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Irma Gonzalez: En Vivo, 1945-1965
Urtext

Irma Gonzalez: En Vivo, 1945-1965

$23.99

Details

Composer
PUCCINI MASCAGNI LEONCAVALLO
Artist
Irma Gonzalez
Format
CD
Label
Urtext
Released
Jan 25, 2011
Catalog #
JBCC189/190
UPC
600685101896

About



IRMA GONZÁLEZ LIVE • Irma González (s); 1 Plácido Domingo, 2 Giuseppe di Stefano, 5 Jon Vickers (tn); 3 Oralia Dominguez, 4 Aurora Woodrow (ms); various cond & O • URTEXT 189/90, mono (2 CDs: 141: 42) Live: 1945–65


PUCCINI Madama Butterfly: Che tua madre; Con onor muore. La Bohème: Si, mi chiamano Mimi; Donde lieta usci; Quando m’en vo. Manon Lescaut: In quelle trine morbide. Tosca: Vissi d’arte; 1 O dolci mani. Turandot: Signore, ascolta. MASCAGNI L’Amico Fritz: Son pocchi fiori. LEONCAVALLO Pagliacci: Ballatella. GIORDANO Andrea Chenier: 2 Vicino a te. BOITO Mefistofele: L’altra notte; Spunta l’aurora pallida. BELLINI Norma: 3 Mira, o Norma. MASSENET Manon: Adieu, notre petite table; N’est-ce plus ma main. Hérodiade: Il est doux, il est bon. BIZET Carmen: Je dis que rien. TCHAIKOVSKY Maid of Orleans: Adieu, forêts. VERDI La Traviata: Addio del passato. Aida: O patria mia. Requiem: 4 Recordare. Otello: 5 Già nella notte densa; Era più calmo? … Piangea cantando; Ave Maria. La Forza del Destino: Pace, pace mio Dio. VARIOUS Songs from Meet Me in St. Louis


The long, sad list of exceptional singers who made few or no commercial recordings, from Jean de Reszke to Gilda Cruz-Romo, is now extended by these remarkable live performances over a span of 20 years by Mexican soprano Irma González. Previously, she had appeared on one V-Disc (a Spanish song) and a live performance of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony conducted by Bruno Walter, though there exists one commercial recording: songs by Manuel Ponce and Silvestre Revueltas. This two-CD set of broadcasts and live performances, then, fills a void and introduces us to an operatic soprano of remarkable achievement and artistry. The comparison to Cruz-Romo is especially apt. Like Cruz-Romo, González sang everything from Mozart to Verdi and Puccini, and also like Cruz-Romo, González was more than just a voice, she was an exciting, musical, and consummate artist.


When she made her debut in 1939, Giuseppe di Stefano had not yet sung in public, Jon Vickers had not begun vocal lessons, and Plácido Domingo had not been born, yet she sang with all of them—and with Ezio Pinza, Cesare Valletti, Mario del Monaco, Cesare Siepi, Giulietta Simionato, Grace Bumbry, Ettore Bastianini, Sherrill Milnes, Oralia Dominguez, Boris Christoff, Richard Tucker, and Giuseppe Taddei. There’s a remarkable 1980 video (in color) on YouTube of her singing “In questa reggia” from Turandot, at age 64, with a wonderful Calaf named David Portilla. She worked with such conductors as Kleiber, Klemperer, Ansermet, Casals, Walter, Beecham, and Markevitch. Her voice combined the rich, creamy colors of Renata Tebaldi with the brilliant high range of Marisa Galvany, but she was a more intense interpreter than the former and a more musical and finished vocalist than the latter. In short, she had it all. As a teacher, her most famous pupil was tenor Francisco Araiza. She died in 2008 at the age of 92.


By and large, the singing on this two-CD set is simply extraordinary. It takes one’s breath away. The final phrases of “Vissi d’arte,” for instance, are sung exactly as written, without the usual breaks or distortions that sopranos “traditionally” throw into it. The “Recordare” from the Verdi Requiem, with the little-known mezzo Aurora Woodrow, shows off her melting legato; the Ballatella from Pagliacci and “L’altra notte” from Mefistofele display a fine trill. “O patria mia” showcases her faultless line and extremely musical phrasing. Only once, for me, does she disappoint: Her “Addio del passato” is the healthiest- sounding performance I’ve ever heard, too loud and too insensitive to text. Not bad for a soprano you’ve never heard of before.


