Ferrucio Tagliavinni was an Italian tenor who sang in the 1940s and 1950s. He was considered the next great Italian tenor (after Tito Schipa and Beniamino Gigli), but he failed to reach his promise. He took on heavier roles in the middle of his career, and this caused his voice to suffer. But, during the 40s and 50s, he had a beautiful sound.
The first excerpt is the love duet from the first act of Madama Butterfly. Clara Petrella sings Butterfly.
The second excerpt is from Lucia di Lammermoore, with Callas singing Lucia. I don’t have dates for either of the performances.
Both recordings are from the same source, and the remastering put some echo in the sound. If you can listen through that I think that you will be very pleased.
Tagliavinni has no problem changing his style for a verismo opera such as Madama Butterfly and singing a bel canto opera such as Lucia.
Tagliavinni has a very sweet sound, his vocal production is good, that is, he sings into the resonating cavities in his instead of grabbing at his throat (sometimes called “singing on the breath”). He was primarily active during the 40s and 50s, and he was very popular.
I’ve only made two postings here because the excerpts are both long.
Puccini, Madama Butterfly, Love duet Act I
PINKERTON
Viene la sera.
BUTTERFLY
E l’ombra e la quiete.
PINKERTON
E sei qui sola.
BUTTERFLY
Sola e rinnegata!
Rinnegata… e felice!
PINKERTON
(batte le mani. I servi accorrono.)
A voi, chiudete.
BUTTERFLY
Sì, sì, noi tutti soli…
E fuori il mondo…
PINKERTON
E il Bonzo furibondo!
BUTTERFLY
Suzuki, le mie vesti.
(Suzuki le porta una veste bianca e l’aiuta a metterla,
poi se ne va.)
SUZUKI
Buona notte.
BUTTERFLY
Quest’obi pomposa
di scioglier mi tarda…
Si vesta la sposa
di puro candor.
Tra moti sommessi
sorride e mi guarda.
Celarmi potessi!
Ne ho tanto rossor!
E ancor l’irata voce
mi maledice…
Butterfly rinnegata,
rinnegata… e felice.
PINKERTON
Con moti di scoiattolo,
i nodi allenta e scioglie!
Pensar che quel giocattolo
è mia moglie! Mia moglie!
Ma tal grazia dispiega
ch’io mi struggo
per la febbre
d’un subito desìo.
(Pinkerton s’avvicina a Butterfly, che ha finito di
vestirsi.)
Bimba dagli occhi pieni di malia
ora sei tutta mia.
Sei tutta vestita di giglio.
Mi piace la treccia tua bruna
fra candidi veli.
BUTTERFLY
Somiglio la dea della luna,
la piccola dea della luna
che scende la notte
dal ponte del ciel.
PINKERTON
E affascina i cuori…
BUTTERFLY
…E li prende, e li avvolge
in un bianco mantel.
E via se li reca
negli alti reami.
PINKERTON
Ma intanto finor non m’hai detto,
ancor non m’hai detto che m’ami.
Le sa quella dea le parole
che appagan gli ardenti desir?
BUTTERFLY
Le sa. Forse dirle non vuole
per tema d’averne a morir,
per tema d’averne a morir!
PINKERTON
Stolta paura,
l’amor non uccide,
ma dà vita, e sorride
per gioie celestiali
come ora fa
nei tuoi lunghi occhi ovali.
BUTTERFLY
Adesso voi siete per me
l’occhio del firmamento.
E mi piaceste dal primo momento
che vi ho veduto.
Siete alto, forte.
Ridete con modi sì palesi!
E dite cose
che mai non intesi.
Or son contenta. Or son contenta.
Vogliatemi bene, un bene piccolino,
un bene da bambino
quale a me si conviene.
Noi siamo gente avvezza
alle piccole cose,
umili e silenziose,
ad una tenerezza
sfiorante e pur profonda
come il ciel, come l’onda del mare.
PINKERTON
Dammi ch’io baci
le tue mani care,
mia Butterfly!
Come t’han ben nomata
tenue farfalla…
BUTTERFLY
Dicon ch’oltre mare
se cade in man dell’uom
ogni farfalla d’uno spillo
è trafitta
ed in tavola infitta!
PINKERTON
Un po’ di vero c’è:
e tu lo sai perché?
Perché non fugga più.
Io t’ho ghermita…
Ti serro palpitante.
Sei mia.
BUTTERFLY
Sì, per la vita.
PINKERTON
Vieni, vieni…
Via dall’anima in pena
l’angoscia paurosa.
È notte serena! Guarda:
dorme ogni cosa!
