PUCCINI: “IL TABARRO.” Ilona Tokody, Giorgio Lamberti,...

PUCCINI: “IL TABARRO.” Ilona Tokody, Giorgio Lamberti, Siegmund Nimsgern; Chorus of Bavarian Radio and Munich Radio Orchestra conducted by Giuseppe Patane. Eurodisc 7775-2-RC (compact disc). Considering his multinational cast and German orchestra, Patane invests this one-act veristic shocker with considerable idiomatic flair, while giving Puccini’s often evocative writing its due. The singing veers to the passionate rather than the beautiful. Nimsgern’s pointed baritone captures the bitterness of the cuckolded barge owner Michele in all its self-pitying grandeur. Tokody tears at Giorgetta with suitable ardor, yet with a soprano which comes apart whenever its owner applies pressure. Lamberti misses the ideal stentorian quality for the stevedore Michele and offers precious little lyrical singing in its place. The recording is a bargain at mid-price, though the absence of indexing is annoying.