Notes and Editorial Reviews
This well-filled two-disc compilation of the art of Teresa Berganza features a singer who yields nothing to the current crop of star mezzos. Berganza's beautiful voice sailed through coloratura with aplomb, had a remarkably even range, and above all, possessed extraordinary warmth and charm, the latter quality never cloying. She was a wonderful Mozart/Rossini singer, so the good news is that this set includes six opera arias by the pair along with Mozart's concert aria "Ch'io mi scordi di te?...Non temere". The bad news is that all of them were included in Decca's Berganza release in its "The Singers" series. So again we're faced with the dizzying mix 'n match recycling frenzy regularly indulged in by the major
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labels.
Still, if you have The Singers release, you'll also need this one since it adds almost two hours of great singing to those duplications. Handel and Gluck are here, including a drop-dead gorgeous "Che puro ciel" from Orfeo and even a creditable "Divinités du Styx" from Alceste, a favorite of dramatic sopranos. Berganza's a sexy Carmen in the "Habañera" and in "Près des ramparts de Seville", with Placido Domingo. And she's memorably touching in the plaintive "Medea o Medea...Solo un pianto" from Cherubini's Medea.
She really turns on the charm in the disc of Spanish and Italian songs, as in a group of four by Alessandro Scarlatti, where she shows off her ravishing pianissimos. The usual suspects are present--Granados, Turina, Falla--and there are two delightful sets of Basque songs by Berganza's piano accompanist, Felix Lavilla, and by Jesús Arámbarri. Recordings date from 1959 to 1962, with some songs from 1977, but Decca claims not to know the dates or venues of half the remaining tracks of the second disc. Berganza gets fine support from the various orchestras and conductors, and Lavilla's piano accompaniments reflect their long, successful partnership.
The early recordings are better sounding, although the digital remastering doesn't match the warmth and presence of the original LPs. The later DG-derived recordings reflect the mid-1970s decline in engineering, and the second disc includes patches of distortion, especially damaging to the two zarzuela arias. If you're a Berganza fan you'll want this, even if you have some duplications; if you don't know her singing, you need this.
--Dan Davis, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Le nozze di Figaro, K 492: Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
John Pritchard
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1786; Vienna, Austria
Length: 2 Minutes 48 Secs.
Language: Italian
2.
Le nozze di Figaro, K 492: Voi che sapete che cosa è amor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
John Pritchard
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1786; Vienna, Austria
Length: 2 Minutes 46 Secs.
Language: Italian
3.
Così fan tutte, K 588: Temerari!...Come scoglio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
John Pritchard
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1790; Vienna, Austria
Length: 5 Minutes 43 Secs.
Language: Italian
4.
Ch'io mi scordi di te...Non temer, amato bene, K 505 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Geoffrey Parsons (Piano)
Conductor:
John Pritchard
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1786; Vienna, Austria
Length: 9 Minutes 37 Secs.
Language: Italian
5.
Orfeo ed Euridice: Che farò senza Euridice? by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sir Alexander Gibson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria
Length: 3 Minutes 51 Secs.
Language: Italian
6.
Orfeo ed Euridice: Che puro ciel! by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sir Alexander Gibson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria
Length: 4 Minutes 40 Secs.
Language: Italian
7.
Alceste: Divinités du Styx by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sir Alexander Gibson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1767; Vienna, Austria
Length: 4 Minutes 20 Secs.
Language: French
8.
Medea: Solo un pianto by Luigi Cherubini
Performer:
Roger Hager (Bassoon),
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sir Alexander Gibson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1797; France
Length: 7 Minutes 1 Secs.
Language: Italian
9.
Alcina, HWV 34: Mi lusinga il dolce affetto by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Richard Bonynge
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1735; London, England
Length: 5 Minutes 3 Secs.
Language: Italian
10.
Alcina, HWV 34: Verdi prati by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Richard Bonynge
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1735; London, England
Length: 4 Minutes 25 Secs.
Language: Italian
11.
Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle "Habañera" by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra,
Ambrosian Singers
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873-1874; France
Length: 4 Minutes 52 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Composition written: France (1873 - 1874).
12.
Carmen: Près des ramparts de Seville "Seguidilla" by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873-1874; France
Length: 4 Minutes 34 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Composition written: France (1873 - 1874).
13.
Ahi! Che forse ai miei dì by Luigi Cherubini
Performer:
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano),
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Period: Classical
Written: 18th Century
Length: 5 Minutes 29 Secs.
Language: Italian
14.
Intorno all'idol mio by Pietro Antonio Cesti
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 17th Century; Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 5 Secs.
Language: Italian
15.
Catone in Utica: Confusa, smarrita by Leonardo Vinci
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1727-1728; Rome, Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 42 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This work has been attributed to Pergolesi.
16.
Qual mia colpa, o sventura ... Se delitto è adorarti by Alessandro Scarlatti
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 18th Century; Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 17 Secs.
Language: Italian
17.
Il Flavio: Chi vuole innamorarsi by Alessandro Scarlatti
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Length: 1 Minutes 22 Secs.
Language: Italian
18.
