Felicia Weathers sings Manon Lescaut

Recorded Early 1960s
Felicia Weathers, soprano

In quelle trine morbide (Manon Lescaut)
Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Manon Lescaut)

Felicia Weathers was born in St Louis on 13 August 1937 and studied voice at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. After further studies in Europe she made her opera debut in Kiel in 1961 and her first appearance at the Hamburg State Opera in 1963. From 1966-70 she was a member of the Hamburg State Opera. Other major appearances include a Metropolitan Opera debut in 1965 and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1970.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Felicia
• Weathers
• Manon
• Lescaut
• In
• quelle
• trine
• morbide
• Sola
• perduta
• abbandonata
• Puccini
• heroines
• arias

[paulprocopolis]

A glorious voice and absolutely wonderful singing - where did this woman go?!

[Tenortalker]

A very beautiful singer whose voice was perhaps overstretched by some of the repertoire she sang and the frequency with which she sang it. Her recorded legacy deserves to be better known.

[cowboy45longcolt]

Hello

WOW-her voice is wonderfull.The notes sound so smooth and powerfull.A joy to listen to.

Thank you,

Henry

[TheBasilio]

@AmericanEvita yes, leontice...

[bcom11]

They also described her as having a voice that sounded like it was from the "Golden Age of Singing", very old-school approach. Very interesting, this woman. Perhaps if she wasn't Black, her legacy might be more like that of Anita Cerquetti, another singer with an amazing voice, yet sang big roles too soon, and damaged it. Instead, in this country...most modern opera fans have never even heard her name. Shame...

[bcom11]

i just finished reading a whole interview from 1970, Ebony magazine about her. Youtube won't let me post the link, but if you put "Felicia Weathers" in google, you should find it.

But really talking about her career, it was HUGE. She was a celebrity in Europe...and at that time in Scandinavia, they only ranked Birgit Nilsson above her. That says a lot for a singer that has such a spec of a legacy in the USA! Supposedly her Salome's were phenomenal, yet still too soon for her to sing the role.

[bcom11]

@AmericanEvita haha it's funny you said "just in the high notes", because it was really only in those high fortes that i thought that...but it was immediately that it came to mind, though.

[AmericanEvita]

@bcom11 But you said she reminds you a bit of Mirella Freni and I don't hear it all, except maybe just in the high notes. Felicia does have a unique voice but others are used to hearing Price, Bumbry and Gheorghiu so they make comparisons. But Felicia is definitely a singer of distinct talent.

[bcom11]

she kinda reminds me of mirella freni a bit

[bcom11]

@AmericanEvita i don't think she really sounds anything like Price or any of the other people you named, at all.