Fiorenza Cossotto: Bizet - Carmen, 'Seguidilla'

Описание: Fiorenza Cossotto (born on April 22, 1935) is an Italian mezzo soprano. She is considered by many to be one of the great mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century. Born on April 22, 1936 in Crescentino, Province of Vercelli, Italy, Cossotto attended the Turin Academy of Music and graduated top of her class. After her studies with Mercedes Llopart, she made her operatic debut as Sister Matilde in the world premiere of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites in 1957 at La Scala in Milan. Her international debut was at the 1958 Wexford Festival as Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. Her Covent Garden debut was in 1959 as Neris in Cherubini's Médée, with Maria Callas in the title role. A 1962 performance of the lead in La favorita at La Scala led to wider fame and she made her American debut in the same role in 1964 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and as Amneris at the Metropolitan Opera in 1968. Altogether between the seasons of 1967--68 and 1988--89 she gave 148 performances at the Met (exclusively leading roles). She was considered an expert in portrayals of major mezzo/contralto roles in mid-19th century Italian opera; e.g. Favorita, Amneris, Azucena, Eboli, Preziosilla, Maddalena, Ulrica and Laura. She also essayed Carmen, Mozart's Cherubino, Urbain in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, Bellini's Romeo and Marfa in Khovantschina. She kept on singing, and in 2005 she celebrated her 70th birthday with a performance of Suor Angelica at the Théâtre Royal in Liège, Belgium. According to the book "Opera" published by Koenemann, "She [Cossotto] and Giulietta Simionato were the leading Italian mezzo-sopranos of the 1960s and 1970s. She [Cossotto] won plaudits in the annals of operatic history for her wonderful vocal timbre, her perfect singing technique, and the ease with which she could master different registers. Besides singing the great mezzo roles, she also took the outstanding alto parts of the Italian operatic repertoire." Among her competitors were Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, Rita Gorr, Christa Ludwig, Marilyn Horne, Viorica Cortez and Tatiana Troyanos. Apart from mezzo and alto roles, she also sang soprano roles traditionally sung by mezzos such as Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Adalgisa (Norma). She sang Adalgisa next to the Normas of Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, Leyla Gencer and Elena Souliotis. Full live documents (except only partially for Callas) of these performances have been commercially released in audio and/or video. She also tried her luck in soprano roles (alas in studio only) of Lady Macbeth and Marchesa del Poggio (Un giorno di regno), and made a commercial recording of soprano arias by Verdi. Her repertory at the Met included Amneris, Eboli, Adalgisa, Santuzza, Azucena, Dalila, Carmen (only on tour and in outdoor park concerts), Principessa (Adriana Lecouvreur) and Mistress Quickly (which she added in 1985, singing with Giuseppe Taddei as Falstaff)...

With

Nicolai Gedda (born Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda; 11 July 1925) is a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1952, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made his final operatic recording. Skilled at languages, he performed operas in French, Russian, German, Italian, English, Czech, and Swedish; also one in Latin. In January 1958, he created the part of Anatol in the world premiere of the American opera Vanessa at the Metropolitan Opera. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is one of the most widely recorded opera singers in history. His singing is best known for its beauty of tone, vocal control, and musical perception... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolai...


Lyrics & English Translation

Carmen
Right by the walls of Sevilla,
At my old friend Lillas Pastia's,
I'll go to dance the seguidilla
And drink some manzanilla,
I'll go to my old friend Lillas Pastia's.
But all alone it's not much fun,
True pleasure is when you're a pair;
So, to make sure I've got someone,
I'll bring my lover with me there!
My lover man! To hell with him now!
I broke up with him yesterday!
And my poor heart's ripe for a whim now,
My heart is free, it's free to play!
I am pursued by scores of gallants;
But none that I like through and through.
Now here's the weekend - what's the balance?
Who will love me? I'll love him too!
Who wants my soul? It's ripe for mating!
You have arrived right with the tide!
I have no time to waste by waiting,
For with my new man by my side,
Right by the walls of Sevilla,
At my old friend Lillas Pastia's,
I'll go to dance the seguidilla
And drink some manzanilla,
This Sunday I'll go to my old friend Pastia's!


A link to this wonderful artists personal website: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fioren...


Please Enjoy!

I send my kind and warm regards,