Aficionados will want this release for the rarity of the material, interest in the performers, and the magic wrought by producer Ward Marston in making these ancient artifacts listenable. Only 35 titles were recorded by Félia Litvinne between 1902 (with Alfred Cortot as piano accompanist) and 1911, and few survive in decent condition. Despite Marston’s heroic efforts there’s distortion and noise, the sound of worn 78s occasionally resembling distant artillery barrages. Better sounding, but still very far from optimally recorded, are the 18 arias sung by Natalya Yermolenko-Yuzhina occupying most of Disc 2.
Litvinne (c.1860-1936) was born in St. Petersburg, studied with Pauline Viardot-Garcia, and was an international star, especially popular in her birthplace. Her surviving recordings include a lot of duplication–works re-recorded usually in better sound and sometimes in better voice. Litvinne was a big-voiced dramatic soprano with a mezzo-like timbre and extraordinary range (think precursor of Eva Podles or Marilyn Horne). Her top can sound strained and “white” and she often exhibits problems with breath control that affect phrasing. She’s best in French repertoire (oddly, there’s only one Russian aria here, by Napravnik), impressive in Delila’s “Mon couer s’ouvre” and Sapho’s “O ma lyre immortelle” among others, but she’s a notably unsexy Carmen and overwhelms songs by Schumann (three of “Ich grolle nicht”) Fauré, Hahn, and Rubenstein.
Yuzhina (1881-c.1937), also a dramatic soprano, starred with the Bolshoi and Maryinsky theatres. Everything she sings here is in Russian, including credible performances of Elizabeth’s big arias from Tannhäuser and three exciting arias from Trovatore and Aida. Her husband, David Yuzhin, joins her in two items that don’t benefit from his presence. Yuzhina’s in her element in the Russian arias. Lisa’s grim soliloquy from Pique Dame is done with emotional fervor, and rarities from operas by Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Naprovsky, Serov, Borodin, and Mussorgsky join four by Tchaikovsky, all sung with passion and idiomatic certitude, if not subtlety. Litvinne often sounds as if she’s too close to the recording horn for comfort, but when Yuzhina, despite sounding farther back, lets loose with loud high notes, listener fatigue is a danger.
From what we can glean from this important issue, the recordings of Litvinne and Yuzhina justify their reputations, even if time, distance, and rarity have inflated them. As always, Marston’s production values are top-of-the-line, with discographic details, full notes and bios of the singers, and a six-page producer’s note on the original recordings and their transfer to CD. For enthusiasts, the plentitude of rare photos, some of them camp treasures, will be worth the price of the album. It’s available online from www.marstonrecords.com.
