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Decca's 'Florence experiment' of 1963?
Posted by Stefan Pilczek on March 2, 2024, 8:23 pm
I refer to the first paragraph of Mike Parr's review of the Decca Varviso recording of Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri.
He mentions that Decca moved there for its Italian operatic recordings in 1963 because the usual Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome was undergoing renovation and then abandoning their 'Florence experiment' and moving back to Rome thereafter. However, the complete Decca discography (available for download from the Australian Eloquence website) would suggest otherwise.
In fact Decca appear to have regularly recorded at the Teatro Pergola in Florence between 1955 and 1963, recording a total of 13 complete operas and three operatic recitals there.
This would suggest to me that use of the Florence venue by Decca in 1963 was hardly a 'relocation' from Rome and hardly a 'change of venue' considering that their producers had been working there for a period of eight years by that point.
I would highly recommend reference to the said Decca discography for any serious collector or music critic, as it provides a most fascinating and accurate history of the company's classical recording activity.
Thank you Stefan for kindly pointing out the error in my statement about Decca's history of recoring operas in Florence. I knew about the two Rossini operas and the 1962 Il Trittco but I had forgotten about the others. I was right about the fact that they returned to Rome for their 1964 summer sessions and didn't return to Florence. I will change the text of my review to reflect your input.
Mike Parr
Previous Message
I refer to the first paragraph of Mike Parr's review of the Decca Varviso recording of Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri .
He mentions that Decca moved there for its Italian operatic recordings in 1963 because the usual Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome was undergoing renovation and then abandoning their 'Florence experiment' and moving back to Rome thereafter. However, the complete Decca discography (available for download from the Australian Eloquence website) would suggest otherwise.
In fact Decca appear to have regularly recorded at the Teatro Pergola in Florence between 1955 and 1963, recording a total of 13 complete operas and three operatic recitals there.
This would suggest to me that use of the Florence venue by Decca in 1963 was hardly a 'relocation' from Rome and hardly a 'change of venue' considering that their producers had been working there for a period of eight years by that point.
I would highly recommend reference to the said Decca discography for any serious collector or music critic, as it provides a most fascinating and accurate history of the company's classical recording activity.
Thanks, Mike, for kindly offering to amend your review.
Further research using the Decca discography revealed that from 1964 up to 1970 the Santa Cecilia venue was used for a further seven complete operas and four recitals. However, by then Italian opera recording was becoming a more international affair with Decca sessions in London, Vienna, Berlin, Monte Carlo and later Bologna. Decca didn't revisit the Santa Cecilia venue again until 1998 for a Cecilia Bartoli recital disc.
Previous Message
Thank you Stefan for kindly pointing out the error in my statement about Decca's history of recoring operas in Florence. I knew about the two Rossini operas and the 1962 Il Trittco but I had forgotten about the others. I was right about the fact that they returned to Rome for their 1964 summer sessions and didn't return to Florence. I will change the text of my review to reflect your input.
Mike Parr
Previous Message
I refer to the first paragraph of Mike Parr's review of the Decca Varviso recording of Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri .
He mentions that Decca moved there for its Italian operatic recordings in 1963 because the usual Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome was undergoing renovation and then abandoning their 'Florence experiment' and moving back to Rome thereafter. However, the complete Decca discography (available for download from the Australian Eloquence website) would suggest otherwise.
In fact Decca appear to have regularly recorded at the Teatro Pergola in Florence between 1955 and 1963, recording a total of 13 complete operas and three operatic recitals there.
This would suggest to me that use of the Florence venue by Decca in 1963 was hardly a 'relocation' from Rome and hardly a 'change of venue' considering that their producers had been working there for a period of eight years by that point.
I would highly recommend reference to the said Decca discography for any serious collector or music critic, as it provides a most fascinating and accurate history of the company's classical recording activity.