If for nothing else, this reissue is of inestimable value for bringing into the CD catalogue one of the most, if not the most stylish and moving pieces of Verdi singing ever committed to disc, and that is the finale of Aida as sung by Ponselle and Martinelli. With voices ideal for their roles, these two noble singers give an object-lesson in how to interpret Verdi. Their line is faultless, their tone and dynamics perfectly judged, their portamento finely traced. To complement these stylistic virtues there is the interior feeling both bring to their parts. In ''Morir! si pur e bella'', Martinelli's lamenting, lambent phraseology, his feeling for the text have never been surpassed in my experience; nor has the eloquent, expansive reading, by both singers, of ''O terra addio''. The other electrics, taken from original Victors, give us Ponselle's urgent, appealing
''Ritorna vincitor'' and three songs: Massenet's Elegie, sung in that dark-velvet sound, unique in itself, the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria; and, from her last Victor sessions of 1939, a poignant, prophetic When I have sung my songs. However, none of them is quite essential Ponselle.
The first 11 tracks are taken; from the singer's American Columbias. Here, in comparison with the complete Columbias on Pearl ((CD) GEMM-CDS9964), you hear the familiar added Nimbus resonance, while on the former you get pure and simple, what you would hear if you played a perfect copy of an original 78. The Pearl method undoubtedly gives more of the immediate presence of the voice, whereas Nimbus, whether you like it or not, attempt to achieve what you might—and I emphasize 'might'—have heard in an opera-house acoustic. The choice must be yours, but perhaps you will be more persuaded by the Pearl contents which, on two CDs, offer all the Columbias, and a wonderful collection they make. Here you have a selection, plus the Victors possibly offering a better balanced view of Ponselie's art, especially if you have Nimbus's Vol. 1 (10/89). The new Nimbus includes an entertaining note by Nigel Douglas, but he makes no mention of Martinelli.'