing a teenage boy? Pre- or post-weight loss? And what Marschallin could handle her? How about a cross-dressing Franco Fagioli?


This would have been an audio recording on a Legge desert island!

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Well I suppose when she was singing Wagner, she might have attempted Salome and Elektra. That might have been something.


If Callas could hardly bring herself to kiss Parsifal she would have had a very hard time with the head of Jokanaan.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

One recording we missed was Bjorling in Verdi's Ballo. According to Culshaw's memoirs it was set up but had to be abandoned in that form because of Bjorling's alcoholism. It was eventually made with Bergonzi as Riccardo.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I would have much preferred Mafalda Favero (or, if we're dreaming, Eide Norena) to Magda Olivero as Liu in the otherwise fabulous Ghione recording of _Turandot_. It's very hard for me to get past Olivero's caprino vibrato despite her dramatic involvement. Cigna was also a notable Minnie, and it would have been nice if she, Merli (or Zanelli!!), and Ghione could have recorded _Fanciulla_ together too (with someone like Malaspina or Inghilleri as Rance). Toti Dal Monte was a great singer but her attempt to sound young in her recording of _Butterfly_ with Gigli does not come off well for me, which is a shame, as she had a very bright timbre anyway and Gigli is of course excellent.

Strauss seems wrong for Callas. Throw in Fagioli and it's a desert island disc as in, "I would rather be stranded on a desert island". _Il tabarro_ is another matter. It would fit her temperament better, and she has the right lower register and dramatic middle for it. Di Stefano would make a great Luigi, and Gobbi was a fabulous Michele, so it fits quite well actually.

From listening to their incredible one-off duet, I would have loved to have gotten a full _Thais_ with Kirsten and Merrill, especially as there's no satisfactory complete recording of that opera.

The same goes for _Die Tote Stadt_. A complete recording with Lehmann, Tauber, Mayr, and Olszewska would be the good kind of desert island disc.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

vivalagentenuova said:


> *I would have much preferred Mafalda Favero (or, if we're dreaming, Eide Norena) to Magda Olivero as Liu in the otherwise fabulous Ghione recording of Turandot. It's very hard for me to get past Olivero's caprino vibrato despite her dramatic involvement. Cigna was also a notable Minnie, and it would have been nice if she, Merli (or Zanelli!!), and Ghione could have recorded Fanciulla together too (with someone like Malaspina or Inghilleri as Rance). Toti Dal Monte was a great singer but her attempt to sound young in her recording of Butterfly with Gigli does not come off well for me, which is a shame, as she had a very bright timbre anyway and Gigli is of course excellent.*
> 
> Strauss seems wrong for Callas. Throw in Fagioli and it's a desert island disc as in, "I would rather be stranded on a desert island". _Il tabarro_ is another matter. It would fit her temperament better, and she has the right lower register and dramatic middle for it. Di Stefano would make a great Luigi, and Gobbi was a fabulous Michele, so it fits quite well actually.
> 
> ...


With that generation of singers there are some huge gaps.

Am I right in blaming it on the economic depression? We see that Sabajno and Molajoli's electric sets were recorded with regularity for a few years after the microphone was introduced til about '33 then it all stopped. Was that lack of funds? I'm not sure.

With the exception of Gigli, whose record career didn't let a little thing like a World War interrupt it, there are glaring omissions.

No complete studio sets with Ponselle, Muzio, Lauri-Volpi in his prime, Galli-Curci, Schipa has that sole _Don Pasquale_, Martinelli, Eva Turner among many others. I don't think that Pinza recorded a complete opera in the studio at all which is one of those anomalies which is tricky to reconcile with his reputation or the length of his career.

Thank goodness for the radio transcriptions: without them we would be bereft of a lot of great performances.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Revitalized Classics said:


> With that generation of singers there are some huge gaps.
> 
> Am I right in blaming it on the economic depression? We see that Sabajno and Molajoli's electric sets were recorded with regularity for a few years after the microphone was introduced til about '33 then it all stopped. Was that lack of funds? I'm not sure.
> 
> ...


We are talking about the issue of these recordings on a commercial basis and it wasn't until the LP was introduced that issuing whole operas commercially became really viable. When the LP was introduced in 1948, the 78 was the conventional format for phonograph records. By 1952, 78s still accounted for slightly more than half of the units sold in the United States, and just under half of the dollar sales. As a boy I can remember listening to my grandfather's old 78 records of those sorts singers (he was a tenor) on his 78 wind up gramophone but of course it was all separate songs or arias. When you consider that the equipment was relatively expensive and so were the 78s to buy, most people couldn't afford things like Beechams Magic Flute which was issued on 37 discs. Since there wasn't the large market for complete recordings until LPs came along. And even when LP came along they were relatively expensive costing roundabout £2 in England when the average wage was well below £20 a week. So a complete opera performance costing say around £6 took some saving for as I found as a young man!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> If Callas could hardly bring herself to kiss Parsifal she would have had a very hard time with the head of Jokanaan.


I suppose that would depend on whose head was depicted.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I suppose that would depend on whose head was depicted.


You could use the actual head of the poor guy that has to explain to Dame Elisabeth that Callas will be Santuzza, de los Angeles can be Lola and Schwarzkopf will just have to take the hit and be Mamma Lucia


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handelian said:


> We are talking about the issue of these recordings on a commercial basis and it wasn't until the LP was introduced that issuing whole operas commercially became really viable. When the LP was introduced in 1948, the 78 was the conventional format for phonograph records. By 1952, 78s still accounted for slightly more than half of the units sold in the United States, and just under half of the dollar sales. As a boy I can remember listening to my grandfather's old 78 records of those sorts singers (he was a tenor) on his 78 wind up gramophone but of course it was all separate songs or arias. When you consider that the equipment was relatively expensive and so were the 78s to buy, most people couldn't afford things like Beechams Magic Flute which was issued on 37 discs. Since there wasn't the large market for complete recordings until LPs came along. And even when LP came along they were relatively expensive costing roundabout £2 in England when the average wage was well below £20 a week. So a complete opera performance costing say around £6 took some saving for as I found as a young man!


