# First Thread of the Singer in Depth Project: Rosa Ponselle



## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

During the debate about the "Opera in Depth" project, it was mentioned also the possibility of opening a "Singer in Depth" thread, to focus on a specific singer. I think this could be a good idea, and so each member can present his favourite singer(s).

I'd say that around one month is enough, so I will start with Rosa Ponselle until mid to late September, and then any other member can open a thread with another singer. Of course, if there are few candidates (I plan at least three more threads, with Claudia Muzio, Anita Cerquetti and Maria Callas) we can manage this way. Should more members want to cooperate, we can always resort to use a calendar to book in advance.

















Her life

Friday, November 15th, 1918. The Great War had finished just a few days before, and in the MET of New York, there was an evening scheduled with the premiere in the city of one opera by Giuseppe Verdi: _La Forza del Destino_.

The big star of the show would be the most famous tenor in the world, Enrico Caruso. In the role of Leonora, a young unknown american soprano that is hardly 21 years old. Her name is Rosa Ponselle. Twenty years later, many operagoers in New York will remember this evening as one of the most sensational of all times, the introduction of a singer that will be MET's darling, and arguably the most shining star among all american sopranos.

Born Rosa Melba Ponzillo, in Meriden, CT (January, 22nd, 1897), she was a professional vaudeville singer, with a well paid number together with her sister, Carmela. The agent of the Ponselle sisters, Mr. Thorner, introduced Rosa to Caruso. After listening to the young girl, Caruso told to an intimidated Rosa that very soon they will sing an opera together, in the MET.

True to his word, Caruso got Ponselle an audition with MET management. Rosa prepared "Casta Diva" with her friend and teacher Nino Romani. Even if the young singer fainted at some point out of pure excitement, she impressed everyone and was hired to sing _La Forza_ with Caruso.

Ponselle spent all the summer and the month of October learning the piece, and also losing weight to produce a better impression in the public. The evening of the premiere, after a solid first Act, she was prepared to sing "Pace, pace mio Dio"... Rest is history.

Until her retirement in 1937, Ponselle was the female star of the MET, where she sung operas like _Cavalleria Rusticana, La Juive, Ernani, Il Trovatore, Aida, La Gioconda, Don Carlo, L'Africaine, Andrea Chenier, Traviata, Don Giovanni, Norma, Carmen_,... She also sung in other american theaters, as well as in three Covent Garden seasons (_Norma, Gioconda, Traviata, L'amore dei tre re_,..) and just one performance in Florence (_La Vestale_). A major disappointment for her was the poor reception of the new operas she premiered: _The Legend, Fedra_ and _La notte di Zoraima_.

Her Art

A beautiful, deep voice, with an extraordinary harmonic richness. It was also big, in Flagstad's category, but at the same time very flexible. Perfect homogeneity in all her tessitura, with immaculate legato. The original extension was three octaves, from C2 to C5, but in the last years of her career there were growing problems reaching the top notes.

Ponselle was one of the best, indeed perhaps the best, dramatic soprano in the history of recorded singing. Her deep notes are so full and rich that she could had sung the mezzo repertoire with ease, too.

She was also a very good piano player, and was able to read a score at first sight. Her acting talent was more debatable, and there are very different opinions on the subject.

We will review the career of Ponselle, as well as her recordings, in coming posts. For now, let listen to one of her vaudeville favorites, _My Old Kentucky Home_:


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

I unfortunately don't know anything about Rosa Ponselle, so I can't really contribute, but I'll be very interested to read more posts here!

Also, it should be interesting to do Flagstad. A lot of interesting skeletons tucked away in a lot of cupboards there.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Great idea as usual, schigolch, you're such an asset for us!

Hm... unsurprisingly, I want to book a thread for Anna Netrebko La Bellissima!


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_Rosa Ponselle_​
The first paid job of Rosa Ponselle was as singer in a small theater in Meriden, called The Star. She was 15 years old, and was already an acomplished piano player. She was instantly succesful and was hired to sing in a bigger house, in the nearby town of New Haven, the San Carlino, that seated 1,000 people.

Ponselle's oldest sister Carmela was already a vaudeville singer and, after listening to Rosa, his agent came up with the idea of setting up a number with the two siblings. It was really a good one, and the "Ponzillo Sisters", in just a couple of years, were singing in the best vaudeville theaters in New York: 'The Riverside' and 'The Palace'. While performing in 'The Riverside', Rosa met Caruso and received the proposal to sing for the Metropolitan.

