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Moore / Butterfly / Santini
Posted by Terence on June 15, 2024, 4:46 pm
I was glad to be prompted to listen to Santini's Butterfly again. Bjorling is the star; I really like Santini's conducting; but not de los Angeles. That's a problem with so many Butterly recordings. Scotto, Callas, Tebaldi. As a non-expert, I still prefer Sinopoli, who is disregarded by so many, and not only for his Puccini. I think Freni's voice is better there than with Karajan but I'm certainly in a minority there. Her voice is the ideal for Butterfly, I think, and I'd play the Georghiu more were it not for Kaufmann. And the other three Sinopoli principals are as good or better than most. I still think Bergonzi in Serafin is the best Pinkerton, and man! I can't believe I'm writing this, but there is more of a frisson between Tebaldi and Bergonzi than I get in any other recording in the love duet. Bergonzi is the star there. Bjorling comes close but I'm not getting anything from his duet with de los Angeles.
I completely understand your reasoning; Victoria de los Angeles will never be my favourite, either, but I clearly like her more than you. There are indeed other good recordings and Bergonzi makes an appealing (perhaps the wrong word) Pinkerton. I am a big Sinopoli fan but I think Freni sounds far less fresh for him than for Karajan. The Pappano recording is something of a dud, with a poor tenor and baritone - and the supporting cast are no great shakes. It's still Karajan all the way for me - but it is far from being one of my favourite Puccini operas as it is so depressing; I much prefer almost all the others - and at least La fanciulla has a rare happy ending...
Previous Message
I was glad to be prompted to listen to Santini's Butterfly again. Bjorling is the star; I really like Santini's conducting; but not de los Angeles. That's a problem with so many Butterly recordings. Scotto, Callas, Tebaldi. As a non-expert, I still prefer Sinopoli, who is disregarded by so many, and not only for his Puccini. I think Freni's voice is better there than with Karajan but I'm certainly in a minority there. Her voice is the ideal for Butterfly, I think, and I'd play the Georghiu more were it not for Kaufmann. And the other three Sinopoli principals are as good or better than most. I still think Bergonzi in Serafin is the best Pinkerton, and man! I can't believe I'm writing this, but there is more of a frisson between Tebaldi and Bergonzi than I get in any other recording in the love duet. Bergonzi is the star there. Bjorling comes close but I'm not getting anything from his duet with de los Angeles.
I am even more at odds with the consensus than you Terence. My favorite Butterfly is the 1957 RCA set with Moffo/Valletti/Elias/Cesari under Leinsdorf.
Previous Message
I was glad to be prompted to listen to Santini's Butterfly again. Bjorling is the star; I really like Santini's conducting; but not de los Angeles. That's a problem with so many Butterly recordings. Scotto, Callas, Tebaldi. As a non-expert, I still prefer Sinopoli, who is disregarded by so many, and not only for his Puccini. I think Freni's voice is better there than with Karajan but I'm certainly in a minority there. Her voice is the ideal for Butterfly, I think, and I'd play the Georghiu more were it not for Kaufmann. And the other three Sinopoli principals are as good or better than most. I still think Bergonzi in Serafin is the best Pinkerton, and man! I can't believe I'm writing this, but there is more of a frisson between Tebaldi and Bergonzi than I get in any other recording in the love duet. Bergonzi is the star there. Bjorling comes close but I'm not getting anything from his duet with de los Angeles.
Previous Message