Anna Moffo - The Complete RCA Recital Albums

Anna Moffo is, in my opinion, the most underrated soprano of the 20th century. She's remembered for her physical beauty but considered something of a musical lightweight compared to contemporaries like Callas and Sutherland. Her vocal breakdown in the late 60's was so well-documented and devastating that it's pretty much the only thing people remember about her ("Oh, Anna Moffo? Yeah, beautiful voice, but that vocal crisis she had..."). It's true that her demanding schedule and natural but rather raw technique led to the early end of a promising career, but for the 15 or so years she was in her prime, we got some of the most beautiful recordings ever made of the soprano voice.This collection is simply a stunning tribute to her artistry. It's not actually "complete"--there are some later recital recordings which are missing (most notably a mid-1970's album which included a lot of Puccini and Verdi). But the remastering is exquisite. Even the two more "pop" oriented albums included are delightful (though I'm less fond of the duet album with the slightly ludicrous Sergio Franchi than the solo recordings). But sometimes I think her foray into "legit" musical theater and operetta helped contribute to her reputation as a less serious singer than she really was. Her Verdi album is a revelation. Her voice may not have been large enough to handle the complete operas, but she manages to inject a note of both fragility and sexiness that is simply lacking in most recordings.The crowning jewel, however, is the album she recorded with Leopold Stokowski in the mid 1960's which includes, among other songs, selections from Canteloube's "Songs of the Auvergne" and makes me wish she had recorded the complete work. Her recording of Rachmaninov's "Vocalise" from the same album is my absolute favorite recording of the human voice.It's rare to hear her recordings from after her vocal crisis but included in this box set is a collection of arias from French opera recorded in the mid 1970's. And it's an unpopular opinion but I really don't think it's that bad. There are a couple arias I wouldn't have recommended recording--mostly girlish coloratura arias like Ophelie's mad scene or "Je veux vivre." The middle register is rough and the voice has lost its shimmer. But she was still musical and still capable of producing some beautiful sounds. I personally think "Depuis le jour" in particular is lovely, though I may be in the minority.

This is a wonderful set that captures all the great beauty, charm and emotional feeling that Moffo's voice could bring to these great works. The beauty and musicality and lyricism of her singing is exquisite. That she was also very beautiful woman and a great actress was just icing on the cake. I am only sorry that for some reason they didn't include her sections from the La Juive highlights lp she recorded with Tucker and Arroyo.

Great car listening even though many of the arias are performed better by other artists, e.g., listen to performances of Cara Nome by Joan Sutherland and Nadine Sierra

RCA did a fantastic job restoring the glorious sound of Anna Moffo, one of the most beautiful voices in world. What a joy to listen to such wonderful music. I was a bit too young to enjoy her at the time of her prime but with this wonderful set you can have that pleasure forever. Thank you RCA and than you Ms. Moffo, Beautiful music, I totally recommend this set.

Better than I remember...I'm enjoying the art of Anna Moffo in a terrific and varied program.Anna Moffo, a lyric soprano with agility, emerged at the very beginning of the 1960s when the giant voices would reign supreme.Somewhat underrated she never the less has a good output of recordings almost impossible to find happening today.A beautiful warm lyric and a stunning woman she was extremely formidable on stage.I owned many of these on LP..I think they sound even better with this re mastering.

Anna Moffo was a very rare and special gifted singer. She was the first operasinger i heard as a child. I was very fascinated - and I still am.I am happy, that this opertunity to hear her again is possible - thank you Anna Moffo

She was the best!

A must for all Anna Moffo fans.

I have lived with these recordings since i was a kid. Unlike my parets who loved Tebaldi et al, Moffo was one of my singers and I remember as a teenager getting her Thais second hand and that poster having pride of place on my bedroom wall. So this recital box set is very, very welcome as a reminder of a very under-rated singer. But, I think RCA could have gone one better with the complete Moffo recordings included the much missed Thais.

