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":
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I hate to admit this, but I hadn't really paid attention to her before. I knew the name when I saw it, but other than that, nada.
I have totally fallen in love.
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