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Title: Not Petrella's best
Review: Fonit has done a wonderful job in cleaning up the sound on this 1954 "Butterfly". The cast is variable: Clara Petrella, the "Duse of Opera", was somewhat miscast as this operas vulnerable heroine. Her voice is too mature and forceful and her attempts at characterization don't come off. She was much better portraying "fallen women" such as Nedda and Manon Lescaut. Ferruccio Tagliavini still had full control of his beautiful pianissimo and he uses it to great effect at the beginning of the love duet. At times, however, he seems to be stressed by Angelo Questa's brisk tempi. The real star of this recording is Giuseppe Taddei. He captures the essence of Sharpless and is able to scale his sizeable voice down for the intimate letter scene with Butterfly.While there is much to recommend this recording, this opera's success depends on it's heroine and, unfortunately, Petrella falls somewhat short of the mark.
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