Taped opening night at La Scala in 1969, this will be of interest mainly to fans of the young Placido Domingo and Raina Kabaivanska, a soprano of the old school with somewhat of a cult following in Europe who was bypassed by the major labels. Nevertheless, Kabaivanska is a major singer with an elegant, aristocratic air about her as well as a Slavic edge to her expressive voice. Her Elvira is heart-felt and well-sung, although she doesn’t quite sound comfortable in “Ernani involami”, and in the end she leaves less of an impression on the role than, say, Price, Caballé, or Cerquetti, all of whose interpretations are available on CD.
Domingo, in first bloom, is simply glorious, the baritonal qualities of his voice more interesting than overwhelming, with a real bright tenorial “ping” to his high notes. And he throws himself into the dumb plot. Nicolai Ghiaurov offers a dignified, dark-hued Silva, and unknown baritone Carlo Meliciani handles Carlo’s high-lying music well, if without the richness we wish for in a Verdi baritone. Antonino Votto leads routinely but with energy.
There are Italian-language interviews with Domingo, Ghiaurov, and Kabaivanska, and from what I can understand, it’s pretty ordinary stuff. A bonus is excerpts from the (uninterrupted) rehearsal for this opera a few days earlier with Domingo and Kabaivanska. If it’s a great Ernani you’re searching for, stick with Price and Bergonzi on RCA, or Caballé, Prevedi, and Boris Christoff on Opera d’Oro.