Rosa and Carmela were making one thousand dollars per week in the vaudeville, and in her first year with the Metropolitan she was actually losing money, but preferred to launch her operatic career. Their fellow vaudeville artists were people like Al Jonson, Eva Tanguy, Nora Bayes, Belle Baker,....

Let's listen to Rosa Ponselle in some of the songs she was singing in the number with the "Ponzillo Sisters":

Rosa Ponselle - Goodbye

Rosa Ponselle - Keep the Home Fires Burning

Rosa Ponselle - Maria Mari









_Carmela Ponselle_​
Carmela Ponselle was also a good singer, and she was hired years later by the MET, singing some seasons there as a mezzosoprano.

In those years before the microphone, of course it was easier for vaudeville singers to move into opera, as they needed to fill with their voices some big houses anyway. However, the case of the Ponzillo sisters is rather an exceptional one.

Rosa and Carmela Ponselle - Comin' thro the rye


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Great idea as usual, schigolch, you're such an asset for us!
> 
> Hm... unsurprisingly, I want to book a thread for Anna Netrebko La Bellissima!


ok, so we can say, if both of you agree:

October: Kirsten Flagstad, presented by Aksel
November: Anna Netrebko, presented by Almaviva


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_Rosa Ponselle with Giacomo Puccini_​
Incredibly enough, having a voice that seemed chiseled to sing some of the Puccini heroines, Ponselle never performed in a staging of any opera by the Toscan composer.

In part, this was due to the MET's politics of leaving this repertoire for other singers, like Maria Jeritza.

During the summer of 1924, Ponselle toured Europe with several friends. One of them was Felice Romani, a good friend also of Puccini, and they were together to visit the great composer in his home at Viareggio. Puccini was very sick, and not in the mood to receive any visit, but given Romani's insistence and his desire to listen to Ponselle singing, he made an exception. The american soprano performed for maestro Puccini, that after hearing her, declared: "What a pity that I never heard this voice before!...".

Romani took the above picture of Ponselle with Puccini. A few months later, the composer died and her wife wrote to Romani asking for a copy of the picture, because it was the last with her husband still alive.

That she never really portrayed on stage Floria Tosca is surely the reason why this marvelously sung "Vissi d'arte", with a superb legato and a sumptuous tone, falls somehow short of giving us an accurate portrait of Puccini's heroine. However, it's such a pleasure just listening to this voice:






In this and other arias we can find one of the few flaws in Ponselle's singing. The 'R's are too _raddoppiate_, this diction is a little bit tiring for the listener.

"Un bel dì vedremo" is better understood by a young Ponselle. It's very pure, very clear, almost a sublimation of Cio Cio San's passion. A great rendition:






Manon was another character Ponselle will have been able to give a wonderful on stage performance in her early years. Her voice just seems to be floating on air:






And of course, Mimi, perhaps the least satisfying of the Puccini roles sung by Ponselle. This "Mi chiamano Mimi" is nice, of course, but is missing the target for a few inches.






All in all, I think we have proof enough to say that Ponselle, one of the best Verdi sopranos ever, will also had been of the best Puccini's, too.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

Check out the liner notes that John Ardoin wrote (two years before his death) for Marston's release of a RP re-issue

http://www.marstonrecords.com/ponselle/ponselle_liner.htm


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Nice reading.

We will review most of Ponselle's recordings, along with some biographical information, on the thread. 

I met, and was fortunate to be his friend for a few years until he died, an old 'ponsellite' from New York, one of the last living persons that had really listened to Rosa Ponselle on stage. His Upper West Side home was full of memorabilia and recordings. I already loved Ponselle before, but after knowing him, I have loved her even more.

A wonderful voice, perhaps the most beautiful voice ever recorded so far.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

schigolch said:


> ok, so we can say, if both of you agree:
> 
> October: Kirsten Flagstad, presented by Aksel
> November: Anna Netrebko, presented by Almaviva


I'm game.
[I'm Filler, pleased to meet you.]


