HISTORICAL REISSUES Blessed are the dead who recorded well, for their works live after them. One imagines the spirit of Roberto Bauer smiling benignly as it hovers over the houses of Preiser, EMI and Bellaphon. What were for­ mally just so many listings in his catalog have now become listening experiences. But, to remind us that the Golden Age (if that is what it was) is not so far back around the corner, the final dates of three of our twelve featured artists are yet to be filled in. Six are repre­ sented by electrical recordings. It seems logical to consider them here in chronological order according to their birthdates. The pro­ grams are well documented, with recording dates where possible, catalog and matrix numbers. The transfers are generally very good. ARMIDA PARSI-PETTINELLA, mezzo-soprano (1868-1949) DONIZETTI: Favorita--0 mio Fernando; MEYERBEER: Proph~te--Figlio mio; VERDI: Trovatore--Condotta ell'era in ceppi; ... Giorni poveri vivea (with Pasquale Amato, Ferruccio Corradetti); Forza del destino-­ Al suon del tamburo; ••. Rataplan; Aida--Fu la sorte dell'armi (with Ester Mazzoleni); GOUNOD: Faust--Le parlate d'amor; BIZET: Carmen-­ All' udir del sistro il suon; .•• Voglio danzar pel tuo piacer; THOMAS: Mignon--In veder l'amata stanza; MASSENET: Le Roi de Lahor--Viaggia o bella; PONCHIELLI: Gioconda--Voce di donna; BRAGA: La Serenata. Court Opera Classics CO 372. Parsi-Pettinella was one of the stars of the Fonotipia catalog in the first decade of the century. Hers was obviously an ample voice, and she recorded well. It was one of those Italian mezzos, rather bright in color, flexible and vibrant. There are flaws in some of her performances - an uncertain ending in 0 mio Fernando, a not too steady top in her very lifelike, very Italianate Ah, mon fils. But Azucena's narrative gets an exciting performance with an unnamed tenor responding, and the two pieces from Forza are bright and lively - a suggested model for the ladies who sing Preziosilla nowadays. The chorus in Al suon del tamburo, and later in Carmen's Gypsy song, is decidedly weak. The Gavotte from Mignon (in Italian, of course) is rather jumpy, but the little known aria from Le Roi de Lahor proves quite attractive. The picture on the jacket suggests an imposing woman. Obviously she had temperament. An interesting artist. JOSEPHINA HUGUET, soprano (1871-1951) ROSSINI: Barbiere di Siviglia--Una voce poco fa; DONIZETTI: Lucia--Regnava nel silenzio ••. Quando rapita in estasi; VERDI: Rigo­ letto--Oh mia Gilda ... Lasst in cielo (with Renzo Minofli); Traviata­ -Ah! fors' e lui •.. Sempre libera (with Pietro Lara); .•. Alfredo, Alfredo, di guesto core (with Gino Giovanelli, Francesco Federici); BOITO: Mefistofele--Amore! misterio celeste, profondo! (with Gennaro de Tura); MEYERBEER: Les Huguenots--0 lieto suol di Turenna; Dinorah-­ Ombra leggera; GOUNOD: Faust--Signor! concesso sia all'umil Vostra ancella (with Giuseppe Torres de Luna); THOMAS: Mignon--Non conosci il bel suol; ... Io son Titania; Hamlet--Ed ora a voi cantero una canzon; 206 ARDITI: Il bacio. Court Opera Classics CO 373. Josephina (Josefina or Giuseppina) Huguet was a Spaniard whose career was based in Italy, though she traveled extensively in Europe and South America and even made one tournle in New York. But her fame rests on her long series of records, begun in 1903. Like Maria Michailowa's, her voice recorded exceptionally well in the very early days. It was a high, brilliant and flexible soprano, less rounded and warm than Michailowa's, white in quality as bespoke her Italian orientation. So successful were her records that they sold the world over, and she vir­ tually covered the entire standard repertoire, even filling in gaps where Red Seal artists rarely ventured. Victor issued many of them in its black label. She might have been called the poor man's Tetrazzini. She was Leoncavallo's voice for Nedda in the famous 1907 complete Pagliacci. Her voice blended beautifully in duets with many of Italy's leading singers - de Lucia, Giogini, de Tura, Paoli, etc. This is a good selection, varied in style to show her versatility as well as her facility. There are a few bloopers - the Mignon Polonaise ends in some­ thing of a scramble, and there is an exaggerated sob at the end of Connais-tu le pays? Her intonation was less than perfec~, and sometimes ending a cadenza she does not quite meet with the returning orchestra. But it is easy to understand her popularity. Few sopranos, down to the present day, have taken so naturally to recording. RICCARDO STRACCIARI, baritone (1875-1955) VERDI: Ernani--Lo vedromo, veglio audace; •.• ode verd' anni miei; Traviata--Pura siccome un angelo ••• Dite alla giovine •.• Imponete (with Fernanda Chiesa); .•• Di Provenza il mar; Vespri Siciliani--In braccia alle dovizie; Aida--Quest' assisa ch'io vesto vi dica; GOUNOD: Faust--Dio possente; .•• Stammi a udir, Margherita; MEYERBEER: Africana-­ Figlia di regi; PONCHIELLI: Gioconda--Pescator, affonda l'esca; LEON­ CAVALLO: Zaza--Zaz~, piccolo zingara; PUCCINI: Tosca--Tarda ~ la notte ..