At last Anna Moffo's complete RCA recital recordings though it does omit the ones she made for Readers Digest,then a division of RCA. Personally I'm most glad to have her 2 lighter repertoire albums made with Skitch Henderson that catch her in best voice and which I expressed a hope might be reissued when I reviewed the single disc Verdi arias. By the time of the Debussy recording her voice was showing signs of wear which was followed by the well known vocal breakdown that pretty much finished her world class career. The French Heroines album is post vocal collapse and has the curious hole in the middle of the voice where she has to try to focus the voice to achieve any line and projection, a trait particularly in evidence on the notorious complete Thais recording. But thankfully much of this album is Moffo in youthful best voice and for that very many thanks. A couple of short arias from Le portrait de Manon are given their first outing on cd. The last 2 discs serve a purpose for anyone who doesn't own the complete recordings they are excerpted from but seem a bit redundant. It is good value and makes a fitting tribute to a talented singer to whom time hasn't always been kind.

Moffo has a soprano quality which defies categorization. She has been critically assessed as a lyric, a coloratura and also as a lyrical dramatic soprano-which means the pure tonal beauty of the lyric and the sheer power of the dramatic soprano. In Italian opera, this singer is often called a lirico spinto. Spinto means to push, which implies pushing outwards of the boundaries of the lyric soprano style. Her voice is warm and rich with soft pastel colourings and a velvety lower range.She was called "La Bellissima" because of her stunning looks. When Moffo took part in the Philadelphia Orchestra Young Artists Auditions in 1954, the conductor Eugene Ormandy summed up his impressions " It is impossible for anyone that beautiful to sing, so I closed my eyes and she won on merit". I suppose the same could be said of Franco Corelli, who had the looks of a film star. She had the added burden of being called the "New Callas", which was misleading and she attempted to counter it, although she had to fight her husband who thought she should go down that road. She did sing Musetta alongside the Mimi of Maria Callas in EMI's recording of La Boheme. I own it.Moffo (1932-2006) was an American, born of Italian parents in Pennsylvania. She studied singing at the Curtis Institute of music in Philadelphia, with Eufemia Gregory, the sister of soprano Dusolina Giannini who recorded Verdi's Aida in 1928 with the La Scala, Milan orchestra, Conductor Sabajno, with Pertile, Toscanini's favourite tenor. (Available at Amazon). However, she was able to continue her studies because of a Fulbright scholarship, so she was able to study in Italy with Mercedes Llopart, who was coaching Renata Scotto, Fiorenza Cossotto and Alfredo Kraus. Her official debut in opera was in 1955 at Spoleto and the rest is history.BOX SET:This tough cardboard 12 CD box set is the size of a CD sleeve and the lid which covers the box opens to the side. On the back it mentions that Moffo did not have a traditional career and reached a greater audience via film and TV, and that this limited edition is the first ever collection of her complete recital albums for RCA from 1960-1974. The idea of this edition is to mark the 10th anniversary of her death. Five were previously unreleased on CD. The Sleeves are the originals and there are essay's on the back, but the words are hard to read, for they are too small. There are no CD numbers on the sleeves or discs. The CD labels are red.BOOKLET:There is a essay Anna Moffo -The curse of Beauty by Jurgen Kesting, which goes into her background and problems in her career.translated into German and French. A number of coloured and black and white photo's which shows her beauty, but I also see in the photo's a woman with a sense of humour and was a bit of a character. Looks are superficial anyway. CD numbers with a photo of the Sleeves and track numbers, with composer, arias, conductor and singers. Other information about where recorded etc. No translations into English of Arias.SOUND:All STEREO. On the box is a silver label which states, " 5 LP's for the first time on CD, mastered using 24/96kHz technology." Here you may get confused and think only 5 CDs have been remastered, that is not the case as I shall show. The following is from the back of the booklet. Tape transfers CD 1. Mixing and mastering; Mark