Yma Sumac, The Peruvian Songbird, sings “Chuncho.“

In a piece of classic exotica, the unique Yma Sumac (1922-2008) displays her most unusual voice. I, like many, have mixed feelings about Sumac (whose name, in Quechua, means ’How beautiful!“) Some feel there was a potentially great operatic voice here,had it been trained as such. However, the decision was made to frame her performance as essentially a presentation of exotica. To a certain extent, Ivan Rebroff made the same decision. One cannot gainsay the past, but there is ample evidence of an extraordinary voice here, that much is certain.