Mascagni: I Rantzau

1. I Rantzau, opera in 4 acts
   Composed by Pietro Mascagni
   with Domenico Colaianni, Carlo Bosi, Rita Lantieri, Barry [singer] Anderson, Ottavio Garaventa
   Conducted by Bruno Rigacci
   
   

Mascagni: I Rantzau,Barry Anderson [singer],Pietro Mascagni,Bruno Rigacci,Rita Lantieri,Carlo Bosi,Ottavio Garaventa,Domenico Colaianni,Fone,Classical,Italian Romantic Opera,Opera,Opera / Operetta / Oratorio

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Average customer rating: A strangely refreshing interpretation Definitive Recording 50 years on, Mascagni conducts his own Cavalleria Rusticana.

Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Mascagni | Mascagni, Pietro | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Leoncavallo: Pagliacci Puccini: Madama Butterfly ASIN: B00005MFGP Release Date: 2001-08-21

Tracks:

1. Introductory Speech By The Composer - Pietro Mascagni
2. Prld - La Scala Orch/Pietro Mascagni
3. O Lola, Ch'ai Di Latti La Cammisa - Beniamino Gigli
4. Gli Aranci Olezzano - La Scala Chor
5. Dite, Mamma Lucia - Lina Bruna Rasa/Giulietta Simionato
6. Il Cavallo Scalpita - Gino Bechi/La Scala Chor
7. Beato Voi, Compar Alfio...Regina Coeli - Giulietta Simionato/Gino Bechi/Lina Bruna Rasa/La Scala Chor
8. Voi Lo Sapete, O Mamma - Lina Bruna Rasa/Giulietta Simionato
9. Tu Qui, Santuzza? - Beniamino Gigli/Lina Bruna Rasa
10. Fior Di Giaggiolo - Maria Marcucci/Beniamino Gigli/Lina Bruna Rasa
11. Ah! Io Vedi, Che Hai Tu Detto? - Beniamino Gigli/Lina Bruna Rasa
12. Oh! Il Signore Vi Manda, Compar Alfio! - Lina Bruno Rasa/Gino Bechi

Tracks:

1. Intermezzo - La Scala Orch/Pietro Mascagni
2. A Casa, A Casa, Amici - La Scala Chor/Beniamino Gigli/Maria Marucci
3. Viva Il Vino Spumeggiante - Beniamino Gigli/La Scala Chor/Maria Marcucci
4. A Voi Tutti, Salute! - Gino Bechi/La Scala Chor/Beniamino Gigli/Maria Marcucci
5. Mamma, Quel Vino E Generoso - Beniamino Gigli/Giulietta Simionato/Lina Bruna Rasa
6. Appendix: Il Barbiere Di Siviglia: Ovt - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni
7. Appendix: I Vespri Siciliani: Ovt - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni
8. Appendix: L'Amico Fritz: Intermezzo - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni
9. Appendix: I Rantzau: Ovt - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni
10. Appendix: Guglielmo Ratcliff: Intermezzo - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni
11. Appendix: Iris: Inno Al Sole - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni
12. Appendix: Iris: Dance - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni
13. Appendix: Le Maschere: Ovt - Orch Of The State Opr House, Berlin/Pietro Mascagni

Amazon.com

The first disc opens with a brief speech by the composer, delivered with verve and hammy declamation. It's a fun start to this 1940 recording, made 50 years after its premiere. His conducting is very free, ignoring score markings and leading the slowest of the opera's many recorded versions. But it works; a reading full of atmosphere and an inevitability that, even after all these years, makes this one of the best-conducted of all Cavallerias. It also has one of the best casts ever assembled. Beniamino Gigli is a terrific Turiddu; he's in excellent voice, singing with intensity and involvement. He shares honors with the burly baritone of Gino Bechi, among the best of all recorded Alfios. Another plus is the passionate Santuzza, Lina Bruna Rasa, who lets out all the stops in true verismo style. Naxos fills out the second disc with Mascagni conducting overtures and preludes from his own and others' operas. But the Cavalleria is what counts, and Ward Marston's fine transfers make this issue preferable to other available versions of this performance. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

A strangely refreshing interpretation.......2005-09-29

I have many recordings of this work, and most are simply wonderful, full of fire and energy, and gripping to the extreme. Isn't that what Verismo was supposed to be, a slice of life? I came to this recordings late in my study of this opera. I followed with the score, and yes, the composer himself doesn't always follow what he wrote, but that makes me ask the question: is what he wrote really a true reflection of what he felt?

