Puccini, Giacomo - Turandot - Nilsson, Birgit
Birgit Nilsson (Turandot), Peter Klein (Altoum), Giuseppe di Stefano (Calaf), Leontyne Price (Liu), Nicola Zaccaria (Timur), Kostas Paskalis (Ping), Ermanno Lorenzi (Pang), Murray Dickie (Pong) & Alois Pernersdorfer (Mandarin)
Choir & Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera / Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
They made a distinctly odd couple onstage: she was the supreme hochdramatisch soprano of her generation, a singer able to maintain her tremendous vocal powers over a period of several decades, whereas he could captivate his listeners as a poetic and spirited lyric tenor so prodigal with his resources that within little more than a decade he had burned out. It was in 1961 that Birgit Nilsson appeared alongside Giuseppe di Stefano in a performance of Puccini's Turandot which, caught on the wing by by the microphones of Austrian Radio, manages not to be simply a duel between two vocal gymnasts anxious to display their top notes. As Calaf, Giuseppe di Stefano, who died on 3rd March at the age of 86, genuinely gives the impression that he is able to melt the Ice Princess with his mellifluous tenor and ingratiating timbre. Especially towards the end of her killer role, Nilsson shows that she has at her disposal the soft notes and subtle nuances needed to effect this change to a sense of greater humanity. This exceptional cast is completed by Leontyne Price as Liù. Rarely in the history of opera before or since have three such distinguished singers appeared together onstage. This new production of Turandot was conducted by Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, at that time one of the most sought-after conductors of the Italian repertory.