Great historical insight. Thanks.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> Callas said at some time that she wouldn't sing in German due to having lived through the German occupation of Greece (the Italian occupiers treated the Greeks quite differently to how the Germans treated them when they took over), so it's very much a hypothetical. I wonder what she would have sounded like in Strauss, though. I think she would have made a superb Empress in FROSCH and been a wonderful Klytemnestra, then what might she have done as Salome or Elektra?
> 
> Whilst I think an Octavian would have been interesting, I don't miss that it never happened.
> 
> N.


I just wonder if she had the right voice for Strauss. The right sound. I try to imagine her in Zweite Brautnacht. Sutherland a big yes. Callas..... it would be like Nilsson in Verdi. Technically Nilsson was perfect but the sound was not ideal. Perhaps live Nilsson would sound darker and less nordic. Callas would be the opposite.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

The Conte said:


> *Callas said at some time that she wouldn't sing in German due to having lived through the German occupation of Greece *(the Italian occupiers treated the Greeks quite differently to how the Germans treated them when they took over), so it's very much a hypothetical. I wonder what she would have sounded like in Strauss, though. I think she would have made a superb Empress in FROSCH and been a wonderful Klytemnestra, then what might she have done as Salome or Elektra?
> 
> Whilst I think an Octavian would have been interesting, I don't miss that it never happened.
> 
> N.


Interesting as she was prepared to work with Karajan.


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## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

The La Scala Ring would’ve been a bit more epic had Furtwangler chose Hotter instead of Frantz as Wotan.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I just wonder if she had the right voice for Strauss. The right sound. I try to imagine her in Zweite Brautnacht. Sutherland a big yes. Callas..... it would be like Nilsson in Verdi. Technically Nilsson was perfect but the sound was not ideal. Perhaps live Nilsson would sound darker and less nordic. Callas would be the opposite.


These are very intelligent comments. I agree that Callas didn't have the right sound for a Strauss soprano (but I think it would have been interesting to hear her singing Elektra or Salome in Italian - I apologise to those of you who have had to reach for your smelling salts!)

She did have the right voice for Klytemnestra (after all, Varnay another great Wagnerian soprano really made that role her own) or the Nurse in FROSCH and I think she would have made a lot out of the Empress' part in act three of that opera, but this is more the case of fun speculation rather than a genuine feeling of regret that she didn't sing these roles.

I agree about Nilsson, but then I have a personal dislike for her general tone and I am slowly learning to love her artistry and the sheer volume and power of her voice. I like her in the power roles of Elektra and Turandot, but I listened to her Aida with Corelli a couple of months ago and I found her much more suited to the role than I remember. She is softer and more italianate than in her Macbeth or Ballo recordings.

N.


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

The might-have-been that springs first to my mind is Beecham's _Magic Flute_. The story I've heard is that the team had to choose between EITHER recording with the Berlin Philharmonic OR ELSE recording with their preferred Sarastro (Alexander Kipnis) and their preferred Tamino (Richard Tauber), neither of whom could go to Hitler's Berlin. If that's true, I would have thought the choice was a no brainer. I would gladly have sacrificed _ten_ Berlin Philharmonics for the chance to hear that _Magic Flute_ with Kipnis & Tauber instead of Strienz & a miscast Rosvaenge.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> These are very intelligent comments. I agree that Callas didn't have the right sound for a Strauss soprano (but I think it would have been interesting to hear her singing Elektra or Salome in Italian - I apologise to those of you who have had to reach for your smelling salts!)
> 
> She did have the right voice for Klytemnestra (after all, Varnay another great Wagnerian soprano really made that role her own) or the Nurse in FROSCH and I think she would have made a lot out of the Empress' part in act three of that opera, but this is more the case of fun speculation rather than a genuine feeling of regret that she didn't sing these roles.
> 
> ...


Towards the end of her career Klytemnestra would have been a coup if they could have gotten Callas. I agree. 10 years before Varnay could have held her own with her as Elektra. I just can't see her not in the prima donna role, though. Thanks for the shout out. Nilsson rocks the Tomb Scene in Aida and only Caballe and Milanov were in her league with piano singing, which is counter intuitive. Nilsson had incredible dynamic singing, and yes Aida is her best Verdi.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> I agree about Nilsson, but then I have a personal dislike for her general tone and I am slowly learning to love her artistry and the sheer volume and power of her voice. I like her in the power roles of Elektra and Turandot, but I listened to her Aida with Corelli a couple of months ago and I found her much more suited to the role than I remember. She is softer and more italianate than in her Macbeth or Ballo recordings.
> 
> N.


Nilsson's Minnie in _La Fanciulla del West_ is worth checking out. Somehow her cool Nordic tone works in the part - Minnie isn't Italian, after all - and of course the high notes are phenomenal. That EMI recording, made, I think, in 1959, is a superb version all around, with a Rance and a conductor equal to any. I don't think Nilsson kept the role in her repertoire, which is too bad. But at least we have the recording.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

gvn said:


> The might-have-been that springs first to my mind is Beecham's _Magic Flute_. The story I've heard is that the team had to choose between EITHER recording with the Berlin Philharmonic OR ELSE recording with their preferred Sarastro (Alexander Kipnis) and their preferred Tamino (Richard Tauber), neither of whom could go to Hitler's Berlin. If that's true, I would have thought the choice was a no brainer. I would gladly have sacrificed _ten_ Berlin Philharmonics for the chance to hear that _Magic Flute_ with Kipnis & Tauber instead of Strienz & a miscast Rosvaenge.


