Puccini: Turandot

Puccini's last opera, Turandot, is his grandest and in some ways his best. Dying before he could finish it, Puccini left undone what he wanted to be "the greatest duet ever written." Whether or not he could have fulfilled this aim or not, the rest of the music, some two hours worth, is full of a fine blend of Oriental color and Italian melody. The story concerns a Chinese princess who gives her suitors three riddles to answer. The penalty for wrong guesses is decapitation, but the beauty of Turandot entices many prospective bridegrooms. Such a plot satisfied Puccini's love of dramatic situations, and he wrote his most ambitious and well-integrated music for it.

Until recently the only adequate recording of Turandot was the Cetra set which featured the electrifying singing of Gina Cigna as Turandot and the haunting Calaf of Giulio Masini. Now London has issued a beautifully recorded version that is one of their most satisfactory operatic sets. The taxing role of Turandot finds Inge Borkh lacking in the most dramatic moments, but her voice in the lyrical passages is ravishing. Renata Tebaldi has too heavy a soprano for the role of Liu, but she gives a more sustained performance than has been her wont of late. As the Calaf, Mario del Monaco is properly stentorian; recent years' wear in his voice is apparent only in the lyric aria "Nessun dorma." Although performance for performance the new set is balanced by the old Cetra album, improved recording gives the London set more of the flavor of Puccini's colorful score.

Verdi: La Forza del Destino

London's recording of La Forza is less successful than Turandot. Tebaldi and del Monaco are also in La Forza but they both contribute uneven performances. Although del Monaco is the outstanding Italian dramatic tenor of our day, too much forcing has taken its toll on his voice and he can no longer sustain the line as well as he should. He is still effective in declamatory passages, but the many lyric moments are sung roughly. Tebaldi tends to be shrill as Leonora, although parts of her performance are controlled and lovely. The opera itself is uneven, so the singers must sometimes surpass their material. They have only partial success: contralto Giulia Simionato is fine, but basso Cesare Siepi is a disappointment. The best performance comes from baritone Bastianini, making his debut on records. His voice is rich and big, and handled very sympathetically. He contributes the only consistent luster to an otherwise spotty recording.

Available at Minute Man and Briggs and Briggs.