Alfredo Kraus - Anna Moffo - Robert Merrill - Rosalind Elias...
I freely - and fearlessly - make this decision even though in professional-level reviews Solti's conducting has been described as "relentless" - "propulsive" - "dynamic" and "charging (ever) onwards"... The word "breakneck" may also have been used but I greatly suspect that it was me that actually said that and not even I care what I say about anything and I'm actually me...
I prefer this version for all of the wrong reasons - Despite however many times that I may have heard it, I still keep eagerly anticipating that, at some point, the speed of the tempo is such that it will inevitably cause the quartet to turn into a runaway train that will jump the tracks... I know that I should turn away but I can't - It's fascinating to listen to...
I have so much respect for mezzo Rosalind Elias... She's desperately trying to maintain that consistent vocal cadence which the tenor, soprano, and baritone need to work off of to prevent themselves from tripping all over each other's lines while Solti is doing his level best to defeat her at every step of the way by adamantly refusing to adjust his conducting to their singing - I can visualize what this session must have looked like - Elias trying to keep a steady pace despite knowing that at some point one voice will be on time, one will be slightly behind, one will be slightly ahead, and the fourth will just stand there wondering if anyone will notice that they're not actually singing, they're only mouthing the words... They would not have been able to take their eyes off of one another for even a second as they needed visual cues to try to properly time their vocals as they couldn't possibly rely on what they were actually hearing from the orchestra.
I really should vote for Plácido Domingo - Ileana Cotrubas - Piero Cappuccilli - Elena Obraztsova in part one of this contest because they are the best sounding of the three quartets - the full complement of four are strong without at least one of them being either off their game or past their prime - confidently full-voiced - beautifully sung - superbly well-balanced with Giulini willing to adapt to his singers rather than forcing them to adapt to his conducting -
The vintage 1954 Questa conducted quartet - Ferruccio Tagliavini - Lina Pagliughi - Giuseppe Taddei - Irma Colasanti - has been universally well-reviewed and has often been mentioned as a worthy competitor to Gobbi - Callas - Di Stefano - which seems unlikely - to put it mildly - when based on the sound of the quartet in this contest - which, in its defense, is solely the fault of the sound engineer who should have done one of two things - move tenor Tagliavini further away from the mic or move the mic further away from Tagliavini - It's that simple - An organ grinder's monkey (or even his dim-witted understudy for that matter) would have had enough sense to stop the recording and say "Ferruccio, you stand in the lobby in front of the concession stand and, oh yeah, keep the door closed, you other three, stand on the stage and follow the blocking".
I've listened to other selections from this recording and can attest that they are far better balanced - significantly - than they are in "Bella figlia dell 'amore". I'll be doing a "Great Duets" contest in about six months time or so featuring "Figlia!" / "Mio padre!" and the Pagliughi/Taddei pairing should be a force to be reckoned with.
If my vote would have been a deciding factor in this competition I would have voted - Plácido Domingo - Ileana Cotrubas - Piero Cappuccilli - Elena Obraztsova -The Giulini recording was "best in class" in Round One but since my vote wouldn't change the outcome, I took the liberty of voting for Alfredo Kraus - Anna Moffo - Robert Merrill - Rosalind Elias because I enjoyed the high-flying trapeze act without a net approach that Solti took.
