Word: sopranos
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 4 (Columbia). This glorious work contains Mahler's song "Das himmlische Leben," and George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra recreate the Teutonic paradise. Judith Raskin, who sings the three soprano solos, sounds warm and free, yet her precise technique never allows a hint of bombast. "St. Cecilia with all her relatives are the excellent court musicians," goes the final refrain of the song, and the Cleveland and Miss Raskin could not be better described...
...everyone was ready to join the Union. The Barber of Seville went smoothly enough, though Soprano Roberta Peters as Rosina was in woefully bad voice. At the end of one of her arias, someone shouted "Vive la Callas!"; Merrill, Corena and the 38-piece orchestra under Thomas Schippers got the most enthusiastic applause...
...many years, some of the criticism seemed downright tendentious. Le Monde found Barber "an ungainly spectacle." The orchestra "lacked finesse," the "comic effects were so broad that they seemed destined for a public with numb wits." Perhaps the most devastating crack of all came from France-Soir. Describing Soprano Peters' singing, Critic Jean Cotte wrote: "At each note America was risking another Pearl Harbor." Paris' bargain-basement Met, concluded Cotte, "was, for the French, a legend until yesterday...
...famous aria Ombra mai fu, generally called Handel's Largo, a song of praise to a plane tree. The deep, dark, mellifluous voice of Alto Maureen Forrester as the Persian king is set off by the light, bright vocal acrobatics of Lucia Popp, a rising young Czech soprano. Brian Priestman is the conductor, using the Vienna Radio Orchestra and Chorus and an excellent harpsichord accompanist...
PUCCINI: TURANDOT (Angel; 3 LPs). For this generation at least, Swedish Soprano Birgit Nilsson has firmly appropriated the treacherous role of the icy Oriental princess. Seven years ago, Nilsson recorded Puccini's last opera for RCA Victor, and now has repeated her triumphal performance. The plus value in the new set is Tenor Franco Corelli, who in brilliance and power is Nilsson's match, and as Calaf can credibly convert the cruel princess into a woman in love. The earlier recording is superior, however, having Erich Leinsdorf as conductor and a generally better cast, including Renata Tebaldi...