MASCAGNI: “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Agnes Baltsa, Placido Domingo,...

MASCAGNI: “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Agnes Baltsa, Placido Domingo, Juan Pons, Vera Baniewicz, Susanne Mentzer; Covent Garden Chorus and Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. Deutsche Grammophon 429 568-2 (CD). Usually known for his broad, achingly slow tempos, Sinopoli here is in a dramatically propulsive mood, and the result is a satisfyingly vivid accounting of this oft-recorded score. Baltsa is an unusually youthful Santuzza, and the register breaks that have been so evident in the recent past are successfully camouflaged in this characterization of barely controlled fury. Turiddu has long been a sympathetic part for Domingo. In fine voice, he matches Baltsa’s intensity in the long duet and contributes a bathos-free “Addio” of genuine power. Pons is a bluff and brutish Alfio, Baniewicz a thick-sounding Lucia and Mentzer a sexily lush Lola.