Verdi: Il trovatore (RAI, 1957)
 

Cast: Mario del Monaco (Manrico), Leyla Gencer (Leonora), Ettore Bastianini (Conte di Luna), Fedora Barbieri (Azucena), Plinio Clabassi (Ferrando), Laura Londi (Ines); RAI Milano, Fernando Previtali (conductor)

Recorded on 8 April 1957. First published on videotape.

Reissued in DVD format by Hardy Trading Company of Via Millelire 13, 20146 Milan, Italy (region 0/NTSC, subtitles in English, French, Italian, or none). Distributed in the USA by VAI (Video Artists International and VAI Audio) HCD4006

Technical Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Black and white
Sound: Digital Dolby - monaural

Running time:125 minutes
Sung in Italian

Price $39.95 in the USA
 
One always hopes for revelations from a new release of a classic; this DVD does not provide them. It is a slightly improved and subtitled transfer of the film long available on tape. Chapter stops are a significant plus and the sound is generally a bit clearer than in legal tape releases, but most of the visual flaws are retained and in some scenes digital enhancement has introduced artifacts in the form of faint ghosts. Even the sound has an anomaly in that there are overall shifts of level so that comfortable listening volume for 'Abbietta zingara' leaves Manrico nearly inaudible not only at his entry but throughout the remainder of Act I. When the tenor is Mario del Monaco, that is a substantial achievement.
 
The production is ultimately simplistic: flats and drops provide virtually all the scenery; costumes are catch-as-catch can and movement is exaggerated in the style of silent films. Previtali's conducting gives the soloists control for the big numbers, but is overall surprisingly sluggish; one reason is undoubtedly his introduction of Luftpausen - silences which introduce stresses considered unnecessary by the composer. Not surprisingly, Verdi's judgement proves correct.
 
Ettore Bastianini is the only fully satisfactory member of the quartet of principals. Physically, dramatically and most significantly vocally, he is ideal. Del Monaco will surprise some by his effectiveness in the lyric passages; he is not fully satisfactory there, but those limitations are more than compensated by his impact in the dramatic elements of the role. Gencer's performance is a matter of taste. There are no omissions or errors, but the tone is unconventional and glottal attacks will turn off some listeners. Barbieri is wonderfully vindictive, but not at all maternal. She attacks the role and overcomes it, but one would hope for less hate in exchange for tenderness toward her 'son'. Finally, one should note that Clabassi excels in a role often cast poorly.
 
This recording in some form belongs in any substantial library of opera on video. However, if that library already contains a proper (as opposed to copied) tape then the only factors justifying replacement with the DVD are durability, subtitles and chapter stops. For some, that will be worth the modest cost.
 
Related websites: Hardy Trading Company www.promart.it/Dischi/EtichDiHardy.html
VAI (Video Artists International and VAI Audio) www.vaimusic.com
Hardy Trading Company email: hardyclassic@tiscaline.net
 
Michael Richter, 28 August 2002
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.