Customer Reviews

Arturo Toscanini, Vol 12 - Verdi: Falstaff

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, let me make it clear that I love this opera from the time I first heard it on LP as a teenager. I have seen it performed several times and have viewed all the available videos. If you are reading this review, chances are you know the opera at least somewhat. Some of the things I love about the opera are the mixture of comic and tragic elements, the continuous flow of music and plot (in contrast to the more episodic style of Verdi's middle period), and the range of vocal textures the opera permits and requires. For my money, no one understood this opera as well as Toscanini. Perhaps only Guiseppe Valdengo and Teresa Stich-Randall were truly world class singers, but the cast blends extremely well. This is an opera performance in which ensemble singing supercedes individual arias. Of course, Robert Shaw's choral forces are first rate, as always. But it is the energy and propulsion of Toscanini that makes this version soar. None of the other versions, admittedly excellent also, capture the thrust and forward movement of this one. The sound transfer is pretty good for a mono opera recording of 1950. While it is not as sonically satisfying as some of the more modern versions, the musical interpretation is without peer.

For those who want a modern stereo version, my preference is for Guilini. Bernstein's version has erratic tempos, Karajan's has great singers but just doesn't jell for me, Solti's is also pretty good, especially his Falstaff, but none matches the depth and understanding of Toscanini.

I inserted the first CD into my player and found myself transformed into the world Verdi's greatest masterpiece of lyrics and music. Certainly the glory must go to Toscanini for making this complex work such a joy to listen to. He produces some of the most beautiful tones from the orchestra that perfectly matches with the glorious singing of Valdengo, Nelli, Merriman, Elmo, Guarrera and the others. I can't think of a single negative thing about this recording.

Giuseppe Valdengo was in such firm tone and his acting is just right on the money. All the women of the piece are also excellent. And some recognition must also go to the chorus.

This recording is for all lovers of Verdi's supreme masterpiece and of Toscanini.

While not a knee-jerk Toscanini fan, I am a great fan of this recording. It reminds me of my childhood, hearing Met broadcasts on a good radio -- AM, yes; mono, yes; but with a firm tone and just enough warmth to invite one to stick around for the broadcast. This recording is my benchmark for Falstaff.

The other revieewers have already praised the revitalized sound of this 1950 Falstaff, which brings the performance into a soft, warm, human dimension. Toscanini conducts without a trace of the hardness and hectic tempos associated with his old age. He paces the opera with utmost flexibility, bending every phrase to Verdi's mercurial imagination. We find ourselves in a world as sparkling as that of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

But above eall this opera needs a great vocal actor to protray Falstaff himself. From the first words he utters, Giuseppe Valdengo makes some things abundantly clear: Sir John is fat and gross but still proud. He is a mixture of sly and degraded, hot-headed and witty. Valdengo makes us believe that the higher morality is to flout convention and sail through the world a free spirit, but always with the melancholy awareness that flights come to earth with crashing shards of self-delusion. Jack Falstaff is a world unto himself, so both Shakespeare and Verdi intended, and both see him with worldly compassion. Valdengo manages to hold the center of gravity every moment, something that Tito Gobbi, for all his artistry, had to strain to achieve, and then only partially. Togeehter, Valdengo and Toscanini inspire everyone else. For two hours the magic spell holds, from a slovenly tavern hangover to a fairy night's enchantment. Bravo!

Here we have one of those choices between great sound and great performance. This 1950 broadcast is wonderful, yes, but there is little humor in the performance; only Cloe Elmo as Dame Quickly sounds like she's having any fun. On the other hand, the astounding 1937 Salzburg performance--now newly-remastered with quite acceptable sound (see: Toscanini - The Salzburg Experience, Vol. 4, Falstaff)--has life, wit and whimsy along with outstanding singing. Also, Dino Borgioli, the Fenton on the Salzburg set, is the best on records, while the singer in this 1950 performance is quite terrible.

If you want a good performance you will listen to a few times, buy this version. If you want a timeless performance that will reveal new hidden beauties every time you put it on, spend the extra $10 for the "Salzburg Experience."

This is a magnificent performance of one of the greatest of all operas.

Regarding the previous comments on sound quality, I weep for those whose ears are acute but whose souls are deaf.

While Toscanini's conducting normally establishes the standard for greatness for Verdi, I don't believe either of his recorded performances of Falstaff ranks among the top three. In order to have a great recording of Falstaff, I think the following criteria must be met - more or less in the order shown: (1), clear and open audio sound to capture the rich and complex orchestral enhancement and commentary on the action; (2), a great conductor and a great actor/singer for the eponymous lead; (3), excellent actor/singers for (Master) Ford and Quickly; (4) elegant and youthful sounding singers for Fenton and Nannetta; (5), an above average orchestra.

