Here’s another routine night at the opera, enshrined for posterity. Well, not quite routine since Myto puts the Overture between Acts 1 and 2. Did the Staatsoper really perform it that way? And what about the crucial Act 3 confrontation scene between Alvaro and Carlo? Was it cut in performance or did someone decide to slice it so the set wouldn’t spill over to a third disc? Giuseppe di Stefano is probably the reason for this release and his fans will hear a typical performance circa 1960: that is, they will hear the most mellifluous lyric tenor voice since Gigli’s sounding strained from overuse at times, scooping phrases, and packing a lot of dramatic power, thus encouraging further deterioration of the instrument. He’s in better voice though bland on his roughly contemporaneous RCA studio recording with Milanov but Alvaro is still a role he should have left for later.
Antonietta Stella was a good soprano in an era that had some great ones so her reputation has dimmed over the years. This recording won’t enhance it; she wobbles on sustained high notes and sounds thin (although that may be due to the in-house recording). The most impressive singing here is the Padre Guardiano, veteran bass Walter Kreppel, who characterizes well and has one of those hefty dark voices that can’t help but sound authoritative. As a card-carrying Mitropoulos fan I hoped to hear special insights from that great conductor but none were apparent. Myto’s released some terrific live opera performances; too bad this isn’t one of them.