I agree. Whilst the Berlin Phil were superb, I wouldn't miss them in that opera and I love Kipnis.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Nilsson's Minnie in _La Fanciulla del West_ is worth checking out. Somehow her cool Nordic tone works in the part - Minnie isn't Italian, after all - and of course the high notes are phenomenal. That EMI recording, made, I think, in 1959, is a superb version all around, with a Rance and a conductor equal to any. I don't think Nilsson kept the role in her repertoire, which is too bad. But at least we have the recording.


I've heard that recording once, but it didn't really do anything for me and that's because Gibin is so weak (at least from my memory), he has nothing on Del Monaco, Domingo or even Barioni. If only they had paired Nilsson with 'Franco'...

N.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I suppose that would depend on whose head was depicted.


The dead head would've been OK with Callas, I suspect. It was the _living_ mouth that she was reluctant to kiss - she was prudish, and this was the '50s.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I just wonder if she had the right voice for Strauss. The right sound. I try to imagine her in Zweite Brautnacht. Sutherland a big yes. Callas..... it would be like Nilsson in Verdi. Technically Nilsson was perfect but the sound was not ideal. Perhaps live Nilsson would sound darker and less nordic. Callas would be the opposite.


I agree that she was not the right voice for Strauss, except maybe for *Elektra*. That silvery sound that is associated with Strauss sopranos is missing in Callas's voice.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

Here's an idea...take the best elements from two recordings taped during consecutive summers by Decca. 
>*DONIZETTI La Favorita*
(20-31?) Aug 1955 Teatro Pergola, Florence
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Chorus & Orchestra, Alberto Erede
Gianni Poggi (tenor) Fernando
Giulietta Simionato (mezzo-soprano) Leonora
Ettore Bastianini (baritone) Alfonso
Jerome Hines (bass) Baldassare
Piero de Palma (tenor) Don Gasparo
Bice Magnani (soprano) Ines

>*VERDI Il Trovatore*
20-26 Jly 1956 Victoria Hall, Geneva
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Chorus,
Geneva Grand Theatre Orchestra, Alberto Erede
Ugo Savarese (baritone) Conte di Luna
Renata Tebaldi (soprano) Leonora
Giulietta Simionato (mezzo-soprano) Azucena
Mario Del Monaco (tenor) Manrico
Giorgio Tozzi (bass) Ferrando
Luisa Maragliano (soprano) Inez
Athos Cesarini (tenor) Ruiz & Messenger
Antonio Balbi (baritone) Old gipsy

Source:http://images.cch.kcl.ac.uk/charm/liv/pubs/DeccaComplete.pdf

Together they look like a pretty good approximation of the stereo studio _Don Carlo_ which really ought to have been made in the 1950s given the pool of talent but which was not...

*Fantasy VERDI Don Carlo*
Giorgio *Tozzi* (bass) Philip II 
Mario *Del Monaco* (tenor) Carlos - did he ever record a note of the opera??
Ettore *Bastianini* (baritone) Rodrigo
Jerome *Hines* (bass) Inquisitor
Renata *Tebaldi* (soprano) Elisabetta (9-10 years earlier that the Solti set)
Giulietta *Simionato* (mezzo-soprano) Eboli
Athos *Cesarini* (tenor) Il Conte di Lerma
Piero *De Palma* (tenor) Araldo
Luisa *Maragliano* (soprano) Una voce dal cielo

Pick up a Frate and you are nearly good to go... *Erede* conducted _Don Carlo_ at the Met in '52.

I guess this is one way of having a little less Poggi, Savarese and out-of-sorts-in-coloratura-Tebaldi 

Tozzi:





Bastianini:





Tebaldi:





Simionato:


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Handelian said:


> We are talking about the issue of these recordings on a commercial basis and it wasn't until the LP was introduced that issuing whole operas commercially became really viable. When the LP was introduced in 1948, the 78 was the conventional format for phonograph records. By 1952, 78s still accounted for slightly more than half of the units sold in the United States, and just under half of the dollar sales. As a boy I can remember listening to my grandfather's old 78 records of those sorts singers (he was a tenor) on his 78 wind up gramophone but of course it was all separate songs or arias. When you consider that the equipment was relatively expensive and so were the 78s to buy, most people couldn't afford things like Beechams Magic Flute which was issued on 37 discs. Since there wasn't the large market for complete recordings until LPs came along. And even when LP came along they were relatively expensive costing roundabout £2 in England when the average wage was well below £20 a week. So a complete opera performance costing say around £6 took some saving for as I found as a young man!


I remember reading that one could purchase an LP opera set piecemeal, i.e., buy them one disc at a time if you were budget-challenged. Imagine the torture, as one came to the end of Side 2 of your newly purchased *Il Trovatore*, or *Madama Butterfly* and had to wait 2 weeks to hear the next Act, or horribly, if Side 2 ended mid-Act! In the case of, say, *Die Walkuere*, one could end Side 2 mid-monologue!

I don't remember if that ever happened, but record producers were not always sensitive about those things, as Legge recounts in his writings, one of the executives in their London office suggested a break mid-phrase, or mid-word in *Tristan und Isolde*!

