# Cavalleria Rusticana



## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

What do you think about it?

I just love it. There is just so much goodness in such a short time. I really love the duet between Turiddu and Santuzza. My favorite recording is the Callas and Di Stefano from 1953. With these two and Serafin the work just becomes better than it should be. They just elevate the opera. With Callas you just get more from verismo works like Tosca. Even though she didn't like them that much.

The duet is from the recording.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

And to think, Callas was deputizing for another singer, who fortunately could not do the recording! None of the other recordings come within a mile of the Callas/di Stefano.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Cavalleria has a special place in my heart, it's verismo at its purest, at its best. I don't think that Di Stefano was the vocally fittest tenor to sing Turiddu but the fact that he was an authentic sicilian adds something special to the powerfully tragic feeling of Mascagni's music, no one could sing the _Siciliana_ at the beginning with Pippo's feel. For the whole opera recording I prefer the 1940 Scala version under Mascagni's personal conduction, though. It features a marvellous Gigli as Turiddu and most importantly the greatest Santuzza of all time, the sadly half-forgotten soprano Lina Bruna Rasa. She was Mascagni's chosen one, the most perfectly intense, devastating female verismo voice that I know.

Here's the whole thing:






_Tu qui, Santuzza?_ with Gigli and Bruna Rasa:






_Voi lo sapete, o Mamma_ - Lina Bruna Rasa:






I could always start crying when listening to this, especially when I think of her sad personal story, as tragic as any opera. In the 30s she started suffering from mental illness which worsened horribly with the death of her mother in 1935. After singing her last Cavalleria in 1942, she retired from opera and spent the rest of her life in a mental hospital.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Cavalleria has a special place in my heart, it's verismo at its purest, at its best. I don't think that Di Stefano was the vocally fittest tenor to sing Turiddu but the fact that he was an authentic sicilian adds something special to the powerfully tragic feeling of Mascagni's music, no one could sing the _Siciliana_ at the beginning with Pippo's feel. For the whole opera recording I prefer the 1940 Scala version under Mascagni's personal conduction, though. It features a marvellous Gigli as Turiddu and most importantly the greatest Santuzza of all time, the sadly half-forgotten soprano Lina Bruna Rasa. She was Mascagni's chosen one, the most perfectly intense, devastating female verismo voice that I know.
> 
> Here's the whole thing:
> 
> ...


Pippo being really sicilian really helps. I think the role fitted his temperament perfectly. Vocally of course the role is too heavy for him, but you don't really notice, since he is so convincing in the role. I have to say that the recording you posted is really great. Gigli is a good Turiddu. Bruna Rasa is new to me. She is really good as Santuzza. Her voice really seems to be perfect for verismo. Together they make quite a pair.

I still have to say that the Callas recording is still my favorite, but this could be close second.

What do you think of Domingo as Turiddu? He recorded the opera many times, which would be the best recording?


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Diminuendo said:


> What do you think of Domingo as Turiddu? He recorded the opera many times, which would be the best recording?


Domingo had the right timbre, acting skills and all around dramatic personality which constitutes a good Turiddo. His vocal range was more limited compared to the likes of Gigli, less _squillante_ and a bit more screamy in high notes e.g. but still an excellent, tasteful singer-interpreter. Turiddu is even one of his best roles in my opinion. From Domingo's Cavalleria recordings I like the film version by Franco Zeffirelli (1982) the most. It captures the soul and reality of Sicily very well, I think that both Verga and Mascagni would have loved it.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

​
This set is a must have, without it, you are lost.
*Bergonzi / Cossotto / Carlyle *.
*Karajan* in _one_ of his_ very best Recordings_ (with a capital R)


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## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

Diminuendo said:


> What do you think about it?


love that piece.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

I agree with Cesare Impalatore about the excellence of the Bruna Rasa/ Gigli recording- though Italian verismo isn't really my thing, and I can't recall hearing any other versions. I'll just share my favourite two versions of the Siciliana- afraid they aren't very Sicilian, but marvellously sung nevertheless:

Emile Scaramberg 



Fernando Valero: 




And Valero again in the drinking song:




 He's a remarkable and quite early singer who recorded very little (the best being the song 'Dormi pure'.) Worth listening to if you're interested in authentically nineteenth century singing.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

And what about Gemma Bellincioni, whose records tend to divide opinion?






My own opinion: she doesn't sound that appealing vocally (or indeed unusually terrible) to my ears, but then 99.9% of operatic sopranos don't sound great to me (and many do sound terrible ), so a more informed opinion from fellow members of this forum would be appreciated. 

If only her partner Roberto Stagno had lived to make records!


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## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

Recently bought the Von Karajan Cavalleria Rusticana to get into training for the ROH version this December, It is a wonderful opera with some of the most beautiful music. I have always loved the intermezzo since seeing Raging Bull as a kid, but was surprised at the quality of the music throughout the opera.

When I see it I'll bring along a box of cannoli in honour of Godfather III.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Figleaf said:


> And Valero again in the drinking song:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting this, I didn't know about Fernando Valero before, he's excellent! It seems like early spanish tenors were destined to sing great Sicilianas, Antonio Cortis is another favourite of mine - 



.

In the context of _O lola_ I'd also like to mention Richard Tucker who surprised me with impeccable diction, sicilian dialect and in general better spinto/dramatic Turiddo than both Del Monaco and Corelli! -


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Loge said:


> Recently bought the Von Karajan Cavalleria Rusticana to get into training for the ROH version this December, It is a wonderful opera with some of the most beautiful music. I have always loved the intermezzo since seeing Raging Bull as a kid, but was surprised at the quality of the music throughout the opera.
> 
> When I see it I'll bring along a box of cannoli in honour of Godfather III.


