Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli - Great Opera Duets (2004)

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Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli - Great Opera Duets (2004)

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It is strange to find that two such prolific recording artists in the same field should never before have recorded together. This disc was released by Decca to coincide with the concert the two singers gave together at the Royal Albert Hall, on October 9th, and happily it offers what the concert tended to neglect full-scale, full-blooded operatic duets. It would be idle to pretend of course that either singer is unscathed by the effect of time. The recording must have been made well over a year ago (John Mordler, the recording producer, moved from Decca to EMI in late 1972), but already then much of the bloom had gone from two exceptionally beautiful natural voices.
But once that is said, there is much to enjoy in lusty accounts of warhorse duets into which each singer, oblivious of danger, launches with characteristic forthrightness and power. The brief duet from Adriana Lecouvreur is the only item in which both singers are on home ground. Tebaldi has Manon Lescaut as hers (Des Grieux is not in Corelli's regular repertory), while Corelli sings his usual roles in the Aida and Gioconda items against Tebaldi breaking new ground. As Amneris Tebaldi is not the wickedest-sounding interpreter, but her voice copes magnificently with the mezzo demands. As Laura, too, Tebaldi takes over a mezzo role, more impressive in the passionate moments than in the delicately dreamy conclusion.
The Zandonai item, by far the longest, makes a fascinating comparison with the version also on Decca (SET 422,1/70) from Magda Olivero and Mario del Monaco. Where Olivero husbands her voice with utmost care (she often makes a virtue of necessity in singing on a mere thread of sound), Tebaldi attempts exactly the interpretation she would have given had she taken up the role a decade or more ago. Plainly it is not the voice of a young girl, but only occasionally is the inevitable hardness on top distracting. The Corelli/Del Monaco contrast is more predictable. Neither is subtle, but Corelli at least attempts to give a detailed interpretation, while Del Monaco's voice is better preserved.
A strange mixture then in every way, but admirers of both singers should certainly investigate this record. Tebaldi in particular provides many vintage moments, uniquely identifiable. The recording made in the Victoria Hall, Geneva, is wide-ranging and atmospheric. – Edward Greenfield

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Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli - Great Opera Duets (2004)

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