Thank God there were budget labels in the 1960s, as I would not have survived my college years.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Might have beens?
The obvious one: Mario Lanza


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

MAS said:


> I remember reading that one could purchase an LP opera set piecemeal, i.e., buy them one disc at a time if you were budget-challenged. Imagine the torture, as one came to the end of Side 2 of your newly purchased *Il Trovatore*, or *Madama Butterfly* and had to wait 2 weeks to hear the next Act, or horribly, if Side 2 ended mid-Act! In the case of, say, *Die Walkuere*, one could end Side 2 mid-monologue!
> 
> I don't remember if that ever happened, but record producers were not always sensitive about those things, as Legge recounts in his writings, one of the executives in their London office suggested a break mid-phrase, or mid-word in *Tristan und Isolde*!
> 
> Thank God there were budget labels in the 1960s, as I would not have survived my college years.


This was in the very early days of LP. You could then buy the libretto booklet separately sometimes. I had a side of the GUI Figaro on LP (yes just one side of a mono LP) which the record store I worked for had as surplus. The Ace of Clubs record sets could be purchased separately but the stereo sets were sold in boxes. An expensive layout.


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

I wish Bruno Walter had finished his recording of Die Walküre with Lauritz Melchior, Lotte Lehmann and Emmanuel List. The extracts from Act one and Act two make me hunger for more.

I also wish Karl Muck had done a complete recording of Parsifal. His Act 3 is simply magnificient!

I also would have loved to hear Callas's Isolde and Brunnhilde!


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

> I wish Bruno Walter had finished his recording of Die Walküre with Lauritz Melchior, Lotte Lehmann et Alexander Kipnis


I heartily agree although it was Emanuel List.


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

vivalagentenuova said:


> I heartily agree although it was Emanuel List.


Oh thank you very much for telling me! I always mix up the two :lol:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Parsifal98 said:


> I wish Bruno Walter had finished his recording of Die Walküre with Lauritz Melchior, Lotte Lehmann and Emmanuel List. The extracts from Act one and Act two make me hunger for more.


You're possibly aware of the Act Two, of the same vintage, with Lehmann and Melchior, Margarete Klose's matchless Fricka, the young Hotter's superb Wotan, and the excellent Brunnhilde of Marta Fuchs, conducted by Bruno Seidler-Winkler. Now if we only had a comparable Act Three...


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

Woodduck said:


> You're possibly aware of the Act Two, of the same vintage, with Lehmann and Melchior, Margarete Klose's matchless Fricka, the young Hotter's superb Wotan, and the excellent Brunnhilde of Marta Fuchs, conducted by Bruno Seidler-Winkler. Now if we only had a comparable Act Three...


Yes I've listened to some parts of this Act two recording. Hotter is indeed superb as Wotan. If only he had kept such a vocal quality throughout the 50s, then Knappertsbutch's Rings would only have been marred by Varnay...


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Parsifal98 said:


> I wish Bruno Walter had finished his recording of Die Walküre with Lauritz Melchior, Lotte Lehmann and Emmanuel List. The extracts from Act one and Act two make me hunger for more.
> 
> I also wish Karl Muck had done a complete recording of Parsifal. His Act 3 is simply magnificent!
> 
> I also would have loved to hear Callas's Isolde and Brunnhilde!


Yes! They should have poured the resources into the project and let Karl Muck record a complete Parsifal. The cast should be just fine as it was (Gotthelf Pistor as Parsifal and Ludwig Hofmann as Gurnemanz), and Frida Leider could be Kundry.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

silentio said:


> Yes! They should have poured the resources into the project and let Karl Muck record a complete Parsifal. The cast should be just fine as it was (Gotthelf Pistor as Parsifal and Ludwig Hofmann as Gurnemanz), and Frida Leider could be Kundry.


Any idea how many 78rpm discs that would entail?


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Any idea how many 78rpm discs that would entail?


Surely a lot. But they also managed to do Pelleas et Melisande on (20?) 78rpms in 1941.


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

silentio said:


> Yes! They should have poured the resources into the project and let Karl Muck record a complete Parsifal. The cast should be just fine as it was (Gotthelf Pistor as Parsifal and Ludwig Hofmann as Gurnemanz), and Frida Leider could be Kundry.


From what I read on Wikipedia, the recording was halted because of Nazi threats and was afterwards never completed...


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Any idea how many 78rpm discs that would entail?


A 12-inch 78 rpm could hold about 3-1/2 minutes _per side_ (7 minutes per disc). An average *Parsifal* is about 4-1/4 hours = 255 minutes or approximately 36-1/2 discs.

On 10-inch 78rpm, it would be 42-1/2 discs.

A *Ring Cycle* would be about 163 discs. Imagine getting up and down to turn the discs over every 3-1/3 minutes and changing discs every 7 minutes?


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

MAS said:


> A 12-inch 78 rpm could hold about 3-1/2 minutes _per side_ (7 minutes per disc). An average *Parsifal* is about 4-1/4 hours = 255 minutes or approximately 36-1/2 discs.
> 
> On 10-inch 78rpm, it would be 42-1/2 discs.
> 
> A *Ring Cycle* would be about 163 discs. Imagine getting up and down to turn the discs over every 3-1/3 minutes and changing discs every 7 minutes?


I think at the moment most of us have plenty of time to do that! Plus think of the exercise you would be getting!


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

The title of this thread made me think of Berg’s Wozzek, because the doctor tells him to eat beans. I once saw a lovely production based around this - lots of Heinz Baked Beans tins in the set - Opera North or Welsh National, I can’t remember .


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Mandryka said:


> The title of this thread made me think of Berg's Wozzek, because the doctor tells him to eat beans. I once saw a lovely production based around this - lots of Heinz Baked Beans tins in the set - Opera North or Welsh National, I can't remember .


The grammatically incorrect title of this thread has been bothering me for some time, but I've tried to keep quiet about it.

I'm sorry I can't anymore.

Could a moderator PLEASE change it to *Might Have Beens*?


