Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly
featuring Ying Huang, Richard Troxell, and Ning Liang.
Sony; 2 discs

This is actually the soundtrack to the 1995 film. I have always liked certain numbers from Butterfly, but have never actually explored the opera other than listening to highlights. However, a friend sent a link to Un Bel Di from the film and I was awestruck at the beauty of Miss Huang's rendition of the famous aria. Wishing to hear a little more, I got a copy of the entire soundtrack thinking that I would at least try to find the love duet as well as Un Bel Di. I found it, and WOW! I was really thrilled. After listening to my few favorite parts, I kept rewinding tracks to just hear a little more. Pretty soon I had listened to practically the entire first disc! What comes before Un Bel Di is fantastic. Miss Huang as Cio-Cio San and Ning Liang as Suzuki work very well together and when the music climaxes right before the aria, it sends chills up and down your spine! Mr. Troxell's very high and clear tenor is different from the usual Pinkerton and he is very good in the role of the totally unlikable sailor. The love duet is simply fantastic!

A really phenomenal cast. Well suited to each other and beautifully sung. You can't beat the quality of the recording and the set comes with a full four-language libretto. I highly recommend this for any fan of Madame Butterfly or Puccini.

La Forza del Destino (1958)

La Forza del Destino
Featuring Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, and Boris Christoff
1958 Teatro San Carlo, Naples performance
160 minutes; Hardy Classics DVD

This is simply fantastic viewing. You listen to the records and imagine these famous people singing, but it is so great to be able to actually see them perform on stage at the peaks of their careers. Gives you a much better feeling when you listen to a disc, knowing how they actually sing.

The quality is a little old, but so much better than I thought it would be when I ordered this DVD. The sound is absolutely wonderful, especially considering they had to remaster old TV film. I took the disc upstairs onto our 42" plasma TV and it looked and sounded great! The end scene is fabulous, worth watching twice in a row.

The staging and costumes are traditional and the acting is great (although modern viewers would consider it old-fashioned). Corelli is always convincing and, actually, this is his debut in the role of Alvaro. You would never know it, he is so natural. Tebaldi is simply breathtaking as Leonora, an opera treasure. You can really appreciate her fame and the power of her voice. You can't help but notice her. She really must have been something to hear live!

The disc has subtitles (in several languages, but I can't remember which other than English and Italian) which can be turned on or off as well as an interview with Renata Tebladi that is very fun. All in all, it is so worth the viewing time. A must for any Tebaldi or Corelli fan.