Historical Reissue Classical CDs, LPs, 78s,
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Since 1972
Letter from Vienna . . .
"Regret not one second that you were not here. Bartoli may have intentions about returning to the original 1831 Edition, but I would like to know how she explains setting the opera in Nazi occupied France, with Norma as a school teacher Anna Magnani, Pollione as a Gestapo agent and the Druids as resistance fighters. Imagine the final scene, Norma running around in a black dress, just like Magnani in OPEN CITY, now tied to a chair with Pollione, while the Druids pile up the furniture around them, and she gets her hair cut like collaborators were in wartime France, then the Druids leave and a massive fire breaks out all round, just like GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG. By the time they got to bows, the stage was so smokey you could barely see anyone.
As for singing, how would you like a Pollione à la Juan Diego Flórez, only with louder higher notes, plus an Adalgisa who could more or less sing, but was outroared by Norma, who was singing the lower voice in their duets; that's not what Bellini wrote, plus - are you ready for this one: an orchestra of pre-baroque instruments! Violins with gut strings, no vibrato - scrape, squawk. As for her singing, just all wrong. She gets the high notes by yelling, even if she manages a somewhat soft attack. She has less vibrato than Cigna, but sounds far far more disconnected. I do not quite know what is wrong with her legato but she sort of picks at the notes, yet is on one breath. For the big aria 'Teneri figli' - no kids. For 'in mio man', she stalked around him with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.
She has publications in all the papers around - 9 euros for the bloody program, explaining her concepts, etc. I expect the recording will be a big seller as no one has any taste any more or knows how it should be done except for a few who bother to study the style. Dear Zinka is resting easy tonight. A belted out 'son io!' does nothing to erase memories of Zinka, but rather revives them. Also Bartoli sings the lower octave on the high notes. Did I tell you that the Adalgisa and Pollione scene in NORMA ended with Pollione stripping, Adalgisa on her back with her legs around Pollione's waist . . . just all wrong. She is a young girl, she has no experience, she should be led, not lead herself.
Is nothing safe from Eurotrash?
As for singing, how would you like a Pollione à la Juan Diego Flórez, only with louder higher notes, plus an Adalgisa who could more or less sing, but was outroared by Norma, who was singing the lower voice in their duets; that's not what Bellini wrote, plus - are you ready for this one: an orchestra of pre-baroque instruments! Violins with gut strings, no vibrato - scrape, squawk. As for her singing, just all wrong. She gets the high notes by yelling, even if she manages a somewhat soft attack. She has less vibrato than Cigna, but sounds far far more disconnected. I do not quite know what is wrong with her legato but she sort of picks at the notes, yet is on one breath. For the big aria 'Teneri figli' - no kids. For 'in mio man', she stalked around him with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.
She has publications in all the papers around - 9 euros for the bloody program, explaining her concepts, etc. I expect the recording will be a big seller as no one has any taste any more or knows how it should be done except for a few who bother to study the style. Dear Zinka is resting easy tonight. A belted out 'son io!' does nothing to erase memories of Zinka, but rather revives them. Also Bartoli sings the lower octave on the high notes. Did I tell you that the Adalgisa and Pollione scene in NORMA ended with Pollione stripping, Adalgisa on her back with her legs around Pollione's waist . . . just all wrong. She is a young girl, she has no experience, she should be led, not lead herself.
Is nothing safe from Eurotrash?
Your disgusted (and much saddened) friend, Helen”
Yves St Laurent never takes a day off!!!
Just as he is about to complete his Volume II of Ninon Vallin, here are his newest issues: Backhaus, Lipatti & Vol. XVII of Rodzinski
“…it seems for such an important release - possibly the first complete Beethoven sonata cycle of what you might call the ‘hi-fi’ age - Backhaus' only truly complete [Beethoven] cycle is one of them. The recordings were all made in Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland. They began in July 1950 (Nos. 12, 21, 30), with the first six recordings being issued both on 78s and LPs, before dropping the 78rpm releases for the third batch of recordings, made in April and May 1952. And what a marathon that proved to be - Backhaus set down 11 of the sonatas during those sessions….We know for sure that the majority, quite possibly all, were produced by Victor Olof, with either Arthur Haddy or Gil Went engineering, where this was noted. Went was at the controls for the final sessions, the most gruelling of the lot, in November 1953, when fourteen of the thirty-two were recorded, yielding some five LPs which were released during the course of 1954 . Perhaps by this stage Decca had got wind of Wilhelm Kempff's DG series and wanted to get to the end first....So what do we make of the earlier sonata recordings. Well I'm going to reserve comment on performances because (a) I've not heard them all, and (b) there are far better experts than myself who will no doubt pass judgment in due course. Contemporary reviewers' reactions in many way mirror those for the Schnabel series twenty years earlier - a mixture of rapturous approval and some quite pointed criticism. Whether the years since their recording have changed opinions generally or specifically remains to be seen. Backhaus certainly had heritage and was already a seasoned ‘veteran’ performer (to quote from a Gramophone reviewer) by the time he began the first cycle, at the age of 64.”