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_Rosa Ponselle and Romano Romani_​
Below we can find the repertoire on stage of Rosa Ponselle. The list is ordered by number of performances, and contains:

*Opera - Composer - Number of performances - Debut year*


_La forza del Destino_ Verdi	*38* 1918
_Cavalleria Rusticana_ Mascagni	*38* 1918
_La Gioconda_ Ponchielli	*38* 1924
_L'africana_ Meyerbeer	*35* 1923
_Norma_ Bellini	*34* 1927
_La Traviata_ Verdi	*21* 1930
_Ernani_ Verdi	*19* 1921
_La Juive_ Halevy	*17* 1919
_Andrea Chénier_ Giordano	*16* 1921
_Il Trovatore_ Verdi	*15* 1924
_Don Giovanni_ Mozart	*15* 1930
_Carmen_ Bizet	*15* 1935
_Aida_ Verdi	*14* 1920
_La Vestale_ Spontini	*11* 1925
_Oberon_ Weber	*10* 1918
_Don Carlo_ Verdi	*10* 1920
_Guillermo Tell_ Rossini	*7* 1923
_L'amore dei tre re_ Montemezzi	*6* 1926
_Luisa Miller_ Verdi	*6* 1929
_La notte di Zoraima_ Montemezzi	*5* 1932
_Le Roi d'Ys_ Lalo	*4* 1922
_The Legend_ Breil	*3* 1919
_Fedra_ Romani	*3* 1931

About the roles she created:

_The Legend_ was a one-act opera composed by Joseph Breil and premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1919. The story involved a nobleman, her daughter and her lover (both doomed to be dead by the end of the opera, to be sure). The young Ponselle literally hated the piece, deeming it to be a holy c... (with reason, it seems). The reviews were merciless, but all of them recognized Ponselle's good singing.

_La notte di Zoraima_ was an opera by Italo Montemezzi. He was the well considered composer of _L'amore dei tre re_, an opera very well known and loved in the MET during the last twenty years before the premiere of _Zoraima_. Ponselle had also sung the role of Fiora with great success. However, _Zoraima_ was a complete fiasco. It was set in the Peru of the Incas, and the soprano was torn between a baritone and her true lover, a tenor, and finally commited suicide. Nothing new under the peruvian Sun. The music and the staging were ridiculed, as well as Mario Basiola (the baritone) and Frederick Jagel (the tenor). Only Ponselle's singing (but not her acting) was praised.

_Fedra_ was an opera by Ponselle's friend Romano Romani. She sung the piece in the Covent Garden, with Antonio Cortis, Cesare Formichi and Elvira Casazza. However, it was unable to interest anyone else. _Fedra_ had already been staged before in Italy, with Rosa Raisa singing the main role, but Romani wrote a new aria for Ponselle: "O divina Afrodite". This is the only piece of music that had survived in the voice of Rosa Ponselle.

*Ponselle - Fedra - 1937*


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

now that I know that you're such a big RP fan, I'm glad that my reveiw of her Violetta was a good one... * whew*


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

BalloinMaschera said:


> now that I know that you're such a big RP fan, I'm glad that my reveiw of her Violetta was a good one... * whew*


I agree with your Traviata review. Will comment again on this thread a little bit more on Ponselle's Violetta, but basically I will center on other roles we have not yet covered much.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Rosa Ponselle retired in 1937, barely forty years old, due to a variety of reasons we will review in coming posts.

After her retirement, she lived in Baltimore, in a mansion called "Villa Pace", first with her husband and, after their divorce, alone. She participated actively in the socialite life of Baltimore, and run a small opera company there, but was not longer singing in public.

However, she sang for friends in the intimacy of her home, and she accepted an offer from the Victor company to record some pieces, with piano accompaniment by herself and conductor Igor Chichagov.

We can listen to a surprisingly fresh voice, with the beautiful lower and middle registers almost intact, and some renditions that are small jewels of singing:

Senza mamma - _Suor Angelica_

Marietta's Lied - _Die Tote Stadt_

Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix - _Samson et Dalila_

O mio babbino caro - _Gianni Schicchi_


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Ponselle was not a great mozartian singer, to be sure. However, she did sing the role of Donna Anna in the MET, in 1930, and offered 15 performances, with people like Gigli, Schipa, Ezio Pinza, Elisabeth Rethberg, Maria Müller,...

We can hear several fragments from a _Don Giovanni_ broadcasted in 1934:

Or sai chi l'onore

Fuggi, crudele fuggi, with Tito Schipa

Protegga il giusto cielo, with Tito Schipa and Maria Müller

She did not find the role of Donna Anna particularly taxing. Some opinions about her fellow singers:

_Singing with Rethberg was the best thing about Don Giovanni. It was pure magic listen her incredible "Mi Tradi".