Sei mia! Ah! vien!
BUTTERFLY
Ah! dolce notte! quante stelle!
Non le vidi mai sì belle!
Trema, brilla ogni favilla
col baglior d’una pupilla.
Oh! quanti occhi fisi, attenti,
d’ogni parte a riguardar!
pei firmamenti, via pei lidi,
via pel mare…ride il ciel!
Ah! dolce notte!
Tutto estatico d’amor,
ride il ciel!
Puccini, Madame Butterfly, Love duet Act I
PINKERTON
Night is falling.
BUTTERFLY
And darkness and peace.
PINKERTON
And you are here alone.
BUTTERFLY
Alone and renounced!
Renounced and happy!
PINKERTON
(claps; the servants run out.)
Come here and close up the house.
BUTTERFLY
Yes, yes, we are all alone…
and the world shut outside…
PINKERTON
And the furious Bonze.
BUTTERFLY
Suzuki, my clothes.
(Suzuki goes to a chest and gives Butterfly her night
clothes.)
SUZUKI
Good night.
BUTTERFLY
I long to take off
this ceremonial sash,
let the bride be dressed
in pure white.
Whispering to himself
he smiles and watches me.
If I could only hide!
It makes me blush so!
And still the angry voice
is cursing me…
Butterfly renounced,
renounced… and happy.
PINKERTON
With squirrel-like movements
she shakes the knots loose and undoes them!
To think that this little toy
is my wife! My wife!
But she displays such grace
that I am consumed
by a fever
of sudden desire!
(Pinkerton approaches Butterfly, who has finished
dressing.)
Dear child, with eyes full of witchery,
now you are all mine.
You’re dressed all in lily-white.
I love your dark tresses
amid the white of your veils.
BUTTERFLY
I am like the moon-goddess,
the little goddess of the moon,
who comes down at night
from the bridge of heaven.
PINKERTON
And captivates all hearts…
BUTTERFLY
…and takes them and folds them
in a white cloak.
And carries them away
to the higher regions.
PINKERTON
But meanwhile, you haven’t told me yet,
you haven’t told me you love me.
Does that goddess know the words
that satisfy burning desire?
BUTTERFLY
She does. Maybe she’s unwilling
to say them for fear of dying of it,
for fear of dying of it!
PINKERTON
Foolish fear –
love does not kill,
but gives life and smiles
for heavenly joy,
as it does now
in your almond eyes.
BUTTERFLY
For me you are now
the eye of heaven.
And I liked you from the first moment
I set eyes on you.
You are tall and strong.
You laugh out so heartily.
And you say things
I’ve never heard in my life before.
I’m happy now, so happy.
Love me with a little love,
a child-like love,
the kind that suits me.
Love me, please…
We are a people used to small,
modest, quiet things,
to a tenderness gently caressing,
yet vast as the sky
and as the waves of the sea.
PINKERTON
Give me your dear hands
and let me kiss them!
My Butterfly!
How aptly you were named,
fragile butterfly!
BUTTERFLY
They say that overseas
if it should fall into the hands of man
a butterfly is stuck through
with a pin
and fixed to a board!
PINKERTON
There’s some truth in that;
and do you know why?
So that it shouldn’t fly away again.
I’ve caught you…
Quivering, I press you to me.
You’re mine.
BUTTERFLY
Yes, for life.
PINKERTON
Come along, come…
Cast all sad fears
out of your heart!
The night is clear! See,
all things sleep!
You are mine! Oh, come!
BUTTERFLY
Oh, lovely night! What a lot of stars!
Never have I seen them so beautiful!
Every spark twinkles and shines
with the brilliance of an eye.
Oh! What a lot of eyes fixed and staring,
looking at us from all sides!
In the sky, along the shore,
out to sea…the sky is smiling!
Oh, lovely night!
In a ecstasy of love
the sky is smiling!
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor,”Lucia perdona se ad ora inusitata… Sulla tomba”, Act I
ALISA
Egli s’avanza…La vicina soglia
io cauta veglierò.
(Alisa esce. Edgardo entra.)
EDGARDO
Lucia, perdona se ad ora inusitata
io vederti chiedea: ragion possente
a ciò mi trasse. Prìa che in ciel biancheggi
l’alba novella dalle patrie sponde
lungi sarò.
LUCIA
Che dici?
EDGARDO
Pe’ Franchi lidi amici
sciolgo le vele; ivi trattar m’è dato
le sorti della Scozia.
LUCIA
E me nel pianto
abbandoni così?