Donahue. Remastering supervision John Newton. CD 6. Digitally remastered in BMG/RCA studios. New York city. CD 8. Joaquin. J. Lopes. Tape transfers, mixing and mastering CDs 2-5/7/9-12: Andreas K. Meyer Meyer Media LLC using 24 bit/ 96kHz technology. The EPs released by RCA Italiana from 1960-1965 are not part of this edition. The sound is excellent, caused by the remastering.I own the opera recordings: Luisa Miller,Bergonzi, Verrett, MacNeil, Tozzi. RCA Italiana opera orch cond Cleva ,Rigoletto. Merrill, Alfredo Kraus, Elias. RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra Cond Solti, La Boheme. Tucker, Merrill, Tozzi. Rome Opera orchestra cond Leinsdorf, La Traviata, with Moffo, Tucker, Merrill Rome opera orchestra. Cond Previtali, so I am aware of how she sings and that she is much beloved by her many fans including me.RECORDINGS:As Amazon has provided a complete list of arias, so I suggest you read it. I shall simply comment where necessary and use J. Steane's views on Moffo from his book, 'The grand tradition. Seventy years of singing on record. 1900 -1970'. Hopefully this will give you an idea what Moffo sounds like in these 12 CDs.The first LP ANNA MOFFO recorded in 1960 with Moffo was with Tullio Serafin and the Rome Opera House Orchestra. Serafin first came to the Met in 1924, Rosa Ponselle was already there but the conductor moulded her into the great artist she became. He also had a large influence upon Maria Callas as well. Appearently she had no greater friend then Serafin who was willing to go over every measure of the arias before the recording.About her recording 'a Verdi Collaboration' (1963) conducted by Franco Ferrara with the RCA Italiana symphony Steane writes " Anna Moffo is one of those rare singers whose facility in the highest soprano register emerges naturally, but in a way surprisingly, out of a voice that one would otherwise place (on its recordings, that is) as lyric, even sometimes lyric-dramatic. She sings Aidas 'O patria mia' and 'Morro, ma prima in grazia' from Un ballo in Maschera with apparently ample resources: not so much a matter of volume as of timbre, and effective largely because she is skilful in the graduation of sound. Many louder voices give less effect of power. Hearing the Ballo aria on its own, one would not predict that this same Verdi recital would contain a performance of 'Ernani, involami' in which the already extensive range is increased to include a high E flat in the cadenza. Nor would one readily think at first that here was a Lucia, a Rosina and Anina, the usual parts for a 'Coloratura' specialist.On the CD Great Love duets from Opera and the other CD, Selected arias from Moffo's RCA opera recordings, Steane writes that some of her best recordings are lyric roles such as Butterfly and Mimi. She sings feelingly, never leaving the impression of a light weight performance. Though her Butterfly is a young girl, not a prima donna, the love duets Bimba, Bimba, non Piangere. Ah! dolce notte, quante stelle with Cesare Valletti-tenor brings this view to us, and through the opera she rises to full tragic status with mature dignity. He adds this is a performance of a sensitive devoted artist. The Penguin Classical guide says about Moffo in this role "she proves delightful, fresh and young sounding." The Met Guide to recorded opera, states about La Boheme, 'O soave fanciulla' with Richard Tucker, that he is in prime voice and Moffo is a dark voiced but a delicate Mimi of finish. Conducted by Leinsdorf. La Traviata conducted by Molinari- Pradelli. The Met recorded guide feels that Moffo has a rather dark but healthy sound and considerable dexterity, She sings the role with delicacy and neatness.' E' Strano' is comfortably thoughtful and 'Sempre libera' charming. Violetta was considered Moffo's signature role. Teneste La promessa where she reads germonts letter with such intensity, shows that she was a film actress as well. Lucia Di Lammermoor. Moffo and Bergonzi. RCA italiana opera Orchestra cond Pretre. The warmth of Moffo's voice makes her a pleasure to listen to. She sings with feeling and has an understanding of the text. Steane adds, when she sails up so easily above the stave, in the mad scene, it is with no sense of a soubrette's facile lightness, because when singing in the middle register, her voice has had body, and even something of a mezzo quality about it. Bergonzi portrays an ardent hero. The booklet adds that her remarkable agility would undoubtedly have found more admirers if Joan Sutherland