This recording is so slow, I mean SLOW, but at no time does it drag. I find it marvelous how the composer keeps movement, energy, and life in his work even though how he views his tempi are very different than how we see/hear them. Perhaps, through the years he mellowed and old age robbed him of the ability to conduct with great speed. Yet, something tells me that is not the case at all. Rather, with time, his view of his "first born" took on a different feeling for him, or maybe this was the correct feeling all along, but other conductors premiered the work and their interpretations of tempi, etc. became the norm.

Whatever the truth is, this is how he saw the work when he conducted it, and I am sure he heard many presentations of his opera over that 50 year period from the time it was created till the time he conducted it. There is a deep intensity of feeling in the music. It "Throbs" yet, it is not pushed, it is not rushed, it is not hectic. It is emotionally intense.

Some don't like Gigli sobbing in his lines of when he expresses emotions, especially when bidding farewell to his mother. Yet, if one reads all the discussions on how verismo was performed, those sobs (done by both men and women) were the norm. Even some yelling was not considered WRONG. Now days, we are used to very "cleaned up" performances. Ones that go back to the manuscript, where every single high note tradition is removed. Emotions are confined to the notes and the musical line and NOTHING ELSE IS ALLOWED.

Well, this is not the standard of this recording, or of what the composer himself expected from his work. He chose the singers, and I am sure he chose them knowing full well they used those "theatrics" in their singing.

But now, to the singers. They are simply wondrous, to me, and even though this is such an "old way" of performing a verismo work, I find it gives a great depth to the music and the drama. I wish sometimes we could see such emotional theatrics in the theatre today, rather than all those ever-so-correctly sung interpretations. The Santuzza (Lina Bruna Rasa) may sound like she would take the rolling pin to Turridu if he did anything wrong, but let us put this in perspective: this woman has been dumped and excommunicated for her affair with this man, and frankly, he cares less. A rolling pin to the head may be what he needs. Lola (Maria Marccucci), wonderfully sung for such a small part, is the cheating little vixen she appears, and we all know she is going to cover up her sinful ways by pretending to be so pure. Alfio (Geno Bechi) is a very wronged husband. He enters the opera filled with promise and life, coming home from a long day at work (or week away doing work) to what he thinks is a loving home. We hear that in this performance, and we hear the heart break as he learns his wife is sleeping around (granted, he hears it from a wrong former girl friend of the man sleeping with his wife, so he has to endure her spite in the telling, which is wonderfully portrayed). His "Hate" toward Turriddu is thick, one could cut it with a knife, yet, he never raves. All is said with composure.

And we get to enjoy an early recording of Simionato near the beginning of her career. Mamma Lucia is not a big role, nor does it develop in any real way, but still we are treated to a wonderful singer singing her notes with truth.

The other recorded items are also very interesting. Mascagni obviously felt music his way. I would not say it was wrong or right. He just felt his tempi as he felt them and not as a mechanical device counting them out. Personally, I love the expression he adds to the work. Since all the metronomic markings are all in brackets, one is led to believe they were more suggestions than definite requirements.

Mascagni conducts other people's music as he conducts his own, fully as he feels the various tempi markings. Sometimes, they are much slower than we are accustomed to, and as a conductor, he is not too fixated on "note perfection" and little slips do happen from time to time, but nothing is lost, or destroyed by this oversight. One is left wondering, what would Verdi have conducted like, or what of Bellini, or Wagner? Tempi are very different from composer to composer, and each style of music feels an andante differently. Mascagni felt things in a very expanded drawn out way, but at no time does he lose energy or focus as to where he intends to go. His singers obviously understood what he was after, for they never drag a line, or drop in their energy either.