Oh yeah. I didn't remember that it was on Godfather III. I must have heard the opera for the first time from the movie.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Thanks for posting this, I didn't know about Fernando Valero before, he's excellent! It seems like early spanish tenors were destined to sing great Sicilianas, Antonio Cortis is another favourite of mine -
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for those links. Tucker is very good, more Italian than the Italians, but I don't know whether anyone hearing this piece for the first time in his rendition would guess it was a love long, as exhilarating as his singing is! Cortis is wonderful- gorgeous, warm tone, beautiful legato, and real tenderness. His record must rank with the best. Among the actual Italians, the best versions that I've heard so far are by Enrico Caruso, Fernando de Lucia, and also Giuseppe Anselmi:

Fernando de Lucia: 



Giuseppe Anselmi:


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Pugg said:


> ​
> This set is a must have, without it, you are lost.
> *Bergonzi / Cossotto / Carlyle *.
> *Karajan* in _one_ of his_ very best Recordings_ (with a capital R)


Indeed choice between the OPS's Serafin set and this Karajan version is always hard. Karajan's is wonderfully conducted and enjoys the best sonics, Serafin has the better, more characterful singing. But why make the choice at all, when we can have both?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)




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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Itullian said:


>


Corelli is great in both of them. Well he could sing the phone book and be amazing :lol:


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Indeed choice between the OPS's Serafin set and this Karajan version is always hard. Karajan's is wonderfully conducted and enjoys the best sonics, Serafin has the better, more characterful singing. But why make the choice at all, when we can have both?


"Less than all cannot satisfy man."

- William Blake, "Songs of Innocence and Experience"


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

This thread is a feast! If you heard the Met's production of _Cavalleria_ this season, you need to come here to remind yourself what verismo really sounds like.

I just want to add two more classics, Claudia Muzio's "Voi lo sapete": 



 from 1934, and Caruso's "O Lola" from 1903: 




Of the Sicilianas I've heard, I also like Cortis very much: 




Comparatively, Cortis comes across as a fastidious Spanish gentleman. But Caruso is the uninhibited Sicilian boy to the very life: notice the rhythmic freedom, and the effect he gets on the last phrase by singing the first "Ah!" full voice and the echo half-voice (with no breath between!). Caruso recorded the aria five times, and it's really impossible to choose a best version. I love this one because we can hear how his voice and personality transcend even the primitive recording equipment - and because we get to hear him announce the piece before singing it.

EDIT: Just listened to Figleaf's posting of Anselmi. Must add him to my short list of favorites. A very subtle interpretation.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Diminuendo said:


> Corelli is great in both of them. Well he could sing the phone book and be amazing :lol:


And don't forget Vicky.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Caruso recorded the aria five times, and it's really impossible to choose a best version. I love this one because we can hear how his voice and personality transcend even the primitive recording equipment - and because we get to hear him announce the piece before singing it.


There definately is something enchanting about the version with the announcement, it kind of takes you back right to the atmosphere of Caruso's time.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

It seems that I'm not the only fan of this great work.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

My favorite is also the 1940 version conducted by Mascagni, with Gigli, Bruna Rasa and Simionato, mentioned above.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Apparently for a long time Mascagni was described as a 'one hit wonder' and despaired of ever having another 'hit'. Later in life he came to terms with it, saying, 'Well, at least I had one hit!'


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

DavidA said:


> Apparently for a long time Mascagni was described as a 'one hit wonder' and despaired of ever having another 'hit'. Later in life he came to terms with it, saying, 'Well, at least I had one hit!'


Well sometimes one is enough. It is impressive to have even one opera that is actively performed and recorded.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Mascagni was very far from being a 'one hit wonder'. He wrote quite a few other operas, some of them reasonably succesful when premiered (though not as much as "Cavalleria", of course). Personally, I'm fonder of some of these operas, than of "Cavalleria".

Today, "L'amico Fritz" is probably his best known work after "Cavalleria", and usually there are one or two teathers performing the piece each season.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Also Mascagni composed songs. The only one that comes to mind now, because it's a favourite record of mine, is the composer accompanying Francesco Marconi in 'Bella cantiam' l'amore'. I find Marconi's performances very moving- he has a certain spiritual quality (for want of a better phrase) that no other Italian tenor has except Tamagno.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Mascagni being a _one hit wonder_ is a new age fallacy which only results out of the lack of modern singers who can do his other operas justice. Cavalleria was just one of his huge successes in Italy and the operatic world in general at the time. Iris for example started the popularity of asiatic exotism in italian opera which then brought us the likes of Madame Butterfly and Turandot.

Here is a salient example of mature Mascagni, the Intermezzo from Isabeau:






Some singers who got the best of his later operas:

- Mirella Freni in Iris





- Antonio Cortis also in Iris





- Beniamino Gigli in Isabeau





- Toti del Monte in Lodoletta


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Iris for example started the popularity of asiatic exotism in italian opera which then brought us the likes of Madame Butterfly and Turandot. ]


The first time I saw something from Iris I thought. I don´t recognise this part of Madama Butterfly
Then I found out there is another italian opera about a suicadal Japanese girl and became interested in the opera immediately:

Miwako Matsumoto at the Japanese premiere of Iris:






Iris have been staged in total three times in Japan.

Atsuko Azuma singing Ho fatto un triste sogno pauroso:






Pietro Mascagni also composed the operetta Si and the soundtrack for the film Rapsodia Satanica.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Mascagni being a _one hit wonder_ is a new age fallacy which only results out of the lack of modern singers who can do his other operas justice.


And not only Mascagni. The whole period between 1890 and WWII is full of very interesting Italian operas, beyond Puccini's, Cavalleria, Pagliacci or Andrea Chénier...

If I can find the time, I will open a thread to discuss about these operas more in-depth.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

By the way, one of these operas (though not in the 'very interesting' category, in my view), was _Cavalleria Rusticana_ itself... but not Mascagni's!.

Of course, I'm referring to Domenico Monleone's _Cavalleria Rusticana_, that was written in 1907, and use the same sources than Mascagni.