Maria Müller was nicknamed 'the cleaner'. It was not a voice for the MET.

Gigli was impressive, but I preferred Shipa's Don Ottavio.

Pinza fancied himself a great womanizer. One day, while I was listening to Rethberg, he approached me from behind, embraced me and suggested we were a fantastic couple. Just like he did with hundreds other women. I stepped on his foot and said: 'Porco!'. He was a great Don on stage, though._

Let's hear now to a mature Ponselle in those 'Villa Pace' recordinds, singing an aria from 
_Le Nozze di Figaro_:

Voi chi sapete


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_La Juive_​
Rosa Ponselle adored Enrico Caruso, and considered him the greatest singer ever. With the great italian tenor she sung two operas: La Forza del Destino, of which we've already discussed in the thread, and will do it again, and _La Juive_, the beautiful french 19th century opera composed by Fromental Halévy.

Eleazar was the last character sung by Caruso. This is a very difficult job, and Caruso took it very seriously, both from a vocal and an acting point of view. He even spent a couple of days with a rabbi to be able to perform correctly the jewish ceremonies depicted in the libretto. For Ponselle, however, in the easier part of Rachel, the major challenge was to sing in french. Curiously enough, many persons around Ponselle: her secretary, her manager, her first artistic agent,.. were jewish, and a lot of people thought that the very italian catholic Rosa Ponzillo was jewish too.

Many years later, a journalist asked Ponselle: "Was Eleazar the best Caruso's interpretation?". The answer of the diva: "Not just that. It was the best interpretation from any singer ever. I've never seen something like that, and won't see it again".

We can hear Ponselle singing an aria from _La Juive_:

Ponselle - Il va venir

And also Caruso in the wonderful aria "Rachel, quand du Seigneur", less than one year before his death:

Caruso - Rachel, quand du Seigneur


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_Rosa Ponselle as_ Santuzza​
_Cavalleria Rusticana_ was the second opera sung by Ponselle in the MET, giving her first rendition of Santuzza in December, 1918. She was to sing her on stage 37 times more.

Ponselle loved _Cavalleria_, and was very fond of singing Santuzza. "It's an extraordinay opera, there is not a single bad bar in it", "Santuzza came easy to me, from a dramatic and vocal point of view. I was almost always in the center of my tessitura, a dream role for me".

However, although is true her vocal performance is peerless, the inner identity of Santuzza always eluded Ponselle a little bit.

We can listen below "Voi lo sapete, o mamma", recorded in 1919:






Also this adaptation from Mascagni, "Ave Maria", broadcasted in 1934:






In spite of the popularity of the 'Cav/Pag' pairing, Ponselle never sung on stage Nedda. However, she did recorded "Qual fiamma avea nel guardo":


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Rosa Ponselle depicted in the title role of Ponchielli's_ La Gioconda_​
Rosa Ponselle sung _La Gioconda_ for the first time in Philadelphia, at the Academy of Music, in 1924. It was also a role she liked very much, and one she sung often on stage.

However, she recognized it was a difficult one in vocal terms: "it requires a wagnerian-like effort. If you are not careful, you can get to the last Act without any strengh left".

The delicate, but also intense, low notes of Ponselle in this aria are really priceless:


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Rosa Ponselle as Carmen.​
Carmen was the last role Ponselle got into her repertoire. Her first performance was in December, 1935, at the MET. Hardly one year later, her last MET performance was another Carmen, and her farewell to the operatic stage, was in Cleveland, singing again _Carmen_, in April, 1937.

This Cleveland performance was broadcasted in the radio, and there is a recording available, as well as other one from the same year, at the MET:

Rosa Ponselle - Carmen, 1937

Carmen was another of Ponselle's fetish roles. "In the fifteen performances I sung, except for one that I was sick, I never found myself better on stage".

Near to her forties, Ponselle had already lost her former ability to sing the soprano top notes, not only her feared C5 but even a B-flat 4 was troublesome for her.

Understandably, she was at ease singing Carmen, that lied comfortably between her beautiful center, and her still immaculate low notes. It was clear that Ponselle's future was in the mezzo repertoire.

However, some Hollywood projects that never materialized, her bitter disagreements with the new MET management (they keep insisting that Ponselle should sing _Norma_ again, something that was no longer possible), and also her marriage to a Baltimore socialite, conspired to force Ponselle into retirement, still at a relatively young age, but with a career of almost twenty years behind her.

