10 August 1957 - Salzburg
Festival - Gobbi, Schwartzkopf, Panerai, Moffo, Alva; Karajan
10 October 1958 - Chicago
- Gobbi, Tebaldi, MacNeil, Moffo, Canali; Serafin
Reviews
10 August "The contralto
Giulietta Simionato , whose low tones were astonishing for their unique timbre,
and the baritone Tito Gobbi gave the parts of Mrs. Quickly and Falstaff a
dimension and comic intensity that was infinitely watchable without once
sacrificing the quality of their singing" Pierre Sabatier, Artaban,
August 23, 1957
Anecdotes
Tours to South America
were undertaken by all major singers in this period and Simionato was no
exception. They were often marked by mishap as the theatres weren't as
sophisticated as their European counterparts. It wasn't always technical
problems however that made the tours so unpredictable, singers themselves
were able to take more liberties down south. For instance, during one of these
tours Simionato was to sing in Falstaff with
Leonard Warren under Maestro Cellini both of whom proved to be a demanding pair
and upset many of the other artists, Simionato included, which did not make for
a happy tour.
The 1957 Salzburg
Falstaff was given by Karajan as a homage to
the late, great Arturo Toscanini, the success of which was repeated in Vienna
later in the year.
