These recordings, made in 1947 and 1948, have been available before but never as a compilation and never in such decent sound. What we have here are recordings of these three great tenors early in their careers, and it’s fascinating to listen to what they were like in their “purest” form–that is, before time, fame, and familiarity took over. The stentorian Mario del Monaco begins with four selections: A handsome, occasionally subtle “O Paradiso”; Lohengrin’s “In fernem land” (in Italian, of course), sung less idiomatically than we’d prefer, but again, with nice shadings; a brilliant “Improvviso” from Chenier; and a suitably heroic “Nessun dorma”. Throughout, he’s recognizable for a nasal-but-appealing tone, gigantic voice and passion to match–but as mentioned, more tonal niceties than he could later muster. We are instantly knocked out by the sheer beauty of Di Stefano’s voice, complete with that wide open sound that added to his greatness and eventually brought an early fading to his tone quality. Among the selections that are particularly great are a staggering “Io son solo…Ah, dispar…” from Massenet’s Manon, an “E lucevan le stelle” with every great trick in the book–endless legato, superb mezza voce, overt emotionalism–and a wonderfully restrained “E la solita storia” that will break your heart. If Ferruccio Tagliavini was the least sexy of the three, he also was arguably the classiest: His luscious crooning of Nadir’s aria from I pescatore di perle is matchless, his two selections from Werther are heartfelt and beautifully intoned, and Dick Johnson’s last act aria from Fanciulla is manly but sensitive. Looking for Three Tenors? Look no further!
