# Historical Verdi Recordings



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Since there's one for Wagner why not Verdi too. What are the historical Verdi recordings you think are essential listening?

Maybe the Met performances of Aida, with Cigna, Martinelli and Castagna, Simon Boccanegra and Otello with Tibbett, Martinelli and Rethberg.

A contemporaneous Trovatore at Covent Garden with Cigna, Bjorling, Basiola and Wettergren is great too.

There are many others...


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This is a great set, which I'm still working my way through.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Just one question. What is considered historical? Because it seems that recordings from the 1950s are now becoming part of that category. I remember that, when *Un Ballo in Maschera *was being discussed on the BBC's _Building a Library _programme just a couple of years ago, the reviewer named Muti (1975) as top choice, but named the Votto with Callas (1956) as historical choice.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Just one question. What is considered historical? Because it seems that recordings from the 1950s are now becoming part of that category. I remember that, when *Un Ballo in Maschera *was being discussed on the BBC's _Building a Library _programme just a couple of years ago, the reviewer named Muti (1975) as top choice, but named the Votto with Callas (1956) as historical choice.


Personally I'd say historical is any recording pre-1950s and live recordings from the 1950s. 1950s studio recordings, especially for the big labels, are relatively well-known and well enough recorded to often be considerations for first choice.


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## VoiceFromTheEther (Aug 6, 2021)

I would say everything that is in mono is historical; to the youngest generations, anything earlier than the 1990s or even 2000s might also count as such.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

VoiceFromTheEther said:


> I would say everything that is in mono is historical; to the youngest generations, anything earlier than the 1990s or even 2000s might also count as such.


Now I feel old. That would mean that pretty much _all _the best recordings of core repertoire would now be considred historical, certainly of Verdi operas.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I actually thought of historical below 1940.
Anyway, one true Verdi historic piece is Pertile in "Aida" with Minghini-Catteneo


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Verdi Requiem with Caniglia, Pinza, Stignani is almost without peer. I also say the live Traviata with Ponselle, her only complete Verdi opera.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> The Verdi Requiem with Caniglia, Pinza, Stignani is almost without peer. I also say the live Traviata with Ponselle, her only complete Verdi opera.


Yes, that and the Toscanini requiem from 1940 with Milanov, Castagna, Bjorling and Moscona are my favourite recordings of that piece. 

It's a shame that the Traviata is in really awful sound, though supposedly Ponselle didn't like the broadcast and thought she'd sung the opera better before. She is magnificent though. I think her only records of complete operas are Traviata and Carmen? I would LOVE to be wrong.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I can't contribute much to this subject, but the 1930 _Rigoletto_ with Stracciari, Borgioli and Capsir under Molajoli with the La Scala chorus and orchestra should be heard, mainly for Riccardo Stracciari's classic Rigoletto - he was 55 but still prodigious - and for Dino Borgioli, a lyric tenor in the Schipa-Tagliavini-Valletti line, who turns in as elegant a duke as you could wish for, singing with superb legato, beautiful dynamic effects and perfect diction. I find Mercedes Capsir's girlish tone grating; she's reputed to have been a coloratura soprano, but seems to have had no trill. As is typical of studio recordings of the era, the voices are right in your ear with little acoustic around them, which doesn't flatter Capsir but doesn't hurt the others.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Now I feel old. That would mean that pretty much _all _the best recordings of core repertoire would now be considred historical, certainly of Verdi operas.


It's a horrifying thought, isn't it? One's own lifetime, historical... Well, if my 32-inch waistline and half my hair are history (if of little interest to historians), why not?

It may be partly a reflection of my age, but I'm inclined to view historical recordings of opera as those in which major artists of the pre-WW II period are still singing major roles. That might take us through the 1950s, perhaps barely into the '60s. There's some logic to this choice of a dividing line, as it reflects audible changes in the techniques and styles of singing.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> It's a horrifying thought, isn't it? One's own lifetime, historical... Well, if my 32-inch waistline and half my hair are history (if of little interest to historians), why not?
> 
> It may be partly a reflection of my age, but I'm inclined to view historical recordings of opera as those in which major artists of the pre-WW II period are still singing major roles. That might take us through the 1950s, perhaps barely into the '60s. There's some logic to this choice of a dividing line, as it reflects audible changes in the techniques and styles of singing.


I guess I've always considered 78s as historical, the dividing line being the arrival of LP. It also almost coincides with the end of WWII, so it makes a useful break.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I can't contribute much to this subject, but the 1930 _Rigoletto_ with Stracciari, Borgioli and Capsir under Molajoli with the La Scala chorus and orchestra should be heard, mainly for Riccardo Stracciari's classic Rigoletto - he was 55 but still prodigious - and for Dino Borgioli, a lyric tenor in the Schipa-Tagliavini-Valletti line, who turns in as elegant a duke as you could wish for, singing with superb legato, beautiful dynamic effects and perfect diction. I find Mercedes Capsir's girlish tone grating; she's reputed to have been a coloratura soprano, but seems to have had no trill. As is typical of studio recordings of the era, the voices are right in your ear with little acoustic around them, which doesn't flatter Capsir but doesn't hurt the others.


A wonderful recording but I'm not too fond of Caspir either. My favourite historical Rigoletto would be from the Met in 1945 with Warren and Bjorling and a much superior Bidu Sayao.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I guess I've always considered 78s as historical, the dividing line being the arrival of LP. It also almost coincides with the end of WWII, so it makes a useful break.


That's the way I've always looked at it too, but I don't want the kids to roll their eyes every time I show up here.

What's that...? They do?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Op.123 said:


> A wonderful recording but I'm not too fond of Caspir either. My favourite historical Rigoletto would be from the Met in 1945 with Warren and Bjorling and a much superior Bidu Sayao.