From her Hollywood screen tests, we can watch this Habanera:


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

​
Ponselle promised to her mother that one day she would sing in Italy. In fact, she entered in negotations with La Scala in several occasions, but the great soprano, always a little bit insecure before a performance, had a insuperable terror to the italian public.

Finally, she decided to accept in 1933 an offer from Florence's Maggio Musicale to sing there _La Vestale_, by Spontini, that was in her repertoire since 1925. Ponselle was happy about her command of the role of Giulia ("_This is a pure singing role, there are no quick shortcuts or cheap dramatic tricks_"), and thought this was a less risky piece for her first opera in Italy than works from Verdi, Giordano or Ponchielli.

In fact, the performances were a great success, and Ponselle received an enthusiastic ovation after singing "O nume tutelar". Mussolini himself requested to be introduced to the american singer, and asked her to visit Italy more often in the future. One performance was broacasted in the radio, with Dolci, Pasero and Stignani sharing the stage with Ponselle.

However, Rosa Ponselle never performed again in Italy.

Ponselle - O nume tutelar

Ponselle - Tu che invoco


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The opera Ponselle was determined to sing at the MET in 1936 was no other than _Adriana Lecouvreur_. Maestro Serafin (that declared one day "In my lifetime, there have been three vocal miracles: Caruso, Ruffo and Ponselle") had introduced the role to her, and she was in love with Adriana, both from a singing and a dramatic point of view.

However, MET management was adamant they won't allow her to perform _Adriana_. This was one of the major reasons for Ponselle's retirement, and in retrospective it looks weird. The role was indeed ideal for the voice of the soprano, at that time of her career.

We can hear Ponselle, in the Villa Pace recordings, singing Adriana:

Ponselle - Poveri Fiori

Ponselle - Io son l'umile ancella


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Apart from her contract with the MET, Ponselle offered recitals all along the US (and made a solid profit singing them), and also participated often in radio broadcasts.

Of course, she sung a few operatic arias in those events, but most of her repertoire were popular songs, other well known pieces and even some lied.

We can listen to Ponselle below in this other vein:

Ave Maria - Schubert

Der Erlkönig - Schubert

Träume - Wagner

Morgen - Strauss

O del mio amato ben - Donaudy

O sole mio - di Capua

So in love - Cole Porter


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Rosa Ponselle as Norma​
_Norma_ was absent from the MET, since the times of Lilli Lehmann, whose last performance in the role was back in 1891.

Lehmann herself, an artist of an almost incredible flexibility, able to sing more than one hundred roles, from Wagner to Bellini to Mozart, said about Norma: "the most difficult role of all... It should be sung and acted with fanatical consecration, rendered by the chorus and orchestra especially, with artistic reverence, led with authority by the conductor, and to every single eighth note, should be given the musical tribute that is its due"

Tullio Serafin prepared Rosa Ponselle to be able to sing again the druidess in the MET, in 1928. This was a 'tour de force' for the american soprano, as she can indeed manage well the recitative, the dramatic intonations, the demanding low notes... but it will be very difficult to achieve a similar mastery of the _fioriture_, or the high end of the role extension.

With some very good fellow singers in the casting (Lauri-Volpi, Ezio Pinza, Marion Telva), Ponselle was able to face Norma, and get an enthusiastic response from the audience... somehow toned down by the critics.

Today, only the cavatina (and mutilated), plus the duo "Mira, o Norma" have survived in recording. Judging from this, Ponselle was indeed a fantastic priestess, hieratic and imposing, detached from everydays world and into a higher plane... However, her ability to incarnate also the lover, the mother, the friend,... to be judged only by the duo, will always be a matter of operatic debate, unless a miraculous recording would appear to settle the issue.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

I think the one aspect of RP's singing that strikes me the most, are her gorgeous overtones, and their frequency.

What singer do we have today that even comes close to producing anything close?

The most recent singer that I have heard that came reasonably close (in her brief prime) was Marina Mescheriakova, as well as Aprile Millo (when at her best).


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Ponselle and Caruso in _La Forza del Destino_​
Of course, Rosa Ponselle was first and foremost a verdian soprano. One of the greatest verdian sopranos of all time.

Her first opera in the MET, when she was a youngster not yet 25 years old, and without any previous lyrical exposure, was _La Forza del Destino_, singing with a legend like Enrico Caruso.

