Arias from: Manon Lescaut, Tosca, Trovatore (2), Pagliacci, Gioconda, Otello, Mignon, Butterfly (2), Aida (2), Boheme (2), Madame Sans-Gene, Mefistofele, Wally, Forza, Segretto di Susanna, Traviata, Cavalleria, Guglielmo Tell, Hoffmann, Louise, Carmen, Manon, Ballo, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Vespri, Ernani.  Songs by: Giordano, Olivier-Mercantini, Braga, Delibes, Sanderson, Roxas, Buzzi-Peccia, Stanton-Burleigh, Masceroni, Donaudy and two unknown.

Romophone 81010 (2 CDs) 43 tracks (4 unpublished Edison titles), 2 hours and 20 minutes

At her best, Claudia Muzio transported listeners out of their world and into hers.  Unfortunately her 39 Pathés are problematic for today's listeners.  Even Ward Marston, responsible for Romophone's transfers, cannot produce absolute miracles from these impossible discs with their intrinsic background noise and hiss.  I doubt, however, that you will hear better transfers.  Because of this and the welcome availability of this material, the set is highly recommended.  All Muzio's recordings are interesting and the Pathés are no exception.  They find her in fresh voice and are the only documentation of her thoughts on such works as Guglielmo Tell, Aïda (her most performed role at the Met), Ballo, Gianni Schicchi, Louise, Gioconda, Butterfly, Manon and Tosca.

Muzio's voice was finely-spun, mellifluous, well-trained in florid work (though she never mastered the trill), and capable of abandoned intensity as well as subtle dynamics.  Like Maria Callas, Muzio was particularly adept at tragic expression.  Both artists had a universally recognizable quality of tormented vulnerability within their timbre; the poignant nobility of suffering.

Muzio was not faultless.  Even in the early years one notices an odd pronunciation of "u" and "o" vowels which later became even more idiosyncratic.  Although she sang many dramatic roles Muzio's instrument was essentially lyrical.  It was her middle and bottom registers rather than top that were most affecting and illuminating.  Although her range included high C, that note was often not comfortable and one notices an avoidance of notes above B flat (as in Trovatore, Ballo, Manon, and Louise, where the recording ends before the climactic high B).

Muzio is also short-breathed in the long, arching phrases of the Trovatore and Angelica arias, and over-parted in Ernani and Forza, so that she cannot adequately taper phrases artistically.  To compensate for this limitation, in dramatic moments Muzio often cleverly husbanded her resources and adopted a mannerism of singing sotto-voce as in the Aida, Gioconda, Mefistofele and Tosca arias.  From her careful control of consonant pronunciation and dynamics it is obvious this was an integrated mode of expression.

I particularly enjoyed the rare arias from Madame Sans Gêne and Segretto di Susanna as well as the airy delicacy of Nedda's "Balatella".  Muzio's classic rendition of Wally's aria particularly suited her veristic gifts.  Although Mefistofele finds her in fresher voice than in 1935, I prefer the pathetic mood of the latter.  Conversely, I prefer this 1917 "Addio del passato." No letter is read but it is purer than the convoluted 1935 recording, offering sweetly-spun lyricism.  Another great Pathé is "Voi lo sapete" in which Muzio admirably conveys intense anxiety without resorting to extraneous hysterics.  Micaela's aria has both heady sensitivity and bite, and is one of the best of early versions.  The Schicchi aria exploits Muzio's affecting middle register while "Jean," an insignificant period piece is given a haunting performance - as is the unpublished Edison of Donaudy's classic "O del mio amato ben."

I hope Romophone plans to release Muzio's Columbia discs and complete their excellent documentation of her legacy.  They include the indespensible Otello duets with Merli, creator recordings of Refice's Cecila, and the emotionally biographical "Ombra di Nube," one of Muzio's most poetic discs.