Montserrat Caballe "Jewel's song" Met Debut 22/12/65

Montserrat Caballe Met Debut 22/12/1965 as Marguerite from Faust. George Pretre conductor

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Opera
• Gounod
• Faust
• Marguerite
• Montserrat
• Caballe

[Klassizismus]

Montserrat - she's really one of the greatest singers ever!

[noncondition]

It's a diamond ...

[hswatnik]

Having heard quite a number of singers in my lifetime, Mz Caballe stands very high on the mountain-

[longlifeluke]

OMG!!!!! O_O

[johnnybouhaha]

@Onegin65 Can you upload the final trio from this performance? Caballe rocks!!

[Zva26]

@Dymension - That makes total sense. She obviously wanted the opportunity to sing in the "old house". Too bad that it had to be this particular role. But she certainly made up for it in Lincoln Center with her Violetta, Norma, Ariadne, Elena, Desdemona, Tosca, Mimi and whatever else she performed.

[Dymension]

@skitzo429 Absolutely right. There is a live Aroldo where she sings a spectacular Db in the words "Madre, o Madre".  I also have that infamous Anna Bolena from La Scala 1982 where she took the high D. She was essentially your full lyric, possibly spinto soprano who happened to move her voice very well.

[Dymension]

@Zva26 Actually it was her "unofficial" debut. It was a rush to get her into the old Met before it closed based on her success at Carnegie Hall in Lucrezia Borgia. Her "official" Met debut was Traviata 1967.

[skitzo429]

@eastfiftyseven no no, there wasnt anything wrong with her high notes, they were beautiful, she just didnt have the high notes of other coloraturas, they just werent there. She almost never sang above high C, sometimes Db. ive head a single recording of her with a high D (in anna bolena), nothing higher. for the type of repertoire she sang most bel canto coloraturas have Es or Fs, which made her somewaht unusual, but she had a very beautiful voice

[eastfiftyseven]

@skitzo429 didn't have suer high notes? Are you kidding? Exquisite beauty in the upper register plus the dynamic range and the spectacular pianissimi are what makes Caballe so phenomenal in my view.

[Zva26]

In light of her later accomplishments, it seems a bit strange to me that Caballe' would have made her Met debut in this particular role ----- certainly one of her least important roles. Possibly it was the only way she could still have a chance to have sung at the Old Met. Still, this seems like an odd choice for such important debut.

Whatever the case, she was one of the "greats" even though this particular role does little to display her greatest gifts.

[aaronsande]

@tjfloyd You may never hear its LIKE again, but now you can hear IT again and again and again =D