Eva Martón (Fedora); José Carreras (Loris); Veronika Kincses (Olga); János Martin (Conte de Siriex); József Gregor (Gretch); others; Hungarian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Giuseppe Patané, conductor-CD-CBS Masterworks 42181 (2 CDs). Also on LP

Precisely why Fedora has fallen out of favor and Cilča's Adriana Lecouvreur has remained a repertory staple is beyond me. Certainly neither will ever be thought of as a masterpiece, to be spoken of in the same breath with Don Giovanni, Götterdämmerung, or even Lucia di Lammermoor, but the type of scorn which has been heaped on poor Fedora is wildly misplaced. It may have something to do with a general dislike of verismo operas lately, but be that as it may, it is undeserved. This recording should remedy the situation.

In this cops-and-robbers plot, Fedora's fiancé is murdered, she suspects the killer, tricks him into confessing, falls in love with him, realizes that the murder was justified (her fiancé was having an affair with the murderer's wife), but not before wreaking political havoc on the killer's family which eventually destroys them all. After they've lived happily together for a while, the killer realizes that it was Fedora who ruined and caused the deaths of his family, and Fedora takes poison and dies, in a scene of half the length and of the same potency as the death of Adriana Lecouvreur. It's the stuff real melodrama is made of.

Vocally, the only two really important roles are those of Fedora and the killer/lover, Loris, and they are filled here to near perfection. (The opera has been recorded before, with Magda Olivero and Mario del Monaco, but it is out of print. It's worth finding for Olivero's berserkly impassioned reading.) Anyone who has found Eva Martón somewhat chilly would be wise to listen this- hers is a full-blooded portrayal of the title role, and she uses her more-than-generous voice spectacularly. José Carreras's Loris is simply beautiful-this is a role for a big sound (Caruso created the part in 1898), but for a big, lyric sound, and Carreras is ardent, rueful, enraged, forgiving, and sensual by turns. Yes, there's a bit of strain at times (more in the early part of Act 2 than in the more difficult Act 3!), but he and Martón raise the roof in the duet that closes the second act and the performance is a complete success.

The Olga of Veronika Kincses is sweet and tuneful (a playful countess, that one), but János Martin sings a pretty revolting de Siriex (Gobbi sang it with Olivero and del Monaco). The rest of the cast-each has little to do-is fine, and Giuseppe Patané, never the subtlest of conductors, brings all the melodrama out of the lush score. Orchestra and chorus are excellent, and the sound of the discs is smooth and real, the CDs (at 44:58 and 49:50) even more so. This is a rip-snorting work, given a lively, big, unembarrassed reading. If I were stuck on a desert island with only one vaguely trashy verismo opera, I'd pick this one.

Copyright © 1987 Record Guide Productions.