This recording has its drawbacks, but it is a testiment to what a composer felt about his work, and we have so few of those. It reminds me of a discussion I had with a music teacher in my youth. In frustration with her I yelled, "When did you talk to the composer last?" She didn't appreciate my remark one bit. Well, here we have the opportunity of actually hearing "what the composer wanted." Whether we like it or not, is really very personal. It is very different to what we are accustomed to, but it is HIS final word on the issue, and with that we can all say to conductors, directors, and the lot who really frustrate us with how they do things, "Well, we have heard what the composer wanted, he documented that, so, how close are you to what he wanted?"

Definitive Recording.......2002-09-16

My review is based upon the original RCA Treasury Series recording. Despite its age, this is the quintessential Cavelleria Rusticano. The principals are all outstanding. My one caveat is the excessive sobbing in the last act's "Farewell to his Mother" by Beniamino Gigli, the opera's Turrido. Otherwise this tenor, whose singing is generally not my personal "cup of tea," does a great job. Lina Bruna Rasa has the perfect voice for Santuzza, and she pulls out all the stops. Bechi is a very convincing Alfio. Altogether, this is melodrama done in the true, southern Italian Style. Mascagni, who conducts "his own child" fifty years after its first presentation, makes some brief opening remarks. They are both apt and touching. I have numerous recordings of this opera, including the excellent Callas version. This one is by far the best.

50 years on, Mascagni conducts his own Cavalleria Rusticana........2001-10-24

Ward Marston transfers of historic opera recordings continue be issued by Naxos. This one is noteworthy for several reasons: it offers the best and cheapest available edition of Mascagni conducting his own opera, and it has Beniamino Gigli in the tenor role.

Some comments on the composer/conductor first. In 1940 it was fifty years since "Cavelleria Rusticana" debuted in Rome. The 76 year old composer was invited to conduct the recording, select the singers, and present an introductory speech. Sounding like a gladiator of former times addressing the crowd in the coliseum, Pietro Mascagni provides a two minute speech, here printed in the notes in translation. He directs a performance that is neither true to the original score nor calculated to present the opera's best features. You need only to listen to the famous intermezzo, where you'll hear dynamic and tempo exaggerations in the "big tune" that are not indicated in the score.

Earlier, in fact during the opening orchestral prelude, you'll hear a production fault that Mascagni apparently ignored. A feature of this work, credited with being the first "verismo" (true to life) opera, is the interpolation of an off-stage "Siciliana" sung by the tenor Turiddu to Lola, the wife of Alfio, during the opera's orchestral prelude. Any suggestion that Turiddu wants to maintain their hopeless involvement is destroyed when we hear singing so loud from Beniamino Gigli as to suggest that Turiddu wants the whole of Sicily to know about it. Yes, Gigli is in fine voice, but his habit of adding a gulp or an extra note at the beginning of almost every phrase is an unwelcome crudity.

Lina Bruna Rasa, a singer usually institutionalised at this time due to psychiatric problems, makes Santuzza sound like the sort of future wife for Turiddu who would be handier with the rolling pin than in dispensing tender loving care. Gino Bechi, early in his career, and Giulietto Siminionato, even earlier, take the parts of Alfio and Mamma Lucia.

Because this performance with its introductory speech extends beyond the limit of a single CD, Naxos have filled the additional space on the second CD with transfers of some extremely rare recordings made by Pietro Mascagni conducting a Berlin orchestra in Rossini and Verdi overtures, and orchestral sequences from several of his own operas. Recording dates are not provided; I guess them to be from the late 1920s.