• Ha pi& forte sapore; •.• Gi~, mi dicon venal; FRANCHETTI: Germania--Ferito prigionier. Court Opera Classics CO 375. Stracciari is a collectors' favorite, well established in this country as Columbia's premiere baritone during his stay with the Chicago Opera, 1917-19. The recordings here are all from his earlier period with Fonotipia. His was a long career, from his debut in 1900 to a final farewell in 1944, though his official retirement was in 1936. For a baritone of his generation he had the unique distinction of perpetu­ ating his two most famous roles - Rigoletto and Rossini's barber - in complete electrical recordings. Clemens Hoslinger provides some interes­ ting discussion in the jacket notes as to Stracciari's reputation as a bel canto baritone, quoting Henry Pleasants' verdict: "The most beauti­ ful voice of all." But Hoslinger does not leave it at that. For my­ self, I would find it difficult to agree with Pleasants. To my ears the voice and style are big and somewhat blustery, closer to Ruffo than to Battistini and De Luca. He could be very dramatic, as in the much admired Africana piece, but again rather tame as in the Gioconda that follows. For a good example of his well-schooled legato singing we 207 have the long duet from Traviata with, I'm afraid, a rather ordinary Italian soprano. The name of the bass in the first Ernani number is not disclosed. Somehow I find him most convincing in the earliest, piano-accompanied, recordings (1905) from Aida and Germania. Those who treasure the Columbia repertoire will find here interesting material for comparison. Stracciari fans will welcome so generous a program of rarities. LOLA ART8T DE PADILLA, soprano (1880?-1933) MOZART: Nozze di Figaro--So lang hab ich geschmachtet; THOMAS: Mignon--Ihr Schwalben in den Liiften (with Franz Egenieff); HUMPERDINCK: Konigskinder--Ach, ich bin allein; ..• Bin ein lustiger Jagersmann (with Karl Jorn); ... Sieh her, ob mir Hunger die Glieder entziert; MOZART: Nozze di Figaro--Ich weiss nicht wo ich bin, was ich tue; ... Sagt, holde Frauen; Don Giovanni--Schmale, tobe, lieber Junge; ... Wenn du fein fromm hist; VERDI: Traviata--Un di felice, eterea; ... Parigi, o cara; BIZET: Carmen--Parlons de toi, la messagiere; PUCCINI: Boh~me--0 soave fan­ ciulle (with Bjorn Talen). Court Opera Classics CO 370. Daughter of two famous singers, the Paris-born Belgian soprano Desiree Art8t and the Spanish baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos, Lola Art8t de Padilla had her career almost exclusively in Germany. And, as Leo Riemens speculates in the accompanying notes, one wonders why a star of the first rank in that country never appeared in London or America. She was chiefly noted as a Mozart singer, but along with an almost complete list of the standard lyric soprano roles she sang in the world premiere of Delius' A village Romeo and Juliet (1907), Arthur Nevin's Poia (1910) as well as the first Berlin performance of Konig­ skinder (1911) and Ariadne auf Naxos (1916) in which latter she sang the Composer. This program comprises her complete discography. One wonders again with Riemens whether there may not have been some unpub­ lished solos recorded when she was making duets with Egenieff in 1909 or with Talen in 1922. For the most part the original discs are extremely rare, one possible exception being the Konigskinder duet with Karl Jorn, which was issued in this country on Victor's blue label. She must have been a lovely Goose Girl, for her voice has bellike purity and a very personal appeal. The selection beginning Sieh her ••. is in part the same as Farrar's Weiss noch das grosse Nest (one of her loveliest records). The various Mozart solos, though sung in German, well substantiate her claims in this field. Perhaps, because of the text, Non so pi~ is a bit jumpy; Vedrai carino suffers from a terrible orchestra and under par recording. And the orchestra in the otherwise admirable Batti, batti has some confused moments. Voi che sapete is the best of the lot, and a very fine best it is. The duets with Egenieff, her first recordings, are hardly exceptional; the four with Talen, her last, are good enough to make one wish for a better partner. Talen is not the most gracious of tenors; his singing is rather stiff, and he tends to overbalance the soprano. But these four duets are sung in the original languages and they have lovely moments. The best of her partners is the dependable and warm voiced Jorn. 208 FRIEDRICH SCHORR, baritone (1888-1953) MOZART: Zauberflote--Bei Miinnern, welche Liebe fuhlen (with Emmy Bettendorf); .•• Ein Madchen oder Weibchen; Don Giovanni--Feinsliebchen komm ans Fenster; BEETHOVEN: Fidelio--Ha! welch ein Augenblick; LORTZING: Zar und Zimmermann-Sonst spielt ich mit Zepter; MEYERBEER: Huguenots--Vom Krieg, der uns bedroht; WAGNER: Tannhauser--Wie Todesah­ nung; Der fliegende Hollander--Wie? Hort' ich recht? (with Otto Helgers); •.• Wie aus der Ferne •.• Versank ich jetzt •.• Wirst du des Vaters Wahl (with Melanie Kurt) Preiser LV 241.