Puccini Il Trittico
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Giacomo Puccini
Genre:
Opera
Label: EMI
Magazine Review Date: 3/1999
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 162
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 556587-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Il) Tabarro, '(The) Cloak' |
Giacomo Puccini, Composer
Angela Gheorghiu, Lauretta, Soprano Angela Gheorghiu, Lauretta, Soprano Angela Gheorghiu, Lover I, Soprano Angela Gheorghiu, Lover I, Soprano Anna Maria Panzarella, Almoner Sister I, Soprano Anna Maria Panzarella, Lay Sister I, Soprano Anna Maria Panzarella, Lay Sister I, Soprano Anna Maria Panzarella, Almoner Sister I, Soprano Antonio Pappano, Conductor Barry Banks, Ballad-seller, Tenor Bernadette Manca di Nissa, Princess, Contralto (Female alto) Carlo Guelfi, Michele, Baritone Carlos Chausson, Betto di Signa, Bass Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Suor Angelica, Soprano Deborah Miles-Johnson, Lay Sister II, Mezzo soprano Dorothea Röschmann, Sister Genovieffa, Soprano Elena Zilio, Monitress, Mezzo soprano Elena Zilio, La Ciesca, Soprano Elena Zilio, Frugola, Mezzo soprano Elena Zilio, Frugola, Soprano Elena Zilio, La Ciesca, Mezzo soprano Elena Zilio, Monitress, Soprano Enrico Fissore, Talpa, Bass Enrico Fissore, Spinelloccio, Bass Enrico Fissore, Talpa, Bass Enrico Fissore, Spinelloccio, Bass Felicity Palmer, Abbess, Mezzo soprano Felicity Palmer, Abbess, Soprano Felicity Palmer, Zita, Soprano Felicity Palmer, Zita, Contralto (Female alto) Francesca Pedaci, Nursing (Infirmary) Sister, Mezzo soprano Giacomo Puccini, Composer James Savage-Hanford, Gherardino, Contralto (Female alto) José Van Dam, Gianni Schicchi, Baritone Judith Rees, Sister Osmina, Soprano London Symphony Orchestra London Voices Luigi Roni, Simone, Bass Maria Guleghina, Giorgetta, Soprano Neil Shicoff, Luigi, Tenor Noel Mann, Guccio, Bass Paolo Barbacini, Gherardo, Tenor Patrizia Ciofi, Nella, Soprano Rachele Stanisci, Sister Dolcina, Soprano Riccardo Cassinelli, Tinca, Tenor Roberto Alagna, Lover II, Tenor Roberto Alagna, Rinuccio, Tenor Roberto Alagna, Rinuccio, Tenor Roberto Alagna, Lover II, Tenor Roberto Scaltriti, Marco, Baritone Rosalind Waters, Novice, Soprano Sara Fulgoni, Mistress of the Novices, Mezzo soprano Simon Preece, Pinellino, Bass Susan Mackenzie-Park, Almoner Sister II, Soprano |
| Suor Angelica, 'Sister Angelica' |
Giacomo Puccini, Composer
Andreas Schmidt, Count Almaviva, Baritone Antonio Pappano, Conductor Cecilia Bartoli, Dorabella, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Cherubino, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Dorabella, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Dorabella, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Dorabella, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Cherubino, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Dorabella, Mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Dorabella, Mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Cherubino, Mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Cherubino, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Cherubino, Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Cherubino, Mezzo soprano Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo, Baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto, Guglielmo, Baritone Giacomo Puccini, Composer Günter von Kannen, Bartolo, Bass Hilde Leidland, Barbarina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Zerlina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Despina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Zerlina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Susanna, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Susanna, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Despina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Zerlina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Despina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Zerlina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Zerlina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Susanna, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Despina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Zerlina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Despina, Soprano