Gli equivoci in amore, o vero La Rosaura: Quel povero core by Alessandro Scarlatti
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1690; Italy
Length: 2 Minutes 7 Secs.
Language: Italian
19.
Canciones castellanas (6): no 6, Mañanita de San Juan by Jesus Guridi
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Spain
Length: 3 Minutes 28 Secs.
Language: Spanish
20.
Canciones (4) vascas by Felix Lavilla Munarriz
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Spain
Length: 5 Minutes 38 Secs.
Language: Basque
21.
Saeta en forma de Salve a la Virgen de la Esperanza, Op. 60 by Joaquin Turina
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1930; Spain
Length: 3 Minutes 6 Secs.
Language: Spanish
22.
Tonadillas en un estilo antiguo: no 7, El tra-la-la y el punteado by Enrique Granados
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1910-1911; Spain
Length: 1 Minutes 14 Secs.
Language: Spanish
23.
Tonadillas en un estilo antiguo: no 5, El majo tímido by Enrique Granados
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1910-1911; Spain
Length: 1 Minutes 5 Secs.
Language: Spanish
24.
Tonadillas en un estilo antiguo: no 9, La maja dolorosa I-III by Enrique Granados
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1910-1911; Spain
Length: 3 Minutes 35 Secs.
Language: Spanish
25.
Farruca by Joaquin Turina
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Length: 2 Minutes 35 Secs.
Language: Spanish
26.
La rosa del Azafrán: No me duele que se vaya by Jacinto Guerrero
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Benito Lauret
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1930; Spain
Length: 3 Minutes 36 Secs.
Language: Spanish
27.
El anillo de hierro: Margarita's Romance by Miguel Marqués
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Benito Lauret
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1878; Spain
Length: 3 Minutes 33 Secs.
Language: Spanish
28.
Elitropio d'amor by Alessandro Scarlatti
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1694; Naples, Italy
Length: 2 Minutes 37 Secs.
Language: Italian
29.
Canciones populares españolas (7): no 1, El paño moruno by Manuel de Falla
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1915; Spain
Length: 1 Minutes 6 Secs.
Language: Spanish
30.
Canciones populares españolas (7): no 2, Seguidilla marciana by Manuel de Falla
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1915; Spain
Length: 1 Minutes 21 Secs.
Language: Spanish
31.
Canciones populares españolas (7): no 3, Asturiana by Manuel de Falla
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1915; Spain
Length: 2 Minutes 43 Secs.
Language: Spanish
32.
Canciones populares españolas (7): no 4, Jota by Manuel de Falla
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1915; Spain
Length: 2 Minutes 53 Secs.
Language: Spanish
33.
Canciones populares españolas (7): no 5, Nana by Manuel de Falla
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1915; Spain
Length: 1 Minutes 32 Secs.
Language: Spanish
34.
Canciones populares españolas (7): no 6, Canción by Manuel de Falla
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1915; Spain
Length: 0 Minutes 59 Secs.
Language: Spanish
35.
Canciones populares españolas (7): no 7, Polo by Manuel de Falla
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano),
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1914-1915; Spain
Length: 1 Minutes 36 Secs.
Language: Spanish
36.
Basque Songs (8): Txalopin txalo (Canción de cuna) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 2 Minutes 1 Secs.
Language: Basque
37.
Basque Songs (8): Nere maitea (Canción amarosa) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 1 Minutes 29 Secs.
Language: Basque
38.
Basque Songs (8): Atea tan tan (Canción amatoria) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 1 Minutes 43 Secs.
Language: Basque
39.
Basque Songs (8): Tun, kurrun, kuntun (Canción de cuna) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 1 Minutes 49 Secs.
Language: Basque
40.
Basque Songs (8): Arranoak bartuetan (Canción amarosa) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 2 Minutes 32 Secs.
Language: Basque
41.
Basque Songs (8): Ainoarra nimino (Canción amarosa) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 0 Minutes 41 Secs.
Language: Basque
42.
Basque Songs (8): Anderegaya (Canción amarosa) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 1 Minutes 58 Secs.
Language: Basque
43.
Basque Songs (8): Amak ezkondu ninduen (Canción humoristica) by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Gerardo Gombau
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932
Length: 1 Minutes 40 Secs.
Language: Basque
44.
Il barbiere di Siviglia: Una voce poco fa...Io sono dolcile by Gioachino Rossini
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sir Alexander Gibson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1816; Italy
Length: 6 Minutes 6 Secs.
Language: Italian
45.
L'italiana in Algeri: Cruda sorte! Amor tiranno! by Gioachino Rossini
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sir Alexander Gibson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1813; Italy
Length: 4 Minutes 16 Secs.
Language: Italian
46.
La Cenerentola: Nacqui all' affano...Non più mesta by Gioachino Rossini
Performer:
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
London Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Sir Alexander Gibson
Period: Romantic
Written: 1817; Italy
Length: 6 Minutes 51 Secs.
Language: Italian
47.
Canciones castellanas (6): no 5, Cómo quieres que adivine by Jesus Guridi
Performer:
Felix Lavilla Munarriz (Piano),
Teresa Berganza (Mezzo Soprano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Spain
Length: 2 Minutes 25 Secs.
Language: Spanish
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