Word: serafine
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Schippers was a fillin. L'Heure Espagnole was to have been led by the veteran Tullio Serafin, 74. But Serafin was ill at his home in Italy. Until a fortnight ago Schippers had never had Ravel's score in his hands, but he is what is known in the heater as a quick study. With his flair for the modern and his incisive baton technique, Schippers came through fine. Ravels music sparkled, and the cast matched it with high-spirited singing and acting...
Rossini: The Barber of Seville (Victoria de los Angeles, Nicola Monti, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni; Milan Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Tullio Serafin; Victor, 3 LPs). A fine performance and elegant recorded sound make this the first fully satisfactory LP of The Barber. De los Angeles' voice, while not so flexible as Pons's in her heyday, is brilliant and accurate in coloratura passages. Monti is a lyrical and affecting tenor, and Rossi-Lemeni's bass is almost too sumptuous for his tomfoolery as Basilio...
...orchestra never sounded better. Serafin's sure hand brought out all of Puccini's colorful instrumentation, without drowning out the singers. Critics praised the conductor, but had a few reservations about the performance: Tenor David Poleri was still forcing his fine voice; Baritone Walter Cassel sang beautifully, but could not resist a few hammy moments as the villainous Scarpia; U.S. Soprano Anne McKnight, who has been singing in Italy as Anna di Cavallieri. proved to have a big dramatic voice and sang an appealing Vissi d'arte, but her acting was weak. In Act II, a leak...
That will be Serafin's main job. He is also eager to take a hand in some of City Opera's new productions. He is scheduled to conduct Ravel's puckish L'Heure Espagnole last week...
...Metropolitan is international opera," says Serafin. "It is rich in money. The City Opera has not even the smell of money, but it is rich in ideas. All those enthusiastic young people learning great music! Opera is not dying here. Here we are young together...