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## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

Tsaraslondon said:


> The grammatically incorrect title of this thread has been bothering me for some time, but I've tried to keep quite about it.
> 
> I'm sorry I can't anymore.
> 
> Could a moderator PLEASE change it to *Might Have Beens*?


My sincerest apologies. If you read the first post I wrote I seem to have got my grammar right in the last sentence.

Regardless, I started that thread in the 5 minutes of free time I seem to get nowadays (sitting on the toilet). Without getting into specifics, if mie badd grammer is tha Biggestt Ov mie problemz then aye willl bee thanchful.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Music Snob said:


> My sincerest apologies. If you read the first post I wrote I seem to have got my grammar right in the last sentence.
> 
> Regardless, I started that thread in the 5 minutes of free time I seem to get nowadays (sitting on the toilet). Without getting into specifics, if mie badd grammer is tha Biggestt Ov mie problemz then aye willl bee thanchful.


Well I managed a typo in my post (quite instead of quiet) so I'm just as bad. At least I was able to correct mine.


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## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

I didn’t notice... it’s all good.

I would’ve corrected the title a while back if I could, when my mistake was pointed out. I don’t take offense. I am my own worst critic. I value the art of writing and I endeavor to be the best writer I can.

There are some folks here who are profound writers and thinkers- we all know who they are. I respect their posts immensely.


As for the topic of the thread, I would’ve loved to have almost anyone except Bernd Aldenhoff as the Siegfried for the 1951 Bayreuth festival.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Music Snob said:


> As for the topic of the thread, I would've loved to have almost anyone except Bernd Aldenhoff as the Siegfried for the 1951 Bayreuth festival.


And he didn't improve in the rest of the decade...


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Tsaraslondon said:


> The grammatically incorrect title of this thread has been bothering me for some time, but I've tried to keep quiet about it.
> 
> I'm sorry I can't anymore.
> 
> Could a moderator PLEASE change it to *Might Have Beens*?


and I might not have beens ................


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Here's an interesting might have been that relates not to a particular recording or a singer in a particular role, but a singer signing up to a label and it's one shared by the singer herself.

Rosa Ponselle (IIRC on the advice of Romani, her mentor) signed a recording contract with the Columbia company, although she had really wanted to be taken by Victor, as they had all the big names including Caruso. Romani said that it would be better to start as a big fish in a small pool, whereas at Victor she would have the competition of all those stars. Had she waited a few months for Victor to approach her (which they would have done) then she would possibly have recorded some duets with the great tenor. A few years later and she did enter the fold of Victor artists, but unfortunately Caruso had died in the meantime and none of their broadcast performances have been preserved, so there are no recordings of the two together who were to Verdi what Melchior and Flagstad were to Wagner.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> Here's an interesting might have been that relates not to a particular recording or a singer in a particular role, but a singer signing up to a label and it's one shared by the singer herself.
> 
> Rosa Ponselle (IIRC on the advice of Romani, her mentor) signed a recording contract with the Columbia company, although she had really wanted to be taken by Victor, as they had all the big names including Caruso. Romani said that it would be better to start as a big fish in a small pool, whereas at Victor she would have the competition of all those stars. Had she waited a few months for Victor to approach her (which they would have done) then she would possibly have recorded some duets with the great tenor. A few years later and she did enter the fold of Victor artists, but unfortunately Caruso had died in the meantime and none of their broadcast performances have been preserved, so there are no recordings of the two together who were to Verdi what Melchior and Flagstad were to Wagner.
> 
> N.


Another reason to regret the early death of Caruso. Imagine an Aida with Caruso and Ponselle. We can hear them separately in the tomb scene - he with Gadski, she with Martinelli - and those two recordings may be the best ever made of that bit.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

When I began listening to opera I listened to a fair amount of Sam Ramey. I always wondered how he would have been as a Wotan given his huge range and dark voice, but I don't believe he ever sang Wagner.


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

Music Snob said:


> My sincerest apologies. If you read the first post I wrote I seem to have got my grammar right in the last sentence.
> 
> Regardless, I started that thread in the 5 minutes of free time I seem to get nowadays (sitting on the toilet). Without getting into specifics, if mie badd grammer is tha Biggestt Ov mie problemz then aye willl bee thanchful.


James Joyce made his whole career out of stringing together slightly miswritten ambiguous phrases. We're all just jealous because you used the English language with greater Joycean creative genius than we could.

Besides, I maintain that "Might of Beens" couldn't possibly have anything to do with beans. Surely "the might of *beens*" = "the irrevocable power of past events" = "the force of destiny."


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## Andante Cantabile (Feb 26, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> The grammatically incorrect title of this thread has been bothering me for some time, but I've tried to keep quiet about it.
> 
> I'm sorry I can't anymore.
> 
> Could a moderator PLEASE change it to *Might Have Beens*?


Simple. Just send a message to the site administrator (Krummhorn) and request for amending the thread title. Since it's a straightforward correction of grammatical error he will surely approve it.


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## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

gvn said:


> James Joyce made his whole career out of stringing together slightly miswritten ambiguous phrases. We're all just jealous because you used the English language with greater Joycean creative genius than we could.
> 
> Besides, I maintain that "Might of Beens" couldn't possibly have anything to do with beans. Surely "the might of *beens*" = "the irrevocable power of past events" = "the force of destiny."


Cheers! Thank you for the insight- I know next to nothing about Joyce but I think I will look into his works.

My only exposure to James Joyce is Syd Barrett putting the poem Golden Hair to music. It is hauntingly beautiful.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Bonetan said:


> When I began listening to opera I listened to a fair amount of Sam Ramey. I always wondered how he would have been as a Wotan given his huge range and dark voice, but I don't believe he ever sang Wagner.


