Renata Tebaldi's discography is one of the most complete and perfect ever recorded by a singer. A whole series of roles that the great soprano never staged or released in disco, were recorded in studio on different occasions. This double CD collects the unusual repertoire that Renata Tebaldi did not record in the complete operas. These are rarities that, although well-known, are now hard to find on the market.

Justin Taylor has a passion for early keyboards and is always keen to match the works he tackles with the most appropriate historical instruments. Justin has always been fascinated by the music of Frederic Chopin, whose intimate musical world is presented here. We know that Chopin composed some of his preludes during his stay with George Sand in Mallorca, where he used a very special instrument. This was a Pleyel pianino - a small upright piano of six and a half octaves that was only made between 1835 and 1842 - with a beautiful natural resonance and a velvety timbre. Taylor has recorded the preludes composed on this Pleyel pianino along with a selection of etudes, nocturnes and mazurkas, all of which suit the sound of the instrument perfectly. A moving transcription of Bellini's Casta diva, an aria that Chopin much admired, is also included here.

On her solo debut album Indomita, soprano Eleonora Buratto pays tribute to the greatest composers and most insurmountable heroines of Italian nineteenth-century opera, together with the Orchestra & Coro dell'Opera Carlo Felice Genova under the baton of Sesto Quatrini. For Buratto, these scenes from Bellini's Il pirata, Donizetti's Anna Bolena and Lucrezia Borgia, as well as Verdi's I due Foscari and Aroldo, constitute a core repertoire for any soprano moving into the dramatic post-1850 operas in which she is currently thriving onstage. The combined demand of agility and power of the indomitable women portrayed fit her voice like a glove, and the combination of pieces offers an illuminating perspective on the development of Italian opera during the nineteenth century. Eleonora Buratto is one of the most highly acclaimed lyric sopranos in the world. Besides the Orchestra & Coro dell'Opera Carlo Felice Genova and conductor Sesto Quatrini, Indomita contains contributions by mezzo-soprano Irene Savignano, tenor Didier Pieri and bass Giovanni Battista Parodi. All artists make their PENTATONE debut.

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The present release features the 1967 Decca recording of Bellni's Norma, with a stellar cast including Mario del Monaco and Elena Suliotis. The studio recordings of Norma are very few. Of great fame are essentially those starring Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland, followed by the RCA edition sung by Montserrat Caball. Since then very few official publications have contributed to enrich the discography of this important work. One of the greatest interpreters of the role of Pollione was certainly Mario Del Monaco. His Decca version with Elena Suliotis as the protagonist is however very rare to find on the market as Decca, no one knows for what commercial choice, has almost never reprinted it. With this album, we make available this precious document that really fills a gap in the international opera discography.

Bellini: La sonnambula (1955)

Bellini: Beatrice di Tenda

Hasmik Paplan, Hugh Smith, Irini Tsirakidis, Giorgio Giuseppini, Anna Steiger, and Carlo Bosi star in de Nederlandse Opera's production of the Bellini opera with Julian Reynolds conducting.

On the subject of musical arrangements, I am somewhat ambivalent. While no one would dream of exhibiting a Titian or a Watteau covered with a light pink, transparent plastic, much less rearrange the figures in the scene, we readily change the coloration and even the format of musical works without a thought. On the other hand, sometimes they reveal aspects of the work you wouldn't have otherwise noticed. (Walter/Wendy Carlos offered up such a revelation for me in the third Brandenburg concerto.) That doesn't necessarily happen here, but I did find the program and the performances quite enjoyable. Still, with all the unrecorded original trumpet music on hand (Torelli, for example), I wonder at the need for programs like this.

For the record the headnotes above reflect the music as played and noted. The Bellini and Corelli seem to be the real McCoy, but the Tessarini, Albinoni, and Tartini are arrangements by Jean Thilde, a musician who did a lot of this sort of thing in the first half of this century. While no credit is given for the transcription, the "Benedetto" Marcello Concerto in C Minor was originally an oboe concerto by Alessandro Marcello in D Minor. Ever since old man Bach transcribed this work for unaccompanied harpsichord, it has been up for grabs. "The Carnival of Venice" by Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-89) as arranged by one G. Herbillon has an evocative opening, but then goes into off-key accompaniment, a device popular in the middle of this century. The sound is excellent and the disc recommended to those so inclined.

Nils Anderson, FANFARE [5/1994]

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BELLINI, V.: Operas (Complete)

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