Search - Amilcare Ponchielli, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi :: Lebendige Vergangenheit: Giacomo Lauri Volpi II

A FEAST OF MELODIES AND CELEBRATED SQUILLI !

jfmaniaci | Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia | 06/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This unique CD is a rich collection of 19 famous arias and duets sung by Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, the most loved and envied tenor in Italy and abroad in the period 1920-1960. Preiser expertly transferred studio 78s in 1996. The booklet carries salient biographical notes and a listing of all the arias without being exhaustive. The arias and duets were recorded over a span of 10 years, mostly during the World War II period. Surprisingly, Lauri-Volpi was still acclaimed in Europe in the late forties, 30 years after a spectacular debut with Puritani and Rigoletto in 1919. Irrespective of time, between 1919 and 1948, the "solitary voice" (as he called it) preserved the limpidity, spontaneity, brilliance and heroic top notes, which made him famous. He sang opera by talking musically, with exact and precise tones as intended by composers. He stunned the world over with inflamed phrasing, ample and vibrant, adorned with feline bursts and celebrated squilli! Listen to his unmatched "...all'armi" from the great aria of Trovatore and "Nessun dorma" from Turandot. This unique CD, a vivid evidence of his vocal qualities, also shows attentive and supreme characterization on the stage. I almost melted away listening to "E lucevan le stelle" (Tosca), "Non piangere Liu" (Turandot) and "Ch'ella mi creda" (Fanciulla), sung with a mixture of soft, muffled voice and thrilling top notes, conveying the Puccinian characters' emotions. His dramatic portrait of the moor in the suicide scene "Niun mi tema" at the very end of "Otello" is of Shakespearean stature! ."