Melody Moore: Remembering Tebaldi
£15.15
In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day
Despatch Information
This despatch estimate is based on information from both our own stock and the UK supplier's stock.
If ordering multiple items, we will aim to send everything together so the longest despatch estimate will apply to the complete order.
If you would rather receive certain items more quickly, please place them on a separate order.
If any unexpected delays occur, we will keep you informed of progress via email and not allow other items on the order to be held up.
If you would prefer to receive everything together regardless of any delay, please let us know via email.
Pre-orders will be despatched as close as possible to the release date.
Label: Pentatone
Cat No: PTC5187070
Format: Hybrid SACD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Vocal/Choral
Release Date: 18th August 2023
Contents
Works
Mefistofele » L'altra notte in fondo al mare
La Wally » Ebben? Ne andro lontana
Adriana Lecouvreur » Io son l'umile ancella
Andrea Chenier » La mamma morta
L'amico Fritz » Son pochi fiori
La Boheme » Si. Mi chiamano Mimi (Act 1)
Manon Lescaut » In quelle trine morbide (Act 2)
Suor Angelica » Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto
Mose in Egitto » Dal tuo stellato soglio
Cantata 'Sento nel core certo dolore', H655 (arr. Job Maarse)Aida
» Ritorna vincitor! (Act 1)
La Traviata » Addio del passato
La forza del destino » Pace, pace, mio Dio
Pezzi sacri (4) » IV Te Deum: Dignare, Domine ... In te, Domine
Artists
Melody Moore (soprano)Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra
Conductor
Lawrence FosterWorks
Mefistofele » L'altra notte in fondo al mare
La Wally » Ebben? Ne andro lontana
Adriana Lecouvreur » Io son l'umile ancella
Andrea Chenier » La mamma morta
L'amico Fritz » Son pochi fiori
La Boheme » Si. Mi chiamano Mimi (Act 1)
Manon Lescaut » In quelle trine morbide (Act 2)
Suor Angelica » Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto
Mose in Egitto » Dal tuo stellato soglio
Cantata 'Sento nel core certo dolore', H655 (arr. Job Maarse)Aida
» Ritorna vincitor! (Act 1)
La Traviata » Addio del passato
La forza del destino » Pace, pace, mio Dio
Pezzi sacri (4) » IV Te Deum: Dignare, Domine ... In te, Domine
Artists
Melody Moore (soprano)Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra
Conductor
Lawrence FosterAbout
Melody Moore pays tribute to the legendary soprano Renata Tebaldi, presenting a selection of arias and scenes by Rossini, Verdi, Boito, Catalani, Puccini, Mascagni, Giordano, Cilea and Alessandro Scarlatti, documenting the most important stages in the career of “la voce d’angelo”. Moore performs these pieces together with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra under the baton of Lawrence Foster.
Melody Moore and Lawrence Foster both have a vast Pentatone discography, including collective complete recordings of Verdi’s Otello (2017) and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La Fanciulla del West (both 2021). The latter album was also the Pentatone debut of the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra.
Melody Moore and Lawrence Foster both have a vast Pentatone discography, including collective complete recordings of Verdi’s Otello (2017) and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La Fanciulla del West (both 2021). The latter album was also the Pentatone debut of the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra.
Sound/Video
Paused
-
1Boito: L’altra notte in fondo al mare (Mefistofele)
-
2Mascagni: Son pochi fiori (L’amico Fritz)
-
3Giordano: La mamma morta (Andrea Chénier)
-
4Puccini: Sì, mi chiamano Mimì (La Bohème)
-
5Rossini: Dal tuo stellato soglio (Mosè in Egitto)
-
6Verdi: Dignare, Domine – In te, Domine (Quattro pezzi sacri)
-
7Verdi: Ritorna vincitor! (Aida)
-
8Catalani: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (La Wally)
-
9Verdi: Pace, pace, mio Dio (La forza del destino)
-
10Puccini: In quelle trine morbide (Manon Lescaut)
-
11Verdi: Addio, del passato (La traviata)
-
12Cilea: Io son l’umile ancella (Adriana Lecouvreur)
-
13Puccini: Senza mamma (Suor Angelica)
-
14Scarlatti, A: Sento nel core (arr. Job Maarse)
Europadisc Review
American soprano Melody Moore has recently carved out a distinctive niche for herself in spinto roles for operas on the Pentatone label: an acclaimed Madama Butterfly (2021), a Giorgetta in Puccini’s Il Tabarro which we hailed as ‘radiant… the pick of the bunch’ (2020), not to mention La Fanciulla del West (2021), Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana (2020), and Verdi’s Otello (2017). The repertoire reflects that of the singer whom she credits for instilling her love of opera, Renata Tebaldi (1922–2004). Tebaldi (who, like Ms Moore, began her journey as a musical performer by singing in church) was one of the great stars of New York’s Metropolitan Opera from 1955 to the early 1970s, and before that at Milan’s La Scala. Hailed by Toscanini, no less, as having the ‘voice of an angel’, she was the outstanding Italian soprano of the post-war years in repertoire encompassing Verdi, Wagner (in Italian) and the great verismo roles. If Callas (Tebaldi’s great ‘rival’) was suited to the more dramatic roles of the bel canto repertoire, Tebaldi captured a greater level of human fragility in the verismo repertoire. No wonder she made such an impression on the aspiring Melody Moore in her student years.