Not to mention _Mala Pasqua!, _an operatic adaptation of Varga's novel and play written by Stanislao Gastaldon (of _Musica proibita_'s fame), in the same year that Mascagni released _Cavalleria Rusticana_.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Incidentally I listened today, for the first time in a very long time, to the Karajan recording. I would agree that is probably the most gorgeous version that has ever been committed to disc. Cossotto's singing is beautifully shaded, extremely musical and wonderfully secure. She doesn't resort to any of the bad habits that crept into _verismo_ singing after the second world war; the gulps, the aspirates, the stark breaks in register. Bergonzi's singing too is wonderfully stylish and elegantly phrased, but (you all knew a but was coming), I do find the whole thing a bit too self-consciously beautiful for my taste. Where is the Sicilian fire that I find so essential in this opera? You get it in Taddei's darkly machismo Alfio, but not really anywhere else. Turning to say Scotto and Domingo, Baltsa and Domingo, Corelli and De Los Angeles or Callas and Di Stefano is to enter an entirely different world of real blood and guts passion, of real involvement.

I remember once having a neighbour who was a retired opera singer. She had popped round for a cup of tea and asked me if I would play the Easter Hymn for her, and I put on the Serafin recording with Callas and Di Stefano. Not content with just the Easter Hymn, she wanted to hear the rest of the opera, and for the remainder she sat on the edge of her seat, hands clasped, mouthing the words, tears streaming down her face. Afterwards she apologised for becoming so emotional, saying she couldn't help it, that the performance had drawn her in, and she had become totally involved.

I don't wish to put down the Karajan in any way. It is a gloriously beautiful set, which has stood the test of time, but just to state that my taste is for something a little more involving. With Karajan, I feel I am apart from the drama, admiring the beauty of the singing and the voices, whereas with those other performances mentioned above, I am part of it, experiencing it, living it, which, for me, is more important.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

"Cavalleria is such a wonderful opera!. There is not a single weak bar... Santuzza is an ideal role for me, I'm singing in my center almost all the time".

Rosa Ponselle, that performed 38 times the role of Santuzza in the theater.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

schigolch said:


> Mascagni was very far from being a 'one hit wonder'. He wrote quite a few other operas, some of them reasonably succesful when premiered (though not as much as "Cavalleria", of course). Personally, I'm fonder of some of these operas, than of "Cavalleria".
> 
> Today, "L'amico Fritz" is probably his best known work after "Cavalleria", and usually there are one or two teathers performing the piece each season.


A charming opera, but only parts - maybe only this part! - are memorable. This recording can't be heard too often. The complete recording with a young Pavarotti and Freni is excellent, but this is as near to perfection as singing gets, eternally fresh and beautiful, with every word clear and meaningful. Schipa is justly celebrated, but why isn't Favero mentioned more often?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Sloe said:


> The first time I saw something from Iris I thought. I don´t recognise this part of Madama Butterfly
> Then I found out there is another italian opera about a suicadal Japanese girl and became interested in the opera immediately:


Suicidal Japanese girls do have a certain je ne sais quoi.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Suicidal Japanese girls do have a certain je ne sais quoi.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

GregMitchell said:


> I don't wish to put down the Karajan in any way. It is a gloriously beautiful set, which has stood the test of time, but just to state that my taste is for something a little more involving. With Karajan, I feel I am apart from the drama, admiring the beauty of the singing and the voices, whereas with those other performances mentioned above, I am part of it, experiencing it, living it, which, for me, is more important.


HvK believed that all sounds should be beautiful but beauty for its own sake can be tedious, sometimes emotion should outweigh beauty if it is to be believable (perhaps more than sometimes!).


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Suicidal Japanese girls do have a certain je ne sais quoi.


Discovering Iris was a revelation.
It is the opera that caused me to realize what Schigolch have already said:



> The whole period between 1890 and WWII is full of very interesting Italian operas, beyond Puccini's, Cavalleria, Pagliacci or Andrea Chénier..


And it is the only opera that makes me read 81 year old articles about it:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17060124

I like Cavalleria Rusticana too.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Becca said:


> HvK believed that all sounds should be beautiful but beauty for its own sake can be tedious, sometimes emotion should outweigh beauty if it is to be believable (perhaps more than sometimes!).


Yes but who says it was beauty for its own sake? This was a charge often levelled against Karajan because he insisted (as James Galway commented) on the notes played correctly, together and in time. But to say his opera recordings were beauty for its own sake appears to me a travesty, a theme bought into by carping critics who probably weren't musical in the first place! His recordings of Pag and Cav are full of drama. It's not the only way of doing it of course, but a way that revolutionised people's understanding of the operas and was hugely influential.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> Yes but who says it was beauty for its own sake? This was a charge often levelled against Karajan because he insisted (as James Galway commented) on the notes played correctly, together and in time. But to say his opera recordings were beauty for its own sake appears to me a travesty, a theme bought into by carping critics who probably weren't musical in the first place! His recordings of Pag and Cav are full of drama. It's not the only way of doing it of course, but a way that revolutionised people's understanding of the operas and was hugely influential.


It's certainly not how I feel about _all_ his recordings, and I love a great many of them. But it's definitely what struck me when listening to his *Cavalleria Rusticana*, which I found totally uninvolving, though beautifully played and sung of course. I admire the singing, I admire the beauty, but I don't believe that this Santuzza and Turiddu are real flesh and blood characters. I made quick comparisons of the Turiddu/Santuzza duet with Scotto and Domingo, Baltsa and Domingo, De Los Angeles and Corelli and Callas and Di Stefano, and I felt that all of them, though very different, operated at a much higher level of dramatic veracity and intensity.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Woodduck said:


> A charming opera, but only parts - maybe only this part! - are memorable. This recording can't be heard too often. The complete recording with a young Pavarotti and Freni is excellent, but this is as near to perfection as singing gets, eternally fresh and beautiful, with every word clear and meaningful. Schipa is justly celebrated, but why isn't Favero mentioned more often?


Well, I certainly enjoy more parts. 

About Favero, I think her voice was rather limited as a musical intrument, but of course she was a great _dicitrice_.