Considering that this is a Mexican production, the transfers are fairly good. At least some attempt was made to remove some of the surface noise, but not much, and the high notes are somewhat distorted in places depending on the quality of the original. On CD 2, there are also four errors in transfer: The Hérodiade aria is pitched a whole tone too high, Micaela’s aria from Carmen a quarter-tone too low, “Adieu, forêts” a half-tone high, and the “Recordare” a half-tone low, but when the sound is clear and full, with no distortion or blasting, you can hear the voice in all its glory. The bonus track comes from 1945, when González traveled to New York to record as soundtrack double to Judy Garland in the Mexican version of Meet Me in St. Louis, oddly renamed The Wheel of Fortune. Not too surprisingly, the best conducting comes from the well-known names here: Oliviero de Fabritiis, Carlo Felice Cellario, Anton Guadagno, and Igor Markevitch. The lavish booklet is full of interesting photos, including one with a baby-faced, 21-year-old Domingo, but alas, the text is only in Spanish. Full recording data is on the inside back cover. If you are a lover of outstanding vocal art, this has to be the surprise issue of the year.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Tracklist 28 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Act II: Che tua madre 02:47
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act II: Che tua madre
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  3. 2 Act III: Con onor muore 02:58
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act III: Con onor muore
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  4. 3 La bohème, Act I: Si. Mi chiamano Mimi 04:33
    Track
    3
    Title
    La bohème, Act I: Si. Mi chiamano Mimi
    Duration
    04:33
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez, Plácido Domingo
  5. 4 La bohème, Act III: Donde lieta usci 03:11
    Track
    4
    Title
    La bohème, Act III: Donde lieta usci
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Oliviero De Fabritiis
  6. 5 La bohème, Act II: Quando me'n vo' 02:32
    Track
    5
    Title
    La bohème, Act II: Quando me'n vo'
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  7. 6 Manon Lescaut, Act II: In quelle trine morbide 02:34
    Track
    6
    Title
    Manon Lescaut, Act II: In quelle trine morbide
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  8. 7 Act II: Vissi d'arte 03:55
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act II: Vissi d'arte
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez, Plácido Domingo
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Salvador Ochoa
  9. 8 Act III: Ah! Franchigia a Floria Tosca … O dolci mani mansuete e pure 10:47
    Track
    8
    Title
    Act III: Ah! Franchigia a Floria Tosca … O dolci mani mansuete e pure
    Duration
    10:47
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez, Plácido Domingo
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Salvador Ochoa
  10. 9 Turandot, Act I: Signore ascolta 02:56
    Track
    9
    Title
    Turandot, Act I: Signore ascolta
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Giacomo Puccini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Carlo Felice Cillario
  11. 10 L'amico Fritz, Act I: Son pocchi fiori 04:00
    Track
    10
    Title
    L'amico Fritz, Act I: Son pocchi fiori
    Duration
    04:00
    Composer
    Pietro Mascagni
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  12. 11 Pagliacci, Act I: Qual fiamma avea nel guardo 05:00
    Track
    11
    Title
    Pagliacci, Act I: Qual fiamma avea nel guardo
    Duration
    05:00
    Composer
    Ruggero Leoncavallo
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  13. 12 Andrea Chenier, Act IV: Vicino a te s'acqueta 07:08
    Track
    12
    Title
    Andrea Chenier, Act IV: Vicino a te s'acqueta
    Duration
    07:08
    Composer
    Umberto Giordano
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez, Giuseppe Di Stefano
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Anton Guadagno
  14. 13 Act III: The Death of Margherita: L'altra notte in fondo al mare 04:27
    Track
    13
    Title
    Act III: The Death of Margherita: L'altra notte in fondo al mare
    Duration
    04:27
    Composer
    Arrigo Boito
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  15. 14 Act III: The Death of Margherita: Spunta … l'aurora pallida … 02:59
    Track
    14
    Title
    Act III: The Death of Margherita: Spunta … l'aurora pallida …
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Arrigo Boito
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  16. 15 Norma, Act II: Mira, o Norma 05:55
    Track
    15
    Title
    Norma, Act II: Mira, o Norma
    Duration
    05:55
    Composer
    Vincenzo Bellini
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez, Oralia Dominguez
  17. Disc 2
  18. 1 Act II: Allons! … il le faut! … Adieu, notre petite table 04:05
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act II: Allons! … il le faut! … Adieu, notre petite table
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Jules Massenet
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  19. 2 Act III: N'est-ce plus ma main 03:51
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act III: N'est-ce plus ma main
    Duration
    03:51
    Composer
    Jules Massenet
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  20. 3 Herodiade, Act I: Il est doux, il est bon 03:39
    Track
    3
    Title
    Herodiade, Act I: Il est doux, il est bon
    Duration
    03:39
    Composer
    Jules Massenet
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  21. 4 Carmen, Act III: Recitative: C'est des contrebandiers le refuge ordinaire 07:02
    Track
    4
    Title
    Carmen, Act III: Recitative: C'est des contrebandiers le refuge ordinaire
    Duration
    07:02
    Composer
    Georges Bizet
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Anton Guadagno
  22. 5 The Maid of Orleans, Act I: Aria: Adieu, forets 04:29
    Track
    5
    Title
    The Maid of Orleans, Act I: Aria: Adieu, forets
    Duration
    04:29
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  23. 6 La traviata, Act III: Addio, del passato 02:41
    Track
    6
    Title
    La traviata, Act III: Addio, del passato
    Duration
    02:41
    Composer
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  24. 7 Aida, Act III: O patria mia 04:35
    Track
    7
    Title
    Aida, Act III: O patria mia
    Duration
    04:35
    Composer
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  25. 8 Messa da Requiem: Dies irae: Recordare 04:45
    Track
    8
    Title
    Messa da Requiem: Dies irae: Recordare
    Duration
    04:45
    Composer
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez, Aurora Woodrow
    Ensemble
    National Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Igor Markevitch
  26. 9 Act I: Gia nella notte 10:28
    Track
    9
    Title
    Act I: Gia nella notte
    Duration
    10:28
    Composer
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez, Jon Vickers
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Carlo Felice Cillario
  27. 10 Act IV: Era più calmo? 10:19
    Track
    10
    Title
    Act IV: Era più calmo?
    Duration
    10:19
    Composer
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer
    Jon Vickers, Dora de la Pena
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Carlo Felice Cillario
  28. 11 Act IV: Ave Maria 04:23
    Track
    11
    Title
    Act IV: Ave Maria
    Duration
    04:23
    Composer
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer
    Jon Vickers
    Ensemble
    Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra
    Conductor
    Carlo Felice Cillario
  29. 12 La forza del destino, Act IV: Pace, pace mio Dio! 05:25
    Track
    12
    Title
    La forza del destino, Act IV: Pace, pace mio Dio!
    Duration
    05:25
    Composer
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez
  30. 13 La rueda de la fortuna (Meet Me in St. Louis) 10:17
    Track
    13
    Title
    La rueda de la fortuna (Meet Me in St. Louis)
    Duration
    10:17
    Composer
    Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane
    Performer
    Irma Gonzalez