Autor
Unpublished recordings from Teatro de
la Zarzuela
[contents]
Autor SA01255
(4-CD)
[TT: 52' 49+63' 28+41' 07+49' 29= 206'
53]
Ignacio Jassa Haro
The Teatro de la Zarzuela has blown the dust off its sound archives to publish a 4-CD album to commemorate the occasion of its 150th birthday. Endowed with a fine graphical presentation, featuring photos of scores, composers and singers, the album dedicates two of its discs to zarzuela (with recordings taken in the main from the theatre’s most recent seasons) and the other pair to opera (reflecting the period in which the theatre was host to Madrid’s opera season). The recordings are a mixed bag sonically, though the predominant tone (except for the most recent) is the classic rough and ready sound of the radio broadcast.
Given all this, the album’s interest is fundamentally destined to appeal to antiquarians and nostalgia-hunters. The selection of operatic numbers highlights the great Spanish international names who have trod the boards in Calle Jovellanos (Kraus, Domingo, Carreras, Berganza and Caballé), to which a relatively long list of other eminent names has been added (Lavirgen, Chausson, Sempere, Manuel Lanza, Lima, Bayo…) The fragments are taken from Madrid’s until-recently relatively limited repertoire – Donizetti, Puccini, Rossini, Verdi and more Verdi, seasoned with one pinch each of Bizet, Massenet and Meyerbeer.
As for zarzuela the album contains little new. Most of the excerpts come from the last ten years. New to disc are the dúo of tiples from Pan y toros; Miguel’s romanza from La del soto del Parral, recycled with another text and made famous in El último romántico; the cuarteto from La bruja, recorded incomplete under Lauret for Alhambra LP; and the titular hero’s romanza from Curro Vargas, heard here for the first time with its introductory recitative, that gives dramatic sense to this intense number. I must comment that the opportunity has been missed to present excerpts from certain works lacking modern recordings which have been staged during the last 10 years by our 150 year old theatre: Gloria y peluca, Chorizos y polacos, El juramento, San Antonio de la Florida, La mala sombra, La venta de Don Quijote… all of them well deserving their first modern recording.
But if I had to choose the most sparkling moments from the whole album, I’d go for two excerpts from the same recital given by Teresa Berganza with Felix Lavilla at the piano: “La tarántula” from La tempranica and the recitative and habañera [sic.] from Carmen, which convey the full magic of this prodigious voice and have all the flavour expected of a true treasure from the Sound Archives.
© Ignacio Jassa Haro 2007
A Second Opinion…
Although some of the archival zarzuela material is valuable, with honourable mentions going to Luis Dámaso in the Luisa Fernanda items from 1999, and José Bros in the 2004 Doña Francisquita, to my mind much of the most memorable singing on these discs comes on the pair of opera discs. From the galaxy of talent on offer, I must single out one singer. It’s most thrilling to hear José Carreras caught early in his career, with that full flood of golden tone undiluted by unsteady support and technical gremlins. His interpretations of the arias from I Lombardi and Tosca are of classic quality, and anyone who only heard him do scattered phrases of Nessun dorma in Three Tenors concerts must hear the overwhelming version from a 1977 Gala with which the album fittingly concludes. Iberia is rich indeed in tenorial assets! [CW]
Zarzuela 1
1. Luisa Fernanda (Torroba) Mazurca de las sombrillas -
Carmen González, Luis Dámaso y Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela
(1999); 2. La del manojo de rosas (Sorozábal) Romanza de
Joaquín - Carlos Álvarez (1999); 3. Doña
Francisquita (Vives) Dúo de Francisquita y Fernando - María
Bayo y José Bros (1998); 4. El barberillo de Lavapiés
(Barbieri) Cuarteto de las caleseras - Beatriz Lanza, Carmen González,
Marco Moncloa y Julio Morales (2006); 5. La rosa del azafrán
(Guerrero) Romanza de Juan Pedro - Manuel Lanza (2003); 6. La tabernera del
puerto (Sorozábal) Romanza de Leandro - José Bros (2006); 7.
Pan y toros (Barbieri) Dúo de Doña Pepita y la Princesa
de Luzán - Mariola Cantarero y Lola Casariego (2001); 8. Don Gil de
Alcalá (Penella) Romanza de Don Gil - Ricardo Muñiz (1989);
9. La bruja (Chapí) Cuarteto - Milagos Martín, Silvia
Vázquez, Carlos Moreno y Julio Morales (2002); 10. La del soto del
parral (Soutullo y Vert) Romanza de Miguel - Guillermo Orozco (2000); 11.