- Andrew Rose, 3 Feb., 2012
Still available from recent weeks past . . . and be alerted: St Laurent’s Vol. II of Vallin is now completed, due next week!
“On records, Endrèze projects a romanticism that supports his image. His voice is velvety and sensual. He articulates each phrase with a feeling for the particular color that helps illuminate its meaning. As a singing actor, Arthur Endrèze was the heir to Jean de Reszké's legendary magic; he also deserves recognition as one of the greatest American baritones.”
- Harold Bruder
“Vanni-Marcoux was one of the giants of what can fairly be described as the golden age of French singing. He enjoyed a huge career in opera and concerts, from 1894 when he made his debut in Turin, to 1938…. Almost the entire recorded oeuvre of Vanni-Marcoux dates from the period 1924-34. Bizarrely, the exception was an HMV LP entirely devoted to the songs of Paul Delmet. It was recorded in 1955, some 17 years after he ceased to perform in opera and concert. …. We mostly listen to recordings for pleasure, but we should always remember that they are a key part of our cultural legacy. Complete issues such as the Vanni-Marcoux keep that legacy alive – Ward Marston and all those who made this one possible deserve our commendation and support.”
- Stanley Henig, CLASSICAL RECORDINGS QUARTERLY, Summer, 2011
“Wagner at The Met is the first authorized release of Richard Wagner’s operatic masterpieces, including the complete RING CYCLE, captured live in historic broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera. The recordings have been newly restored from the original sources and display the grandeur of these legendary, once-in-a-lifetime performances. The casts include such celebrated Wagnerians as Kirsten Flagstad, Lauritz Melchior and Hans Hotter, led by conductors including Artur Bodanzky, Fritz Reiner, George Szell, Fritz Stiedry and Erich Leinsdorf. The Boxed Set includes a 128-page book with synopses and essays on each opera.”
Our remaining OPERA RARA elaborate boxed sets at 30% discount, continue to be on ‘sale’ - all from the private collection of a major discriminating collector. These are single available copies, many unplayed – a few having been played only once.
In a world in which recording companies find it increasingly difficult to survive, let alone expand their activities, the achievement of OPERA RARA is a remarkable success story. The secret of this success is that the company has always been a highly specialised venture founded on the conviction that there is an inexhaustible mine of fascinating, yet undeservedly forgotten, 19th-century Italian and French operatic music.
Once again . . .
Welcome to our new bookshop & list of Original Cast LPs, www.norpete.com where you will see a vast array of excellent, used out-of-print books. You're sure to find many books of interest which may have long eluded you, so now is your opportunity to fill in missing gaps. Our online bookshop includes composer and performer autobiographies and biographies. Soon we will include musical criticism, theory and history, plus histories of symphony orchestras, opera houses and festivals. In addition, we shall offer quite an array of vocal scores, many of which are most rare and unusual.
Take a look at our exciting array of Broadway & Off-Broadway Original Cast and London Original Cast LPs, all in superb condition.
Please note: we have now eliminated our old email address. Please adjust your email address book to:
norbeckpetersford@gmail.com
We continue our special CD & DVD 'sale' . . .
Please click on the DVD image on the left, above, and you will see our entire inventory of DVDs. Our overstock listings of CDs follow the DVDs, beginning with the most recent additions. When these titles are gone, they will not be replaced since our inventory has become far too large!
From this time forward, all Walhall and Myto titles will be offered at 40% discount from their original prices.
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We carry fine CD offerings from Marston, Immortal Performances(Canada), Malibran, VRCS, The Record Collector, Aquarius, Melodiya, Cheyne, Walhall, Bongiovanni, Bluebell, Clama and many other labels.
Now that our Auction #144 is completed, the Auction Catalogue remains on our current website. Most of the elusive and rare items of course are gone, but some titles remain available.
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