Joan Rodgers, Despina, Soprano John Tomlinson, Don Alfonso, Bass John Tomlinson, Leporello, Baritone John Tomlinson, Don Alfonso, Bass John Tomlinson, Figaro, Baritone John Tomlinson, Don Alfonso, Baritone John Tomlinson, Figaro, Baritone John Tomlinson, Leporello, Baritone John Tomlinson, Figaro, Bass John Tomlinson, Don Alfonso, Baritone John Tomlinson, Don Alfonso, Baritone John Tomlinson, Leporello, Baritone John Tomlinson, Leporello, Bass John Tomlinson, Leporello, Bass John Tomlinson, Leporello, Baritone John Tomlinson, Don Alfonso, Baritone Kurt Streit, Ferrando, Tenor Lella Cuberli, Donna Anna, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Fiordiligi, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Fiordiligi, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Countess Almaviva, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Fiordiligi, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Fiordiligi, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Donna Anna, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Donna Anna, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Countess Almaviva, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Donna Anna, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Donna Anna, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Fiordiligi, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Countess Almaviva, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Donna Anna, Soprano Lella Cuberli, Fiordiligi, Soprano London Voices Michele Pertusi, Masetto, Bass Peter Rose, Antonio, Bass Philharmonia Orchestra Phyllis Pancella, Marcellina, Soprano Tiffin School Boys' Choir Uwe Heilmann, Don Ottavio, Tenor Waltraud Meier, Commendatore, Bass Waltraud Meier, Donna Elvira, Mezzo soprano Waltraud Meier, Donna Elvira, Soprano Waltraud Meier, Commendatore, Mezzo soprano Waltraud Meier, Donna Elvira, Mezzo soprano Waltraud Meier, Donna Elvira, Soprano Waltraud Meier, Donna Elvira, Mezzo soprano Waltraud Meier, Donna Elvira, Mezzo soprano Waltraud Meier, Commendatore, Mezzo soprano |
| Gianni Schicchi |
Giacomo Puccini, Composer
Antonio Pappano, Conductor Arnold Van Mill, Fafner, Bass Astrid Varnay, Brünnhilde, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Third Norn, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Brünnhilde, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Brünnhilde, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Third Norn, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Third Norn, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Brünnhilde, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Brünnhilde, Soprano Astrid Varnay, Brünnhilde, Soprano Clifford Grant, Bartolo, Bass David Lennox, Don Curzio, Tenor Elisabeth Schärtel, Waltraute, Mezzo soprano Georgine von Milinkovic, Grimgerde, Mezzo soprano Gerda Lammers, Ortlinde, Soprano Giacomo Puccini, Composer Gré Brouwenstijn, Gutrune, Soprano Gustav Neidlinger, Alberich, Bass Gustav Neidlinger, Alberich, Bass Gustav Neidlinger, Alberich, Bass Gustav Neidlinger, Alberich, Bass Gustav Neidlinger, Alberich, Bass Gustav Neidlinger, Alberich, Bass Hans Hotter, Wanderer, Alto Hans Hotter, Wotan, Alto Hans Hotter, Wotan, Alto Hans Hotter, Wanderer, Alto Hans Hotter, Wotan, Alto Hans Hotter, Wanderer, Alto Hermann Uhde, Gunther, Tenor Hilde Scheppan, Helmwige, Soprano Ilse Hollweg, Woodbird, Soprano Ingvar Wixell, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ingvar Wixell, Don Giovanni, Baritone Ingvar Wixell, Don Giovanni, Baritone Jean Madeira, Waltraute, Mezzo soprano Jean Madeira, Erda, Contralto (Female alto) Jean Madeira, First Norn, Contralto (Female alto) Josef Greindl, Hunding, Bass Josef Greindl, Hagen, Bass Josef Greindl, Hunding, Bass Josef Greindl, Hagen, Bass Josef Greindl, Hagen, Bass Josef Greindl, Hunding, Bass Lillian Watson, Barbarina, Soprano London Symphony Orchestra Lore Wissmann, Woglinde, Soprano Luisecharlotte Kamps, Siegrune, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Flosshilde, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Schwertleite, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Flosshilde, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Second