Verdi: Aida

The mono sound is actually quite good for its age. This set, made in 1955, had fuller body to the orchestral sound, not being quite as thin and boxy-sounding as the 1950-53 RCA opera recordings led by Renato Cellini with basically a pick-up band. The Rome Opera forces perform well under Perlea, an experienced theatre conductor with a good sense of musical pacing and shaping, but one who occasionally opted for slower-than-written tempi. This is his one flaw as a conductor here, but when you compare his reading to the much quirkier ones of Solti, Leinsdorf, Karajan or Levine, Perlea comes out pretty good. For some strange reason, however, the mono sound is drier and boxier on CD than it was on LP: obviously this transfer was made long before 20-bit remastering and clearer sound! However, boosting the treble restores a more natural balance.

Going down the cast list: Milanov, whose voice could float beautifully on top but sound somewhat base and hollow further down her range, is a surprisingly good Aida, curbing her tendency to elongate notes beyond their written length except for a couple of instances. She also sings dramatically, something one is not used to hearing from her, especially at this late stage of her career.

Barbieri, on the other hand, usually over-dramatized things, but here as in the Serafin "Ballo in Maschera" she sings with both a glorious tone and attention to musical detail. An excellent Amneris, surpassed only by Rita Gorr on the Solti set and equalled by no other.

Bjorling is usually not a favorite of mine in opera; his beautiful, silvery voice usually just soars through the music without any sense of what he is singing about. Here, however, he is remarkably sensitive to both text and dramatic situations. I'm guessing that either Christoff or Perlea (or both) gave him a good talking-to prior to the sessions. He sounds passionate in the Nile Scene duet, anxious and frightened in the Nile Scene finale. Good job!

Having not listened to him in some time, I had forgotten what a dramatic AND musically sensitive singer Leonard Warren was. His only drawback was his gruffy timbre, which just seemed to get gruffier and woolier as time went on. But the voice could also "bite," and it does so here. He is the second-best Amonasro on records, after the underrated Giuseppe Valdengo.

Christoff is his usual snarly self, but here both voice and character click. He was an excellent Ramfis because he, like Ramfis, was pompous, arrogant and overbearing. It was perfect typecasting.

My favorite "Aida" still remains the Toscanini, despite the cold singing of Tucker as Rhadames (in the first two acts - he warms up well for the last 2) and the tremulous, unfocused Amneris of Gustavson, but this makes a superb second choice. Now, if only RCA would remaster it with 20-bit sound and change it from 3 to 2 CDs...but don't hold your breath!


An "Aida" to treasure.   August 18, 2003
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

When the opera is Verdi's "Aida", your night at the opera will be time well spent. When you add this recording of it to your shopping cart, your money will be well spent.

Perlea's "Aida" easily compensates for several apparent drawbacks. Most of the principals are non-Italians. It is a mono recording. It was recorded as long ago as 1955.

I think the quality will become apparent as soon as the "curtain rises". Instead of prompting the tenor to engage in a few bars of dialogue before beginning "Celeste Aida", the High Priest (Boris Christoff) instantly commands attention. Jussi Bjorling, whose 1936 recording of "Celeste Aida" helped launch him on the international opera circuit, delivers here a noble, tender and thrilling account of it - not at all Italianate but highly musical. When these two singers share the second half of the next scene, the Temple Scene, the vocal richness is overwhelming. Fedora Barbieri, as Amneris, riveting, ripe and regal, provides more vocal richness in the scene that follows, and the act ends with Zinka Milanov, in glorious voice, conveying the distress of the supposed slave girl whose loyalties are impossible to reconcile.

The Triumphal March features a chorus that actually sounds like a rejoicing crowd and the ballet sequences are richly evocative. Jonel Perlea directs these sterling forces, equally successful in structuring the huge ensembles and in handling the intimate scenes of this masterpiece.

The locale for the recording is the Rome Opera House, a venue for many of my favorite recordings. As with most "Aida" recordings, this could be a 2 CD set, but it disposes itself much better onto 3 CDs.