What we’re presented with here is a complete Gioconda from 1964 in Philadelphia with Franco Corelli, Mary Curtis-Verna, Mignon Dunn, and Cesare Bardelli, and 71 minutes from a 1966 performance (Act 2 from “Cielo e mar” to the end, Act 3 somewhat abridged, and all of Act 4) in which Corelli is joined by Renata Tebaldi, Dunn, and Anselmo Colzani. Both performances are led by Anton Guadagno. There are thrills galore–sometimes pretty sloppy thrills in ensembles, in the orchestra, and in the stage-pit relationship, but they’re thrills nonetheless. Most of them come from Corelli, who is in crazily big voice, with every note secure, and a bonus high-C at the end of the first-act duet with Barnaba and in the trio in the last act. His animal magnetism comes through and it can’t help but make you tingle. That having been said, there are very few moments when he sings softly (the gorgeous melody, marked pianissimo, that begins the Act 3 finale with the words “Gia ti veggo…” has little effect here sung so loudly) and it’s a pity–you just know he can do it if he wants to.
The other cast members are not dismissable: Mary Curtis-Verna was a fine spinto soprano with a good career in the ’60s; she’s reliable, concerned, and manages a glorious, soft high B-flat in Act 1. She’s everything but unique or interesting. As Laura, Dunn is the same in both performances–workmanlike and big-toned. Colzani outsneers Bardelli, but both make pretty vivid impressions. The Alvises and Ciecas are good enough. Happily, Tebaldi turns in a thrilling late-career performance, singing her heart out, pushing excitingly at both ends of her range. Too bad the first act of her performance is missing. The sound blares, and as mentioned, these are not the tidiest of performances. But they’re for fans of the singers, and they catch the spirit of this blood-and-guts opera.
