As Ponselle proceeds through Act 2 we become aware of stylistic excrescences that are  individually insignificant, but begin to irritate as they accumulate. Utterances start with either a shadow vowel (“ah-e morrà, ah-e morrà!“) or a little bump from below the pitch (“gran Dio di me). These register as tricks to summon the voice, as if clean, center-of-the-note attacks could not be relied upon, which may have been the case; but they have the effect of smearing into the pitches, like some of the old crooners did. Worst of all are the whoops. Whoops of protest that upstage Alfredo’s accusation in Act 2, Scene 2, and whoops of illusory ecstasy that cancel our empathy in her last moments. Either Bellincioni was an insufficiently critical teacher, or Ponselle was a terrible pupil.

Jagel was a tenor who rendered more than two decades of what is often called “yeoman service” to the Metropolitan. A secure singer who could reliably reproduce most of the basics called for by just about any role, he has always sounded to me more suited to German or English music than to Italian or French. But after the Depression departures of Gigli and Lauri-Volpi, he took the stage on many an evening of Verdi, Puccini, and Gounod, and while unable to supply much by way of golden, liquid timbre, he always hung in there, and every so often would surprise by how close he came to the desired affect. That’s the case here. Panizza, as always, keeps the performance alive, and while the chorus lacks any nuance or real buoyancy, the orchestra is on high alert.

A standard for La Traviata? If we’re looking for a trio of principals with big, beautiful voices and high-energy temperaments under near-ideal technical guidance: Tetrazzini, Caruso, and Stracciari. If we want more purely lyrical (but still strong!) voices and a sometimes subtler, more low-key interpretive manner: Bori, McCormack, and De Luca. And if we are still in search of our modern singing-acting ideal, let’s get Callas and Tibbett together. Their Alfredo? Oh, all right—Domingo. Aside, perhaps, for some role coaching for the last-named, none of these combinations really needs a director. A feet-to-the-fire stage manager will do.

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NEXT TIME: Several ideas are proposed, but I am still in negotiation with myself. In view of my Björling Society commitment, I had better set Friday, November 18 as the target date.

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