Average customer rating: Mascagni Heroines

Pietro Mascagni: Héroines Manufacturer: Naive ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Mascagni | Mascagni, Pietro | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Cantatas | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00005UOWE Release Date: 2002-05-14

Customer Reviews:

Mascagni Heroines.......2002-07-23

Mascagni has always been a bone of contention. Critics bewailed his crudeness and emotional excess....the public preferred Puccini. But Mascagni was the real thing - far more than the one-work wonder history has made him out to be. Give him credit -the man wrote 15 operas! Unfortunately, apart from Cavalleria Rusticana, the rest is pretty much terra incognito. And so, this current release, a comprehensive survey of Mascagni heroines, is most welcome. The brief excerpts included here can hardly convey the theatrical sweep of Ratcliffe or Piccolo Marat, yet there are many moments of expressive power. Lodoletta's "Ah, il suo nome" to cite just one example, achieves a pathos rare in 20th century opera. You may not walk away whistling the tunes, but the music will stay with you. Our soloist, soprano Denia Gavazzeni-Mazzola, is quite wonderful, vocally vibrant and totally 'inside' the music. Her Parisina, Isabeau and Luisa Rantzau are just about ideal. In short, I'd say this is a must for the dedicated operaphile

Average customer rating:

Mascagni: I Rantzau Manufacturer: Fone ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Mascagni | Mascagni, Pietro | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000003XM2 Release Date: 1998-05-19

Tracks:

1. Atto I: Preludio - Orch Del C.E.L./Bruno Rigacci
2. Atto I: E Tornato Allegro Il Sole - Coro Cooperativa Artisti Associati/Stefano Visconti
3. Atto I: Oh Maestro! - Domenico Colaianni
4. Atto I: Hai Ragione, Luisa - Fulvia Bertoli/Rita Lantieri
5. Atto I: O Che Lite, Che Grida - Domenico Colaianni/Giacomo Boldrini
6. Atto I: Non Un Ricordo, Ahime! - Rita Lantieri
7. Atto II: Preludio - Orch Del C.E.L./Bruno Rigacci
8. Atto II: C'era Una Volta Un Re - Rita Lantieri
9. Atto II: Luisa! A Che Pensavi? - Barry Anderson/Rita Lantieri
10. Atto II: Kyrie Eleison - Coro Cooperativa Artisti Associati/Stefano Visconti
11. Atto II: Hanno Cessato! - Carlo Bosi/Barry Anderson
12. Atto II: Luisa Ora Verra - Domenico Colaianni
13. Atto II: Mi Volete Maestro? - Rita Lantieri/Domenico Colaianni
14. Atto II: Mamma Adorata - Rita Lantieri/Domenico Colaianni/Barry Anderson
15. Atto II: Ed E La Figlia Mia - Barry Anderson
16. Atto II: O Babbo Ascoltami - Rita Lantieri/Barry Anderson

Tracks:

1. Atto III: Acqua Limpida Che Brilli - Coro Cooperativa Artisti Associati/Stefano Visconti
2. Atto III: O Maestro, Sentite... - Domenico Colaianni/Fulvia Bertoli
3. Atto III: Per Farle Allontanar Quanto Penai! - Domenico Colaianni/Giacomo Boldrini
4. Atto III: Non Chiesi Questo A Voi. Amo Luisa - Ottavio Garaventa/Giacomo Boldrini
5. Atto III: Lo Vedete, Fiorenzo? - Giacomo Boldrini/Domenico Colaianni
6. Atto III: Quando Volevano Ci Dividessero - Ottavio Garaventa
7. Atto III: E Luisa Ti Vuol Bene? - Domenico Colaianni/Ottavio Garaventa/Carlo Bosi
8. Atto III: Udite, Udite - Coro Cooperativa Artisti Associati/Stefano Visconti
9. Atto III: Avete Inteso? - Domenico Colaianni
10. Atto III: Ed Essa Vuol Morir - Barry Anderson/Giacomo Boldrini
11. Atto IV: Intermezzo - Orch Del C.E.L./Bruno Rigacci
12. Atto IV: Vegliai La Notte Intera - Domenico Colaianni
13. Atto IV: Non Gridate... Son Guarita - Rita Lantieri/Domenico Colaianni
14. Atto IV: O Babbo, Babbo! - Fulvia Bertoli/Rita Lantieri
15. Atto IV: Vieni Qui, Stringiti Qui Sul Mio Petto - Ottavio Garaventa/Rita Lantieri
16. Atto IV: Parlami. La Tua Voce Mi Fa Bene... - Rita Lantieri/Ottavio Garaventa
17. Atto IV: I Giorni Miei Posso Finir Contento - Domenico Colaianni
18. Atto IV: A Me Quel Foglio - Ottavio Garaventa
19. Atto IV: Troppo A Lungo Ho Taciuto - Ottavio Garaventa

