Customer Reviews

Puccini - Turandot / Corelli, Udovick, Mattioli, Clabassi, Previtali, RAI

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

 

 

I had the privilege of seeing Franco Corelli as Calaf during his last years at the Met, and believe me, he spoils you for all other Calafs. Yes, the cover photo shows him in a different costume than this production, but what of that? This is an old B&W production, made for Italian television, with old technology, so don't expect the expanse and color of the Met or the visual clarity and camerawork of a good modern production. But it is wonderful to hear and interesting to watch (what "Turandot" isn't at least somewhat imaginative?), but above all, it is carried by the magnificent voice and carriage of the tenor that could sell "Nessun Dorma" like no other. He looks the part; he acts the part; and his ringing high notes can make you weak in the knees. I don't mean to give the sopranos short shrift, either - they are both excellent. At any rate, if you love this opera, give it a try.

Most people will deplore the fact that this Turandot is black and white, as they are forgetting that many movie masterpieces were made like that at the beginning of cinematography. This is a beautiful production, obviously conceived not only in black and white, but also using the kind of lighting they had in 1958 (evidence that modern technology does not make great art, vision does!).

Most of the stage movement is dancing, which is an innovation, as one cannot really see the chorus singing. The dancing and some stylized movements of the characters are suggestive of an Asian/exotic atmosphere. Here we are not dealing with Chinese authenticity, the story is probably a European vision of "fabulous" China, which has nothing to do with historical reality, anyway.

The dancers and even the singers move with the music, serving the music, emphasizing orchestration and harmony, which is very rare, indeed. Interestingly, one cannot really see the Emperor of China, he is just a white silhouette in the "forbidden city." And the executioner's face is hooded.

Lucille Udovich in the title role is good, she sounds better than other celebrated sopranos, she begins "In questa reggia" very well. By the end of the show, she sings some harsh sounds, sounding a little fatigued.

Franco Corelli as Calaf was young here, but already on the top of the hill. He sings the entire role with a very beautiful, warm voice, which can also be heard in other renditions by him. Aesthetically very fulfilling, such a voice also brings complexity to the character. His acting is very restrained, in tune with the big picture, as all characters move rather like types, like masks, not displaying human passion. It is a theatrical vision made clear from the very beginning when the mask theme is shown. However, he does look intently at Turandot, his black eyes lit by white light -- a powerful effect obtained several times.

One high point is Corelli's rendition of "Non piangere, Liu," sung extremely tenderly, and another one the riddle scene, which is excellently sung and acted, but at the end, when both the soprano and the tenor sing "Gli enigmi sono tre," Udovich sounds a little harsh, perhaps because of the technology.

The "Nessun dorma" in this production is fine, surpassed only by some other Corelli renditions: a perfectionist, he kept working on his roles. But choosing your favorite "Nessum dorma" by Corelli is a matter of individual preference. You may treasure this one above others.

Plinio Clabassi is an excellent Timur, but Renata Mattioli is not a very good Liu, she strains and sounds shrieking, especially in Act 3.

The orchestra, the chorus and the conductor are excellent. There is a cut in the final duet, namely Turandot's lines confessing that she has loved Calaf from second one.

If you are prepared to watch a 1958's black and white movie, without today's high technology, this DVD is worth to watch. Especially, as a loyal Corelli's fan, after having listened to his CD of Turandot for many times, it was a reward to actually see Corelli in this performance. Corelli's voice was fabulous, overall the sound was great and what a handsome, romantic hero he was!

Corelli's performance in Turandot is nothing short of a masterpiece. Unbelivable vocal quality combines with superb acting makes this DVD a must for every collector. Despite being slightly dark, the video incompasses the best of what Turandot can be. A professional, steller production at every level with th "cast" delivering an excellent counterpoint to Corelli's legendary performance.

Puccini was composing Turandot around the time Caruso died and Corelli was born....the role fit Franco like a glove. He never sang it quite the same way twice, so by all means get this video if you've never seen it. Yes, you must have a tolerance for black & white as well as the custom of the time of recording first and then acting to the playback (in one take!), but this is a fantastic souvenir of Franco in his vocal prime, although I agree with another poster that the video portion at times is unfortunately dark. I still was able to enjoy it, however, & especially certain favorite sections. No one ever mastered the Act 2 transition from the triumphant unwritten high C on "ardante" through the "you don't know my name...tell me my name, etc." as he poses his own challenge to the princess. Never a throwaway with Franco as it is with many tenors, but rather a pivitol point in the opera. End of Track 15 & beginning of 16. This video allows you to watch & listen for it.
At the time this was filmed for Italian TV, Turandot was being performed in Milan by Nilsson & DiStefano at LaScala. DiStefano cancelled one night, and Franco was brought in from this filming to sing his first Calaf on the stage of the Scala. He literally met Birgit Nilsson for the first time that night on stage, and the rest is history. Only three years later, Corelli & Nilsson popularized this opera at the Metropolitan Opera in the acclaimed Cecil Beaton new production of 1961, and it famously took off from there....Anyway, I highly recommend this video if you can handle black & white, a little on the dark side. Some trivia, the stylized actions of the chorus are a nod to commedia del'arte, and the soprano Udovick was born in Denver, Colorado. This DVD also has a bonus: scenes from Tosca which originally appeared on the Bell Telephone Hour tv show in 1962, and they are in color.

I was disappointed with the darkness of the video. It is very difficult to see what's going on. And the picture on the DVD cover is not the costume, makeup or even age of Franco Corelli shown in this version of Turandot. I did enjoy the music, but a CD would have been just as good.

Please keep in mind that back in the 1950s, most television broadcasts were live to black-and-white TVs only. A common method to get live TV to 16 or 35 millimeter optical film was to point a camera toward a TV screen and film the over-the-air broadcast. Frame rates of television and motion picture cameras do not match. A kinescope would be needed to better match the frame rates. This video, however, looks like an amateur videographer somehow recorded the live TV broadcast to tape, but had only one-hour-length tapes on hand, so we lose part of Liu's aria during the tape swap. Keep in mind also that European PAL and American NTSC video formats differ. So, it is indeed unfortunate that a better source of this television production doesn't exist on the market, but I'm happy to have the videotape anyway. In my opinion, Franco Corelli is the definitive Calaf.

In spite of the black and white, flickering 1958 picture, this was an excellent production of Turandot. It would have been magnificent in color! I bought this to see Franco Corelli for the first time and was not disappointed. (He reminds me of Jose Carreras.)

But it was Lucille Udovich as Princess Turandot who impressed me greatly as the probable role model for Eva Marton. She had to have seen this production at some time. Eva Marton is my favorite in this role and watching Udovich, who even looks like Eva Marton, all I could think was, "She's as good as Eva Marton!" But Udovich came first, of course.

Renata Mattioli was heavenly as Liu and the singers who portrayed Ping, Pang, and Pong were great, too.

It's worth a watching!