Ebe Stignani (1903-1974)

Stigani was one of the leading dramatic mezzo-sopranos of the early 20th century.

She was a judicious singer, only taking roles that suited her vocal abilities. This led to her having quite a lengthy career.

Some of her most celebrated roles included Amneris in Aida, Laura in La Gioconda, Dalila, Brangaene, and Ortrud.

One of her most celebrated recordings is the 1954 recording of Norma with Maria Callas. Stignani was already in her 50s, but the voice was still plush and round.

Inga Kalna

This Latvian soprano blew me away when I first heard her, and she's still in the midst of her career. Although she hasn't attained the world-recognition that I think she deserves, if she continues her trajectory, I think most will everyone will know her work.

She possesses a thrilling voice, used with passionate musicianship and style.

She has appeared as Lucia, Violetta, and Mimi. It is the Handel and baroque repertoire that also shows off her stunning gifts. Unfortunately, I could only find audio clips on YouTube, and no video clips.

Listen to the expressivity of her "Ah crudel" from Handel's Rinaldo. Occasionally, the resonance of her "a" vowel reminds me of Callas.



She can also thrill with the power and agility of her coloratura in this example, also from Handel's Rinaldo "Furie terribili":\





And here she is in the exciting duet, also from Rinaldo, with Vivica Genaux, "Fermati". (WHAT A TEMPO!!)

Jussi Bjoerling (1911-1960)

Jussi Bjoerling was one of the most important tenors of the 20th century. With Caruso, and Beniamino Gigli he ranks as one of the most influential tenors of his time.

As a child he sang with his family's quartet, and some recordings of him as a child reveal a robust and well-registered voice.

He had a major international career and sang at the Metropolitan Opera throughout the 40s and 50s. He possessed a voice of rare warmth and sweetness, which he used with matchless style and technique and with impeccable good taste. He was married to the soprano Anna-Lisa Berg.

Renata Tebaldi (1922-2004)

(This post is dedicated to Maestro DeRenzi)

Renata Tebaldi was one of the greatest lyric Italian sopranos of all time. Dubbed 'la voce d'angelo" by Arturo Toscanini, she was one of the most beloved singers of her generation.

Her rivalry with Maria Callas served both women well, as it caused publicity that garnered audience for both. Later in life, Tebaldi was amused by the rivalry, because she couldn't understand why audiences and critics pitted her against Callas. Tebaldi's voice was more lyric and Callas was more of a dramatic-coloratura.

Tebaldi's plush, velvety voice was well served in the Italian verismo repertoire. She was an enchanting Mimi, a passionate Tosca, and a beautiful Desdemona.

Here are some of her most celebrated roles:

Georges Thill (1897-1984)

The wonderful French tenor Georges Thill has recorded one of the best recordings of "Werther" ever. He is often considered to be one of the greatest lyric-dramatic tenors that has ever come out of France.

He was a student of Fernando de Lucia (who will be covered in an upcoming blog).

He was a singer of exemplary style and grace. I highly recommend the Werther recording that he made with Ninon Vallin. The interesting note regarding the recording is that Thill and Vallin detested each other.

For singers, French can prove to be a difficult undertaking to make the language work effectively. Thill serves as a wonderful example of how effective singing in French can be achieved.

To start off, here is a WONDERFUL little gem: Georges Thill sings "Che gelida manina" in French, so it becomes "Que cette main est froide". It takes some getting used to, but it's BEAUTIFULLY sung with a thrilling high C:



From Romeo et Juliette, the tomb scene:



From Faust, a beautiful "Salut demeure chaste et pure":



From Tosca, the French version of "E lucevan le stelle" - "Le ciel luisait d'etoiles"



And finally, from Werther, "Lorsque l'enfant revient d'un voyage":

Ettore Bastianini (1922-1967)

The life of baritone Ettore Bastianini was cut tragically short by throat cancer. His performances in the later stages of his career reflected a dryer sound owing to this unfortunate health crisis. Most audiences and critics were not aware of his condition and were less than kind in reviewing his vocal state in performance.
The voice is darker like a bass, but definitely Italian in it's chiaroscuro balance. He trained for a long time as a bass, then took seven months away from performing to transition to baritone. Therefore, much of the color retains a more bass-like timbre. The first baritone role he essayed was Giorgio Germont in "La traviata".

He was a great singer, who demonstrated beauty of tone and intelligent phrasing. It is too sad that we never got to see how this wonderful artist would have developed further.