I love her recording of Boito's _Mefistofele_, with great singers like de Angelis, Melandri and Arangi-Lombardi:


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> It's certainly not how I feel about _all_ his recordings, and I love a great many of them. But it's definitely what struck me when listening to his *Cavalleria Rusticana*, which I found *totally uninvolving*, though beautifully played and sung of course. I admire the singing, I admire the beauty, but I don't believe that this Santuzza and Turiddu are real flesh and blood characters. I made quick comparisons of the Turiddu/Santuzza duet with Scotto and Domingo, Baltsa and Domingo, De Los Angeles and Corelli and Callas and Di Stefano, and I felt that all of them, though very different, operated at a much higher level of dramatic veracity and intensity.


Sorry I just don't agree. I was totally involved./


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Nobody's asking you to agree, but my opinion is as valid as yours and based on several hours recent comparative listening.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

I haven't heard the Karajan _Cavalleria Rusticana_ in years, and I only have a familiarity with the famed Callas/DiStefano performance. But I will say, as a huge Karajan fan in general, that I just don't think its in the cards that he's going to bring to the table the type of earthy, verismo drama that this score needs. 'Earthy' isn't a quality I readily associate with Karajan and his precision polished ways.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> Nobody's asking you to agree, but my opinion is as valid as yours and based on several hours recent comparative listening.


Of course it's just as valid. Who said it wasn't? But then it's just as subjective too!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I haven't heard the Karajan _Cavalleria Rusticana_ in years, and I only have a familiarity with the famed Callas/DiStefano performance. But I will say, as a huge Karajan fan in general, that I just don't think its in the cards that he's going to bring to the table the type of earthy, verismo drama that this score needs. 'Earthy' isn't a quality I readily associate with Karajan and his precision polished ways.


it's the fact that his approach is different that revolutionised the thinking about these operas.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> Of course it's just as valid. Who said it wasn't? But then it's just as subjective too!


Isn't all opinion subjective?


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Isn't all opinion subjective?












All opinions are subjective but not all opinions are equally informed.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

DavidA said:


> it's the fact that his approach is different that revolutionised the thinking about these operas.


Revolutionary?- that would be Callas.

Karajan had supreme conductors before him from whom he learned how to perfect his streamlined orchestral sound like Toscanini and Stokowski.

Callas just became herself- or in this case, "_The_" Santuzza," _ex nihilio_- and no one showed her 'how it was done.'

Quite a feat.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> Isn't all opinion subjective?


Of course!  .


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Revolutionary?- that would be Callas.
> 
> Karajan had supreme conductors before him from whom he learned how to perfect his streamlined orchestral sound like Toscanini and Stokowski.
> 
> ...


Oh come off it! Otherwise sang the part before Callas. Mascagni himself conducted the opera in two recordings, the more well-known of which is the 1940 EMI recording made to mark the 50th anniversary of the opera's premiere. The performance by the La Scala orchestra and chorus with Lina Bruna Rasa as Santuzza and Beniamino Gigli as Turiddu also has a spoken introduction by Mascagni. So no doubt Callas built on performances like these.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> All opinions are subjective but not all opinions are equally informed.


But in the context of what we are talking about it is still subjective.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

DavidA said:


> Oh come off it! Otherwise sang the part before Callas. Mascagni himself conducted the opera in two recordings, the more well-known of which is the 1940 EMI recording made to mark the 50th anniversary of the opera's premiere. The performance by the La Scala orchestra and chorus with Lina Bruna Rasa as Santuzza and Beniamino Gigli as Turiddu also has a spoken introduction by Mascagni. So no doubt Callas built on performances like these.


Of course, but Callas did sing the part for the first time in 1939 when she was 15 years old in a student production in Greece.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Diminuendo said:


> Of course, but Callas did sing the part for the first time in 1939 when she was 15 years old in a student production in Greece.


And she did it all herself without reference to anyone?


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

DavidA said:


> And she did it all herself without reference to anyone?


I didn't mean that. Of course every singer takes reference from someone. I just meant that she was so young on her first performance, so she probably hadn't heard many performances of the opera at the time. And that time most of the information must have came from her voice teacher Elvira de Hidalgo.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Diminuendo said:


> I didn't mean that. Of course every singer takes reference from someone. I just meant that she was so young on her first performance, so she probably hadn't heard many performances of the opera at the time. And that time most of the information must have came from her voice teacher Elvira de Hidalgo.


Not doubting that. Nor denying her achievement. Just reacting against the overstatements like "No-one showed her how it was done". Everyone has a teacher. Anyone any good that is.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

DavidA said:


> Not doubting that. Nor denying her achievement.* Just reacting against the overstatements like "No-one showed her how it was done".* Everyone has a teacher. Anyone any good that is.


Quite right. Those overstatements show a wilful ignorance of history, like when John Lennon said 'Before Elvis, there was nothing.' It's like some superfans can't just admire a certain artist, they have to make out that his or her predecessors were so ludicrously inferior as to be unworthy of any consideration at all. That said, Diminuendo's point that



Diminuendo said:


> ... Callas did sing the part for the first time in 1939 when she was 15 years old in a student production...


is a good one. It can't have been easy to compare and learn from previous recorded performances in those days when records were so expensive, and Youtube many decades in the future.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

DavidA said:


> But in the context of what we are talking about it is still subjective.


Well, that's debatable.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

DavidA said:


> Not doubting that. Nor denying her achievement. Just reacting against the overstatements like "No-one showed her how it was done". Everyone has a teacher. Anyone any good that is.


Who showed Callas how her '58 Covent Garden Violetta 'was done'? Or her '52 Armida? Or her '53 Medea? Or her '52 Lady Macbeth? Or her '55 Berlin Lucia? Or her '57 Cologne Amina? Or. . .

Certainly not Ponselle or de Hidalgo.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Just dropped in. Is there an issue here?

Artists learn from others. Then they contribute their own ideas.

Callas had a great teacher. She listened to everyone she could and learned everything she could. She was, she said, a sponge.

She was also a brilliant and original interpreter who brought new insights to her roles and amazed people.

There. Now we can argue about something actually debatable.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Yeah this got a little bit out of hand. But it was fun for a while  This kind of conversation always livens up the thread.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Well, that's debatable.


