Carlo Bergonzi is widely considered to be one of the great tenors of the 20th century. His golden tone, thrilling dynamism, and lively phrasing served him well, especially in his choice roles by Verdi and Puccini. While little in this collection falls below the level of excellent, particularly fine are the excerpts from Un Ballo in Maschera (featuring Bergonzi’s wicked chuckle in “E’ scherzo od è follia”), La Bohème (has “Che gelida manina” ever been sung with such seductive nuance?), and La Traviata, though in this Bergonzi is even better on his RCA recording with Prêtre. (Rigoletto deserves top mention as well, but I confess to lately being under the thrall of Jan Peerce on the recent Naxos release.)
Curiously, Bergonzi’s Pinkerton just misses first rate stature, perhaps because he keeps the character within ordinary human dimensions–something that, eschewing the “noble” presentation of some other tenors, makes the character all the more easy to despise. An unexpected item is “Dio! Mi potevi scagliar” from Otello, a role that, except for a disastrous first attempt last year at age 75, Bergonzi never sang on stage. No such worries here: it sounds just fine.
Bergonzi had the ability to bring characters to life by imbuing his singing with a tactile emotional intensity. You can hear this to great effect in his Cavaradossi, Pagliacci, and Radames; in fact you hear it in everybody he plays in this set. No, he doesn’t have the voluminous heft of Del Monaco or the piercing “squillo” tones of Björling, but Bergonzi’s spinto voice is handsomely beautiful, while his audible delight and masterly musicianship are seminars in singing for any aspiring tenor and a source of pleasure for any opera lover. The recordings, culled from the Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, and Philips catalogs, present the tenor in clear, dynamic sound. [7/19/2001]
