CELEBRATING 53,000 Classical CD reviews on-line (Sept 2016); 21,000 page views each day. Return to MusicWeb International
Ralph Moore's survey of Un ballo in maschera
Posted by Nils-Göran Olve on June 5, 2020, 3:19 pm
Thanks for an excellent overview. But let me add a few footnotes. Much of Ballo derives from Auber's Gustave III, an interesting opera in itself - like by the way Mercadante's Il reggente. Both were issued on CDs. Now your survey is of Ballo, but Oscar came from Gustave III. And some details of the story from witnesses of the real-life events living in Paris when that opera was written. There are two recordings you might have added. One is the Met 1940 version with Björling and Milanov, where conductor Panizza almost competes with Toscanini for excellence. Another is a curiosity: Dynamic's issue of what they called Gustavo III, that is an 1858 version of the opera reconstructed by Philip Gossett. It is inferior to the finished Ballo, in a so-so performance from Gothenburg 2002, but a unique opportunity to observe Verdi at work towards the excellent finished Ballo. If censors had not intervened we might never have had it! Nilsson's Amelia was not a record studio tryout. There is a German-language broadcast from Munich 1955 on Walhall CDs which in some ways is preferable, and she sang the role in Swedish here in Stockholm, in a famous production by Gentele and Ehrling which spoilt later versions for Swedish operagoers of my generation. Now all of that never belonged in your article anyway, but it shows the attraction many feel for this particular opera and its performance history. It can be so fascinating that even two inferior studio versions you left out - both early US LPs, Marini on Plymouth and especially Leibowitz on Renaissance - have stayed on my shelves, after I found them by pure chance.
Thanks for that interesting information, Nils. I was aware of the Panizza recording and the German "Ballo" with Nilsson but, as you acknowledge in your posting, decided that they did not belong in my survey according to my criteria. As I have frequently observed, I am always acutely aware that I have missed out somebody's favourite - and often someone comments to that effect! - but that is inevitable given the numbers involved, so I rely upon contributions such as yours to fill any gaps.