Customer Reviews

Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
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All three of the major stars, Callas, Di Stefano, and Bastianini on this performance of Un Ballo un Maschera are at the very peak of their powers. Callas is simply in stunning voice and her dramatic intepretation of Amelia definitely impresses here. Callas was truly a one of a kind Diva. Di Stefano is in his glorious prime. Riccardo was a role Di Stefano was born to sing. All his major arias and duets are flawlessly done ("Di tu se Fedele", "La Riverdra", and "Ma Se M'e Forza Perderti", to name just a few), with a dramatic interpretation and intensity rivaled by none. The voice of Ettore Bastianini is simply awesome. "Alla Vita Che T'arride" and "Eri Tu" are particularly compelling and Bastianini definitely gives the Renato on th EMI set with Callas and Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, a real run for his money. Gianandrea Gavazzeni's conducting is first class all the way and the La Scala chorus and orchestra are in top form. The sound quality of this recording is good to excellent, especially for a live recording done circa 1957. This is a must have performance, even if you already own a recording of Un Ballo in Maschera and the price from Opera D'Oro and Amazon.com is an absolute steal. Get this recording today! Truly great singing.

One can really feel the sense of occasion on this superb live disc,this was the first time Callas had sung the role of Amelia on stage (she had recorded it the previous year)and there were great expectations with rumours abounding that her vocal powers were in decline but Callas simply rose to the challange singing beautifully,giving tremendous passion and vulnerability to the role like no other singer has done,her portrait of Amelia comes to life in a very three dimensional way and those top C's are magnificent,she is in stunning form! The other singers are cast from strength,Di Stefano is a natural for the role of Riccardo with his wonderfully flowing tenor,relishing the lighter moments and being positively uplifted in the duet"Teco io sto" with Callas,his performance is magnificent,so too Bastianini,his dark velvet baritone used imposingly in the part of Renato,Simionato is incomparable in the role of Ulrica her singing of"Re dell'abisso affrettati" is sublime with wonderful contralto tone,dark and firm,Gavazzeni conducts with real flare while being sensitive to the needs of his illustrious singers and the orchestra rises to the occasion magnificantly, a truly wonderful,unique evening captured in good quality sound this for me surpassess the studio version of a year earlier with most of the same singers as it captures a piece of musical history,it is most recommendable!!!

This has to be one of the best releases by Opera d'Oro. The sound is perfectly acceptable broadcast mono from the fifties. But the performance is what is special. Even more so than the studio version with a nearly identical cast, this performance crackles with drama from first to last. Gavazenni is the main difference, being a much more potent force than Votto on EMI.

Callas is in her element as Amelia. Her live performance is more imaginative and freely sung than her studio version. And her voice sounds much firmer and more beautiful with space around it, Walter Legge miked her too closely in her EMI recordings. The only quibble is that she is a shade uninvolved in "Morro, ma prima in grazia". Tebaldi, Caniglia, Rethberg, Price and even Arroyo have made more of that aria. But the rest is sheer magic and beautiful to boot.

DiStefano is a bit overparted as Riccardo but sings with charm and conviction. And his voice is so attractive that it is difficult to resist his work. Bergonzi and the young Pavarotti are also exemplary in this role.

Battistini is as good if not more rich sounding than Gobbi for EMI and Siminato is the equal of Barbieri. Chorus and orchestra splendid and highly idiomatic.

Definitley recommended, especially at the bargain basement price. For stereo consider Price, Bergonzi and Merril on RCA, Arroyo, Domingo and Capuccilli under Muti on EMI or Pavarotti on Decca. Also worth investigating is Gigli and Caniglia, the new Naxos version being well engineered and having a wonderful bonus of scenes with Bonci and Arangi-Lombardi to show how "Ballo" should really be sung.

Despite of the sound quality, that of course cannot be in current level, this Ballo recording is still one the best and I can listen it again and again as its dramatic power is so intense. All casts and chorus too are in top form.
I cannot miss to express my admiration of Maria Callas as her Amelia is one of the best of all her roles. Such a difficult and demanding part sung so beautifully and with such a dramatic power ! Whast a huge voice at the time she was the slimmest in her carrier ! I simply love this live performance as if I close my eyes, I am there. In the same perfect top form are both
Di Stefano and Bastiani.
I am not the person, for whom the quality of the sound is the definitive thing. Opera is a drama ( and what a drama is this one !!! - one of the best Verdi`s work !!! ) and not concert performance of religious music, so if someone sings with sterile however beautiful voice, I really cannot enjoy it.