We are talking whether we feel the recording involving or uninvolving. Subjective!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Who showed Callas how her '58 Covent Garden Violetta 'was done'? Or her '52 Armida? Or her '53 Medea? Or her '52 Lady Macbeth? Or her '55 Berlin Lucia? Or her '57 Cologne Amina? Or. . .
> 
> Certainly not Ponselle or de Hidalgo.


So Callas was the first to sing them successfully?


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

DavidA said:


> So Callas was the first to sing them successfully?


Nope- but then that's not what we're talking about.

We're- or at least 'I'm'- talking about a level of dramatic singing that's never been done before or since (at least as far as the recorded evidence goes).

A tremendously gifted artist like Ponselle sounds positively monochromatic in dramatic invention, shading, color, and inflection when compared to Callas.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

DavidA said:


> We are talking whether we feel the recording involving or uninvolving. Subjective!


How's that?

My original post at #47 said:

_"All opinions are subjective but not all opinions are equally* informed*."_


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Would it be possible to get back on topic? And I will start. At the end when Turiddu says goodbye to his mother, some sing the last addio very long and some like Di Stefano on the video runs away and the addio is short. Which do you prefer?


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Nope- but *then that's not what we're talking about. *
> 
> We're- or at least 'I'm'- talking about a level of dramatic singing that's never been done before or since (at least as far as the recorded evidence goes).
> 
> A tremendously gifted artist like Ponselle sounds positively monochromatic in dramatic invention, shading, color, and inflection when compared to Callas.


Sorry but you said: "no one showed her 'how it was done.'" You changed the goalposts halfway. I'm not arguing whether or not Callas did it better than anyone else. I'm disputing your implied point that she didn't need teaching.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> How's that?
> 
> My original post at #47 said:
> 
> _"All opinions are subjective but not all opinions are equally* informed*."_


I don't dispute that. But both informed and less well informed points of view about what we like are subjective.


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## Opera For Life (Apr 13, 2020)

No Love for the excellent recording by Milanov and Björling? He's not my favourite singer by any means but his voice sounds very strong on this recording, and Milanov is bloody fantastic as Santuzza, her low notes always give me shivers! )

And I haven't even mentioned Robert Merrill yet, who leaves you wishing that Alfio had some more to sing.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Opera For Life said:


> No Love for the excellent recording by Milanov and Björling? He's not my favourite singer by any means but his voice sounds very strong on this recording, and Milanov is bloody fantastic as Santuzza, her low notes always give me shivers! )
> 
> And I haven't even mentioned Robert Merrill yet, who leaves you wishing that Alfio had some more to sing.
> 
> View attachment 134126


I'm afraid I've never been a fan of Milanov. I find her usually dull and uninteresting, and by the time she recorded this she was also sounding rather mature. Bjoerling is a favourite of mine, but I'm not sure he was right for the caddish Turiddu, which needs a bit more blood and guts.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Not much of a Bjorling or Milanov fan. The latter it's because most of the recordings I've heard are late and her voice has deteriorated. Some of the earlier ones are better. Bjorling I've just never warmed to. His voice seems somewhat cold. There are select records I very much enjoy, such as the famous Pearl Fishers duet, or his Adelaide, or his O Holy Night.


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## Opera For Life (Apr 13, 2020)

I don't hear the dullness in Milanov, but maybe I'm hypnotised by her chest notes and her lovely rounded high notes (dunno why this sounds like I'm using euphemisms xD
Or maybe it's cause Santuzza is quite a bland character, you get the feeling that this is the first day in her life on which she has something interesting to say, and Milanov's dulness, as you call it, works in her favour.. 

I still prefer this to the Callas Recording, I have the Big Red Remastered collection box, and the version in that sounds terrible, her voice in as bad a shape as you can hear it on disc, and something about the mic gain was off, so I get that horrible mic screech all the way through.. :/


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Opera For Life said:


> I still prefer this to the Callas Recording, I have the Big Red Remastered collection box, and the version in that sounds terrible, her voice in as bad a shape as you can hear it on disc, and something about the mic gain was off, so I get that horrible mic screech all the way through.. :/


Are you sure you are listening to the same recording I and many others are listening to? The Callas Cavalleria Rusticana was recorded in 1953 and she is in absolutely fabulous voice, as she is on the De Sabata Tosca of the same year. By no stretch of the imagination was she "in as bad shape as you can hear it on disc". The recording overloads in a couple of places but is otherwise fine.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

One needs only one, milestone in recording history.


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## Opera For Life (Apr 13, 2020)

yep, that's the one, sorry :/

I will give it another listen, see if I like it more this time


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Rogerx said:


> One needs only one, milestone in recording history.


This has been remastered since and issued together with a remastered Pag:









I'm afraid I agree with Tsarras' (and others') comments above. It's beautifully sung and played, a faithful reproduction of the score in sound, however it remains studio bound and lacks drama. I too find it uninvolving and there are plenty of other recordings of the opera I would consider essential, whereas the Karajan isn't IMO.

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Karajan recording of *Cavalleria Rusticana* has a fabulous reputation, and has justifiably been praised in many quarters. The orchestral playing is exquisitely beautiful and the sound superb analogue stereo. The chorus is excellent too and Cossotto and Bergonzi sing quite beautifully, with none of the excesses that sometimes characterise singers of this music. Am I alone, though, in finding them just a little too polite and restrained? The duet between Santuzza and Turiddu should be a violently dramatic argument between two hot-blooded Sicilians, but here, though beautifully sung and phrased lacks real passion and conviction. Compare Callas and Di Stefano in their recording and you hear what sounds like a real row, with Santuzza's curse an inevitable conclusion. Not that they just belt the music out. Far from it, Callas uses an enormous range of tone colour as she pleads, rails, cajoles and, finally, when she can take no more, hurls her curse at Turiddu, whilst Di Stefano is off hand, consiliatory, and finally thuggish in his anger. Nor does Callas resort to any of the usual _verismo_ tricks of using extraneous sob, gulps and glottal stops. Even at full tilt, her singing is beautifully phrased and musically conceived.

