Search - Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Federico Ricci :: Lebendige Vergangenheit: Salvatore Baccaloni

Five stars aren't nearly enough...........

Robert C. Hufford | Hopewell, VA USA | 07/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Salvatore Baccaloni [1900-1969] is the stereotype of the Basso Buffo...opera's comic relief. He was a fat Italian, and that remains the standard, though many are not one or the other, and the great Fernando Corena was neither...there was even a respected Orthodox Cantor in New York with a dual career...as a Hazan, he used his straight name, but he bowed to convention, and had an Italian stage name for the opera. Of course, Baccaloni was also a voice of the ages, as well as a comic genius. There is a reason he's the standard, and in the buffa operas where he had to carry the show, he was transcendent.



This is a collection of records from 1929 to 1943, but the best numbers came from Columbia in 1930. The sound is good, for the time, and the transfers are absolutely superb. Some cuts are better known than others...we get the original "A un dottor" from the "Barber of Seville" as well as Romani's substituted "Manca un foglio". [Some thought the original was too hard to sing, so the substitution was made...Baccaloni returned to the original, as he had no problem with it, and that is now the standard]. For me, the highlight is "Udite, udite" from Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'amore"...an opera where the comic carries the action...I want tickets in Heaven. The other "L'elisir" cut is wonderful, and the "Madamina", from "Don Giovanni" will blow you away...



Everybody knows Caruso, but only opera fans know Baccaloni; that's sad. Grab this; once you get past the ancient sound, you will have a grand time."

The Maestro

Gianni Zeno | Desert Hot Springs, CA | 03/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Salvatore Baccaloni had the most beautiful voice and was the most talented Basso Buffo of his time and probably any other. He was a natural and amazing comedian of great range and charm. The only other who ever came close was Baccaloni's successor at the Met, Fernando Corena. Later on he had a career in Hollywood films with Danny Kaye and others that preserve his joie de vivre and charm. This is a most interesting CD of standard and most unusual(Crispino) comic opera solos, duets, and trios. Bravo, Maestro!"