Posted by Cimbasso Player on September 29, 2002 at 22:09:49:
In Reply to: Opera Parts posted by Jim Self on September 29, 2002 at 20:55:59:
Jim:
As an avid cimbasso player, I agree with much of what you said. However, please don't cross out "Trombone Basso" on a Puccini part and write "Cimbasso/Tuba." Puccini wanted a bass trombone on the bottom (his scores clearly say trombone basso), not a tuba. In his time, the trombone players would have been playing valve trombones, so there is some argument for a cimbasso on the bottom, but with today's players using slide trombones, a bass or contrabass trombone would be the best choice...creating a homogeneous sound throughout the section. Also, the loud solo downbeat notes that Puccini likes to put in the bottom trombone part (low B at the end of Butterfly, numerous low E's and Bb's in Tosca, low D towards the end of Turandot's "Nessun Dorma" and the terrifying low E's later in Turandot) sound much better with a trombone, and would not have the intended impact with a tuba, even a small one. As for Verdi, these are clearly cimbasso parts, NOT tuba parts. Verdi hated the tuba, and wanted the same sound throughout the low brass section.
Kalmus has done us all a disservice by replacing "cimbasso" with "tuba" in many Verdi parts. Also, German editions of any of this music (most notably Verdi's Requiem) always says "tuba" in the score and parts. All of these should be cimbasso. Much like your Santa Fe experience, I have been disappointed at Met and New York City Opera performances by hearing tuba (no offense intended to the players) on the bottom in Verdi and Puccini.
Dan
Chauvinist Bass Trombone/Cimbasso Player