Leontyne Price: The Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances.(Review)

Leontyne Price: The Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances

[] Arias by Verdi, Cilea. VAI VHS 69711 32 mins. The Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra, Vorhees

VAI continues to bring us treasures from the gem-laden vaults of The Bell Telephone Hour, which reflect, in a fascinating way, the good, bad, ugly and absolutely fabulous of both televised opera of the period and live performing styles at the Met. In the early 1960s, opera on television was rare; there was no national broadcasting venue akin to PBS, and excerpts were the order of the day. The directions for the singers seemed to consist mainly of stand, sing, and don't relate too much to each other. In some cases, the sound of the voice is so spectacular that the stand-and-deliver approach suffices. With certain artists, who transcended the static acting of the period, theatrical values would have been welcome. An additional hindrance is the determination to use color -- lots of it. A relatively "new and exciting" feature of TV broadcasting, it used to inspire some truly appalling costumes and even worse sets.

But, with a lineup of voices such as these, there is pleasure aplenty, provided by artists whose personal stamps were bold enough to survive the dilution of impact inherent to the medium. And a surprising plus is the over-miking, which, although occasionally producing distortion, gives a most vivid account of the vocal resources.

The three-tenor tape begins with Giuseppe di Stefano, who by all accounts should seem just a bit past his prime by 1963. Even taking into account the enriching effect of that close microphone, the tenor seems to be in splendid form for the period. What's more, he is an artist of great intensity; this rendition of Des Grieux's "Ah, fuyez" from Manon presents all his trademark qualities: bright, gorgeous tone, crystal-clear (if a shade less than idiomatic) diction and blazing emotion. And even if he can no longer integrate soft, floated tones with full-throated outpourings, both are thrilling.

Fans of Franco Corelli will rejoice at, and skeptics will be reluctantly subjugated by, excerpts from Tosca (1962), in which he is partnered by Lisa Della Casa, a consummate Strauss singer inexplicably cast for these selections, during an age of Tosca overkill in New York. Never mind, it is nice to have this beautiful soprano completing the visually believable duo with Corelli, who looks and sounds stunning. None of the mannerisms that crept into his live performances is in evidence. The voice is never throaty, portamento is expressive rather than excessive, the lisp is far less pronounced, and his nerves seem to be entirely under control. Most pleasing is the fact that this appears to have been taped while sung, as opposed to some of the tenor's Voice of Firestone appearances, which, look lip-synched. His "E lucevan le stelle" and a portion of the Act III duet are matchless additions to the Corelli legend. These selections are preceded by Alfred Drake's very actor-ish spoken introduction about Tosca, which brings back memories of the misguided way in which opera was "sold" to the public at large. Corelli is joined by Regine Crespin for the big love duet from Un Ballo in Maschera, both huge-voiced singers letting it rip, while barely looking at each other. For those who came to Crespin during her character-mezzo days, it will be a treat to see and hear her in 1964, and in ...