It is fitting, then, that last year Ms Moore should record a centenary tribute album, Remembering Tebaldi, which includes many of the ‘crown jewels’ from the spinto repertoire. They are organised into a chronological survey of Tebaldi’s career (accompanied by informative booklet notes from Patrick Mack): ‘Early period’, ‘Toscanini and La Scala period’, ‘Metropolitan Opera period’ and Tebaldi’s farewell Carnegie Hall concert of Italian art songs. The range is impressive, from Scarlatti and Rossini to Cilea, and so too is Ms Moore’s voice. It has a warmth combined with strength that suits this repertoire, encompassing a wide gamut of emotions from innocent joy to despair. To her credit, she doesn’t ape Tebaldi, who brought a greater range of tonal variety to roles over a recording career that spanned several decades. Instead, she uses her vocal warmth, understanding of the texts and musical intelligence to bring the chosen extracts to life.
In this, Melody Moore is ably supported by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of her frequent collaborator on disc, Lawrence Foster. And although the recording at higher volume levels sometimes feels a little close – so that the listener can’t quite tell whether the voice is riding over the orchestra or not – the quality of the accompaniments is high, and benefits from a recording superior to that enjoyed by Tebaldi particularly in her earlier releases.
The album gets off to a terrific start with Margherita’s ‘L’altra notte in frondo al mare’ from Boito’s Mefistofele (the role was Tebaldi’s operatic debut in Parma). Ms Moore copes commandingly with the wide vocal range, while the recurring refrain ‘L’aura è fredda’ is perfectly paced and the vocal cadenzas brilliantly traversed. Other early Tebaldi roles include Suzel in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz and Maddalena in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, from which ‘La mamma morta’ proves especially moving here, sung with deep emotional engagement combined with superb vocal control. ‘Si, mi chiamamo Mimì’ from La Bohème points the way to the great Puccini roles that Tebaldi would make her own.
For the 1946 reopening of La Scala, Toscanini chose Tebaldi to sing, and two items from that concert feature here: the prayer ‘Dal tuo stellato soglio’ from Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto, and an excerpt from the Te Deum movement of Verdi’s Four Sacred Pieces (both supported by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir). ‘Ritorna vincitor!’ from Verdi’s Aida is a particularly imposing inclusion here, the expressive range, from despairing outrage to devout imploring splendidly reflected in the colour, phrasing and dynamics of the voice, and finely underscored by the attentive orchestral accompaniment.
The ’Met’ section kicks off with ‘Pace, pace, mio Dio’ from Verdi’s La forza del destino, progressing through ‘In quelle trine morbide’ from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and an intensely emotional ‘Addio, del passato’ from La Traviata to another Tebaldi favourite, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur (‘Io son l’umile ancella’). ‘Senza mamma’ from Puccini’s Suor Angelica represents repertoire that Tebaldi recorded but didn’t necessarily have in her stage repertoire. It brings out all the strengths of Melody Moore’s artistry, the emotional fragility of the central character deftly caught. It is the expressive culmination of the disc, and another of its many highlights, reflecting Ms Moore’s own talents in the spinto repertoire.
The final item, Alessando Scarlatti’s Sento nel core from Tebaldi’s farewell recital, is presented in a 2021 arrangement by Job Moorse, and performed In an unapologetically old-fashioned style, reflecting Tebaldi’s own approach to such ‘early’ repertoire. It’s a nice touch, and it wraps up an enthralling album that shines fascinating light on the career and repertoire of one of the 20th century’s greatest singers. As a tribute album, it could hardly be bettered, and Melody Moore’s ravishing singing is a constant delight. Enthusiastically recommended!
Error on this page? Let us know here
Need more information on this product? Click here