Interestingly Roland Graeme, writing in the _Metropolitan Opera Guide to Recorded Opera_ concludes his survey of recordings of the opera by saying,



> If money is no object, I urge every collector to acquire either the EMI/Serafin [with Callas and Di Stefano] or the DG/Karajan set or both. These are distinguished realisations of the opera, but very different in stylistic approach, and emotional impact, which helps justify the dupication.


My preference is for the Serafin, but I agree that these two sets make an excellent case for duplication and I'd say that between them they have all bases covered.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

There are many excellent recordings of Cav both as part of sets with Pag and as stand alones. I have at least six and there are a further two I've hesitated over getting in the past. (There are even more great recordings of Pag, with at least two being all round near perfect!)

Three elements are important for a successful performance of this opera: the tenor, the soprano and the conductor. Great Santuzzas haven't been as prevalent as one would suppose (two of my favourite sopranos, Varady and De los Angeles, just don't have the welly for the role). Callas and Simionato can't be beaten in the role and Caballe comes close behind them. However the work is probably considered more a tenor vehicle (partly because it is usually paired with the same tenor singing Pag, which is most definitely a tenor vehicle). There are three essential Turridus for me - Corelli, Di Stefano and Domingo.

Domingo's best recording may be the one with Pretre (I have the film version), but the recording with Scotto and Levine is the best of his Cavs all round I find.









This would be my choice for modern sound version and Levine doesn't have Karajan's refinement (as Domingo doesn't match Bergonzi's stylish vocal delivery). However what has this earthy Sicilian melodrama got to do with style and refinement? In any case Levine, Domingo and Scotto produce an emotionally satisfying performance without stooping to vulgarity.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

My dream team in Cav would be Corelli, Callas or Simionato and Serafin or Gavazzeni. Unfortunately the studio recordings of these artists don't include a trio of artists from this menu. We do have studio recordings from all of them, though.

Corelli's studio Cav is essential, but its Santuzza is De los Angeles, who is lovely, but she isn't Santuzza. I wish she had been in the Pag instead (as she was a superb Nedda and Corelli - Gobbi - De los Angeles would be Pagliacci nirvana). It's still a very good recording if not a first choice.









N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

There are three studio Cavallerias with Simionato in (although in one she is Mamma Lucia rather than Santuzza). I prefer her early Cetra take on the role rather than her later Decca recording.









Basile may have been a routinier in his day, but he comes across as a preserver of an almost lost Italian tradition today. Tagliabue provides a sturdy, reliable Alfio, but it's Achille Braschi (a new name for me and he doesn't even have a Wikipedia page!) that is the biggest surprise here. His voice will not please some who may hear a bleat in his extreme vibrancy or who may think that the light colour of his voice isn't right for Turiddu. Whilst his tonal colour is so bright he sounds like a tenore leggiero, he has the squillo for the role and I like his vibrant voice even though it isn't of the quality of more well known tenors. In any case this is an enjoyable recording and well worth having if you are a fan of Simionato's Santuzza.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

My recommendation for best all round recording is this one:









It has two very slight flaws: the sound; and no Corelli! (Sorry Pippo fans.)

The sound is EMI fifties mono and it is inflicted with overload distortion in the louder parts of choruses and ensembles. This is made more evident by the 'cleaning' of the original tapes in the latest Warner remastering. The fuzzier (and warmer) acoustic of the previous 1997 EMI release will be preferable for some. Whilst Di Stefano isn't Corelli, he is still a superb Turiddu (and I prefer him over Domingo). In any case almost anything recorded by Serafin, Callas and him is definitive without being stuffy and their duet raises the temperature to white hot in this account. In other words this is such a wonderful performance of the opera, passionate and earthy without resorting to grand guignol that the less than ideal sound really isn't a good enough excuse to discount it.

I have no reservations about recommending this as the best all round version.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

However, that isn't my _personal favourite_ recording. I'm quite partial to a bit of vulgar grand guignol! 

And this live recording has my dream team plus the over the top Alfio of Giangiacomo Guelfi:









Corelli oversings and Simionato's melodramatic Santuzza may shock those who are only familiar with her studio recordings of the role where she is more polite. Furthermore this recording is going to be a love it or hate it affair, with some finding it vulgar and others enjoying the excitement produced (that could never have happened in the studio).

I think it's the perfect accompaniment to the Serafin/Di Stefano/Callas studio recording and both are absolutely essential for me (as are several others - I actually have seven!)

N.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Besides the Karajan CD and DVD this is my favorite DVD.
Love Troyanos.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I'm not as familiar with filmed versions of the opera as I am with the audio releases.

These are my picks of those available.

Simionato on fire:








Domingo in a film of the opera:








A modern staged performance with Kaufmann:








N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I'm not as familiar with filmed versions of the opera as I am with the audio releases.
> 
> These are my picks of those available.
> 
> ...


Of these, I have only seen the one with Domingo. I can't take to Obraztsova, I'm afraid, but I like the production. The *Pagliacci* it's coupled with is even better, with Stratas utterly convincing as Nedda and Domingo playing an older Canio.

I have the Met version Rogerx detailed above, and it too is a wonderful production, but Troyanos, vocally splendid, I find a little uncommunicative and too reserved.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> There are many excellent recordings of Cav both as part of sets with Pag and as stand alones. I have at least six and there are a further two I've hesitated over getting in the past. (There are even more great recordings of Pag, with at least two being all round near perfect!)
> 
> Three elements are important for a successful performance of this opera: the tenor, the soprano and the conductor. Great Santuzzas haven't been as prevalent as one would suppose (two of my favourite sopranos, Varady and De los Angeles, just don't have the welly for the role). Callas and Simionato can't be beaten in the role and Caballe comes close behind them. However the work is probably considered more a tenor vehicle (partly because it is usually paired with the same tenor singing Pag, which is most definitely a tenor vehicle). There are three essential Turridus for me - Corelli, Di Stefano and Domingo.
> 
> ...