EDGARDO
Prìa di lasciarti
Ashton mi vegga…io stenderò placato
a lui la destra e la tua destra, pegno
fra noi di pace, chiederò.
LUCIA
Che ascolto!
Ah, no…rimanga nel silenzio sepolto
per or l’arcano affetto.
EDGARDO
Intendo! Di mia stirpe
il reo persecutor, dei mali miei
ancor pago non è! Mi tolse il padre,
il mio retaggio avito. Né basta?
Che brama ancor quel cor feroce e rio?
La mia perdita intera?
Il sangue mio?
Egli m’odia…
LUCIA
Ah, no…
EDGARDO
M’aborre.
LUCIA
Calma, oh ciel, quell’ira estrema.
EDGARDO
Fiamma ardente in sen mi core!
M’odi.
LUCIA
Edgardo!
EDGARDO
M’odi e trema!
Sulla tomba che rinserra
il tradito genitore
al tuo sangue eterna guerra
io giurai nel mio furore.
LUCIA
Ah!
EDGARDO
Ma ti vidi, e in cor mi nacque
altro affetto, e l’ira tacque.
Pur quel voto non è infranto,
io potrei, sì potrei compirlo ancor!
LUCIA
Deh! Ti placa. Deh, ti frena.
EDGARDO
Ah, Lucia!
LUCIA
Può tradirne un solo accento!
Non ti basta la mia pena?
Vuoi ch’io mora di spavento?
EDGARDO
Ah, no!
LUCIA
Ceda, ceda ogn’altro affetto,
solo amor t’infiammi il petto;
un più nobile, più santo,
d’ogni voto è un puro amor,
ah, solo amore,
ecc.
Cedi, cedi a me, cedi, cedi all’amor.
EDGARDO
Pur quel voto non è infranto,
ecc.
Io potrei compirlo ancor.
(con subita risoluzione)
Qui di sposa eterna fede,
qui mi giura al cielo innante.
Dio ci ascolta, Dio ci vede;
tempio ed ara è un core amante;
(ponendo un anello in dito a Lucia)
al tuo fato unisco il mio,
son tuo sposo.
LUCIA
(porgendo a sua volta il proprio anello ad Edgardo)
E tua son io.
EDGARDO e LUCIA
Ah, soltanto il nostro foco
spegnerà di morte il gel.
LUCIA
Ai miei voti amore invoco,
ai miei voti invoco il ciel,
ecc.
EDGARDO
Ai miei voti invoco il cielo,
ecc.
Separarci omai conviene.
LUCIA
Oh, parola a me funesta!
Il mio cor con te ne viene.
EDGARDO
Il mio cor con te qui resta,
ecc.
LUCIA
Ah, Edgardo, ah! Edgardo!
EDGARDO
Separarci omai convien.
LUCIA
Ah, talor del tuo pensiero
venga un foglio messaggero,
e la vita fuggitiva
di speranze nutrirò.
EDGARDO
Io di te memoria viva
sempre, o cara, serberò.
LUCIA
Ah!
Verranno a te sull’aure
i miei sospiri ardenti,
udrai nel mar che mormora
l’eco dei miei lamenti.
Pensando ch’io di gemiti
mi pasco e di dolor,
spargi un’amara lagrima
su questo pegno allor,
ah, su questo pegno,
ecc.
EDGARDO
Verranno a te sull’aure,
ecc.
EDGARDO e LUCIA
Ah! Verranno a te sull’aure,
ecc.
EDGARDO
Rammentati, ne stringe il ciel!
EDGARDO e LUCIA
Addio!
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoore, “Lucia forgive me for having asked to see you . . ” “Over the tomb”, Act I
ALISA
He is coming… I shall keep
watch nearby.
(She leaves. Edgardo enters.)
EDGARDO
Lucia, forgive me for asking to see you
at this unusual hour: it is for a very important
reason. Before dawn whitens the morning sky
I shall be far from
my native land.
LUCIA
What are you saying?
EDGARDO
I am to set sail for France’s
friendly shores: there I must work
for Scotland’s future.
LUCIA
And you leave me
here to weep?
EDGARDO
Before leaving you,
I must see Ashton… I will offer him
the hand of peace, and ask your hand
in marriage to seal our pact.
LUCIA
What do I hear?
Ah, no…let our love remain
a secret for now.
EDGARDO
I understand! The evil persecutor
of my family is not satisfied
with my misfortunes! He robbed me of my father,
my ancestral heritage. Is that not enough?
What more does he want, that bloodthirsty villain?
My utter ruin?
My life?
How he hates me!…
LUCIA
Ah, no…
EDGARDO
He loathes me.
