Recorded in October, 1961 in Berlin (the Rome Opera must have been on tour), this sonically fine recording is filled with some general excitement and enthusiasm among the cast and the orchestra under Oliviero de Fabritiis. Ensemble can be a bit ragged, but the show has great spunk. However, despite the presence of Franco Corelli (the reason for the release), this is not a front-runner Trovatore.
Mirella Parutto has an impressive spinto voice housed in an unreliable technique; she tends to flat on top notes, has no trill, and in general is ungraceful and provincial. By the end of her fourth-act aria she’s an absolute mess–and we realize precisely how difficult this music is. (Oddly, her following duet with Ettore Bastianini is excellent.) As ever, Fedora Barbieri turns in an impressive, involved Azucena, tearing down the house in her third-act rant. Bastianini sounds a bit throaty at times but still commands attention for his style and (mostly) beauty of tone. Agostino Ferrin’s Ferrando is cookie-cutter but fluent.
Ah, Corelli. He’s slightly too rambunctious throughout and his manner of stretching tempos and overexpression doesn’t always click. He gets the (unwritten) D-flat at the close of Act 1 right in the center, but Parutto goes for it too, and she just about drowns him out and is slightly flat to boot. “Ah si, ben mio” has some nice nuances and “Di quella pira” is transposed down a half-tone, and the scene works. Corelli’s good in the prison scene with Barbieri but overplays his hand when Leonora enters, distorting the vocal line. As usual, Corelli is viscerally thrilling here, but somehow it just doesn’t add up as it should.