Norn, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Flosshilde, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Schwertleite, Contralto (Female alto) Maria von Ilosvay, Schwertleite, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Second Norn, Mezzo soprano Maria von Ilosvay, Second Norn, Mezzo soprano Paul Hudson, Antonio, Bass Paul Kuen, Mime, Tenor Paul Kuen, Mime, Tenor Paul Kuen, Mime, Tenor Paula Lenchner, Gerhilde, Soprano Paula Lenchner, Wellgunde, Soprano Richard Van Allan, Masetto, Bass Richard Van Allan, Masetto, Bass Richard Van Allan, Masetto, Bass Robert Tear, Don Basilio, Tenor Wolfgang Windgassen, Siegfried, Tenor Wolfgang Windgassen, Siegfried, Tenor Wolfgang Windgassen, Siegfried, Tenor Wolfgang Windgassen, Siegfried, Tenor Wolfgang Windgassen, Siegfried, Tenor Wolfgang Windgassen, Siegfried, Tenor |
Author: Edward Greenfield
It must have been a daunting task for Antonio Pappano to follow up his outstanding recording of La Rondine, Gramophone’s Record of the Year in 1997, but here in a composite Puccini work far more taxing as well as more varied, he again hits bull’s-eye. The three one-acters in Puccini’s triptych may not be nearly as neglected as La Rondine, but no previous recordings bring quite such warmth or beauty or so powerful a drawing of the contrasts between each – leading from Grand Guignol melodrama to pure sentiment and on to high comedy.
It is Pappano above all, with his gift for pacing Puccini subtly, observing the many marked fluctuations with apparent spontaneity, who draws the set together. In each opera he heightens emotions fearlessly to produce unerringly at key moments the authentic gulp-in-throat, whether for the cuckolded bargemaster, Michele, for Sister Angelica in her agonized suicide and heavenly absolution, or for the resolution of young love at the end of Gianni Schicchi.
It will no doubt disappoint some that the starry couple of Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna do not, as in La Rondine, take centre-stage, but quite apart from their radiant singing as Lauretta and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi – not least in that happy ending, most tenderly done – they make a tiny cameo appearance in Il tabarro as the off-stage departing lovers, a heady 45 seconds. It is the sort of luxury touch that Walter Legge would have relished. As for Alagna, as Rinuccio his voice has grown fuller and warmer since he recorded the same role in Bruno Bartoletti’s Decca recording, and Gheorghiu sings ravishingly in Lauretta’s ‘O mio babbino caro’, with the most delicate dynamic shading. It is a measure of Pappano’s understanding, too, that the music flows so much more persuasively than in the warm but heavy account of that aria that Gheorghiu recorded with Zubin Mehta at the Solti Celebration concert last October (Decca, 2/99).
No doubt Gheorghiu would have been just as persuasive as Giorgetta in Il tabarro and as Sister Angelica, but having different sopranos in each opera sharpens the contrasts between them, and one has only to go to the Bartoletti set with Freni past her best in all three to appreciate the drawbacks. Maria Guleghina, well known at Covent Garden, not least for her fine Tosca, makes a warm, vibrant Giorgetta, and the touch of acid at the top of the voice adds character, pointing to the frustration of the young bargemaster’s wife.
Even more remarkable is the singing of the young Chilean soprano, Cristina Gallardo-Domas as Sister Angelica. The roles she has specialized in at such houses as the Vienna State Opera, Munich, Rome and the Met in New York have included Mimi, Liu and Violetta, and she has already sung Angelica at the Concertgebouw, the Spoleto Festival and in Hamburg, where it was televised. Hers is a younger, more vulnerable Angelica than usual. Her vocal subtlety and commanding technique go with a fully mature portrayal of the nun’s agony, her defiance of the implacable Princess as well as her grief over her dead son. As with Gheorghiu, the dynamic shading brings pianissimos of breathtaking delicacy – not just the floated top A at the end of ‘Senza mamma’, flawlessly sustained, but equally the pianissimo top C a little later (track 15, 2'15''). I have never heard it so hushed or so finely controlled.