Fortunately, this recording is not THAT situation.

BUY it and ENJOY it.
Sound is exceptionally good ( the same listenable and enjoyable quality as Anna Bolena ) and I prefer this recording even to the studio one however it is almost with the same casts.

It's usually hit-or-miss when you buy these budget-priced, live recordings, but this particular recording exceeded my expectations. First of all, the sound quality is good, considering that other live recordings with Callas tend to have horrible mono sound. Callas herself is in fine form- none of the "whining and screaming" that her critics derided her for. Simonato's Ulrica is another plus. The power and texture of her voice is incredible.

This is one Opera D'Oro recording that is well worth buying.

This is the BEST Ballo in Maschera I ever heard....Great, mesmerizing, divine! Along with the live recording from the MET (With Milanov&Björling) and one with Carreras&Ricciarelli those shouldn't be missed! You'll love them!

This is a masterpiece with several of the greatest opera artist the world has seen. Un Ballo in Maschera is a great work of Verdi, and the story about the assassination of the Swedish king, Gustav III, is very dramatic. Maybe the sound isn't the absolutely the best, but when I have listened to this album, it has never bothered me since the album is so dramatic, so intense, and so beautiful.

I am surprised that so many previous reviewers are so tolerant of the gruesome sound of this set - clearly a recording from off the radio: thin, boxy and constricted. The cast is outstanding; Callas is marginally even more animated and secure of voice than the studio recording made the previous year (see my review), before she had sung the rôle on stage; Bastianini is in leonine voice if sometimes a little unsteady (as in "Eri tu") and Di Stefano is once again a model of involvement if somewhat stretched. Simionato is more vibrant here than Barbieri in 1956, though there isn't much in it; on the other hand, although he strains to manage the top notes, Gobbi offers an incomparably nuanced Renato on the Votto set. Gavazzeni's direction is more vibrant live than Votto's rather anonymous studio recording, however. The aptly named Ratti is irritating in both, but recorded live her squeals set the teeth even more on edge. On balance, I prefer the studio version on the grounds that orchestral detail and vocal subtleties emerge much more clearly. Of all the studio recordings available, I rate above all the Leinsdorf set with Price, Merrill and Bergonzi - three glorious voices born for middle-period Verdi, recorded in lovely sound.

SOURCE: Broadcast of opening night performance of "Ballo" at La Scala, December 7, 1957.

CAST: Riccardo, Royal Governor of Boston who loves Amelia - Giuseppe Di Stefano (tenor); Renato, Riccardo's friend and chief political supporter - Ettore Bastianini (baritone); Amelia, Renato's wife - Maria Callas(soprano); Ulrica, a witch who holds open meetings on the Boston docks - Giulietta Simionato (mezzo-soprano); Oscar, Riccardo's page - Eugenia Ratti (soprano); Samuele, a conspirator with a grudge against Riccardo - Giuseppe Morresi (bass); Tomasso, another conspirator who also has a grudge - Antonio Cassinelli (bass); Silvano, a low-ranking naval officer in pursuit of promotion (baritone); a judge - Angelo Mercuriali (tenor); a servant to Amelia - Antonio Ricci (tenor). Conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni with Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano.

SOUND: I think it's a fairly safe assumption that the original tape was recorded off the air by means of an AM radio receiver. From time to time there are noticeable changes in the recorded ambience. Some choruses were recorded too far off-mike, the final moments of Act II, for example. On the whole, though, the mono sound is not bad--and certainly far better than many of the truly horrific recordings of Callas' live performances.

For those many fans who are concerned only and always with La Divina, she comes through quite well from beginning to end.

DOCUMENTATION: Od'O standard package. No libretto. Heroic but inevitably vain attempt by Bill Parker to squeeze in some information about the opera and to summarize its plot in the wretchedly inadequate space allowed him by the publishers. Track list which fails to identify singers and omits timings.

COMMENTARY: "Un Ballo in Maschera" premiered at the Apollo in Rome on February 17, 1859. It followed the first version of "Simone Boccanegra" and the revision of "Steffelio" into "Aroldo," both in 1857. It was followed by "La forza del destino" in 1862. It is based on a libetto by the ubiquitous Eugene Scribe, "Gustave III."

