Selma Kurz, "O beau pays", Meyerbeer: Les Huguenots (Gramophone Co., 1906)

[pietrodi1]

La musica di meyerbeer e' molto spesso criticata;pero' quest'aria per me e' davvero bella,direi magica! Quando la rêverie tutta francese diventa linguaggio universale!

Certo la Sutherland, per me, non e' stata ancora superata,in questo pezzo,ma anche la Kurz e' molto,molto brava, a suo modo, magica! Grazie per il post

[AulicExclusiva]

Superbly expressive, romantic singing by this great singer in her prime. The floated tone is among the most gorgeous of all.

[lewashcliffe]

While I have heard of Selma Kurtz, I am new to her recordings. So, this was a very special treat for me. What an experience! Her clear, ringing tones are so perfect in every way. She is definitely in the same vocal company as Melba and Tetrazzini. Another great from the golden age of singing that has been totally lost in today's world bad vocal training and ignorance. Thank you for sharing this and adding to my life's richness.

[Matt75003]

This is magnificent. Kurz brings out the beauty of this much abused and trivialized aria. Thank you for this marvellous upload.

[meltzerboy]

I had never heard Kurz' recording of this before, only her recording of the Page's aria from Huguenots. She captures the sentiment of the Queen perfectly with her creamy legato tone. Other great recordings of the aria include those of Siems, Hempel, Verlet, Sutherland, and Sills. Thank you, Tim!

[AlmaWinemiller]

Exquisite! Thank you Tim.

[EdmundStAustell]

I've made this comment before, but that near vibrato-less line is quite haunting, almost hypnotizing. Those 2 floated B naturals, and one high C, near-piano, constitute a superb piece of vocalism:) Excellent.

[Bivolari]

Singing of a very high order. What a cadenza!

[paulostroff99]

Lovely! TY Tim for sharing.

[65attila]

@paulostroff99

Tim Thanks for posting and Paulo for sharing this glorious performance, Selma is a magnificent singer

and she is so at ease and evocative here.

Thanks-John