"Wagner never appealed to me, and when the great Astrid Varnay told me I have a beautiful lyric bass and must never let anyone talk me into Wagner, I was delighted." (Sam Ramey 1986)

I know he said subsequently (2003) he was considering Wagner before he retired but no record of it.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Handelian said:


> "Wagner never appealed to me, and when the great Astrid Varnay told me I have a beautiful lyric bass and must never let anyone talk me into Wagner, I was delighted." (Sam Ramey 1986)


I wonder how Varnay would have developed if no one had talked her into Wagner.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I wonder how Varnay would have developed if no one had talked her into Wagner.


I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I think the Wagner was far less a problem than her singing soprano (and I know her early Sieglinde is something special).

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I think the Wagner was far less a problem than her singing soprano (and I know her early Sieglinde is something special).
> 
> N.


Yeah. By the 1950s her high notes could peel paint off walls.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Yeah. By the 1950s her high notes could peel paint off walls.


Come now, she wasn't that good! :devil:

(I like my pan scourers, as I call them.)

N.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Am I alone in liking Varnay both in soprano and mezzo roles?


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

adriesba said:


> Am I alone in liking Varnay both in soprano and mezzo roles?


Not at all. In fact, even Conrad Osborne is a fan of her Brunnhilde in the Keilberth Ring from 1955.

"Through these same years, however, Varnay established herself as very much the leading soprano of the Bayreuth Festival, and she was the Brünnhilde of choice there over a number of seasons under several quite different conductors. I've never heard her better than in this 1955 Siegfried conducted by Keilberth, a conductor with whom she seems to have always felt comfortable. Here her is voice a more compact, steady whole and is under a tauter rein than was often the case. One might not think her tonal format, which could be on the sombre side and at moments harsh or edgy, would recommend itself to this music as easily as to the Walküre and Götterdämmerung Brünnhildes, but in fact she makes the adaptation very well and is in command throughout the scene. And of these three sopranos, she is the most intriguing in searching out the moment-to-moment inflections of phrase and shadings of word that keep us following the journey of the character."

http://conradlosborne.com/2019/06/07/minipost-siegfried-follow-up/6/


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

*Might An All-Italian Ring Cycle Have Been Interesting?*

I like the attempts that RAI made at presenting Wagner in Italian during the 1950s. Of course, they broadcast the very famous Furtwangler _Rings_, but it got me thinking of what might have happened if they had tried to do as they did with _Parsifal_ and _Meistersinger_ and broadcast a complete _Ring_ with Italian singers of the time in Italian. Since Wagner was often performed this way until the mid 20-th century, I also thought it would be interesting to have a record of this sort of practice of Wagner in translation. I chose 1950 as the year, and tried to cast the _Ring_ based on singers who were active in Italy at that time, especially those that appeared in RAI broadcasts or were singing at La Scala. I went a little crazy, but it was pretty fun and challenged my knowledge of singers (drawn from my CD collection, YouTube, and the Scala archives). I tried to get the best Italian singers for each role. It was interesting to imagine which Italian singers would be best for which Wagner roles. Certain roles were very hard to cast. Although there were a host of prominent Italian Wotan's just a generation or two earlier, such as Formichi, Bellantoni, and Neroni, in 1950 nobody really jumped out. I went with Boris Christoff because of his role as Gurnemanz in the 1949 _Parsifal_. He's not Italian, but his career was, and studied roles with Stracciari so that makes him an honorary Italian in my book. Brunhilde was the other sticking spot. I considered a number of singers, but Callas seemed the best choice, given her background as a Wagnerian soprano and her participation in the aforementioned _Parsifal_, not to mention the fact that 1950 was her prime. She was also the only one at that time who could have brought the full package of power, trills, and interpretation. Tito Gobbi seemed the perfect character choice for Alberich, who deserves a strong interpreter. I kind of wish the Del Monaco/Tebaldi/Neri Walkure Act I really did exist. Siegfried was another hard role to cast at this point. Again, a generation or two earlier there would have been many options, but it came down to two or three. I also considered Del Monaco and Antonio Salvarezza, but Penno did actually sing the role of Siegfried, so I went with him (singing it so early in his career probably contributed to his early decline). They probably would have doubled up some of the smaller roles, but I decided to get different singers for each role. For conductor I chose Vittorio Gui. Of course, this would have cost enough to build Valhalla, but it's my little fantasy so money doesn't exist.

_L'Anello di Nibelungo_
1950
Conductor: Vittorio Gui

_L'Oro del Reno_
Wotan (bass-baritone) Boris Christoff
Loge (tenor) Giacinto Prandelli
Fricka (mezzo) Giulietta Simionato
Freia (soprano) Pia Tassinari
Froh (tenor) Giuseppe Campora
Donner (baritone) Giangiacomo Guelfi
Erda (contralto) Ebe Stignani

Alberich (baritone) Tito Gobbi
Mime (tenor) Luigi Infantino

Fasolt (bass) Giuseppe Modesti
Fafner (bass) Italo Tajo

Woglinde (soprano) Alda Noni
Wellgunde (soprano) Rosanna Carteri
Flosshilde (mezzo) Miti Truccato Pace

_La Valchiria_
Siegmund (tenor) Mario Del Monaco
Sieglinde (soprano) Renata Tebaldi
Hunding (bass) Giulio Neri

Wotan (bass-baritone) Boris Christoff
Fricka (mezzo) Giulietta Simionato
Brunnhilde (soprano) Maria Callas
Waltraute (mezzo) Cloe Elmo

_Sigfridio_
Siegfried (tenor) Gino Penno
Mime (tenor) Luigi Infantino
Wanderer (bass-baritone) Boris Christoff
Erda (contralto) Ebe Stignani
Fafner (bass) Italo Tajo
Alberich (baritone) Tito Gobbi
Waldvogel (soprano) Lina Pagliughi
Brunnhilde (soprano) Maria Callas

