# Kyra Vayne - another largely forgotten gem



## aussiebushman (Apr 21, 2018)

I confess I had never heard of Kyra Vayne until I purchased "A Voice reborn" at some book sale.

A product of early poverty and hardship, her early musical career received great success with performances alongside Gigli and Gobbi in particular. However, early acceptance was marred by her association with Vic Oliver and probably her various "musical comedy" roles. Her brush with Edward Renton who accused her of a lack of professionalism due to her refusal to rehearse Traviata and Trovatore on the same day is also legendary as was the childish reaction of Tagliavini on numerous occasions. In a more positive vein, her meeting with Mary Garden and her performance of Tosca are heartwarming.

Vayne effectively retired from the stage, destitute after Gene Iskoldoff committed suicide.

Scraping a living as a secretary, it was in 1961 following the release of her first CD and almost by chance that she returned to the stage, despite the snooty reception from the London Players Theatre and the bungling of Ed Smith and Martinelli in New York. Only in 1989 did Vayne achieve anything close to the fame she deserved when her old recordings were discovered by Boris Nadan.

Here are a couple of examples of Vayne's art:
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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

An impressive voice, and a great find. I knew the name from somewhere, but had never heard her. Your two samples are identical, by the way - but no matter, there are a number of selections on YouTube, including some gorgeous Rachmaninoff songs. She seems to have been capable of singing a wide repertoire.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

****** post deleted ***********


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## IgorS (Jan 7, 2018)

New name for me and a good voice.


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## aussiebushman (Apr 21, 2018)

My mistake with the links:

Here are some others:

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* From Prince Igor

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* Tatiana's Letter Scene


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

She has a nicely balanced voice with beauty and interest in equal measure. However, whilst her singing of the Borodin and Tchaikovsky above is charming, there is something too cautious about it as if she doesn't have the temperament to sing opera. Her singing of Rachmaninov songs is not just amongst the best singing of Russian song I have heard, but any art song.

Her 'Sing to me no more' is devastating (especially because there is so much restraint in her delivery of this sad song). This _is_ a find, I wonder if I can get a CD of her in Russian song.

N.

N.


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