Among the best arias by Verdi, "Pace, Pace, mio Dio", was one of Ponselle's most cherished pieces. The superb technical control and exquisite phrasing are really a glory for the ear, but just listen to the _messa di voce_ at the beginning... This is one of the peaks of recorded singing:






Although after such an exhibition is difficult to keep the level, two other marvelously sung fragments from _La Forza del Destino_:


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

BalloinMaschera said:


> I think the one aspect of RP's singing that strikes me the most, are her gorgeous overtones, and their frequency.
> 
> What singer do we have today that even comes close to producing anything close?
> 
> The most recent singer that I have heard that came reasonably close (in her brief prime) was Marina Mescheriakova, as well as Aprile Millo (when at her best).


About Mescheriakova, I guess her prime was so brief that I missed it. Her Toronto _Norma_...

Aprile Millo was a great verdian singer, for sure.

The richness of Ponselle's voice is a marvel. It crosses decades and makes you feel dazed, what a timbre!.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

While RP is an outstanding example of incredibly beautiful overtones... it should be noted that overtones do not only occur in operatic singing...

Mariah Carey had them too (does she still perform?- I have no idea...) , as does Michael Feinstein.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Yes, of course this feature of the voice is not reserved to operatic singing.

I don't know either about Ms. Carey's whereabouts, but her vocal material was lovely, indeed.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_Il Trovatore_ was an opera Ponselle must sing, because it was a big favourite at the Met. However, though she did like the music, the role of Leonora was never able to excite her. In her own words: "It was not an important role in my career. The fans expected me to sing it, so I went and sing it".

Her debut as Lenonora was in 1924. In spite of her reluctance, she was one of the greatest Leonoras on record. A couple of anecdotes:

Singing with Martinelli the "Miserere" in Cleveland, the audience was delighted and demanded an encore. Both singers were ready, but in the pit was Maestro Serafin, that never allowed this type of liberties. So, the singers and orchestra continued with the performance in the middle of a huge jeering that makes impossible to hear them.

In another production of Trovatore, singing with Danise and Lauri-Volpi, at the end of the First Act, the italian tenor sustained the closing note of the trio during an eternity, while his colleagues, not being forewarned, were just slighted. Ponselle refused to go back for the Second Act, and MET management needed to use all his persuasion to get her back, after close to one hour break.

Unsurprisingly, Ponselle's opinion on Lauri-Volpi was rather poor.

Let listen to Ponselle, in 1920s recordings (also starring, Riccardo Stracciari and Giuseppe Martinelli):


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Ponselle as Violetta​
Rosa Ponselle's most cherished operatic project was to sing Violetta. She was powerfully attracted by the dramatic weight of the role. From a purely vocal point of view, after having sung Norma's coloratura with great success, she was confident Violetta will not be a problem. Of course, she understood that her voice was larger, darker than that of sopranos like Galli-Curci or Tetrazzini, but she also thought it was ideal for the second and third act. Maestro Serafin supported Ponselle, and advised her to study the role in Italy, with Gemma Bellincioni.

Bellincioni as Violetta, in 1903

After her great success there singing Norma and Gioconda, Ponselle wanted to sing her first Violetta in London, and was a complete triumph for the american soprano, with an outstanding ovation at the end of more than 30 minutes. _The Times_ considered her the best Violetta of all times.

Among the audience was a young Zinka Milanov that declared later: "The voice of Ponselle in Traviata was light, but powerful, with the right colour to perfectly present the drama".

After this, Ponselle was very confident for her Traviata debut in the MET, with Lauri-Volpi and De Luca. However, the reviews were not as good as she was expecting, with the critics on fire about transposing "Sempre Libera" a full tone down. Even her colleague (not friend) Lauri-Volpi, said:

_Rosa's voice is like a human cello, but her B4 and her C5 are not always available, and where they are, she fights to sustain them. In Traviata, neither her first act, not her "Amami, Alfredo" are really top class. It would has been better for her never to sing Violetta, this just ruined her top notes_

Ponselle, to be sure, was always a little bit unsecure about her top notes, true. Even if during her first years, they were a marvel to hear. However, trying to lighten her voice to sing Violetta the 'soprano coloratura' way, did damage her voice. However, she was one of the firsts to give Violetta her true dramatic stature, and provide a fully convincing portrait of the sick and loving woman. This is one of the best Violettas of all time.

