FIVE STARS FOR CABALLE... A MUST! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Montserrat Caballé in Butterfly in 1965 !!!!A pure gift

Caballe and Marti met in a production of this opera several years before this performance. It must have been a good experience for both of them as they married and remained married for over 50 years until her death. They both sing very well here although neither is free of glitches. Both muff the C at the end of their big duet and Caballe's fabled pianissimo gets stuck a few times. Neverthless she is a lovely Butterfly albeit one without the specificity of a Scotto or a Kabaivanska. The audience awards her with a lengthy ovation after "Un bel di". No, she doesn't sing the D-flat at the end of her entrance, a note she certainly had, but wasn't going to risk in such an exposed moment.Marti does not have Carreras' glorious timbre, but still sings ardently. He'd be more appreciated today. Ausensi and Rigal are very good in their roles, Monjo a splendidly creepy Goro. Rivoli leads an effective performance and manages to assist Caballe without indulging her too much. The sound is a very listenable. I'm going to end this review with a plea for someone to find the rights to the studio recording of this opera that Caballe and Marti made in 1976 for Spanish Columbia. Caballe is self-indulgent, but sings gloriously. It has never been issued commercially as far as I know. The one unofficial CD transfer of it I've heard wasn't bad, but for some reason was in mono rather than the original stereo. Someone please reissue the original for all of us Caballe fans!!

I'm writing this review in hopes of giving some guidance to those who may hesitate on this performance because of the reservations expressed by the other reviewer. I thought Caballe came across well in this production. As with most live recordings, it does not match a studio job in fidelity but it is certainly as good as most live, unofficial recordings. Marti is ok as Pinkerton (no liquid gold a la Bjoering or young Carreras), but Butterfly flies or falters with the lead. I knocked off one star because the rest of the cast is adequate but not at the same level as Caballe. It's somewhat ironic and sad that my appreciation of Caballe has increased following her death. I fear I took her excellence for granted in her prime.

I was really looking forward to this performance but was disappointed. The sound was not what I expected. Poor Caballe sounded harsh and shrill and she is the key to this opera. Voices were closely miked, which is normally fine, but the sound was not clear. At about 1968 Caballe did a studio version of this opera on LP. It's not on cd to my knowledge but I would check that version if you want Caballe as Butterfly. In sum, I would try the live version here, but don't expect too much and you might enjoy this more than I did.