Madama Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

DESCRIPTION

One of Anna Moffo’s earliest successes came with her portrayal of Cio-Cio San in a televised production of Madama Butterfly while still in her early twenties. If that youthful performance revealed the promise of a major artist, this interpretation—recorded some fourteen years later—presents a fully matured performer meeting every emotional and vocal demand of one of the Italian repertoire’s most challenging roles. Her Cio-Cio San retains the character’s youth and innocence, yet in the opera’s closing scenes she unleashes vocal power of searing intensity, bringing the drama to a deeply moving conclusion.

Giuseppe Campora offers sturdy singing, although the pitch tends to sag at the top of his range. Huguette Tourangeau makes a persuasive case for engaging a singer of her calibre as Suzuki, a role Puccini left frustratingly underwritten in vocal opportunities. One is left to wonder how often leading mezzos might have embraced the part had it been given more prominence. Enzo Sordello is an empathetic Sharpless, and James Morris appears early in his career as Yamadori.

CAST

Cio-Cio San – Anna Moffo
Pinkerton – Giuseppe Campora
Suzuki – Huguette Tourangeau
Sharpless – Enzo Sordello
Goro – Mariano Caruso
Bonze – Joseph Fair
Yamadori – James Morris

DETAILS

Location: Philadelphia
Date: March 13, 1970
Conductor: Anton Guadagno
Catalogue Number: OD 12263-2
Label: Opera Depot
Number of Discs: 2
In Stereo

NOTE

The sound is generally good, though there is mild static in the left channel.