"Ballo" is firmly in what was then already being called Verdi's "second style" and what we now know as middle-period Verdi. It remains very much a standard repertory opera, but it is not as widely beloved as "La Traviata" or as well known as "Aida." Nevertheless, "Ballo" is a truly brilliant work with soaring melodies, unforgettable ensembles and even a sense of humor. Verdi was at his full power and had achieved complete control over all the elements of composition and production. The second act is a perfect example of music drama, reaching that faultless level of mastery occupied by the first act of "La Traviata" and the second act of "La Boheme."

On the other hand, it must be acknowledged that the libretto is riddled one preposterous thing after another. The reason. of course, is politics. In 1792 King Gustavus III of Sweden was shot in the back by one Count Anckarstrom during a masquerade ball at the Stockholm Opera House. When Scribe wrote his libretto, he--of course!--made everything hinge on a love story rather than on dreary, dull Swedish politics. Verdi thought the libretto was worth putting to music (as had both Auber and Mercadante before him.) Verdi hired a hack named Antonio Somma to compress Scribe's five flabby acts into a leaner, meaner three and to turn the original French into acceptable Italian verse. Verdi then sat down to write his music in preparation for a premier in Naples.

All of this was very straightforward. Then the censors took hand. Verdi was informed that the Bourbon monarchy of Naples would not allow any public performance that included the murder of a king--no way, no how, no never! A great deal of kerfuffle and popular agitation followed, including a lawsuit. No, it was decided--no royal murder, no masked ball, no opera.

Verdi gave up on Naples and entered into negotiations for an opening in Rome. Now the papal censors became involved. By this time, Verdi was fed up with the whole thing and wearily agreed to changes in about sixty lines of Somma's libretto. The opera that had dealt with life in a late 18th Century royal court was transferred, courtiers, confiscated castles, witches, pages, chorus-singing conspirators, elaborately costumed masqueraders, Old Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all to the Boston of about 1750. Il Re Gustavo III became Riccardo, Earl of Warwick (pronounced in fine Italian form as WarWEEK), Royal Governor of Boston (but not, apparently, Massachusetts).

"Un Ballo in Maschera" lends itself to differing interpretations. In the wartime recording with Gigli, Caniglia and Bechi, it is a lighthearted schoolboy romp that goes unexpectedly and horribly wrong. In the old Met broadcast with Bjorling, Milanov and Sved (in pretty terrible sound, alas), it is a stand-and-deliver romance that overwhelms with sumptuous singing. This "Ballo" is tense, hard-knuckle drama from beginning to end, a sort of "Un Ballo in Medea."

Maria Callas had recorded "Ballo" in the studio with Antonino Votto in 1956. This live recording from a bit over a year later features her in a much less restrained mode. The presence of Gavazzeni, who was a much better opera conductor, is a big help. (Why Votto, who was Toscanini's assistant for more than thirty years, was incapable of generating any heat in his own performances has always been a mystery to me.) Callas is in fine voice. She smooths over the two breaks in her voice--she, herself, made jokes about her three voices--as neatly as she ever managed to accomplish throughout her career. Her power and her high notes are all that could be wanted from a Callas performance and the audience at La Scala responds appropriately.

Despite singing well, her inner demons were already beginning to catch up with her. Highly publicized cancellations in Athens and Edinburgh had preceded this run at La Scala and soon after would come painful and very public cancellations in Rome and San Francisco. Even there at La Scala, she was feuding with Di Stefano to such an extent that rehearsals for this "Ballo" became physically painful for her.

Callas' Amelia is a completely thought-out portrait. Purely as a matter of personal taste, I prefer the sheer, singerly sumptuousness of Milanov's Amelia, as well as the spontaneous intensity of Caniglia (wrong notes and all), but Callas is vastly impressive.

Di Stefano is very good but Riccardo is far from being his best role. He attempts the risi, laughs, in "E'scherzo od e follia" when informed that his best friend will kill him, but without any real success. (Listen to Bonci or Gigli to discover how it should be done.) If you are familiar with any of several great tenors in the role of Riccardo, Di Stefano seems just a little bit underpowered in the over-the-top passages in the wonderful duets of Act II.

This is one of the few live Callas performances in which the whole cast is worthy of her. Bastianni and Simionato represent luxury casting and they are both excellent. Eugenia Ratti is occasionally somewhat effortful but always amusing and bright. Sam, Tom and Silv are fine in their respective roles.

A good, live Callas performance that is well cast and pleasing to hear is a rarity well worth five stars.

I agree with the comments about the cast, singing, etc., but I was disappointed that there was no libretto included. If this is important to you, look for another recording. Also, the sound seems to be mono. I also bought another opera on this label (Opera D'oro), with the same problems. The price is great, but in this case, you get what you pay for.