The Princess is powerfully sung by Bernadette Manca di Nissa, her tone firm and even throughout, with a chilling account of the phrase ‘di penitenza’, when the Princess sweeps aside any idea of forgiveness (track 10, 3'34''). Felicity Palmer, with her tangy mezzo tone, is well contrasted as the Abbess, and she is just as characterful as the crabby Zita in Gianni Schicchi. The casting in Suor Angelica is as near flawless as could be, with Elena Zilio and Dorothea Roschmann outstanding in smaller roles. Zilio is the only singer who appears in all three operas, just as effective as Frugola in Il tabarro, though there her full, clear voice is not always distinguishable from Guleghina as Giorgetta.
Among the men Carlo Guelfi makes a superb Michele, incisive, dark and virile. Even if inevitably in range of tone he cannot match Tito Gobbi on the early EMI set, he brings out not just the anger but the poignancy of the bargemaster’s emotions, as in the duet with Giorgetta, when they lament what might have been. I am only sorry that he did not record as a supplement the original version of Michele’s last aria, ‘Scorri fiume eterno’. Neil Shicoff makes a fine Luigi, the nerviness in his tenor tone aptly bringing out a hysterical quality in the character. The male comprimarios are vocally more variable, if always characterful, as they are too in Gianni Schicchi.
As Schicchi himself Jose van Dam is in fine voice. This, after all, is a role with little sustained lyricism, and there is none of the dryness noted in one or two of the veteran singer’s more recent recordings. The clean focus of van Dam’s voice perfectly conveys the sardonic side of Schicchi, and the top Gs he has to negotiate are wonderfully strong and steady. Maybe the full voice he uses for the name ‘Gianni Schicchi’, when in impersonation of old Buoso he is dictating the new will, makes too obvious a contrast with the quavering old man imitation, but it is what Puccini asked for.
Also worthy of praise is the comfortingly sumptuous and atmospheric sound, very wide in its dynamic range. Off-stage effects are magical, and always thanks to Pappano and fine playing from both the LSO and Philharmonia, the beauty and originality of the carefully textured instrumentation can be appreciated with new vividness. The lapping-water sounds in Il tabarro have never been more vividly caught, as at track 13, 0'30'', where the interplay of low flute and high bassoon in triplets reminds me of where Wozzeck in Berg’s opera drowns himself. Can it be that Puccini, musical magpie that he was, here had Berg doing the same in reverse?
Thanks to Pappano and his well-chosen team, this is a set to renew one’s appreciation of operas that represent Puccini still at his peak. He may have had doubts over the length of his triptych (‘Long as a transatlantic cable’ he wrote on one occasion), but on disc in performances such as these they are magnetic from first to last.'
It is Pappano above all, with his gift for pacing Puccini subtly, observing the many marked fluctuations with apparent spontaneity, who draws the set together. In each opera he heightens emotions fearlessly to produce unerringly at key moments the authentic gulp-in-throat, whether for the cuckolded bargemaster, Michele, for Sister Angelica in her agonized suicide and heavenly absolution, or for the resolution of young love at the end of Gianni Schicchi.
It will no doubt disappoint some that the starry couple of Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna do not, as in La Rondine, take centre-stage, but quite apart from their radiant singing as Lauretta and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi – not least in that happy ending, most tenderly done – they make a tiny cameo appearance in Il tabarro as the off-stage departing lovers, a heady 45 seconds. It is the sort of luxury touch that Walter Legge would have relished. As for Alagna, as Rinuccio his voice has grown fuller and warmer since he recorded the same role in Bruno Bartoletti’s Decca recording, and Gheorghiu sings ravishingly in Lauretta’s ‘O mio babbino caro’, with the most delicate dynamic shading. It is a measure of Pappano’s understanding, too, that the music flows so much more persuasively than in the warm but heavy account of that aria that Gheorghiu recorded with Zubin Mehta at the Solti Celebration concert last October (Decca, 2/99).