I used to have this recording on LP, and I liked it best after the Serafin with Callas and Di Stefano. Both Scotto and Domingo work up quite a lather of passion, without resorting to vulgarity. Ultimately I prefer the sound of 30 year old Callas's voice to that of forty-four year old Scotto, but there's no denying Scotto's artistry.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I used to have this recording on LP, and I liked it best after the Serafin with Callas and Di Stefano. Both Scotto and Domingo work up quite a lather of passion, without resorting to vulgarity. Ultimately I prefer the sound of 30 year old Callas's voice to that of forty-four year old Scotto, but there's no denying Scotto's artistry.


I'm not necessarily a Scotto fan (and I have reservations about a lot of Levine's work). However, this is just the sort of opera that Levine was suited too and I find Scotto more committed than in some of her other recordings. I can't understand why the Karajan is so revered as it has nothing on this recording (and that's without mentioning any others in the catalogue). The Karajan is overrated as far as I'm concerned. That said I do recognise that some people just want an immaculate performance of the music as music without the drama that for most of us is what opera is all about.

N.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

For me Callas and Di Stefano all the way. From start to finish it feels like you're really there witnessing the events and not just listening to singing. The duet is one of my favorites and you really get all the emotion with it. Why settle for a substitute when you can get a real sicilian with Di Stefano. I think Turiddu fitted him like a glove. Other tenors can bring passion and feeling, but with Di Stefano when things get really heated during the duet, his singing imitates so well the shouts you would hear in an argument. It's hard to put into words, but I hope you all got what I was trying to convey. I think opera at it's best can make you forget they are "just" singing and you get so involved with the drama. I only wish the recording didn't have those overloading issues.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Diminuendo said:


> For me Callas and Di Stefano all the way. From start to finish it feels like you're really there witnessing the events and not just listening to singing. The duet is one of my favorites and you really get all the emotion with it. Why settle for a substitute when you can get a real sicilian with Di Stefano. I think Turiddu fitted him like a glove. Other tenors can bring passion and feeling, but with Di Stefano when things get really heated during the duet, his singing imitates so well the shouts you would hear in an argument. It's hard to put into words, but I hope you all got what I was trying to convey. I think opera at it's best can make you forget they are "just" singing and you get so involved with the drama. I only wish the recording didn't have those overloading issues.


I'm not as big a Pippo fan as you, but I do think this is one of his best recordings. He's not afraid to play down his natural charm and his Turiddu is caddish and even just a bit thuggish. As you say, the duet bristles with drama and Sicilian passion, the drinking scene full of bragadoccio and his lament to his mother suitably lachrymose. It's a great performance.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

Diminuendo, your comment about Di Stefano imitating shouting when riled up is very perceptive and very well said. I find Callas' Turiddus in the middle of the argument with the glottal stops also imitating screaming: I had an aunt that screamed like that, glottal stops included! I use to call her "La Callas" to her delight. I concur with you that the "best singers" for me are those that make you forget their art (it has to be artful singing) and drag you into drama as amplified by the music. That's why I put the Callas-Di Stefano Cavalleria very high in my list of favorites. For a different view, I like the Scotto-Domingo-Levine which is very effective although a bit more reserved. Unfortunately, I find the HvK a bit too musical and cool for its own good: I feel that it lacks "terribilita'".


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Diminuendo, your comment about Di Stefano imitating shouting when riled up is very perceptive and very well said. I find Callas' Turiddus in the middle of the argument with the glottal stops also imitating screaming: I had an aunt that screamed like that, glottal stops included! I use to call her "La Callas" to her delight. I concur with you that the "best singers" for me are those that make you forget their art (it has to be artful singing) and drag you into drama as amplified by the music. That's why I put the Callas-Di Stefano Cavalleria very high in my list of favorites. For a different view, I like the Scotto-Domingo-Levine which is very effective although a bit more reserved. Unfortunately, I find the HvK a bit too musical and cool for its own good: I feel that it lacks "terribilita'".


Seconded 100%!

I was googling about the opera Iris yesterday and came across a book that had a short survey of recordings of Cavalleria and it mentioned three recordings: Mascagni's from 1940, the Serafin and the Karajan. It picked the Serafin as the clear front runner.

N.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

The Conte said:


> Seconded 100%!
> 
> I was googling about the opera Iris yesterday and came across a book that had a short survey of recordings of Cavalleria and it mentioned three recordings: Mascagni's from 1940, the Serafin and the Karajan. It picked the Serafin as the clear front runner.
> 
> N.


One recording that although not "considered" competitive is the Varviso/Suliotis/Del Monaco/Gobbi from 1966. It is a controversial choice but I find it a great listen, better than better considered ones (e.g., Milanov's, Caballé, Baltsa, Cossotto, even Simionato on Decca). I rediscovered it from the remastering done by Decca/Mexico in Blu-ray of all of Del Monaco Deccas. Yes, MDM is a bit long in the tooth but Suliotis (not yet Souliotis and in pristine voice) is her own passionate girl, no Callas wannabe fighting for her man. The baleful Suliotis chest voice comes to the fore very effectively and she could still sound beautiful up on top and she is intense. Gobbi is somewhat dry but I am partial to his singing... Varviso does pretty well too with the orchestra and the Decca sound is magnificent.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

VitellioScarpia said:


> One recording that although not "considered" competitive is the Varviso/Suliotis/Del Monaco/Gobbi from 1966. It is a controversial choice but I find it a great listen, better than better considered ones (e.g., Milanov's, Caballé, Baltsa, Cossotto, even Simionato on Decca). I rediscovered it from the remastering done by Decca/Mexico in Blu-ray of all of Del Monaco Deccas. Yes, MDM is a bit long in the tooth but Suliotis (not yet Souliotis and in pristine voice) is her own passionate girl, no Callas wannabe fighting for her man. The baleful Suliotis chest voice comes to the fore very effectively and she could still sound beautiful up on top and she is intense. Gobbi is somewhat dry but I am partial to his singing... Varviso does pretty well too with the orchestra and the Decca sound is magnificent.


