"THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION: VOLUME II, 1942-50".(Review)

Oscar Natzka

[] "THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION: VOLUME II, 1942-50" Arias and songs. Notes, no texts. National Library of New Zealand. Atoll ACD 500 (attollcd.com)

Most of the world may have forgotten Oscar Natzka. But he apparently remains a proud memory in his native New Zealand, and this lovingly assembled two-volume, four-CD set presumably commemorates every tone that the basso ever uttered within reach of a microphone. Any microphone. The tones -- deep, dark, wide-ranging and ultra-resonant -- are undeniably imposing.

Natzka was well on his way to an important international career when he died in 1951, shortly after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage while singing Pogner with New York City Opera. He was just thirty-nine. Today, when countertenors seem to be more plentiful than true basses, Natzka's gifts seem doubly impressive. Had he lived, he might have held his own honorably alongside Pinza, Kipnis, Siepi, Hines, Tozzi, Christoff et al. The evidence is clear.

Unfortunately, there is too much evidence here, and duplications abound. A popular singer during World War II, Natzka toured widely in recitals and concerts, high-brow and low, when he wasn't doing radio shows or singing operas or entertaining the troops. He performed just about everything -- sentimental parlor songs, sea shanties, folk ditties, popular ballads, Victorian favorites, ...