RENATA TEBALDI SINGS ARIAS AND DUETS • Renata Tebaldi (sop); various artists • DECCA 4738134 (5 CDs: 385:59)

VERDI Il trovatore: Tacea la notte (rec. 1949). La traviata: Parigi o cara (with Gianni Poggi; rec. 1954). Aida: Ritorna vincitor (rec. 1949); Fu la sorte dell’armi; Su! Del Nilo al sacro lido. O patria mia (with Giulietta Simionato; rec. 1959). Un ballo in maschera: Ecco l’orrido campo; Morrò, ma prima in grazia (rec. 1964); Teco io sto (with Luciano Pavarotti; rec. 1970). Don Carlo: Io vengo a domandar (with Carlo Bergonzi; rec. 1965); Tu che la vanità (rec. 1964). La forza del destino: Madre, pietosa Vergine; Chi siete; Or siam soli; Pace, pace, mio Dio (with Cesare Siepi and Fernando Corena; rec. 1955). Otello: Già nella notte; Dio ti gioconda; Esterrefatta fisso; A terra, sin el livido fango; Mia madre aveva una povera ancella; Willow Song and Ave Maria (with Mario del Monaco; rec. 1961). GLUCK Alceste: Divinités du Styx (rec. 1973). Paride ed Elena: O del mio dolce ardor (rec. 1972). WAGNER Lohengrin: Elsa’s Dream (rec. 1969). BIZET Carmen: Habanera (rec. 1969). SAINT-SAËNS Samson et Dalila: Amour viens aider ma faiblesse (rec. 1969). GOUNOD Faust: Jewel Song (rec. 1949). BOITO Mefistofele: L’altra notte; Dio di pieta; Lontano, lontano (with Giuseppe di Stefano; rec. 1958). CATALANI La Wally: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana; Nè mai dunque; M’hai salvato. Quando a Sölden (with Mario del Monaco; rec. 1968). CILEA Adriana Lecouvreur: Io son l’umile ancella (rec. 1955); Sia! Non respondete . . . Eccolo, aperto (with Giulietta Simionato; rec. 1961). L’Arlesiana: Esser madre (rec. 1964). PONCHIELLI La gioconda: Suicidio (rec. 1964). Noi leggevamo insieme (rec. 1972). MASCAGNI Cavalleria rusticana: Voi lo sapete (rec. 1964). PUCCINI Manon Lescaut: In quelle trine morbide (rec. 1949); Sola, perduta, abbandonata (rec. 1954). La Bohème: Si, mi chiamano Mimì; Donde lieta usci; Sono andati (with Carlo Bergonzi; rec. 1959); Tosca: Vissi d’arte (rec. 1949); O dolci mani (with Giuseppe Campora; rec. 1952). Madama Butterfly: Un bel dì; Flower duet. Con onor muore (with Fiorenza Cossotto and Carlo Bergonzi; rec. 1958). La fanciulla del west: Un partita a poker (with Cornell MacNeil; rec. 1958). Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro (rec. 1961). Suor Angelica (rec. 1961). La Rondine: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta (rec. 1964). Turandot: Signore ascolta; Tu che dì gel sei cinta (rec. 1955); In questa reggia (rec. 1964). È Puccellino (rec. 1972). GIORDANO Andrea Chénier: Ecco l’altare; La mamma morte. Final duet (with Mario del Monaco; rec. 1957). SARTI Lungi del caro bene (rec. 1973). PAISIELLO Nel cor più non (rec. 1973). Chi vuol la Zingarella (rec. 1973). PERGOLESI or CIAMPI Tre giorni son che Nina (rec. 1973). ROSSINI L’invito-Bolero (rec. 1972). La regata Veneziana (rec. 1969). TOSTI Sogno (rec. 1972). TRAD Tu scendi dalla stelle (rec. 1971). SCHUBERT Mille Cherubini in coro; Ave Maria (rec. 1971). LEHAR The Merry Widow: Vilja-Lied (rec. 1960). LARA Granada (rec. 1969)

I took the unusual step of listing the year of each recording in the headnote, because those of us who loved Tebaldi, even to the degree of irrationality, recognize that the later the date the higher the risk of vocal trouble on the high notes. Since she recorded many of these numbers more than once, I thought it appropriate to identify each by date, so knowledgeable listeners would have the information they needed to determine whether this was worth the investment.

For very young readers who are just beginning to appreciate opera, it might be worth explaining that Renata Tebaldi (1922–2004) was unquestionably one of the great Italian sopranos of the second half of the 20th century. From her breakthrough debut at the reopening of La Scala after the War, chosen by Toscanini, in 1946, until the late 1960s, she dominated the Italian wing of the Metropolitan opera, and of Decca Records (known in this country as London). Her voice had a richness of tone, a lushness, that I have never heard equaled by any singer anywhere. It was seductive and tender, but she could act with it as well. Not, perhaps, with the degree of specific coloration of her counterpart Callas, but well enough. And Tebaldi sang with a sincerity that was always deeply felt and deeply moving. When she sang Butterfly at the old Met, the audience would not stop applauding for almost a half hour after the opera; more than once they brought the fire curtain down in front of the stage, only to have to raise it again and have Tebaldi, this time in her bathrobe because she had started to change out of her costume, come out for one more bow. I know of no other singer who inspired the adoration from her fans (and I was one of them, to be sure) that she did.

But she wasn’t flawless, and some of us knew it even then (though you had to be careful which of her fans you might point it out to). Her top notes never came easily, and even in the early 1950s there was a sense of tightness around the top B and C, and a tendency for the pitch to flatten. This worsened over time and became a real problem by the early-mid 1960s. You willingly put up with it for the tonal beauty and the sensitivity of the singing, and the directness of emotional communication. Tebaldi could open up and let it roar, or she could float a luscious pianissimo that caressed the hair cells of your ear in a most delightful way. And above all, her singing always reached to your heart. Listen to her bend the phrases of Mimì’s or Tosca’s music, and tell me you’ve ever heard anyone else fit those phrases to a voice so perfectly and naturally and with such a nobility and humanity.

These five discs contain an excellent sampling of her almost-exclusively Decca recording career, from an early recital recording in 1949 to some of the less demanding material she chose wisely in the 1970s. (One terrible decision that should have been omitted: the 1964 “In questa reggia.” This was always a Liù voice, and not a Turandot voice. She has neither the temperament nor the freedom on top to justify recording this aria.) But on the whole there is much pleasure to be had here, and very few moments that might make you wince. You will know how much Tebaldi you already have in your collection, and that will probably form the basis of your decision about this disc. But for those who are beginning to collect operatic recordings, and who think that today’s standard of Italian opera singing is some kind of norm, this set is recommended. Along with Callas and Milanov, and later in her career Caballé and Price, Tebaldi set a standard for this art form that, to be honest, isn’t found today.

Decca has an affectionate and informative biography, full documentation of the origin of each recording, but no texts and nothing about the music itself. The transfers are all very good, and they have been given a consistency of sound despite the wide span of time over which they originated. Decca should also be praised for the generosity of timings; the average duration of each disc is 77:12. This is, in sum, a great tribute to a great singer.

FANFARE: Henry Fogel