Il Mito dell'Opera - LE NOZZE DI FIGARO - Bongiovanni Musica
Bongiovanni

Il Mito dell'Opera - LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

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Il Conte Almaviva - Giuseppe Valdengo 
La Contessa Almaviva - Victoria de los Angeles
Susanna - Nadine Connor
Figaro - Cesare Siepi
Cherubino - Mildred Miller
Dottor Bartolo - Salvatore Baccaloni 
Don Basilio - Alessio de Paolis
Barbarina - Roberta Peters

 

Fritz Reiner, New York 1952

"This Bongiovanni release documents the 1 March 1952 Saturday Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. In the opening week of the 1951 season, the Met presented Nozze, featuring a cast that, with two exceptions, duplicates that of the broadcast. In the later performance Giuseppe Valdengo replaces John Brownlee as the Count Almaviva, and Lawrence Davidson sings Antonio, in place of Lorenzo Alvary. This is in many ways a stunning performance, one that quickly moves near the top of my list, along with the Erich Kleiber London and Carlo Maria Giulini EMI recordings. (...) And because Fritz Reiner never made a studio recording of Le nozze di Figaro (or any Mozart opera, for that matter), this release is of considerable documentary value. (...) Siepi’s gorgeous dark bass, and virile characterization make him both a convincing romantic figure and a worthy foil to Count Almaviva. Their Act II confrontation is memorabl, indeed. And as with so many of the members of this cast, it is a great pleasure to hear Siepi relish Lorenzo da Ponte’s Italian text. Nadine Conner is a lovely, vivacious Susanna who generally sings and acts with great charm. As with many lyric sopranos, Conner has some difficulty with the lower portion of her final-act aria. But overall, she and Siepi make a convincing pair of lovers. The smaller roles are cast with great strength. Salvatore Baccaloni, with his plump basso and comic expertise, has a grand time as Dr. Bartolo. And under Reiner’s watchful eye, Baccaloni, who loved to overplay to the gallery, is on good musical behavior. Jean Madeira is an uncommonly strong-voiced Marcellina. The great character tenor, Alessio de Paolis, is an unforgettable Don Basilio. What a luxury it is to have the young Roberta Peters sing Barbarina’s touching last-act aria!

The broadcast sound, with the exception of a short portion of the Count’s Act I entrance, is excellent—full-bodied, well-balanced, and with minimal distortion." (Kenneth Meltzer - Classicalcdreview)