Unfortunately, the audio quality of Toscanini's 1937 Salzburg performance (with the inimitable Mariano Stabile as Falstaff) is just too dismal to allow enjoyment. Although this recording of a 1950 broadcast has received a number of five star reviews, it has two serious flaws which I believe prevent it from being a great recording: the casting of the routiniers Valdengo and Guarerra as Falstaff and Ford, and a relatively stiff and humorless approach by the Maestro significantly reduce the enjoyment of the work.

Giuseppe Valdengo was a good Ford on the Met broadcast of December 1949 with Fritz Reiner and Leonard Warren; but the character of Ford is that of a good Burgher - forthright, stolid, lacking charisma - all characteristics which Valdengo's limited and colorless voice could convey with natural ease. One has only to listen to Stabile or Gobbi as Falstaff to realize how much character is missing from Valdengo's portrayal, or to Taddei and Warren to realize how much innate vocal resource is missing from his singing.

Frank Guarrera defined bland. Toscanini would not permit Guarrera's usual lackadaisical approach to tempo and unimaginative phrasing; however, a great role can be note perfect and still be boring. (If you are a fan of Toscanini, you might enjoy a two disc set of Toscanini's rehearsals for the broadcast Toscanini Conducts Verdi's Falstaff - which offers the only recorded version (that I know of) of one of the volcanic Maestro's eruptions (occasioned by Guarerra addressing him as "Signore" rather than the more usual honorific "Maestro" during a discussion they were having.)

The sound is very good for the period, if a bit "dry". Toscanini's conducting is detailed, nuanced and idiomatic. The orchestra has been rehearsed to the maestro's exacting standards. In fact the performance may have been over-rehearsed - it just doesn't seem like anyone is having any fun with the comedy and satire in the piece. Elmo as Quickly and Stich-Randall as Nannetta are outstanding; the other singers all do very well - but it is not enough

For a real appreciation of this work, you need to acquire one of the following recordings: Serafin Verdi: Falstaff--2 Historic Performances, de Sabata Verdi: Falstaff or v. Karajan Falstaff / Verdi, Gobbi · Schwarzkopf · Moffo · Karajan. Each of these recordings has one or two irritating flaws; but their many virtues still allow for great pleasure, and, considered together, they offer a wonderful complementary vision of the ideal.

There are have been countless recordings of Verdi's last opera. Many excellent. For example, von Karajan (with Tito Gobbi), Solti (with Geraint Evans), Bernstein (with Fischer-Dieskau), Giulini (with Renato Bruson), and more recently Davis (with Michele Pertusi). And even an English version, Daniel (with Andrew Shore). And they all have their unique qualities.

However, the benchmark remains Toscanini's recording in 1950 with the NBC Symphony Orchestra on the RCA label, remastered here in 2000. The cast may not be perfect, although Valdengo offers a first-rate interpretation. He also sang Iago in Toscanini's 1947 NBC broadcast of Verdi's Otello. Herva Nelli and Nan Merriman , also in that classic recording, reappear here. All the members of the cast perform admirably, and the ensembles, a crucial ingredient in this opera, are most effective. Cloe Elmo, as Mistress Quickly, is especially notable.

Criticisms centre on the lack of sophistication, mostly from listeners who are more accustomed to the more modern recordings, with better sound, etc..

Where this recording excels is in the tempo. Vocal and orchestral forces are held short of bursting at the seams. Toscanini is the iron hand (fist ?) which controls the proceedings of this performance, and at 83 years of age, only a few years older than the composer when he premiered the work. A tyrant in rehearsals and on the podium, releasing an energy rarely repeated in the later recordings. A dam about to burst.

Toscanini was reknowned for his interpretion of Verdi's works, and his no nonsense approach. The composer's score always came first. (Was he not a cellist in the orchestra at the premier of Otello back in 1887 ?) And this recording is a fitting tribute from a pupil to his mentor.

This 2-CD set is a remarkable re-edition of the 1950 live concert recording. Orchestra and voices are well-balanced, and both are clearly heard. There is some muffling in the orchestral passages, especially in the lower (bass) register, but not in any way distracting. The accompanying booklet, with libretto in Italian and English, is most informative. There is a more recent re-remastering of this broadcast, dating to 2004, and released by Music & Arts in 2006. I have not heard it but it is less than half the price of this recording. Even if you have other versions of Verdi's Falstaff - this one will add to your appreciation of this unique masterpiece.