No doubt Gheorghiu would have been just as persuasive as Giorgetta in Il tabarro and as Sister Angelica, but having different sopranos in each opera sharpens the contrasts between them, and one has only to go to the Bartoletti set with Freni past her best in all three to appreciate the drawbacks. Maria Guleghina, well known at Covent Garden, not least for her fine Tosca, makes a warm, vibrant Giorgetta, and the touch of acid at the top of the voice adds character, pointing to the frustration of the young bargemaster’s wife.
Even more remarkable is the singing of the young Chilean soprano, Cristina Gallardo-Domas as Sister Angelica. The roles she has specialized in at such houses as the Vienna State Opera, Munich, Rome and the Met in New York have included Mimi, Liu and Violetta, and she has already sung Angelica at the Concertgebouw, the Spoleto Festival and in Hamburg, where it was televised. Hers is a younger, more vulnerable Angelica than usual. Her vocal subtlety and commanding technique go with a fully mature portrayal of the nun’s agony, her defiance of the implacable Princess as well as her grief over her dead son. As with Gheorghiu, the dynamic shading brings pianissimos of breathtaking delicacy – not just the floated top A at the end of ‘Senza mamma’, flawlessly sustained, but equally the pianissimo top C a little later (track 15, 2'15''). I have never heard it so hushed or so finely controlled.
The Princess is powerfully sung by Bernadette Manca di Nissa, her tone firm and even throughout, with a chilling account of the phrase ‘di penitenza’, when the Princess sweeps aside any idea of forgiveness (track 10, 3'34''). Felicity Palmer, with her tangy mezzo tone, is well contrasted as the Abbess, and she is just as characterful as the crabby Zita in Gianni Schicchi. The casting in Suor Angelica is as near flawless as could be, with Elena Zilio and Dorothea Roschmann outstanding in smaller roles. Zilio is the only singer who appears in all three operas, just as effective as Frugola in Il tabarro, though there her full, clear voice is not always distinguishable from Guleghina as Giorgetta.
Among the men Carlo Guelfi makes a superb Michele, incisive, dark and virile. Even if inevitably in range of tone he cannot match Tito Gobbi on the early EMI set, he brings out not just the anger but the poignancy of the bargemaster’s emotions, as in the duet with Giorgetta, when they lament what might have been. I am only sorry that he did not record as a supplement the original version of Michele’s last aria, ‘Scorri fiume eterno’. Neil Shicoff makes a fine Luigi, the nerviness in his tenor tone aptly bringing out a hysterical quality in the character. The male comprimarios are vocally more variable, if always characterful, as they are too in Gianni Schicchi.
As Schicchi himself Jose van Dam is in fine voice. This, after all, is a role with little sustained lyricism, and there is none of the dryness noted in one or two of the veteran singer’s more recent recordings. The clean focus of van Dam’s voice perfectly conveys the sardonic side of Schicchi, and the top Gs he has to negotiate are wonderfully strong and steady. Maybe the full voice he uses for the name ‘Gianni Schicchi’, when in impersonation of old Buoso he is dictating the new will, makes too obvious a contrast with the quavering old man imitation, but it is what Puccini asked for.
Also worthy of praise is the comfortingly sumptuous and atmospheric sound, very wide in its dynamic range. Off-stage effects are magical, and always thanks to Pappano and fine playing from both the LSO and Philharmonia, the beauty and originality of the carefully textured instrumentation can be appreciated with new vividness. The lapping-water sounds in Il tabarro have never been more vividly caught, as at track 13, 0'30'', where the interplay of low flute and high bassoon in triplets reminds me of where Wozzeck in Berg’s opera drowns himself. Can it be that Puccini, musical magpie that he was, here had Berg doing the same in reverse?
Thanks to Pappano and his well-chosen team, this is a set to renew one’s appreciation of operas that represent Puccini still at his peak. He may have had doubts over the length of his triptych (‘Long as a transatlantic cable’ he wrote on one occasion), but on disc in performances such as these they are magnetic from first to last.'
Puccini Il Trittico
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