Puccini's first two operas may have been written before he came to full maturity, but they do not deserve the neglect that they have suffered on disc.
If the complications of Edgar detract from its impact, Le Villi might almost suffer from the opposite problem, when the story – very similar to that of Adam's ballet, Giselle, with the Willies (Le Villi) destroying the faithless lover, Roberto – is so severely telescoped. After Act 1, when Roberto leaves swearing loyalty to Anna, a narrator has to be introduced, to explain first that Roberto has been led astray and then that Anna has died of a broken heart. Where the CBS/Sony set had Tito Gobbi as narrator, the new one has Sylvie David, lighter and more conversational. The telescoping of the story also involves two striking interludes, The Abandonment and The Witches' Sabbath, a superb showpiece, which Pappano also recorded as fill-ups for his set of La Rondine.
Marco Guidarini proves a convincing Puccinian, bringing out the dramatic bite of such passages as these, as well as moulding the big melodies affectionately. The Sony set had Lorin Maazel conducting, but he was not helped by the closeness of the Sony sound, which at times makes him sound too aggressive. Equally Renata Scotto is not flattered by the closeness, and though both she and Plácido Domingo as Roberto are more characterful than Melanie Diener and Aquiles Machado on the new disc, the refinement of sound helps to make the fresh, sensitive singing of the newcomers just as enjoyable. Equally Ludovic Tezier is clear and direct as Anna's father Guglielmo.
Very welcome indeed.