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4.0 out of 5 stars
gigli in his prime, April 21, 2001
This review is from: Beniamino Gigli: The Complete Victor Recordings, Vol. 1 (1921-25) (Audio CD)
Gigli went to US in 1920, having made some tonally beautiful but poorly acted acoustics for 'HMV'. Linking to his appearance at the Met, 'Victor' began a long association of recordings both acoustic & electric, and this album from Romophone is the 1st of 3 dealing with this period. Gigli's tone developed to its full during these recs, parallel with some intrusive bad vocal habits - nobody needs to use aspirates at all, and certainly not to the degree of Gigli. The mix on the album balances opera & song. He was one of the best interpreters of Neapolitan songs, having a more ringing style than Schipa and a more affectionate style than Corelli; perhaps di Stefano was a natural successor? On several tracks he has magnificent partners (e.g. Rethberg, Pinza). Some alternative takes are offered, which provide little extra knowledge about the singers, but make things complete. In summary: attractively toned, Italianate singing, if you can ignore his bad habits. The Obert-Thorn transfers are clear, but can sound oversharp with clinical-sounding hardware plus silver-based cabling.
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