Doña Francisquita Romanza de Fernando - José Bros
(2004); 12. Marina (Arrieta) Brindis - Alfredo Kraus, Vicente
Sardinero y Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela (1994). Orquesta de la Comunidad de
Madrid (1 a 11); Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (12); Miguel Roa (1 y 8),
Luis Remartínez (2, 10 y 11); Antoni Ros Marbà (3); Miquel Ortega
(4); Pascual Osa (5); Ramón Torrelledó (6); Josep Pons (7);
Manuel Galduf (9); Odón Alonso (12)
Zarzuela 2
1. La tempranica (Giménez) “La
tarántula” - Teresa Berganza y Félix Lavilla (piano)
(1976); 2. El dúo de La africana (Caballero)
Dúo–jota - Josefina Meneses y Pedro Lavirgen (1987); 3.
Doña Francisquita Coro de románticos - Coro del Teatro
de la Zarzuela (2004); 4. Luisa Fernanda “Caballero del alto
plumero” - Carmen González y Luis Dámaso (1999); 5. La
tabernera del puerto Romanza de Marola - María José Moreno
(2006); 6. Curro Vargas (Chapí) Escena y romanza de Curro -
Antonio Ordóñez (1984); 7. El barberillo de
Lavapiés Coro de las costureras - Beatriz Lanza y Coro del Teatro
de La Zarzuela (2006); 8. La del manojo de rosas Dúo de
Ascensión y Joaquín - Milagros Martín y Carlos
Álvarez (1999); 9. Doña Francisquita Canción del
ruiseñor - Mariola Cantarero (2004); 10. Marina Dúo de
Jorge y Roque - Alfredo Kraus y Vicente Sardinero (1994); 11. La tabernera
del puerto Dúo de Marola y Leandro - María José
Moreno y José Bros (2006); 12. Los gavilanes (Guerrero) Final
del Acto II - Luis Dámaso, Luis Cansino, Milagros Martín, Arantxa
Irañeta y Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela (2002). Orquesta de la
Comunidad de Madrid (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12); Orquesta Sinfónica de
Madrid (2, 6, 10); Miguel Roa (2, 4), Luis Remartínez (3, 8, 9 y 12);
Manuel Galduf (5 y 11); Enrique García Asensio (6); Miquel Ortega (7);
Odón Alonso (10)
Opera 1
1.
Carmen (Bizet) Aria de Don José - Plácido Domingo
(1975); 2. I lombardi alla prima crociata (Verdi) “La mia
Letizia” - Josep Carreras (1977); 3. La favorita (Donizetti)
“Spirto gentil” - Alfredo Kraus (1992); 4. La forza del
destino (Verdi) “Pace, pace, mio Dio” - Montserrat
Caballé (1982); 5. Carmen Recitativo y habanera - Teresa
Berganza, Félix Lavilla (piano) (1976); 6. Macbeth (Verdi)
Recitativo y aria “Ah! La paterna mano” - Pedro Lavirgen (1980); 7.
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) “ Largo al factotum” -
Manuel Lanza (1992); 8. Tosca (Puccini) “E lucevan le
stelle” - Josep Carreras (1981); 9. Carmen Aria de Micaela -
María Bayo (1992); 10. L´Africane (Meyerbeer) “Oh!
Paradiso…” - Plácido Domingo (1974). Orquesta Nacional de
España (1); Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE (2, 6, 8 y 10); Orquesta
Sinfónica de Madrid (3, 4, 7 y 9); Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (1);
Jesús López Cobos (2); Gian Paolo Sanzogno (3); Daniel Lipton
(4); Stepan Turchak (6); Alberto Zedda (7); Luis Antonio García Navarro
(8); Antoni Ros Marbà (9); Fernando Lozano (10)
Opera 2
1.
Il barbieri di Siviglia “A un dottor” - Carlos Chausson
(1992); 2. Lucia di Lamermoor “Tombe degli avi miei”
(Donizetti) - José Sempere y Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela (1994); 3.
La fille du régiment “Il faut partir”
(Donizetti) - María José Moreno, Alejandro Roy y Carlos
Marín (1997); 4. Tosca “Vissi d’arte” -
Montserrat Caballé (1981); 5. Werther (Massenet) “Toute
mon âme est là! Porquoi me réveiller” - Alfredo Kraus
(1977); 6. Carmen Dúo de Carmen y Don José. Final -
Teresa Berganza y Luis Lima (1992); 7. Luisa Miller (Verdi) “Oh,
fede negar potessi” - Plácido Domingo (1974); 8. Lucia di
Lamermoor “Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali” - José
Sempere, Michele Pertusi y Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela (1994); 9.
Turandot (Puccini) “Nessun dorma” - Josep Carreras (1977).
Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (1, 2, 3, 5, 6 y 8); Orquesta
Sinfónica de RTVE (4, 7 y 9); Alberto Zedda (1); Giuliano Carella (2 y
8); Stefano Ranzani (3); Luis Antonio García Navarro (4); Enrique
García Asensio (5); Antoni Ros Marbà (6); Fernando Lozano (7);
Jesús López Cobos (9)