_Il crepuscolo degli dei_
Siegfried (tenor) Gino Penno
Brunnhilde (soprano) Maria Callas
Gunther (baritone) Giuseppe Taddei
Gutrune (soprano) Clara Petrella
Hagen (bass) Cesare Siepi
Alberich (baritone) Tito Gobbi
Waltraute (mezzo) Cloe Elmo
First Norn (contralto) Anna Maria Canali
Second Norn (mezzo) Rina Cavalieri
Third Norn (soprano) Adriana Guerrini
Woglinde (soprano) Alda Noni
Wellgunde (soprano) Rosanna Carteri
Flosshilde (contralto) Miti Truccato Pace

Comments, suggestions, inquiries after my sanity all welcome.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Well, this 1950s Italian Ring is fun! I think your casts are superb! I would just make a couple of swaps.

Alberich is a bass role and so Gobbi may not have been able to sing it (and in any case I would prefer a darker voice) and Wotan may have been too high for Christoff. Therefore you could exchange those two. I also think Tassinari didn't have quite the right voice for Freia and so I would put her as one of the Rhinemaidens and move them around if necessary so that Alda Noni could do Freia.

Or perhaps I would put Christoff as Hunding and Hagen, Neri as Alberich and Gobbi as Wotan (if possible).

I might swap Simionato and Stignani (as Simionato was less dramatic at that point in her career than she was later) and perhaps I would put Barbieri as Waltraute instead of Elmo...

But the combinations are endlessly fascinating here.

N.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

vivalagentenuova said:


> I like the attempts that RAI made at presenting Wagner in Italian during the 1950s. Of course, they broadcast the very famous Furtwangler _Rings_, but it got me thinking of what might have happened if they had tried to do as they did with _Parsifal_ and _Meistersinger_ and broadcast a complete _Ring_ with Italian singers of the time in Italian. Since Wagner was often performed this way until the mid 20-th century, I also thought it would be interesting to have a record of this sort of practice of Wagner in translation. I chose 1950 as the year, and tried to cast the _Ring_ based on singers who were active in Italy at that time, especially those that appeared in RAI broadcasts or were singing at La Scala. I went a little crazy, but it was pretty fun and challenged my knowledge of singers (drawn from my CD collection, YouTube, and the Scala archives). I tried to get the best Italian singers for each role. It was interesting to imagine which Italian singers would be best for which Wagner roles. Certain roles were very hard to cast. Although there were a host of prominent Italian Wotan's just a generation or two earlier, such as Formichi, Bellantoni, and Neroni, in 1950 nobody really jumped out. I went with Boris Christoff because of his role as Gurnemanz in the 1949 _Parsifal_. He's not Italian, but his career was, and studied roles with Stracciari so that makes him an honorary Italian in my book. Brunhilde was the other sticking spot. I considered a number of singers, but Callas seemed the best choice, given her background as a Wagnerian soprano and her participation in the aforementioned _Parsifal_, not to mention the fact that 1950 was her prime. She was also the only one at that time who could have brought the full package of power, trills, and interpretation. Tito Gobbi seemed the perfect character choice for Alberich, who deserves a strong interpreter. I kind of wish the Del Monaco/Tebaldi/Neri Walkure Act I really did exist. Siegfried was another hard role to cast at this point. Again, a generation or two earlier there would have been many options, but it came down to two or three. I also considered Del Monaco and Antonio Salvarezza, but Penno did actually sing the role of Siegfried, so I went with him (singing it so early in his career probably contributed to his early decline). They probably would have doubled up some of the smaller roles, but I decided to get different singers for each role. For conductor I chose Vittorio Gui. Of course, this would have cost enough to build Valhalla, but it's my little fantasy so money doesn't exist.
> 
> _L'Anello di Nibelungo_
> 1950
> ...


Nice choices. Penno works and 1950 is just that bit late for a Lauri-Volpi Siegfried and just that bit early for a Corelli one... 

If you are after an Italian, Rossi-Lemeni recorded the Dutchman but also Wotan's Farewell - maybe he would be in contention?





Would Taddei work as Wotan if it is too high for Christoff/Rossi-Lemeni? Taddei recorded both the Dutchman and Hans Sachs. Could sub in Gino Bechi as Gunther... 

Controversial, I know, but maybe Fedora Barbieri instead of Simionato as Fricka...


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

The Conte said:


> Alberich is a bass role and so Gobbi may not have been able to sing it (and in any case I would prefer a darker voice) and Wotan may have been too high for Christoff. Therefore you could exchange those two.


Alberich is a baritone role. It would suit Gobbi better than Wotan which requires bass low notes in the Walkure act 2 monologue, all the way down to low F which is a good 3-4 notes lower than anything a Verdi baritone has to sing. For Christoff it would come down to the Wanderer act 3 scene with Erda. If he could manage that comfortably he would make a fine Wotan imo.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I also considered Siepi, Guelfi, and Taddei for Wotan, but Christoff had the best overall "score" for the role in terms of power, low range, and nobility of interpretation. I didn't really consider Gobbi because I didn't think that he had the low range and power for the role, although he would probably have done interesting things with some of the music. I didn't consider Rossi-Lemeni because I have bad memories of his Oroveso from the Callas studio _Norma_. I will listen to that Abschied later though and see what I think!

I also vacillated a lot on what do do with the fine set of lower female voices available: Stignani, Simionato, Elmo, and Barbieri, who I didn't really find a place for. Barbieri might also make a good Erda.

