Search - Donizetti, Moffo, Campora :: Figlia Del Reggimento / Emilia Di Liverpool

An Outstanding "Radio Opera"

A. DATTORE | 02/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is apparently a live recording of La Figlia del Reggimento, a 1960 version with the orchestra and chorus of RAI in Milan. Like most of these "radio operas," (most notably the Cetra Soria), they do a terrific job. Anna Moffo at 28 years of age was the perfect Marie. Giuseppi Campora who sings Tonio, was a likeable, decent actor, with a nice vocal projection and a really masculine timbre. Naturally, I was interested in seeing how he handled the nine high C's toward the end of the first act.



Well, he didn't. The score completely avoided that passage, using some variation specifically designed for tenors that were not at their best in those high ranges. In my other two recordings of "The Daughter," both Valletti and Pavarotti take it on handily, the latter with a decided flair. I was amazed and a shade disappointed, but in all other ways, Campora's rendition was excellent. The recording itself was monophonic but otherwise first rate. In fact, I prefer this version overall to both the Pavarotti-Sutherland and the Valletti-Pagliughi efforts, yes, even without the tenor acrobatics.

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