Search - Gaetano Donizetti, Gioachino Rossini, Armando La Rosa Parodi :: Donizetti: Don Pasquale

Great performance -- careful about the cd pressing

OperaCub | New England, USA | 05/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have waited years for this recording to be released on cd, having owned it on old Urania LPs ages ago. The performance is as adorable as I remembered it. The Gala pressing I just purchased, however, is execrable and about to be returned to Amazon. I hope it's just a bad pair of discs and that the whole run is not faulty.



In "Opera on Record" Harold Rosenthal dismisses this performance after only hearing excerpts, a serious mistake in a theatrical jewel like Pasquale. This cast is certainly not without its vocal flaws, but they inhabit the characters and the story with such ease, naturalness of response and utterance, and affection for the genre and the piece itself, I am unable to reproach them.



Corena is in marvelous, fresh voice (1951, three years before his Met debut), but still creates a plausible grumpy old man. The humor is well timed, unbridled but never exaggerated. Truly, I can't imagine the role better portrayed. What a delight! Afro Poli likewise is witty, personable, rich-voiced, and suave, with some unsteadiness on sustained notes. He and Corena, he and la Gatta, though, enjoy splendid chemistry in all the duets and ensembles.



Agostino Lazzari is no star, but sings with lovely tone and some beautiful mezza voce effects. I was surprised at how stressed he sounds at the end of scene 1 with Pasquale ("Ah! Mi fa il destin mendico!"), and he might not have shown in the cabaletta to "Cerchero lontana terra." We'll never know, though, because that is one of the many really regrettable cuts made in the score. Lots of snipping all over the place that can catch you off guard if you know the opera well. The tradition in this instance is truly schlamperei!



Ok, I admit it. I like somewhat edgy-voiced Norinas and I love Dora la Gatta in this role. The voice gets a little rough around the edges in the upper middle and never ravishes the ear at any point. I JUST DON'T CARE. She is lively, provacative, funny, romantic, and so at ease in the part, she completely wins me over. There is a 3-dimensionality to her performance that to my ears surpasses even Alda Noni on the old Cetra set. Believable from the first moment to the last.



I can't fully explain the poor orchestral performance. This is a score the la Scala Orchestra should have known backwards and forwards. Armando La Rosa Parodi was no great figure as a conductor, but he paces this score perfectly and with clear understanding of the humor and sentiment. The string playing in the first measures of the overture (again, perfectly paced) is distractingly sloppy, and there are moments of chaos towards the end of the wedding scene that boggle the mind.



Despite that, this is still the recording I'd choose if I just wanted to enjoy a performance of Pasquale. The Schipa recording is legendary, but a little self-conscious in comparison. I dislike Bruscantini on the Cetra recording (he's a much better Malatesta on DVD than a Pasquale on disc), unconvincing in portraying age, and just not funny enough. The Met broadcasts with Peters and Corena or with Baccaloni and Sayao are wonderful, but the sound is a little compromised and Nino Martini (with Sayao) sings flat. (But they are both charming, funny performances, well worth owning.) For whatever reason, no one is rereleasing the Capecchi/Munteanu Naples performance with Bruna Rizzoli, but even that, much as I adore Capecchi, wasn't as funny as this one.



All that said, this copy (which I actually pre-ordered, that's how eager I've been to own this on cd) is going right back to Amazon. There were clicks and skips on disc one and almost a complete disintegration of sound on disc two. Very frustrating and disappointing. The Gala label is inexpensive, but this is unacceptable."

This may be the finest Don Pasquale on disc

B. Cathey | Wendell, NC United States | 07/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like another reviewer of this Gala release, I first purchased this classic performance when it was available on Urania LPs. Despite its monaural sound (1951), this may well be the finest sung Don Pasquale committed to disc. Admittedly, that is quite a LOT to say, what with the competition on both CD and DVD. But I say that having heard (and owning) some 20 recordings of this opera. This performance holds up extremely well competitively, and in several areas outpoints all competition.



First, there is Fernando Corena, singing a buffo role that would become in later years a signature role for him. As the don he is simply delightful. The famous duet with Doctor Malatesta {"Cheti, cheti immantinente...Aspetta, aspetta"), wonderfully sung and acted with the underrated baritone Afro Poli, is certainly one of the high points in Italian opera buffa. Corena and Poli are actually having delicious fun, and the delight and comedic genius come out fully in the infectious music, but even more so in the antics of those two. Nowhere on disc will you hear such an exhilarating performance of this memorable scene.



Agostino Lazzari, the Ernesto, is another neglected artist who compares favorably to Cesare Valleti and Ferruccio Tagliavini in this music. His big aria, "Com'e gentil," in Act III, is exquisitely sung, and the following duet with Dora Gatta (or La Gatta), "Tornami a dir," is superbly done. There is an soubrettish edge to Gatta's voice, but it seems quite appropriate for Norina.



My copy was fine (another writer apparently got a bad copy), no imperfections. The sound is, of course, monaural, but the voices are forward and well-projected, coming across very nicely. Of course, there are better sounding, stereo performances, but I dare say NONE that are better performed, with as much insouciance, zestfulness, and downright good humor. And with Gala's price, even if you own a dozen Don Pasquale's, you should try this one out. Highly recommended."