Otello (Toscanini recording)

LP release as RCA Victor LM 6107, 1953

The 1947 recording of Verdi's Otello by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra and chorus, is regarded as one of the most notable early Verdi opera recordings.[1] The role of Otello was sung by Ramón Vinay, Desdemona by Herva Nelli, and Iago by Giuseppe Valdengo.[2][3][4]

Arturo Toscanini in 1908

The recording was made from NBC broadcast performances recorded in Studio 8H, New York City on 6 and 13 December 1947. Rehearsals on 4 and 5 December preceded the first recording session, and a third rehearsal on the 12th preceded the second session. The names of NBC's producer and balance engineer are unknown.[5] As far as the original broadcast, much of NBC's network did not hear the full opera as intended. While NBC in New York moved sponsor Ford Motor company's advertisements into after the 6:30 evening meal slot, giving the extra fifteen minutes needed from 6:15 to the 6:30 to allow the full broadcast of the first half of the opera many affiliates either did not carry the broadcasts or filled the slot with the Answer Man programme.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Opera - Volume 20 - Page 1080 1969 "I still rank the Toscanini Otello with the famous Scala Tosca recording under De Sabata, as one of the finest opera recordings ever made — not of course comparable technically with the modern stereophonic achievements — but possessing a ..."
  2. ↑ Arturo Toscanini from 1915 to 1946 - Page 118 Harvey Sachs - 1987 "HS: Did you know that most of Toscanini's opera recordings are now out of print in most countries? J L: Yes even the Otello. which is certainly a good candidate for the title of "Best Opera Recording Ever Made". But there you have the case in a ..."
  3. ↑ Classic CD Page 75 1998 "Equally electrifying is 'Great Scenes from Der Ring des Nibelungeri , 70 minutes' worth of "bleeding chunks" from Wagner's mighty music- drama, excerpted from arguably the most famous opera recording of them all, made by Solti in Vienna, ..."
  4. ↑ The Gramophone - Volume 38,Numéro 1 - Page 153 Sir Compton Mackenzie, Christopher Stone - 1960 "... SXL224Q Q LXT 5695 Mozart For those who do not require the complete production, here are the highlights from the most famous opera recording ever made. RENATA TEBALDI; GIULEETTA SLMIONATO, CARLO BERGONZI, CORNELL ..."
  5. ↑ International opera collector: IOC. - Volume 2 - Page 34 1997 "THE RECORDING FACTS - TOSCANINI'S OTELLO. NBC broadcast performances in Studio 8H, New York City on December 6th and 13th, 1947, and rehearsals of December 4th, 5th and 12th. Producer and Balance engineer unknown NBC ."
  6. ↑ Bernard H. Haggin Conversations with Toscanini 1979 Page 124 "...which was not salable precisely because it was the time when people were busy with dinner and children and could ... NBC in New York added the required fifteen minutes from 6:15 to the 6:30 hour for Toscanini's broadcast of the first half of Verdi's Otello, its affiliated station in Rochester broadcast— in place of the first fifteen minutes of Otello — the regularly scheduled Answer Man program; and the fact that some of NBC's affiliated stations in major cities did not carry the Toscanini broadcasts live from New York,."
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