RCA’s Leontyne Price collection offers a generous sampling of the various Puccini roles she performed on stage as well as those she sang only in the studio. Some, Butterfly and Tosca for example, are fully-formed interpretations displaying a certain reassuring, lived-in quality. However, the Bohème excerpts, where Price sings both Mimi’s and Musetta’s arias, find her somewhat studied and inhibited, a performance for the microphones. Still, the voice is never less than captivating, especially on the top end, with her bright, ringing high notes in Manon Lescaut’s “Sola, perduta, abbandonata” and her ethereal sustained pianissimo in “Vissi d’arte” (even though she cannot match her ravishing 1962 performance for Karajan) making for some truly transfixing moments. Butterfly’s Act 1 finale (“Bimba, bimba non piangere”) also is a latter-day remake, with Placido Domingo’s rather stiff Pinkerton a poor substitute for a strongly ardent Richard Tucker. Even less convincing is John McCarthy, who sounds like a garnish next to Price’s warm-toned but admittedly less-than-imperious Princess Turandot.
Of particular interest are the remaining items–selections from La Rondine (featuring an exquisitely beautiful “Ore dolci e divine”), La fanciulla del West, and the rarely heard Edgar and Le villi, all sung with the soprano’s trademark artistry and depth of feeling. RCA’s recordings generally favor Price at the expense of the other participants, but not to an extreme degree (fans of Price will see this as an advantage). Ultimately, this is a great disc for lovers of Puccini and fine singing alike. [6/17/2004]
