Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-gq7q9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-20T00:03:06.995Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 28 - Interpreting Puccini on Stage and on Disc

from Part VII - Interpreting Puccini

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2023

Alexandra Wilson
Affiliation:
Oxford Brookes University
Get access

Summary

This chapter discusses the singers who have performed and recorded Puccini’s works since the mid-twentieth century. The author analyses changing trends in Puccini performance, particularly in terms of the sorts of voices that were considered most suitable for singing this repertory in audio recordings. The chapter begins with a discussion of the rivalry between Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, two sopranos who took quite different approaches to the performance of Puccini’s female roles. Mirella Freni and Tebaldi took a more lyrical approach than their immediate predecessors. By the 1960s and 70s – the era of the long-playing record – a new breed of international sopranos and tenors with opulent voices was emerging, including Montserrat Caballé, Luciano Pavarotti, and Placido Domingo. The 1970s and 80s was the era of the big-budget studio recording, featuring starry conductors and casts and the world’s greatest orchestras. The 1990s saw a drop-off in recordings by major labels, yet a new generation of bankable stars was emerging, including Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, and (in the 2000s) Jonas Kaufmann. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a recent turn towards lighter voices tackling this repertory, epitomised by the success of the compelling Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho, who brings into question the idea of what an ‘authentic’ Puccini singer might be.

Type
Chapter
Information
Puccini in Context , pp. 230 - 237
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×