MASCAGNI: “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Jessye Norman, Giuseppe Giacomini,...

MASCAGNI: “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Jessye Norman, Giuseppe Giacomini, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, others; Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Semyon Bychkov. Philips 432 105-2. It is unusual for a “Cavalleria” to be awaited chiefly because of curiosity concerning the singer who does the part of Alfio, but such is the case here. It marks the first complete opera recording of the young Hvorostovsky, a baritone of much publicity and promise. The results are equivocal. The hotblooded verismo style seems alien to the best qualities of the Russian. The beauty of the voice remains a given, but his work is tentative at best. “Il cavallo scalpita” is rhythmically flaccid and the duet with Santuzza underpowered. Often he seems to be sight-reading. Norman’s Santuzza, on the other hand, is a musical and dramatic whirlwind. She shows surprising affinity for this music. Giacomini (Jose Carreras was announced for the part originally) is hardly a historic Turiddu, but he knows the style and he certainly has all the notes. Bychkov, like his baritone countryman, seems out of his element, and he is not helped by his second-rate orchestra and anemic-sounding chorus.

CHARPENTIER: “Louise” (Abridged). Ninon Vallin, Georges Thill, Andre Pernet, others; Choeurs Raugel and Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Bigot. Nimbus NI 7829. Abridged is not really the word. Butchered more aptly describes what the composer, a notorious self-promoter, did to his score to get it on eight 78-rpm discs in 1935. Gone are the haunting second-act street cries that establish Paris as the true protagonist of the piece. The coronation of the Muse scene is placed at the beginning of Act III, and the Mother’s arrival in the same act is cut. These are three of the worst desecrations. Still, a single-CD release is welcome for displaying an idiomatic French standard of performance that now has all but disappeared. Vallin was a paragon of French sopranos, combining a gorgeous voice, sensitive musicality and flawless, almost conversational, projection of the text. The same qualities applied to Thill. Pernet was a splendidly world-weary Father. Bigot’s conducting could not be faulted, with that elegance and elasticity that are particular French virtues.

LEONCAVALLO: “Pagliacci.” Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe, Sherrill Milnes, others; London Symphony, conducted by Nello Santi. PUCCINI: “Il Tabarro.” Domingo, Leontyne Price, Milnes, others; New Philharmonia, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. BMG 09026-60865-2. Now released on CD as companion pieces, these short operas are fairly representative of musical standards 20 years ago. They found the four leading singers in refreshingly youthful, unspoiled vocal estate. Then as now, Domingo’s work was generally unvarying in color and characterization, but the sound was undeniably beautiful. Caballe’s work was also beautiful, but taste went out the window if she thought a lovely tone was being heard to advantage, and she never did command a decent trill. Milnes gloried in the power of a baritone voice thought by many to be the best since Leonard Warren’s. Santi, the indulgent routinier , seemed only too happy to accommodate his singers. Leinsdorf led a taut, dramatic reading of the Puccini score; both Domingo and Milnes gained musically from his discipline. Price was probably born with her dramatic flair--witness the abandon of “E ben altro” and the simple sadness of “Come e difficile esser felici”--and musically she was impeccable. She even sang an alternate high C that must rank with the loveliest ever committed to records. Those days seem further away now than ever.

“BAROQUE AND CLASSICAL ARIAS.” Ewa Podles; Collegium Instrumental de Bruges, conducted by Patrick Piere. Forlane UCD 16620. In 1984 the Polish mezzo Podles sang a few performances of the title role in “Rinaldo” at the Met, when Marilyn Horne, for whom the production was mounted, was otherwise engaged. Podles’ recital recording shows a voice capable of admirable color, agility and range in arias of Handel, Vivaldi and Marcello. The technique is formidable. Unfortunately, most of this music tends to sound alike, especially when one hears eight numbers in succession. Her Italian is sketchy. French seems to mean more to her, as she demonstrates in “J’ai perdu mon Eurydice” and the “Iphigenie en Aulide” aria. Her somewhat accented English in “When I am laid in earth” shows that she commands a lovely legato line. Piere certainly knows his Baroque and Classical business.