_Ah, fors' è lui...Sempre libera_ - Ponselle, 1935

_Duet Giorgio / Violetta_ - Ponselle with Lawrence Tibbett, 1935

_Addio del passato_ - Ponselle, 1936


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

"Rosa's voice is like a human cello" that's a really interesting comment (especially coming from L-V, who wasn't her biggest fan)... 
I think that some of the best voices are those where the sound is produced and sustained like an instrument... or at least that's the effect...

Off the top of my head, Wunderlich and Tebaldi, definitely had that, and so did Domingo, in his younger years...

In recent years, I think Ruth Ziesak has that ability, too; although she is more violin, than cello...


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Tebaldi's voice was perhaps the nearest thing to Ponselle's.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

In 1921, Ponselle made her debut in _Ernani_, singing the difficult role of Elvira. With her on stage were Giuseppe Martinelli, Giuseppe Danise and José Mardones. Great cast. Those were the impressions of Ponselle on her colleagues:

"Mardones's was the best bass voice I've ever heard. A real 'basso proffondo', and with a good technique, he could even sing some baritone parts. On the other hand, he was no actor".

"I loved to sing with Danise, our voices blended together so well..."

Martinelli was a great friend (gossip wanted that perhaps too good a friend) of Ponselle. Many years later, the american soprano was still very fond of the singer, the actor, and the person.

'Ernani, involami' was to Ponselle the best in the Verdi repertoire for her voice. Let's see if she were right in this recording from 1924:


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Great idea as usual, schigolch, you're such an asset for us!
> 
> Hm... unsurprisingly, I want to book a thread for Anna Netrebko La Bellissima!


I've really enjoyed this thread! Too often singers from before my time seem distant and 'untouchable', this was really an informative, humanizing read.

I'd also like to book a thread for Ms. Natalie Dessay, if I may. Is there an updated list of who is doing what singer and when?


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks, we still have a couple of posts to run before closing the thread.

About booking a slot, I'd say this is how things stand:

October: Kirsten Flagstad, presented by Aksel
November: Anna Netrebko, presented by Almaviva
December: Natalie Dessay, presented by rgz.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Rosa Ponselle as Aida​
Ponselle sung Aida for the first time in 1921, still very young. Everything was positive at the beginning, with the audience, the critics and the singer all quite happy with her performance of the role.

However, her very first Aida evening, Ponselle had a small issue with the C5 in "O Patria Mia". This issue was growing constantly in her mind, and little by little she started to fear the role, and in the end she was just in panic, just thinking about singing Aida again. The last time she performed the nubian slave in the MET, was in 1924.

In her youth days, Aida was a dream role for Ponselle (later on, she would need to transpose down some of the part). Arguably, she has been the best Aida on record, but her fearings could not be alleviated, and just extended to the rest of her repertoire:

_"When I debuted Leonora from Trovatore (1924), I didn't have any problem at all, but later I grew uncomfortable singing 'D'amor sull'alli rosee', perhaps due to my problems with the C5 in 'O Patria mia'. So, I transposed down the aria just a semitone, and everything was perfect again. However, the high E-flat at the end of the First Act, was never an issue. It's the way you approach the top note, where is all the difference. In 'O Patria mia', is totally exposed, lying just in the center of a long phrase in a high tessiture... and you are alone: no duets, no choirs, almost no orchestra...."_

Let's listen to some examples of the wonderful Aida sung by Rosa Ponselle:

O Patria Mia

Ritorna Vincitor

Pur ti riveggo (with Giovanni Martinelli)

La Fatal Pietra (with Giovanni Martinelli)


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

This is the end of the Rosa Ponselle's thread.

To say goodbye to Ponselle, let's listen to a couple of Verdi's arias not yet mentioned in the other posts:


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

Many thanks shigolch, for all your contributions and insights. RP was indeed a great soprano.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks, schigolch! A wonderful contribution to the forum!


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

schigolch said:


> ok, so we can say, if both of you agree:
> 
> October: Kirsten Flagstad, presented by Aksel
> November: Anna Netrebko, presented by Almaviva


http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2011/10/Features/I,_Claudia.html

A great article on Claudia Muzio.

I will devote a thread on this series to 'La Divina Claudia', after Aksel and Almaviva are through their presentations.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

if anyone knows anything abt singing- it's Ira Siff.


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