I really wanted to put Bechi in somewhere but somehow I can't imagine him singing Wagner. I'm sure he could do it and would do it with great intelligence, musicality, and vivacity, but somehow he exudes so much Italianita' that I just didn't put him anywhere.

It would be interesting to consider what the cast would look like 5 to ten years earlier or later.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Bonetan said:


> Alberich is a baritone role. It would suit Gobbi better than Wotan which requires bass low notes in the Walkure act 2 monologue, all the way down to low F which is a good 3-4 notes lower than anything a Verdi baritone has to sing. For Christoff it would come down to the Wanderer act 3 scene with Erda. If he could manage that comfortably he would make a fine Wotan imo.


I stand corrected, thanks!

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Comments, suggestions, inquiries after my sanity all welcome.


A delightfully amusing idea. I do think that Wagner sounds crazy in Italian - better in French - but I could put up with it to hear some great singers.

Christoff might be too much of a true bass for Wotan, but might be a superb Hagen. Gobbi is inspired casting - the Italian equivalent of Neidlinger as Alberich. Callas as Brunnhilde is just one of the many tantalizing might-have-beens in her legacy; her Kundry and "Liebestod" are fascinating. I'd guess Stignani would be a fine Fricka; I'm not sure she's quite deep enough to be my ideal Erda, but then I'm not sure who is. Stignani did sing some Wagner; we can hear a bit of her Brangaene in some excerpts from a stunning live 1930 La Scala _Tristan_ under De Sabata:






The complete transcription of that performance, which evidently doesn't exist, is a might-have-been to lament.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Woodduck said:


> I'd guess Stignani would be a fine Fricka; I'm not sure she's quite deep enough to be my ideal Erda, but then I'm not sure who is.


The Schumann-Heink electric is the only recording of her _Rheingold_ aria that I find 100% satisfying because of her huge low notes, although there are many others I admire very much. I would love to hear Louise Kirkby-Lunn in that music.

And I am very sad that Zanelli's _Tristan_ is not better preserved, in addition to Stignani's Brangaene. A might have been indeed.

It turns out that Boris Christoff did record Wotan's Farewell for RAI, so see what you think of that (there is some audio distortion, especially towards the beginning):





Siepi also recorded it later in his career:







Revitalized Classics said:


> Would Taddei work as Wotan if it is too high for Christoff/Rossi-Lemeni? Taddei recorded both the Dutchman and Hans Sachs. Could sub in Gino Bechi as Gunther...


I've heard those which is why I also considered him. I think he's a very interesting idea for a Wotan.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

For me, the ultimate might-have-been actually *was* but only on stage. Unfortunately, she was very rarely recorded in her prime. There are, sadly, very few surviving recordings of her. I have a handful of original recordings on Vinyl that were sourced in Romania a few years back.

Here's a video compilation of the few surviving video recordings of her on stage:






The last one in this compilation is taken from very late in her career, and her voice is clearly fading.

In this one, she's miming to her own pre-recorded sound, although I'm not entirely sure why:


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

adriesba said:


> Am I alone in liking Varnay both in soprano and mezzo roles?


In my opinion her singing in the Ring from Bayreuth in the early 50's is one of the best out there and her high notes are thrilling. She began singing big Wagner roles in her early 20's, so the top petered out by the mid 50's but in 52 she nailed every high note beautifully.




 Check out the high notes in the Immolation Scene.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

vivalagentenuova said:


> I like the attempts that RAI made at presenting Wagner in Italian during the 1950s. Of course, they broadcast the very famous Furtwangler _Rings_, but it got me thinking of what might have happened if they had tried to do as they did with _Parsifal_ and _Meistersinger_ and broadcast a complete _Ring_ with Italian singers of the time in Italian. Since Wagner was often performed this way until the mid 20-th century, I also thought it would be interesting to have a record of this sort of practice of Wagner in translation. I chose 1950 as the year, and tried to cast the _Ring_ based on singers who were active in Italy at that time, especially those that appeared in RAI broadcasts or were singing at La Scala. I went a little crazy, but it was pretty fun and challenged my knowledge of singers (drawn from my CD collection, YouTube, and the Scala archives). I tried to get the best Italian singers for each role. It was interesting to imagine which Italian singers would be best for which Wagner roles. Certain roles were very hard to cast. Although there were a host of prominent Italian Wotan's just a generation or two earlier, such as Formichi, Bellantoni, and Neroni, in 1950 nobody really jumped out. I went with Boris Christoff because of his role as Gurnemanz in the 1949 _Parsifal_. He's not Italian, but his career was, and studied roles with Stracciari so that makes him an honorary Italian in my book. Brunhilde was the other sticking spot. I considered a number of singers, but Callas seemed the best choice, given her background as a Wagnerian soprano and her participation in the aforementioned _Parsifal_, not to mention the fact that 1950 was her prime. She was also the only one at that time who could have brought the full package of power, trills, and interpretation. Tito Gobbi seemed the perfect character choice for Alberich, who deserves a strong interpreter. I kind of wish the Del Monaco/Tebaldi/Neri Walkure Act I really did exist. Siegfried was another hard role to cast at this point. Again, a generation or two earlier there would have been many options, but it came down to two or three. I also considered Del Monaco and Antonio Salvarezza, but Penno did actually sing the role of Siegfried, so I went with him (singing it so early in his career probably contributed to his early decline). They probably would have doubled up some of the smaller roles, but I decided to get different singers for each role. For conductor I chose Vittorio Gui. Of course, this would have cost enough to build Valhalla, but it's my little fantasy so money doesn't exist.
> 
> _L'Anello di Nibelungo_
> 1950
> ...


I *love* this! What a treat to be able to cast your own Ring! I don't know all of the voices, especially the lower ones so I can't comment on those. The soprano/tenor/mezzo ones seem right to me.


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