Favorite Madama Butterfly Recordings

CAPTAIN CLASSICS PICKS THE BEST RECORDINGS OF MADAMA BUTTERFLY         

 Being one of the most popular operas, Madama Butterfly has had many recordings over the years.  The ones I have chosen to recommend are all available on-line at Amazon.com.

My personal favorite Butterflys on CD are Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Victoria de Los Angeles, Renata Tebaldi, Anna Moffo, and Toti dal Monte.  Let’s consider each one.

At the top of my list is Scotto.  Her recording with Carlo Bergonzi, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, has stood the test of time for nearly 4 decades.  The sound is gorgeous, and there isn’t a weak link in the cast.  Sir John wears his heart on his sleeve in a most expansive manner, and I can’t listen to this without being in tears by about 10 minutes into Act 1! 

There are two recordings with Renata Tebaldi, who has perhaps the most beautiful voice of all recorded Butterflys.  Her first, recorded in 1951 displays a more youthful voice, but the later, 1960 recording shows her in full maturity.  Her Pinkerton is also  Bergonzi, and the performance is conducted by the dean of La Scala conductors, Tullio  Serafin.  Of the two, I recommend the later recording.

The most sumptuous Butterfly is Mirella Freni, performing with Pavarotti as Pinkerton, and conducted by Herbert von Karajan.  It’s one of the most expansive  performances on disc, and the sound of the Vienna Philharmonic certainly adds to the luster of it all.  The drawback here is that it takes up fully three CDs, and is rather expensive.  I confess that the investment is well worth it.

Back in the 1960s RCA recorded Butterfly with Anna Moffo in the role.  Conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, the concept was to present Butterfly with a smaller, more intimate  voice that would work on a recording, but not in the opera house.  Everything is somewhat scaled down, but it’s all the more intimate and touching for that.

A recording made in 1960 features Victoria de los Angeles and Jussi Bjoerling in the lead roles.  The singing is heavenly, but the leadership of Maestro Gavazzeni is mediocre at best, and for me distracts from the enjoyment of the singers’ magnificent performance.

 For the historically minded, Naxos CD has issued the first ever recorded Madama Butterfly.  It was made in 1939, and sounds really pretty good.  It’s the artists that really spark interest in this recording.  Toti Dal Monte and the incomparable Beniamino Gigli were first generation Puccini singers, both of whom knew the composer well.  Her Butterfly is truly the sound of a young girl, and Gigli… well, his voice is a thing to behold!  He certainly ranks with Caruso and Pavarotti as the finest Italian tenors of all time.

For me, the best of all is the Scotto/Bergonzi/Barbirolli recording.  This is followed by the Freni/Pavarotti, and Tebaldi/Bergonzi/Serafin.  I also would not want to be without Dal Monte/Gigli, but that’s mostly for Gigli, as I find Dal Monte a little too strange sounding for my orthodox operatic ears.

Captain Classics    © 2003