Corsican-born César Vezzani (1888-1951) was one of the last of the now-vanished breed of French dramatic tenors. This welcome Marston set, the second of a planned three, captures him in his 1920s-1930s prime in 37 selections by a dozen composers, all arias and duets save one song, Leoncavallo’s “Mattinata”, the only item not sung in French. Throughout these three hours of some of the finest tenor singing to come out of France, we hear a big personality with an equally outsized voice of quality whose brilliant, ringing top makes up in excitement and sheer animal vigor for occasional lapses into vocal coarseness.
Vezzani’s at his considerable best in the extensive excerpts from Lohengrin, which include a slightly cut Bridal Chamber scene well-partnered by the Elsa of Mireille Berthon, and the inescapable “In fernem Land” and “Mein lieber Schwan”, where he exhibits both sensitivity and full-throated power (the thrilling “Adieu’s” at the end of the latter cap an especially fine rendition). Similar observations apply to the solos from Die Walküre and Siegfried, where the softening effect of the French language helps him achieve some fine legato singing, and to the pair of arias from Reyer’s Sigurd, a now sadly neglected French classic deeply influenced by Wagner.
Vezzani also was a great Samson, as heard in the 1925 acoustic arias on Disc 1, especially a thrilling “Israël, romps ta chaîne”, and in a beautifully-molded 1931 Act 2 duet with a vocally disappointing alto, the matronly Marie Duchene. His triumphs in such heroic roles prepare us for the fine Otello arias from 1925, the voice well-sized for the part, the singing full of fervor.
Less happy are Vezzani’s forays into lyric territory, where his vigorous pair of the Duke’s arias from Rigoletto, backed by primitive oomp-pah accompaniments, lack the grace and buoyancy others have brought to them. While there’s much to admire in the pair of arias from La Favorite, such as his command of line and refined rubato and legato, there’s also a bawled ending to “Ange si pur…” and a less than ideal muscular timbre to his singing.
Rarities include passionately sung selections from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, not often performed by French singers during this period, and a lovely 1914 opening part of the “Saint Sulpice” scene from Massenet’s Manon, discovered too late for inclusion in Volume 1 of the series. As always with Marston, transfers are exemplary, the acoustic recordings especially sounding fresher than anyone might expect. Marston CDs are available online at www.marstonrecords.com.
