During the 1950s and ’60s Renata Tebaldi epitomized the Italian soprano. Among her trademarks were her warmth and womanliness, her sincerity within each role that somehow always precluded really deep insights so that listeners always knew that it was Tebaldi-the-person who was singing, her generous use of portamento that almost never crossed into bad taste, and the sheer lush beauty of her voice. Audiences adored her. Her feud with Maria Callas (who claimed Tebaldi was “Coca-cola” compared to Callas’ “cognac”–which led Tebaldi to come back with a statement about Callas having no heart) helped rather than hurt her image. The voice had its limitations–for instance, high notes often turned hard and came in south of the true pitch. But the sound was big and grand, and Tebaldi could scale it down to an intimate pianissimo.
These recordings, made between 1955 and 1961, catch her at her best: her Mimi remains one of the most delectable portrayals ever, despite a voice that might be considered too large for it; Adriana, even without the incredibly long breath we might prefer in the role, is filled with dignity and drama; Tosca is a true prima donna; her Minnie genuinely seems a free, loving girl. As Liu, in the earliest of these recordings, we can hear those gorgeous, high pianissimos, and Marguerite in Mefistofele is truly mad, although the aria’s big B-natural is one of those nasty, hard-edged notes. If you want to know why people loved Tebaldi, this CD will explain it. Don’t expect to discover anything new about these characters (her Butterfly is cookie-cutter compared to Callas or Scotto’s, likewise her Maddalena in Chenier); just revel in the idealization of a style and type of voice almost gone now–the Italian spinto soprano.