This recording of Largo was made during the midst of his health crisis:

Claudia Muzio (1889-1936)

Claudia Muzio was the Renata Tebaldi of her day. Her earliest teacher created the title role of Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto. Muzio herself created the role of Georgette in Il Tabarro. She sang with the greatest tenors of her day, and was held in highest regard by her colleagues.

While frequently criticized for her sometime overindulgent dynamic choices, she was a strong actress, and a beloved star.

Eva Marton (1943- )

Eva Marton is a Hungarian dramatic soprano best known for her roles in Tosca, Turandot, and Wagnerian Opera.

One of my favorite recordings of hers is of the opera Violanta, an unknown by Korngold. The love duet at the end of this opera is one of the most STUNNING duets of 20th century opera.







The "Violanta" excerpt:

Antonio Cortis (1891-1952)

Cortis was a Spanish tenor who was known for being "the little Caruso". In fact, Caruso encouraged him to make a career in New York City. The voice is potent and is wedded to an innate musicality. He is best known for his roles in verismo opera. His is one of the most beautiful voices recorded on disc.

Here are some representative clips:

La Stupenda Joan Sutherland (1926- )

Joan Sutherland possessed a voice of tremendous size and fiendish agility. Starting as a mezzo-soprano, her husband Richard Bonynge worked with her to reveal the true nature of her voice: a dramatic coloratura. While she made a huge splash as Lucia di Lammermoor, she would also make brief forays into more dramatic repertoire. She even recorded a phenomenal version of Turandot that has been highly acclaimed by critics as one of the definitive recordings of that opera.

She was a dramatic shift in the bel canto repertoire from her predecessor, Maria Callas. While Callas pursued the dramatic ends of these heroines, Sutherland thrilled audiences with the athleticism of her coloratura. In fact, Callas and Sutherland were once in talks to perform in an opera together: Meyerbeer's epic Gli Ugonotti (Les Huguenots) at La Scala. This pairing never came to fruition, but Joan did record and perform the opera several times.

Here are some clips showing Joan in her natural element, and some more adventurous repertoire:

Tito Schipa (1888-1965)

Another of my favorites, the tenor Tito Schipa. He never resorted to shouting or any of the other veristic effects that were so common at this time in vocal history. The tone is veiled, slightly misty but totally beautiful.

To celebrate Jeanette MacDonald's birthday -

Here are some clips.

Now, let's get one thing straight: I LOVE Jeanette MacDonald. A LOT of people malign her voice and her chirpy singing. But I'll tell you one thing. If you see Maytime, and you still are stone cold - then you need to seriously examine yourself. Sure, these movies are sentimental and kitschy, one might even say - CAMPY - (gasp!). But when you boil away all the stereotypes and let yourself be transported by Jeanette's silvery voice, you'll understand why she was the Queen of the Movies in the mid to late 30s.

She inspired a generation of singers and actors, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, Betty White, Carol Burnett, and numerous others.

Here are some clips from her most celebrated films:

New Moon (1940)





Naughty Marietta (1935)






Rose Marie (1936)





And the unforgettable Maytime (1937)





In this film MGM produced a "fake" opera based on Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. (It's sound a lot better than any modern opera churned out in the last 20 years!)

To begin, the GODDESS Eleanor Steber!

Eleanor Steber came into my life post-graduate school. I'd always loved her in Barber's Vanessa, and as a Mozart heroine par excellence. The glistening high notes still blow me away. She was one of the superstars from the 40s and 50s at the Met. Her technical prowess as singer can clearly seen in this excerpt from I Pagliacci:



And while she probably wouldn't be cast today as Violetta, her rendition of the heroine's first act aria could fill many of her modern peers with envy:



Her precise onset, the intelligent musicianship, and the gleaming high notes continue to be models for sopranos to the present day. Listen to the exactitude with which she leaps to the high note on "ah, je suis heurEUse". It gives me chills every time!



And lastly, and excerpt from "The Voice of Firestone":

Welcome to the blog

Thanks to an idea by friend Yvonne Strumecki and Kevin Miller, I've decided to start blogging The Great Singers. Here I'll put clips of great singers from the past and present for mass consumption. Singers can come and listen and comment, teachers can come and observe great singing and direct their students to the blog, opera aficionados can just come and experience singers!

I'm not sure in what direction this will go, but thought that people would like a resource for listening to singers and discussing them with others.

Everyone can have an opinion, I only ask that we respect each other here.

Please.

Or I will cut you.

Actually, I'll probably just delete anything offensive.

Enjoy, peeps!