It was probably only a matter of time before Virginia Zeani took on Madama Butterfly. Her voice has exactly the right kind of tears-in-the-voice quality needed and the ability to soar over a full Puccini orchestra. This performance may have been one of her first times out as Cio Cio San; she rises to every vocal occasion and is already making specific interpretive choices. Nothing in the music disturbs her beauty of tone and commitment. From a lovely high D-flat at her entrance to her soul-crushing farewell to her child, Zeani is at one with the character.The supporting cast is superb. Luciano Palombi sings with ardent, fresh tone, rising to a great high C with Zeani at the end of Act 1. Rosa Laghezza partners Zeani like a champion in their big duet in Act 2; she also has a strong low A-flat at "Che giova!" in Act 3. Angelo Mori is not only an appropriately seedy Goro, but has an excellent voice as does Virgilio Carbonari as the Bonze. Domenico Trimarchi was better known later on for his buffo roles; here he sings a sensitive Sharpless. Arturo Basile leads a powerful performance that stays with one long after it's over. The sound is very clear, the voices captured with presence.All Zeani fans should get this, but Butterfly addicts will want it too.

This is a fine live performance from Venice in 1964. The sound is what one would expect from a live performance: voices appear from different parts of the stage and are not always centered as I would like. This is especially true for Butterfly's Entrance, but is better after that. I enjoyed Zeani as Butterfly. She has a very attractive voice and projects well in her taxing role. She was very convincing. I was not familiar with Palombi as Pinkerton. He has a fine light tenor and I enjoyed him in his important arias. The conducting is very fine keeping the performance moving nicely. All in all a very enjoyable performance and it was nice to hear Zeani as Butterfly.

It is all too well known that Virginia Zeani had strong ties to the Veneto region; we remember her in Adria, where she performed for three seasons, chatting with the fishermen, descending onto the canal that runs alongside the shoreline in front of the Teatro Comunale, and being photographed with them. And it was precisely in Veneto that she chose to debut some of her most famous roles, from TOSCA and FEDORA (at the "Verdi" in Padua) to MADAMA BUTTERFLY, which took place in August 1964 at the Teatro La Fenice. It is with this latter production that we now wish to address this, all the more so because fortunately we are assisted by a recording of the event made by an attentive and, considering the era, technically advanced spectator.Although sometimes overlooked, Basile and Guadagno should be counted among the Italian conductors with opera in their DNA; and here Basile demonstrates unparalleled skill in giving us a compelling account of Puccini.The sketches were entrusted to the Venetian painter Renato Borsato, who was underestimated at the time. I am grateful to Dr. Annachiara Ferretti for bringing the sketch for Act I back to light.As for the Romanian star, then 38, her debut in the role of Cio-Cio-San, previously misunderstood, could not have gone better for her technically and expressively, and—we have reason to assume—also on the stage, as she later demonstrated at the Settembre Adriese 1973.Zeani's singing is a delicate instrument, and as a vigilant student of Pertile, she need not have feared the challenge of the arduous vocal writing of Puccini's sweet and unfortunate geisha, where everything—even the harsh ascending segments of the second act—is reduced to a barely perceptible emission that, as a true bel canto singer from a Bellini and Donizetti background, will warn her (as did all her bel canto colleagues of the time, from Gencer to Callas and from Caballé to Sutherland) against shying away, as was the custom in the years of verismo, from any A vehement and inappropriate assault on the middle register of his singing style.Treviso native Mori's Pinkerton was excellent, a jewel in the crown as part of the trio of tenors produced by the school of Marcello Del Monaco (younger brother of the great Mario), along with Cecchele and Zambon. Pinkerton's writing, as they say in the jargon, is central and poses no risks. If anything, he lacks a touch of wit in his so-called conversational singing, a frequent feature of Puccini.The attractive Rosa Laghezza acquits herself admirably as Suzuki, with a polished vocal range and a persuasive adherence to the character.Not yet launched into an international career by brilliant vocal figures, Trimarchi then portrayed a gentlemanly and well-sung Consul.The supporting cast is all Italian and in excellent form, led by Mario Guggia's astute Goro.The contribution of the Fenice orchestra was commendable, led at the time by leading players with excellent instrumental performances, especially in the wind family (it's impossible not to mention the virtuoso and charming Trentin brothers).But on this occasion, it was the Fenice choir, directed by the great Sante Zanon, who passed away the following January, that rose to prominence and became among the absolute best of the era, displaying a formidable capacity for cohesion and unity in the famous Coro a bocca chiusa (Closed Mouth Choir).Zanon's right-hand man was Corrado Mirandola, soon to be appointed as Bertola's successor at the Verona Arena, where, after Mirandola, Aldo Danieli, still young and relegated to the prompter's box, would take over.The first of the two choirmasters was Giuseppe de Donà, who later—albeit mediated by teaching at the B. Marcello Conservatory—would pursue a career as an organist, a mediocrity that, to quote Verdi's Ford, "we all agree."The lighting maestro was the good Pierantonio Fabris (known to all as "Toni").In short: a MADAMA BUTTERFLY lacking the authentic direction flair of a Barbirolli or the striking power of a Sinopoli, but, all things considered, a great demonstration of Zeani's skill and the winning integrity of her teammates.