Maria Barrientos - Qui la voce sua soave (1918) - The Belcanto

from Bellini’s I Puritani. Recorded for Columbia in 1918. Maria Barrientos’ beautiful light and dark tone, pure legato, and gentle pathos are a joy. She was THE coloratura at the MET just before Galli-Curci. No squeakly little canary here! The high variant in the end at o rendetemi la spe _ _ _ me... (2:18): what poetry. Think Chopin nocturnes in this sort of repertoire - lots of rubato, shading... Qui la voce sua, soave... Indeed. ------------------------------------- “Maria Barrientos (1883 - 1946) was a Spanish opera singer, one of the most eminent sopranos of her time. Barrientos was born in Barcelona, where she received a thorough musical education (piano and violin) at the Music Conservatory. She made her debut in Barcelona, as Ines in L’Africaine, in 1898, aged only 15. She was immediately invited to all the major opera houses of Europe, singing in Italy, England, France, to great acclaim. It is however in South America, especially at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, that she enjoyed her greatest triumphs. Barrientos made her Metropolitan Opera debut on January 31, 1916, in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor with Giovanni Martinelli as Edgardo, Pasquale Amato as Enrico, and Gaetano Bavagnoli conducting. She remained committed to that house through 1920 where her other roles included Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Amina in La sonnambula, Elvira in I puritani, Gilda in Rigoletto, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and the title roles in Lakmé and Mireille. Barrientos continued appearing on stage in standard coloratura roles until 1924. She then restricted herself to recitals, and became an admired interpreter of French and Spanish songs. Barrientos was a singer with a voice of almost instrumental limpidity. She made a valuable set of recordings for Fonotipia Records and Columbia Records. She retired to the south-west of France, where she became an enthusiastic bridge player. She died at Ciboure.“ From: ------------------------------------- I PURITANI (The Puritans) is an opera in three acts, by Vincenzo Bellini. It is his last opera. Its libretto is based on Walter Scott’s novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris, January 24, 1835. Place: England during the English Civil War. Time: 1640s. Act 2 A fortress near Plymouth. Elvira’s madness... Elvira appears, still deranged but longing for Arturo (“Qui la voce ...“) Libretto and translation: Qui la voce sua soave / Here his soft voice mi poi sparì. / called then vanished. Qui giurava esser fedele, / here he swore to be faithful, qui il giurava, / this he was vowing, E poi crudele, mi fuggì! / and then cruelly fled from me! Ah, mai più qui assorti insieme / Oh! No longer to be joined together nella gioia dei sospir. / in the joy of sighing. Ah, rendetemi la speme, / Oh, return my hope o lasciate, lasciatemi morir. / or let me die. Image: Tomb of Bellini, Catania ------------------------------------- “María Barrientos (Barcelona, 10 de marzo de 1883 - Ciboure, 8 de agosto de 1946) fue una cantante de ópera española, una soprano de coloratura ligera, una de las más destacadas de su época. Barrientos recibió una educación musical completa (piano y violín) en el conservatorio de música de Barcelona, antes de pasar a sus estudios vocales con Francisco Bonet. Debutó en el Teatro Novedades de Barcelona, como Inés en La africana, en 1898, cuando tenía sólo quince años de edad, y rápidamente se vio seguida por el papel de Margarita de Valois en Los hugonotes. Inmediatamente fue invitada por los principales teatros de ópera europeos, cantando en Italia, Alemania, Inglaterra y Francia con gran éxito. Es sin embargo en Sudamérica, especialmente en el Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, donde tuvo sus mayores triunfos. Su carrera se vio momentáneamente interrumpida en 1907 por su matrimonio y el nacimiento de un hijo. La unión, no obstante, no fue feliz y ella regresó a los escenarios en el año 1909. Hizo su debut en el Metropolitan el 31 de enero de 1916, con el papel titular de Lucia di Lammermoor; otros papeles que interpretó allí son: Gilda, Rosina, Adina, La reina de Shemaja, etc. Siguió apareciendo en los escenarios en papeles típicos de coloratura, como Amina en La sonámbula, Elvira en Los puritanos, hasta 1924. Entonces ella se limitó a dar recitales, y se convirtió en una admirada intérprete de canciones en francés y español. Barrientos fue una cantante con una voz de claridad casi instrumental. Hizo una serie de valiosas grabaciones con Fonotipia y Columbia Records. Se retiró al suroeste de Francia, donde se convirtió en una impenitente jugadora de bridge.“ ía_Barrientos