# Voce D' Angelo



## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

I know that people are always comparing Callas and Tebaldi, but personally I think that is crazy. Especially today when we should just be able to enjoy them both. 

What makes me mad is how Tebaldi is treated today. Back in the 50's she was for some time the queen of La Scala and after that "miss sold out" at the met. And then they release the cheaply made complete decca recordings box set. You probably think that Decca just made a mistake, but it is not that simple. I mean that it tells something about us too. Surely Decca would have made it "better" if they thought that people would buy buy it.

So what has happened? Why Tebaldi isn't held at as great esteem as she should be and used to be? I think that her sincerity in her singing and of course the beauty of her voice is as relevant today as it was in the 50's. I hope that somehow this could be changed.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

And what do you think about the pairing of Tebaldi and Del Monaco? Personally I think that they are great together.






It's funny how Tebaldi drowns Del Monaco on the high notes. And you can see how much Del Monaco is really trying.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

I think that Tebaldi's low populairty compared to Callas outside of connoisseur circles is the result of the modern, false conception of (technical) singing being somehow a separate entity from acting, interpreting and so on. People think that Tebaldi was a great singer and Callas a great singing actress, preferring the latter. The irony of course being that Callas' great charisma is just like with Tebaldi the result of great vocal technique. The fact that Callas was a better actress in the physical, cinematic sense is another story of course.

Tebaldi and Del Monaco were indeed a dream team, considered by some as *the* dream team of the 50s, I have all of their full opera recordings. My favourites are those where the two splendid voices both fit the roles in the most perfect way togehter, among those are La forza del destino, Andrea Chénier, Otello, Manon Lescaut and Mefistofele.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Diminuendo said:


> And what do you think about the pairing of Tebaldi and Del Monaco? Personally I think that they are great together.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I prefer the pairing of Tebaldi and Corelli, the latter's singing technically much more satisfying than crude, brassy Del Monaco. And the sound here is so much better; we can hear the full, rich beauty of Tebaldi.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I prefer the pairing of Tebaldi and Corelli, the latter's singing technically much more satisfying than crude, brassy Del Monaco. And the sound here is so much better; we can hear the full, rich beauty of Tebaldi.


Corelli is amazing with everybody. I mean he was great with Callas, Tebaldi and Nilsson.

By the way did you know that Di Stefano was supposed to be Tebaldi's partner for Decca recordings, but he asked too much money and Decca refused. That is why he was available for EMI.

It really makes you think, doesn't it?


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I prefer the pairing of Tebaldi and Corelli, the latter's singing technically much more satisfying than crude, brassy Del Monaco. And the sound here is so much better; we can hear the full, rich beauty of Tebaldi.


Ok, now you have triggered my MDM defence impulse again ...

Unfortunately, it seems that from the hundreds of MDM live performances only the driest were filmed (except for his Bolshoi Carmen/Pagliacci and Tokyo Pagliacci). There is a much better studio recording of _Vicino a te_ duet with both Tebaldi and Del Monaco in full voice:






And this great, rare Chénier document of MDM singing under De Sabata's direction which emphasizes his impeccable diction, every phrase is _scolpita_, cast in stone (not for nothing Giordano called MDM _il mio Chénier_):


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Ok, now you have triggered my MDM defence impulse again ...
> 
> Unfortunately, it seems that from the hundreds of MDM live performances only the driest were filmed (except for his Bolshoi Carmen/Pagliacci and Tokyo Pagliacci). There is a much better studio recording of _Vicino a te_ duet with both Tebaldi and Del Monaco in full voice:
> 
> ...


It's always nice to meet another MDM fan.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

I would love it if_ any_ of my favourite singers had a box set devoted to them- cheaply made or otherwise!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Figleaf said:


> I would love it if_ any_ of my favourite singers had a box set devoted to them- cheaply made or otherwise!


And just how many of your favourite singers made enough recordings for a single CD let alone a box?


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Becca said:


> And just how many of your favourite singers made enough recordings for a single CD let alone a box?


A few of my favourites recorded hundreds of 78 rpm sides (and had major careers), but that's no guarantee of getting even a single CD devoted to them. Look how pathetically grateful I am when one of my very favourites finally makes it on to CD:

http://www.talkclassical.com/37412-finally-wait-over-new.html


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Figleaf said:


> A few of my favourites recorded hundreds of 78 rpm sides (and had major careers), but that's no guarantee of getting even a single CD devoted to them. Look how pathetically grateful I am when one of my very favourites finally makes it on to CD:
> 
> http://www.talkclassical.com/37412-finally-wait-over-new.html


That is the way things just are unfortunately. I haven't listened to many of the older singers, but it is sad that there aren't more cd's available. I'm lucky since my interest mostly starts from the electronic recording era, so there is plenty of material available. But it is always nice to listen to older recordings when available.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I don't think Tebaldi was a best-seller for Decca as was Callas for EMI. Also, the old Decca is now absorbed into a conglomerate, Universal - probably the reason for the cheap presentation. I don't think Tebaldi recorded very well - to me, the voice sounds quite hard - one of the critics of the day said that there was something of the fishwife in her high notes. Anyway, like Callas, sometime the live performances surpassed the studio ones, like this one:







I understand that there is also a fine Verdi Requiem with RT, conducted by de Sabata at La Scala 1951 in good sound.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Deleting duplicate post.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Pristine has released a 1955 Tosca with Gobbi. Sounds great.









https://www.pristineclassical.com/paco121.html


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