Average customer rating:

Il Mito Dell'Opera Manufacturer: Bongiovanni ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Mascagni | Mascagni, Pietro | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000447B Release Date: 1995-12-12

Tracks:

1. Cavalleria Rusticana: Prld E Siciliana - Josif Rijavec
2. Cavalleria Rusticana: Siciliana - FERNANDO VALERO
3. Cavalleria Rusticana: Addio Alla Madre - Piero Schiavazzi
4. L'Amico Fritz: 'Tutto Tace' - Miguel Fleta/Lucrezia Bori
5. L'Amico Fritz: 'O Amore, O Bella Luce Del Core' - Dino Borgioli
6. I Rantzau: Prld - Grande Orch Sym Di Professori Dell 'Opr Di Berlino/Peitro Macagni
7. Guglielmo Ratcliff: 'Quando Fanciullo Ancora,' 'Come Avvenisse Non So' - Giuseppe Taccani
8. Guglielmo Ratcliff: 'Ombra Esecrata' - Giuseppe Taccani
9. Guglielmo Ratcliff: Intermezzo Dell'Atto Terzo - Orch Sym Dell'EIAR Di Torino/Antonio Votto
10. Silvano: 'Si E Spento Il Sol,' 'Notturno' - Enzo De Muro Lomanto
11. Iris: 'Apri La Tua Finestra' - Elvino Ventura
12. Iris: 'Io Pingo' - Maria Farneti
13. Iris: 'Un Di Ero Piccina' - Augusta Oltrabella
14. Amica: 'Perche Restar' - Piero Schiavazzi
15. Amica: 'Orfani E Senza Pan' - Piero Schiavazzi
16. Isabeau: 'Tu Ch'Odi Lo Mio Grido' - Carlo Ballin
17. Il Piccolo Marat: 'Va' Nella Tua Stanzetta' - Hipolito Lazaro/Mafalda De Voltri
18. Ave Maria (Adattata Sull' Intermezzo Di Cavalleria Rusticana) - Tito Schipa

Average customer rating:

Pietro Mascagni Conducts 1927-1928 Manufacturer: Video Artists Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Mascagni | Mascagni, Pietro | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000003LKZ Release Date: 1996-01-17

Tracks:

1. Cavalleria Rusticana: Prelude - O Lola, bianca come fior...
2. L'amico Fritz: Intermezzo
3. I Rantzau: Prelude
4. Guglielmo Ratcliff, Act III: Ratcliff's Dream
5. Iris: Introduction And Inno al sole
6. Iris: Danza delle Guechas
7. Visione Lirica
8. Canto del lavoro
9. William Tell: Overture

Meditation Music:

1. Mascagni: Lodoletta
2. Massenet - Grisélidis / Command · Larcher · Dasnoues · Courtis · Viala · Henry · Treguier · Sieyes · Fournillier
3. Massenet: Sapho
4. Monteverdi: Il Ritorno D'Ulisse In Patria / Garrido
5. Mozart: 18 Great Arias
6. Mozart: Der Schauspieldirektor (Complete Version)
7. Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail
8. Mozart: Die Hochzeit des Figaro
9. Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
10. Mozart: Don Giovanni

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