has not raised the bar to such impossible heights.Both Moffo and Sutherland had pushy husbands, Moffo's wanted her to sing like Callas, Bonynge wanted Sutherland to be a Coloratura Soprano in the Galli-Curci mould. Sutherland's mother had studied with a Marchesi pupil and had a superb Mezzo voice. so instead of becoming a professional singer, she became a Wife and Mother. In Sydney, Australia, Joan grew into a Mezzo. After winning two years of free lessons, she decided to become a Wagnerian Soprano, as she had a bright, steely edge to her voice. She met Bonynge who was interested in ornamentation. In London Bonynge endlessly put her through scales, runs, and trills, and by cheating her into starting her exercises at a higher pitch then she believed she was singing at, she developed her higher notes. When she first joined the Covent Garden resident company in 1952, everyone except Bonynge thought of her as a Spinto soprano-Aida or a Tosca. If you hear Sutherland's recording of Turandot, the spinto metal in her voice comes to the fore again. She was loud like Eva Turner was, especially in Turandot. Although Sutherland lasted for 30 years, one wonders what she would achieved as a Spinto. Sutherland like Moffo was an all rounder. Sutherland was a natural spinto soprano, with the ability possibly to sing Wagnerian roles, but forced to become a Coloratura. Moffo was a natural lyrical soprano who could sing Coloratura, and even spinto works, but her husband tried to get her to sing even heavier roles. In having different voices we should not compare both as some critics do. Also Moffo's first Lucia at the Met was the first that Sutherland did not sing, and was a month after her, but Moffo scored a triumph.A portrait of Manon. CD 1 Massenet. CD 2. Puccini. Manon Lescaut. What one notices most repeatedly and gratefully is the skill with which she handles a naturally beautiful instrument. Yet it has character and strength. What Moffo sounds like in these two CD's is sparkling and eminently desirable; she also has the right manner. Di Stefano has a native ardour in the two parts. Rene Leibowitz's conducting is wonderfully vivid. Heroines from great French operas. Donizetti. La Fille du Regiment. Chacun le sait, Chacun le dit. Massenet herodiade Celui dont la parole... Thomas A vos jeux, mes amis (mad scene). Charpentier. Louise. Depius le jour. These pieces brings out the Coloratura and lyric voice at Moffo's command. Anna Moffo/ Leopold Stokowski. American symphony Orchestra. Canteloube- songs of the Auvergne. Villa- Lobos. Bachianas brasileras No 5. Rachmaninoff. Vocalise op 34 No 14. A jewel of Moffo's discography. Songs of Debussy. Poems of Baudelaire. Fetes galantes (set 1) Chansons de Bilitis. Piano Jean Casadesus. Sums up Debussy's music and Moffo's voice suits these songs.The great moments from Die Fledermaus (In English).(Excerpts) Rosalinde -Moffo. Alfred -Sergio Franchi. Orlofsky. Rise Stevens. Eisenstein -Richard Lewis. Vienna State Opera Orchestra Cond Oscar Danon. The overture fizz's. Moffo is excellent as Rosalinde and this production has a strong cast. The dream Duet with Franchi. He was a South Afrcan Tenor. Moffo liked to sing popular and jazz tunes of the time. Romberg. Lover, Come back to me from New Moon. Kern. You are love from Showboat. Herbert. Ah! Sweet Mystery of life. Lehar. Yours is my heart alone. From the land of smiles. Coward I' ll see you again. Together they are like a hand in a glove. Moffo and Franchi are suited and they bring alive these old favourites. Orchestra arranged and conducted by Henri Rene. One night of love Rodgers. Lover. Rodgers if I loved you from Carousel. Lehar. Vilja song from the Merry widow. Rodgers. Falling in love with love. Coward. I'll see you again. from Bittersweet. Skitch Henderson conducting the RCA Victor orchestra.. Moffo liked to sing popular music of that period and felt at home in it.I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.VOTES: 12 out of 13. US and Brit amazon have not places my votes online after the changes and Brit amazon refuses to do so.

Anna Moffo had one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. She followed in Callas' footsteps and only the latter sang Verdi's heroines better.

This album of assorted arias, duets and operetta plus popular music selections from Anna Moffo's recital albums is a treasure chest of glorious soprano singing. Each CD is presented as originally released on LP plus CD. Perhaps my favourite is "One Night of Love" under Skitch Henderson.