Evening star., 1953-02-22
Turntoble Talk

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That Mozart enthusiasts
should have q choice Of "Cosi
fan tuttes" is Q pleasant CIR
cumstance few could have
hoped for. Now the problem
is, which?
If one favors opera in Eng
lish. the choice Is simple: Co
lumbia's. The translation is
conscientious. the cast is good
and the recorded sound is only
nine months old. But one not
thus committed would do well
to listen further. for Victor's
new revival Of the 1885 Fritz
Busch Glyndebourne issue has
values besides the original
Italian.
The Glyndebourne cast sings
with extraordinary spontaneity
IA fact only intermittently
true Of the Metropolitan's.
Busch's singers convey with
signal perception Mozart's
subtle blend of fun and senti-
ment; their rivals at times
verge dangerously on bur-
lesque. Victor retains delicious
stage detailS--such as tinkling
drinking glasses, which Colum-
bia omits. The Glyndebourne
orchestra vocal balance is
nearly ideal. whereas Colum-
bias unaccountably Sights the
vitally significant Violins.
Individually some Of the
participants are closer to-
gether. Eleanor Steber's Eng
disappearing Fiordiligi tonally
is more pleasing than Ina
Souez' italian. Blanche The
bonn and Luise HelletSgruber,
rivals as Dorabella, are vocally
on q par. Richard Tucker
makes a more romantic Fer
rando than Heddle Nash, If not
so stylish. But Frank Guar
rera, as Guglielmo. both vo-
cally and histrionically is sew
eral notches below Victor's
Will Domgraf Fassbaender,
and as the wisely cynical Don
Alfonso. Lorenzo Alvary does
not come close to John Brown
lee. AS for the unquenchable
Despina, Irene Eisenberg gives
this key characterization an
irresistible gayety which, at
least in 1852. still was beyond
21-year-old Roberta Peters. for
all her blossoming vocal artis-
try.
So the 1S-year-old "Cosi"
still is the best.
Listen and Marvel
No more invalidated by time
are the glories Of the historic
"Rosenkavalier," with Leh-
mann. Schumann, Mayr and
Olszewska. Such "Rosenkava-
liers" are not heard nowadays
at least not this side of the
Atlantic, and available phono-
graphic evidence indicates not
on the other side, either. The
soaring radiance of Schu-
mann in the presentation of
the rose" scene alone is worth
the price of the set-but Moth
ing should be singled out. One
should just hsten-and marvel.
Victor's Barber Of Seville"
is new. And its jewel is Vic
toria de los Angeles, vino
brings to a role usually es-
sayed by coloraturas the kind
of mezzo voice Rossini actually
intended. A captivating voice
it is, too. Nicola Monti, the
Almaviva, has a pleasing light
tenor, and Melchiorre Luise
and Nicolo RoSsi-Lemeni make
an excellent Bartolo and Ba-
silio, respectively. The sets
major liability is Gino Bechi's
strenuous, often believing, por-
trayal of Figaro. The expert
enced Tullio Seraf1n conducts,
and the engineering is splen-
did.
Also new to America is
Verdi's Masked Ball." one Of
q series of Victor revivals Of
which Beniamino Gigli Is the
common denominator. Here
is one Italian opera that might
believably be sung in English,
for its setting is Boston
and one Of the characters
is an American Indian
soothsayer. Gigli. Caniglia.
Barbieri and company use
Verdi's original. however. The
music comes over effectively,
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