# Older recordings of little known operas?



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Most recordings of rarer repertoire have been made fairly recently, and while I will happily put up with substandard singing in order to listen to something there is no other recordings of, it would be interesting to know of any older recordings (pre-1960s most likely) with singers utilising a more traditional approach. Most will presumably be rarer verismo works which were popular back then and not so much now, Montemezzi, Respighi, less-known Mascagni works etc. But any recordings of lesser-known operas from earlier composers would be very interesting too.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Some earlier studio and live recordings of pre-Romantic repertoire that may be of interest:

Stradella's _La forza dell amor paterno_ conducted by Ettore Gracis with the RAI Orchestra from 1953 (studio)

Paisiello's _La Molinara_ conducted by Franco Caracciolo with the RAI Napoli Orchestra from 1959 (live)

A. Scarlatti's _Mitridate Eupatore_ conducted by Nino Sanzogno with the Piccola Scala Milano Orchestra from 1956 (studio)

Handel's _Sosarme_ conducted by Anthony Lewis with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra from 1954 (studio)

J. Haydn's _Philemon und Baucis_ conducted by Meinhard von Zallinger with the Wiener Staatsoper from 1953 (studio)

D. Scarlatti's _Tetide in Sciro_ conducted by Aladar Janes with the Angelicum Orchestra Milano from 1958 (live)

Cimarosa's _Il credulo_ conducted by Alfredo Simonetto with the RAI Milano Orchestra from 1956 (studio)

Galuppi's l_l filosofo di campagna_ conducted by Renato Fasano with the I Virtuosi di Roma Orchestra from 1954 (studio)

Cavalli's _Didone_ conducted by Alfredo Simonetto with the RAI Orchestra from 1958 (studio) 

Cherubini's _Elisa_ conducted by Franco Capuana with the Maggio Fiorentino Orchestra from 1960 (studio)

Vivaldi's _La senna festeggiante_ conducted by Edwin Loehrer with the Societa Cameristica Lugano Orchestra from 1960 (studio)

Dittersdorf's _Der Apotheker und der Doktor_ conducted by Uli Weder with the Camerata Academia Mozarteum Salzburg from 1960 (studio)

John Blow's _Venus and Adonis_ conducted by Anthony Lewis with the Ensemble Oiseau Lyre Orchestra from 1951 (studio)



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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Op.123 said:


> Most recordings of rarer repertoire have been made fairly recently, and while I will happily put up with substandard singing in order to listen to something there is no other recordings of, it would be interesting to know of any older recordings (pre-1960s most likely) with singers utilising a more traditional approach. Most will presumably be rarer verismo works which were popular back then and not so much now, Montemezzi, Respighi, less-known Mascagni works etc. But any recordings of lesser-known operas from earlier composers would be very interesting too.


A huge number of rare recordings were made in the 1970s and 1980s - the heyday of opera recordings - with all of the recording stars of the day (including Sutherland, Pavarotti, Horne, Milnes, Domingo, Carreras, Ricciarelli, Norman, Caballe, Bergonzi, etc.). The Phillips Early Verdi series was recorded then, luxuriously cast. Rare operas were sought out and recorded (*L’oracolo *by Leoni and *Parmavati *by Rousell are two I recall) and operas by Haydn and Mozart were exhaustively researched and put on tape. This was even before the operas of Händel were exhumed (1980s/90s?). Rare _bel canto _works were recorded, as well as unknown operas like *Esclarmonde *and *Le Prophète*. The recording companies in those days were willing to record almost anything for prestige. 
Of course the Cetra operas were pioneers in recording all they could with the actives singers of their time (1940s/1950s), including some rarities like *Zaza *and *Iris*. They signed Callas early on for three recordings, of which only two were recorded: *La Gioconda *and *La Traviata. *The third, *Mefistofele *never materialized. There’s also an *Aida *with Franco Corelli and *Il Tabarro *with Clara Petrella, an underrated soprano whose career was mainly in Italy.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

MAS said:


