Contralto Marguerite d'Alvarez ~ Habanera (1929)

[mayatatyana1]

Thank you, Doug. Spectacular performance. Maya

[abraxhas]

Por otro lado, es especialmente gratificante que a pesar de salir muy niña del Perú y nunca haber regresado, estuvo siempre vinculada a su país, sobre todo por la influencia de su abuela paterna, mujer cusqueña que según Margarita de Álvarez descendía directamente de la nobleza Incaica, fue su abuela quien por medio de fascinantes historias de pueblos escondidos y misteriosos tesoros alimento el alma de la niña

[abraxhas]

Fue Margarita de Álvarez ciertamente una gran mezzosoprano que desarrolló una vibrante carrera como cantante de ópera en los más prestigiosos teatros del mundo, pero además fue una persona que sedujo al público con su belleza y poderosa personalidad.

[victormanueification]

Times magazine.

D'Alvarez vs. Hammerstein

Feb 11, 1924

Mme. Marguerite D'Alvarez, who has begun an American concert tour with a brilliant New York recital, tells a colorful story of her first encounter with Oscar Hammerstein, with whose dazzling operatic successes she was so prominently identified. "I was a girl just beginning a singing career," she says.

other article.

Times Magazine.

Music: Debate

Monday, May. 17, 1926

more information about the peruvian prima donna.

[victormanueification]

New York Times. November 2 1919. MME. D'ALVAREZ SINGS.; Peruvian Contralto, Still a Tragedy Queen, Pleases Large Audience.

other articles.

New York Times march 15 , 1926. PERUVIAN CONTRALTO SINGS; Marguerite d'Alvarez Wins Encores in ... ..

New York times. december 1 1920. Marguerite d'Alvarez in Songs.

New York Times November 13 , 1920.OPERA SINGERS ARRIVE.; Joseph Hislop, Scotch Tenor, and Mme. Marguerite D'Alvarez..

those journalists knew her better than the wikipedia fake bio

[CurzonRoad]

@victormanueification

Journalists also write what the public relations machinery projects, information of which is often unreliable, dubious.

[victormanueification]

@CurzonRoad You;'l read her memoirs. You'll find it in google books. I'm sorry I couldn't show you her birth certificate.

[CurzonRoad]

@victormanueification

Again, these autobiographies, almost all of which are ghost written, are often if not always unreliable, with many errors, inaccuracies, stretches, distortions, falsehoods, lies, fiction. But enough of this... a very fine artist!

[le14am]

Marguerite was not born in Liverpool. She was born in Cuzco, Peru.

[le14am]

Marguerite was not born in Liverpool. She was born in Cuzco, Peru.

[CurzonRoad]

@le14am

Different souces give different locations.

Which then is correct?

Thanks!

[AulicExclusiva]

@le14am That's what the Victor catalogues used to say, the sacred city of the Incas, etc. She was born in Liverpool.

[AulicExclusiva]

The recitative is so slow one wonders if she understands the words. The air itself is better, I like her delicate timbre, but the scoop-and-stop style at the beginning undermines the suggestive rhythm of the piece. She gets better and more "coquettish" as she goes along, without overdoing it like some clowns we all know. Unfortunately she ends with a loud Wagnerian fermata on the high note.

[victormanueification]

@AulicExclusiva She was peruvian but her mother was french so I'm sure she understood the words. If she started slow it was her technique.

[AulicExclusiva]

@victormanueification In fact, she wasn't Peruvian. She was born in Liverpool.

[victormanueification]

@AulicExclusiva I made a mistake she was born in Lima, Peru, I hope you'll read spanish : Nació en Lima en 1884, hija de don Benjamín Álvarez de Buenavista, Marqués de Rocafuerte y de doña María de Álvarez, fue la menor de cuatro hermanos María, Fernanda y Benjamín, muy niña viajó a Europa con su familia y nunca más volvió al Perú. Her parents were peruvians but her mom was peruvian of french descent. In 1924 she wrote her memoirs: "The men who have loved me ^ I won't hire you as journalists.

[victormanueification]

@victormanueification Her father was a peruvian diplomatique who was sent to London when she was a toddler. The mezzo soprano was mentioned in the USA press of that time as peruvian I can't paste the links but i 'll give you the names of the articles of New York Times and Times magazine of that time The same happened with peruvian tenors Alessandro Granda and Luigi Alva who were mentioned as italian borned  and the soprano Yma Sumac as a northamerican borned but all of them were peruvians.

[EdmundStAustell]

Lovely! Talk about creamy legato. Also a real bottom register, well blended. Classy singing!

[Bivolari]

She certainly knows how to make the piece her own. Wonderful voice and manner.

[65attila]

Doug

Doug

This is an interesting performance. I like her creamy voice and easy emmission. This is not the bump and grind slut approach but Alvarez displays her charms more subtletly.

Regards-John