This remains the best performance ever recorded of a major opera with a less than stellar cast. All the singers are scrupulous, of course, but Ramon Vinay’s timbre is ordinary in a baritonal way, and Herva Nelli manages to be everything but moving or interesting. Giuseppe Valdengo is quite wonderful. But frankly, Vickers tells us more about Otello, del Monaco is more viscerally present, and Domingo (with Levine) is better all around. Freni and (particularly) Scotto draw a much finer portrait of Desdemona, while Gobbi’s Iago is in a class dramatically with Valdengo and Milnes (who may be even richer vocally). Toscanini’s leadership is close to beyond reproach, but his quick tempos do not allow for much gentleness, even in the first-act love duet. But there’s no denying the power of this reading: the subtle tempo changes Verdi wanted so that so much could be implied are all crystal clear, and the drama moves swiftly to its tragic conclusion.
The first thing you notice comparing this with the famed RCA release is that the voices are far more forward, with a bit more resonance and space around them–although it’s not artificial sounding. The orchestra also is a bit less boxed in, although details remain a matter of faith. In all, it is sonically better than the RCA and it is therefore the preferred version. Although there’s no libretto, we get track listings and moronic, pretentious notes.