> A huge number of rare recordings were made in the 1970s and 1980s - the heyday of opera recordings - with all of the recording stars of the day (including Sutherland, Pavarotti, Horne, Milnes, Domingo, Carreras, Ricciarelli, Norman, Caballe, Bergonzi, etc.). The Phillips Early Verdi series was recorded then, luxuriously cast. Rare operas were sought out and recorded (*L’oracolo *by Leoni and *Parmavati *by Rousell are two I recall) and operas by Haydn and Mozart were exhaustively researched and put on tape. This was even before the operas of Händel were exhumed (1980s/90s?). Rare _bel canto _works were recorded, as well as unknown operas like *Esclarmonde *and *Le Prophète*. The recording companies in those days were willing to record almost anything for prestige.
> Of course the Cetra operas were pioneers in recording all they could with the actives singers of their time (1940s/1950s), including some rarities like *Zaza *and *Iris*. They signed Callas early on for three recordings, of which only two were recorded: *La Gioconda *and *La Traviata. *The third, *Mefistofele *never materialized. There’s also an *Aida *with Franco Corelli and *Il Tabarro *with Clara Petrella, an underrated soprano whose career was mainly in Italy.


The early Cetra Verdi recordings are excellent, the Phillips series I'm not so fond of, of the singers you mentioned, late Sutherland, Horne, Milnes, Domingo, Carreras, Ricciarelli I'm not too fond of. I will have to have a listen to Zaza as I have not heard that. Clara Petrella is one of my favourite sopranos, the Tabarro is excellent, as is her Butterfly and Manon Lescaut. I really wish she'd done a Cetra recording of Respighi's La Fiamma or something like that.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Op.123 said:


> The early Cetra Verdi recordings are excellent, the Phillips series I'm not so fond of, of the singers you mentioned, late Sutherland, Horne, Milnes, Domingo, Carreras, Ricciarelli I'm not too fond of. I will have to have a listen to Zaza as I have not heard that. Clara Petrella is one of my favourite sopranos, the Tabarro is excellent, as is her Butterfly and Manon Lescaut. I really wish she'd done a Cetra recording of Respighi's La Fiamma or something like that.


She was my first *Madama Butterfly *on disc (a budget recording) and to this day I remember the beauty of the sound at the start of the second side (_Io seguo Il mio destino). _On LP, of course, in those days.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

MAS said:


> She was my first *Madama Butterfly *on disc (a budget recording) and to this day I remember the beauty of the sound at the start of the second side (_Io seguo Il mio destino). _On LP, of course, in those days.


Still my favourite Butterfly. A nice middle ground between Tebaldi and Callas.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1960: Karl-Birger Blomdahl's 1959 *Aniara* - first opera set in outer space









1960: Marcel Landowski's *Les Adieux*









1965: Karol Szymanowski's *King Roger*









1967: Bernard Herrmann's *Wuthering Heights*









1972: Aarre Merikanto's 1922 *Juha*


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

I've not heard this myself, but Robert Ward's 1961 opera (based upon Arthur Miller's) *The Crucible* was issued on CD via Kritzerland THE CRUCIBLE - A Pulitzer prize-winning American opera (kritzerland.com)


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Supraphon has terrific recordings of. Czech operas rarely if ever performed outside of the Czech republic or the former Czechoslovakia . 

For example : Smetana: Dalibor . The Devil's Wall. The Kiss . The Secret . The Brandenburgers in. Bohemia . Libuse ( LEE-boo-sheh ) . 

Janacek : The Excursions of Mr. Broucek . Osud ( destiny ) . Sarka . 

Martinu : Julietta . Zdenek Fibich : Sarka . 

Dvorak : The Devil & Kate . Dimitrij . The Jacobin . Vanda . 

Supraphon has. more than one recording of some of these , such as. Broucek, Dalibor, Libuse and The Devil and Kate . Among the conductors are , Vaclav Neumann, Zdenek Chalabala ,
Jiri Pinkas and. Vaclac Jiracek . The second recordings were in general made many years before the first , some of which are analogue . All of them are very much worth looking for . 
Most of the singers are not international superstars , but excellent native Czech speakers who are thoroughly steeped in the Czech operatic tradition .


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

I have a good match for what OP requested: an old recording of a rare verismo work, _Assassinio nella cattedrale _(Murder in the Cathedral) by Ildebrando Pizzetti. Enjoy!


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

OffPitchNeb said:


> I have a good match for what OP requested: an old recording of a rare verismo work, _Assassinio nella cattedrale _(Murder in the Cathedral) by Ildebrando Pizzetti. Enjoy!


So far, the ouverture sounds good.


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