LUCIA
Oh heaven, calm his mad fury.
EDGARDO
A searing flame writhes in my heart!
Listen to me.
LUCIA
Edgardo!
EDGARDO
Hear me and tremble!
Over the tomb where
my betrayed father lies,
in my rage, I swore to wage
eternal war on your kin.
LUCIA
Ah!
EDGARDO
But I saw you and another emotion
stirred in my heart, and anger fled.
But that vow is not broken,
I could well fulfil it yet!
LUCIA
Come, calm your anger; control yourself.
EDGARDO
Ah, Lucia!
LUCIA
A single word can betray us!
is my suffering not enough?
Do you want me to die of fright?
EDGARDO
Ah, no!
LUCIA
Banish all other feelings
save love from your heart;
a nobler, holier vow
than any other is pure love,
ah, only love,
etc.
Yield, yield to me, yield to love.
EDGARDO
But that vow is not broken,
etc.
I could well fulfil it yet!
(with sudden resolution)
Here, pledge yourself eternally
before Heaven to be my bride.
God hears us, God sees us;
church and altar is a loving heart;
(solemnly placing a ring on Lucia’s finger)
to your destiny I link mine…
I am your betrothed.
LUCIA
(giving a ring to Edgardo)
And I yours.
EDGARDO and LUCIA
Ah, only icy death
can quench our passion.
LUCIA
I call on Love, I call on Heaven
to witness my vows,
etc.
EDGARDO
I call on Heaven to witness my vows,
etc.
We must part now.
LUCIA
Oh, how I dread those words!
My heart goes with you.
EDGARDO
My heart stays here with you,
etc.
LUCIA
Oh, Edgardo, Edgardo!
EDGARDO
We must part now.
LUCIA
Ah, if sometimes you think of me
and send me a letter,
fresh hopes will fortify
my fleeting life.
EDGARDO
I shall always cherish
vivid memories of you, dearest.
LUCIA
Ah!…
On the breeze
will come to you my ardent sighs,
you will hear in the murmuring sea
the echo of my laments.
When you think of me
living on tears and grief,
then shed a bitter tear
on this ring,
ah, on this ring,
etc.
EDGARDO
On the breeze will come to you,
etc.
LUCIA and EDGARDO
Ah! On the breeze will come to you,
etc.
EDGARDO
Remember, Heaven has joined us!
EDGARDO and LUCIA
Farewell!
Ferrucio Taglavini
August 14, 1913 – January 29, 1995
Admired for his honeyed tone, a technique that included gorgeously spun pianissimo lines and a warm, expressive approach to phrasing, Mr. Tagliavini specialized in the popular Puccini leading roles — Rodolfo in “La Boheme,” Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” and Cavaradossi in “Tosca” — as well as in the title role of Mascagni’s “Amico Fritz.” He was also regarded as an exemplary Donizetti tenor, and appeared regularly as Nemorino in “L’Elisir d’Amore” and as Edgardo in “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
Yet Mr. Tagliavini approached his opera career reluctantly. He was born in Reggio Emilia on Aug. 14, 1913, and as a child studied the violin and sang in a church choir. But although his parents encouraged him to take formal voice lessons, Mr. Tagliavini insisted that music was too unstable a career and studied for an electrician’s license instead. It was only after his father dared him to enter a vocal competition in Parma, where he won a scholarship to study at the Parma Conservatory, that he agreed to study. Even then, he continued working as an electrician and took voice lessons in his spare time.
A second competition at FLorence May Festival. in 1938, led to Tagliavini’s professional operatic debut as Rodolfo at the Teatro Communale in Florece the following year. He quickly added Bellini, Donizetti, Mascagni, and Massenet roles to his repertory and made debuts all over Italy including at La Scala in Milan.
After World War II, Tagiavini toured Italy, performing for American soldiers, whose reports brought him to the attention of the American opera world. His recordings, which includeda 1942 version of L’Amico Fritz, conducted by Mascagni, as well as arias by Verdi, Bellini, Cilea, and Puccini seemed to support those early reports. He made his U.S. debut at the Chicago Opera in 1946, after a tour of Central and South America.
When Tagliavini made his Met debut in La Bohème, three months later critics praised his sound and his projection and noted that every one of his arias was followed by a show-stopping ovation. By the 1950s, though, he cut down on his appearances at the Met, preferring to spend his time in Europe.
His last Met appearances were in 1962, but he returned to New York in the 1970s to sing recitals at Avery Fischer Hall and Carnegie Hall, and for a concert performance of L’Amico Fritz in 1981.