La Gioconda was one of the few roles Anita Cerquetti recorded commercially during her peculiarly short career, and it is a very tame, essentially by-the-numbers affair. This present performance, taped live in Florence in 1956, is therefore all the more valuable. Her voice was a formidable instrument, insecure only at the very top (the B and C could sound more like shouts than notes), and this performance proves that she could become very involved in a character when the inspiration hit. She’s a wonderful Gioconda, tender with her mother, urgent with Enzo, vicious with Laura, and both pitiable and admirable in the crucial final act. She beautifully floats the high B-flat at her exit in the middle of Act 1, but she gets to it a bit late and the orchestra beats her to the finish–too bad. Elsewhere, she’s a powerhouse. Her “Suicidio” hardly can compare with Callas’, but why even bother with the (almost impossible to avoid) comparison? This is an exciting reading.
Gianni Poggi was a whiner of a tenor, but this finds him at his absolute best. The tone still may not ingratiate, but he cuts a fine portrayal as Enzo, with big top notes and great abandon. Ettore Bastianini’s Barnaba is appropriately nasty and handsomely sung, Ebe Stignani is a bit plain-faced as Laura, La Cieca’s deep, sad tones are well sung by Lucia Danieli, and Giuseppe Modesti does what he can with the imperious Alvise. Emidio Tieri leads a routine performance and the orchestra is good enough. A few minutes of “The Dance of the Hours” have been cut to get the opera on two CDs. The sound is dreadful, but you can still hear what you need to. Certainly not a first Gioconda, but a nice addition, especially for Cerquetti fans.
