Alfredo Catalani – La Wally (1999)

CD1
1. Act 1 - Prelude - Tra la la!	Justino Diaz	4:00	
2. Act 1 - Un dì, verso il Murzoll	Lydia Marimpietri	4:06
3. Act 1 - Non c'è che dir!	Justino Diaz	4:01	
4. Act 1 - Se per l'erto sentier	Mario del Monaco	1:40
5. Act 1 - Ma si direbbe	Mario del Monaco	1:37
6. Act 1 - Cho oso levar sul padre	Renata Tebaldi	3:40	
7. Act 1 - L'Hagenbach? L'abborro!	Piero Cappuccilli	3:19	
8. Act 1 - Sei tu che domandate hai	Renata Tebaldi	5:35
9. Act 1 - Ebben? Ne andrò lontana	Renata Tebaldi	4:55
10. Act 1 - Ad ora così tarda	Renata Tebaldi	3:38	
11. Act 2 - Entro la folla che intorno	Alfredo Mariotti	4:26
12. Act 2 - No! ... Coll'amor tu non dêi scherzar	Stefania Malagu	3:33	
13. Act 2 - La bella creatura!	Stefania Malagu	2:13	
14. Act 2 - Finor non m'han baciata	Renata Tebaldi	4:21
15. Act 2 - Sei tu? ... Son io	Piero Cappuccilli	6:54
16. Act 2 - Che brami, Wally?	Stefania Malagu	2:44
17. Act 2 - Già il canto fervido	Mario del Monaco	10:14

CD2
1. Act 2 - Interlude	Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo	4:15	
2. Act 2 - Fa cor, Wally!	Lydia Marimpietri	2:50	
3. Act 2 - Ebben ... dunque? ... Siete voi?	Piero Cappuccilli	2:00	
4. Act 2 - L'Hagenbach qui?	Piero Cappuccilli	1:39	
5. Act 2 - Nè mai dunque avrò pace?	Renata Tebaldi	3:52	
6. Act 2 - Buo è il sentier	Mario del Monaco	2:33	
7. Act 2 - Dio! Vive ancor!	Renata Tebaldi	6:41	
8. Act 3 - Interlude	Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo	6:58
9. Act 3 - Luogo sicuro questo	Lydia Marimpietri	2:00
10. Act 3 - Prendi, fanciul, e serbala!	Renata Tebaldi	4:12
11. Act 3 - Eterne a me d'intorno	Renata Tebaldi	4:16
12. Act 3 - Wally! Wally! ... Come sei triste	Mario del Monaco	1:37	
13. Act 3 - M'hai salvato	Mario del Monaco	3:51	
14. Act 3 - Quando a Sölden	Mario del Monaco	6:10

Renata Tebaldi - soprano
Mario Del Monaco - tenor
Piero Cappuccilli - baritone
Justino Diaz - bass
Lydia Marimpietri - soprano
Stefania Malagù – mezzo-soprano
Alfredo Mariotti - baritone

Turin Lyric Chorus
Monte Carlo National Opera Orchestra
Conducted by Fausto Cleva

I would not expect to find "La Wally" in anyone's list of ten favourite operas - although apparently Toscanini, in gratitude to Catalani's securing him a conducting post, named his son and daughter Walter and Wally respectively after the eponymous protagonist - and I bet they were grateful...

It's a good, if unremarkable, opera: tuneful, full of verismo cut-'n-thrust, some nice Alpine effects and a few good arias including, of course, "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana", which Tebaldi sings beautifully. This is a rôle which suits her well even at this late stage of career and she is, in any case, in excellent voice despite having already sung it for fifteen years in thirteen productions when she recorded it here. OK; her top is a little acid and Del Monaco, too, has his moments of bleakness in the middle of the voice but they are still a class act. They do sometimes bawl a bit but there are many moments of tenderness - not least Tebaldi's melting account of the big aria. Cleva conducts unobtrusively and Cappuccilli does his usual solid job. There is a very cheap, 1972 live Opera d'Oro set with the wonderful Magda Olivero (still great at 62) and a decent supporting cast but it's in execrable sound so this is a much better bet for home listening - unless you are attracted by the other Opera d'Oro bargain set which is a 1960 live radio broadcast in truly excellent sound with the lady herself in younger, even better voice, a decent baritone in Dondi and expert conducting by Tebaldi's paramour Basile. Unfortunately, the tenor Prandelli is a bit of a trial. (I haven't heard the other set available from Eurodisc with Marton, Araiza and Titus, but I would be very surprised if it were superior to this one.) ---Ralph Moore, amazon.com

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