Hard to beat that cast.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

nina foresti said:


>


wrong post-let me try this again


Amazon.com


There. That's better.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> wrong post-let me try this again
> 
> 
> Amazon.com
> ...


I love this recording. Martinelli's voice wasn't made for the role the way that Del Monaco's was but I find him more moving. That said the recording with Del Monaco, Petrella and Taddei from Mexico, 1951, is another favourite.


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## perdido34 (Mar 11, 2015)

Op.123 said:


> Since there's one for Wagner why not Verdi too. What are the historical Verdi recordings you think are essential listening?


 The 1953 La Forza del Destino with Tebaldi, conducted by Mitropoulos. The 1944 Nozze di Figaro from the Met, conducted by Bruno Walter (with Ezio Pinza). 1949 Falstaff from the Met; conducted by Reiner, with Bruno Walter. And don't miss Toscanini's NBC Falstaff.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Npbody has yet mentioned this famous *Aida *with a quite stupendous cast. Not only does it have Callas's monumental top Eb in the Triumphal Scene, but it also enshrines local girl, Oralia Dominquez's debut as Amneris. It's not an especially subtle performance, but, my God, is it thrilling!


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Npbody has yet mentioned this famous *Aida *with a quite stupendous cast. Not only does it have Callas's monumental top Eb in the Triumphal Scene, but it also enshrines local girl, Oralia Dominquez's debut as Amneris. It's not an especially subtle performance, but, my God, is it thrilling!


It's funny how the name of the performer of Amneris, whom this opera is about no less than about Aida, is typed in small letters. 🙂
I fully realize that there was only one Callas and I hope her contemporaries understood it at the same degree that we do. But sometimes I feel scorned for mezzos and I like Dominguez.
And what a dazzling Gaughin woman is made of Callas on the cover!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

ColdGenius said:


> It's funny how the name of the performer of Amneris, whom this opera is about no less than about Aida, is typed in small letters. 🙂
> I fully realize that the was only one Callas and I hope her contemporaries understood it at the same degree that we do. But sometimes I feel scorned for mezzos and I like Dominguez.
> And what a dazzling Gaughin woman is made of Callas on the cover!


I should also point out that this issue was part of the _Callas Live Remastered _box set, which was issued in a burst of publicity on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of her death. Every cover was basicaly the same, with only the titles and the photo of Callas in the role she was playing, usually from the actual production that had been caught on disc. This particular edition only exists because of Callas.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

ColdGenius said:


> It's funny how the name of the performer of Amneris, whom this opera is about no less than about Aida, is typed in small letters. 🙂
> I fully realize that the was only one Callas and I hope her contemporaries understood it at the same degree that we do. But sometimes I feel scorned for mezzos and I like Dominguez.
> And what a dazzling Gaughin woman is made of Callas on the cover!


I tend to feel that Amneris is the only interesting character in the opera, and it would have taken only a little shift of emphasis on Verdi's part to focus the work on her. Maybe she could make an attempt at a love scene with an uninterested Radames, go insane, and commit suicide when she learns how Aida died.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> I tend to feel that Amneris is the only interesting character in the opera, and it would have taken only a little shift of emphasis on Verdi's part to focus the work on her. Maybe she could make an attempt at a love scene with an uninterested Radames, go insane, and commit suicide when she learns how Aida died.


Or she could jump in the pit at the end.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

perdido34 said:


> The 1953 La Forza del Destino with Tebaldi, conducted by Mitropoulos. The 1944 Nozze di Figaro from the Met, conducted by Bruno Walter (with Ezio Pinza). 1949 Falstaff from the Met; conducted by Reiner, with Bruno Walter. And don't miss Toscanini's NBC Falstaff.


The Forza is great, although honestly I prefer the studio recording of 1955. The cast is better and the sound is better too. Tebaldi might be a little more secure and involved live and Mitropoulos a little better too, but she is still brilliant on the studio set and the conducting of Molinari-Pradelli is not bad at all. Le Nozze is Mozart although for the record I think Pinza's best Nozze is from 1937 with Rethberg as possibly the greatest Donna Anna recorded. Another Falstaff to think about is Mario Rossi's with Taddei. Outstanding.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Npbody has yet mentioned this famous *Aida *with a quite stupendous cast. Not only does it have Callas's monumental top Eb in the Triumphal Scene, but it also enshrines local girl, Oralia Dominquez's debut as Amneris. It's not an especially subtle performance, but, my God, is it thrilling!


The most thrilling performance there is although I'll admit it's Dominguez's Amneris which makes the set for me rather than Callas' Aida.


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## Concertantek364 (Mar 13, 2021)

Here's a notable historical recording of Aida, mainly for Giannina Arangi Lombardi's rendition of the title role.

Arangi Lombardi was the leading prima donna of La Scala in the 1920s. To view her impressive resume, visit here:




__





Giannina Arangi Lombardi


Born: 20 June 1891 Marigliano Died 9 July 1951 Milan



bob-opera.weebly.com





Arangi Lombardi was the most famous Aida of the era in Italy. Here's a glowing appraisal of her Aida by critic London Green in The Opera Quartetrly:



> In Aida her tone and phrasing are consistently beautiful. Her voice
> 
> can be as powerful or as fragile as she wishes and often appears weightless —
> 
> ...


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

This is a great Falstaff







P/S: I am surprised the historical Verdi is not faring so well compared to the Wagner thread


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Luigi Piazza Rigoletto full opera (1927) - YouTube 

A good companion Rigoletto to the Stracciari with a better Gilda, Lina Pagliughi, who was 20 years old at the time. I believe this is Piazza's only recording, which is a shame, as he's a first rank baritone.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

Only excerpts, but great singing and conducting:


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