Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Performer: Jussi Bjoerling, Leonard Warren, Fedora Barbieri, Margaret Roggero, Zinka Milanov
Orchestra: RCA Victor Orchestra, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw Chorale
Conductor: Renato Cellini
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (tracks)
Label: Sony
Size: 452 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Disc: 1
01. All’erta, all’erta!
02. Di due figli vivea
03. Che più t’arresti?
04. Tacea la notte placida
05. Di tale amor che dirsi
06. Tace la notte!
07. Deserto sulla terra
08. Non m’inganno
09. Di geloso amor sprezzato
10. Vedi! Le fosche notturne spoglie
11. Stride la vampa!
12. Soli or siamo
13. Condotta ell’era in ceppi
14. Non son tuo figlio?
15. Mal reggendo
16. Inoltra il piè
17. Perigliarti ancor languente
18. Tutto è deserto
19. Il balen del suo sorriso
20. Quel suono! Oh, ciel!
21. Per me ora fatale
22. Ah! se l’error t’ingombra
23. Perchè piangete?
24. E deggio e posso crederlo?
Disc: 2
01. Or co’ dadi
02. Squilli, echeggi la tromba guerriera
03. In braccio al mio rival!
04. Quale d’armi fragor poc’anzi intesi?
05. Ah, sì, ben mio
06. L’onda de’ suoni mistici
07. Di quella pira
08. Siam giunti
09. D’amor sull’ali rosee
10. Miserere d’un’ alma già vicina
11. Udiste?
12. Mira, di acerbe lagrime
13. Vivrà! Contende il giubilo
14. Madre, non dormi?
15. Ai nostri monti
16. Che! Non m’inganno!
This is the most beautifully sung Il Trovatore on record, but is by no means the most dramatic and is far from the best-conducted. Those who insist on stereo sound (which has substantial advantages for opera recordings in terms of dramatic presence and impact) may opt for the Zubin Mehta or James Levine treatments. But Jussi Bjoerling and Leonard Warren respond intensely to the score theatrically and, above all, musically, Zinka Milanov sings with a haunting beauty most of the time, Fedora Barbieri approaches the role of the Gypsy woman Azucena as if she were born to sing it, and the relatively small, well-disciplined chorus sings with a clarity and precision comparable to that of Levine’s powerful Metropolitan Opera Chorus. –Joe McLellan
Since it’s release in 1952, this recording has achieved legendary status, because it features four of the greatest opera singers who ever lived.
Milanov, Barbieri, and Warren sing magnificently. And Bjorling sings brilliantly. He is simply the best Manrico ever recorded. Cellini, the orchestra, and the chorus are good. The mono sound is clear. This recording, the one with Corelli, and the one with Domingo and Price are all staples for any library of opera recordings.