This is actually the set I got to know the opera from, as my parents bought it new when it first came out. I hadn't heard Callas/Di Stefano at that time, but even then I couldn't abide Del Monaco's bawling. He just shouts all the way through the opera. Gobbi is a bit too old for Alfio and tends to bark a bt too. I agree, though, that it is Soulitis's best recording after *Nabucco*. It's a very long time since I heard it. Maybe I should give it another listen.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

Tsaraslondon said:


> This is actually the set I got to know the opera from, as my parents bought it new when it first came out. I hadn't heard Callas/Di Stefano at that time, but even then I couldn't abide Del Monaco's bawling. He just shouts all the way through the opera. Gobbi is a bit too old for Alfio and tends to bark a bt too. I agree, though, that it is Soulitis's best recording after *Nabucco*. It's a very long time since I heard it. Maybe I should give it another listen.


Give it a spin and let me know what your reaction is. I am curious. In the remastering I mentioned, MdM comes less of a bawler than I had remembered him from the LPs. I do not know what magic they did to the recording - similarly to the 1967 Norma in which MdM comes out much better than I have heard him in other CDs. Maybe the Blu-ray remaster makes the voices more natural.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Always odd to me that the Tebaldi/Bjorling/Bastianini recording doesn't come up more often in these discussions. For stereo versions, I think that one is pretty hard to beat. I do love the Intermezzo in the Karajan but I don't think either Cossotto or Bergonzi are ideal for these roles.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> One recording that although not "considered" competitive is the Varviso/Suliotis/Del Monaco/Gobbi from 1966. It is a controversial choice but I find it a great listen, better than better considered ones (e.g., Milanov's, Caballé, Baltsa, Cossotto, even Simionato on Decca). I rediscovered it from the remastering done by Decca/Mexico in Blu-ray of all of Del Monaco Deccas. Yes, MDM is a bit long in the tooth but Suliotis (not yet Souliotis and in pristine voice) is her own passionate girl, no Callas wannabe fighting for her man. The baleful Suliotis chest voice comes to the fore very effectively and she could still sound beautiful up on top and she is intense. Gobbi is somewhat dry but I am partial to his singing... Varviso does pretty well too with the orchestra and the Decca sound is magnificent.


I hadn't listened to this for a long time and Del Monaco really isn't at his best here. After his car accident in 1963 the voice was never the same. I am a big fan of MDM and in his prime he had a glorious voice and didn't "shout". Suliotis recording was from 1966 and if you compare it to the one with Del Monaco and Simionato from 1960 there is a huge difference. So those who want to hear Del Monaco at his best in this opera or as a singer overall, I would recommend to listen to his recordings and live performances before his car accident. Well let's just say that if all I had ever heard of Del Monaco was the 1966 recording and nothing else, I would be pretty disapointed about him.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> One recording that although not "considered" competitive is the Varviso/Suliotis/Del Monaco/Gobbi from 1966. It is a controversial choice but I find it a great listen, better than better considered ones (e.g., Milanov's, Caballé, Baltsa, Cossotto, even Simionato on Decca). I rediscovered it from the remastering done by Decca/Mexico in Blu-ray of all of Del Monaco Deccas. Yes, MDM is a bit long in the tooth but Suliotis (not yet Souliotis and in pristine voice) is her own passionate girl, no Callas wannabe fighting for her man. The baleful Suliotis chest voice comes to the fore very effectively and she could still sound beautiful up on top and she is intense. Gobbi is somewhat dry but I am partial to his singing... Varviso does pretty well too with the orchestra and the Decca sound is magnificent.


I agree, it's not without shortcomings, but it is essential for me as a Suliotis and Gobbi fan. I also think it is better than those others you mention which I don't have. This one didn't quite make it into my recommendations, but it would have been next in my list.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Give it a spin and let me know what your reaction is. I am curious. In the remastering I mentioned, MdM comes less of a bawler than I had remembered him from the LPs. I do not know what magic they did to the recording - similarly to the 1967 Norma in which MdM comes out much better than I have heard him in other CDs. Maybe the Blu-ray remaster makes the voices more natural.


I'm not familiar with this remastering. When was it done and what is in the set? Where is it available to buy?

N.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

The remasterings were done in Decca Mexico by Victor Suzán Reed in the collection DECCA: THE ANALOG GOLDEN AGE in 2016. Vol.3 (the third blu-ray volume) with the Suliotis Cavalleria also contained: Norma (Suliotis), Carmen (Resnik), La Wally (Tebaldi), Andrea Chenier (Tebaldi), and Fedora (Olivero) -- al off them with MdM. There were 4 volumes with all the Decca complete operas recorded by MdM. They were not sold in the US and I do not believe in the UK either for whatever reasons (I have not seen them in PrestoClassical). I purchased them directly from Almaraz Records (https://www.almarazrecords.com/collections/theanaloggoldenage) which still lists the complete collection of Blu-rays but the only one available as of today is Vol.3 containing the Cavalleria, etc.

The sound surpasses any previous editions I have listened of these recordings. They were also produced individually on CDs but I have not listened to them. I was hoping that they would reissue other Decca operas in similar Blu-ray compilations but they have not. The Decca opera catalogue of analogue recordings is well deserving of a collector's Blu-ray edition (aside from the current overpriced editions...).

I hope this helps.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

I just remembered a live recording with Mascagni and Lina Bruna-Rasa, Melandri and Poli from 1938 in the Netherlands which I like better than the studio one with Gigli. His tempos are more swift than in the studio one which, in my book, it helps the music.


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## The3Bs (Apr 1, 2020)

I am glad I bumped into this thread... or not because it will make me open the wallet...

I have had for a long time the Scotto/Domingo/Levine:









and the Cossotto/Bergonzi/Karajan:









This one with the bonus of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci...

I have always liked both for the superb sound and have had no such quibbles like lack of drama...

Will look for the Callas to try to understand some of the above comments......


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

Thoughts on this relatively new recording of *Cavalleria rusticana* (paired with Pagliacci)?















Grazer Philarmoniker
Chor der Oper Graz
Conducted by Oksana Lyniv
Santuzza - Ezgi Kutlu
Turiddu - Aldo di Toro
Mamma Lucia - _Cheryl Studer_
Alfio - Audun Iversen
Lola - Mareike Jankowski


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