VERDI: Otello.(Review)

VERDI: Otello [] Rigal; Del Monaco, Guichandut; Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Votto. No texts or translations. MYTO 004. H051 (Qualiton, dist.) WAGNER: Die Walkure

In the middle decades of the past century, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires enjoyed a golden age of prosperity and celebrity; these two live performances bear witness to the high quality typical in those years. There is an important caveat, however: the recorded sound is plagued with pitch vagaries and surface scratch, sometimes bordering on the unlistenable.

The 1950 Otello is a must for collectors nonetheless, and lengthy segments of it come through in acceptable sound. It was Mario Del Monaco's first attempt at the title part, and his singing is thrilling for sheer animal energy. Later on, as in his two commercial recordings of the role, he would add a measure of subtlety, but it's hard to imagine a more thrilling "Esultate!" than this one, or more ardor in the love duet. He is less convincing in subsequent scenes, belting out the Act II scene with Iago and throwing away some important lines in the final act, but it's clear that the basic material is there.

No less intriguing is the dusky-hued, sensual Desdemona of Delia Rigal, fresh-voiced in a role she sang only once in New York. Her full-blooded singing in the love duet matches the tenor's and paves the way for the passion and despair she shows in Act III. Her "Salce" is quite moving, but the "Ave Maria" is marred midway by a half-tone pitch ...