Muzio might be little forgotten today but to pre-WW2 generation she was absolute Goddess and I even recall reading how Maria Callas gushed excitedly that as a teenager she used to spend evenings glued to the radio, listening her beloved idol. The connection is not accidental as these recordings show - older singer was theatrical, fierce and extremely versatile, capable of going the full blast and than suddenly toning it down to tender pianissimo. Like Callas, she also seems to had uneasy relationship with possessive stage mother, soft spot for wrong men and eerily, both ladies died around the same age from heart failure. In a way, they might be spiritual sisters and its interesting to note that quite of few pieces recorded here found their way into Callas discography as well.
By all accounts, Claudia Muzio was already a superstar for two decades before these self produced 1930s recordings actually found her towards the end of her life, but these swan songs turned out to be not just her farewell but also the most admired and popular - in her forties at the time, the artist was at her full power and everything you hear here is actually very impressive, with impeccable repertoire raging from Pietro Mascagni, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Francesco Cilèa to Leo Delibes and Vincenzo Bellini, everything presented with utmost seriousness and drama - surprisingly, there is a tender Christmas lullaby "Ninna-Nanna Della Vergine" also included amongst these classical heavyweights and it makes you wonder from what corner of her heart this decision came, as Muzio herself was very private person and childless at that. We don't really know much about her except that she was fascinating artist whose now ancient recordings show surprisingly powerful, intense and passionate voice absolutely worth listening. As always, all the praise must be said about Nimbus Prima Voce company that takes care for this kind of repertoire and preserves memory of artist like this, who are long gone but not forgotten. Recommended for fans of Maria Callas, who might enjoy her wonderful predecessor.
No comments:
Post a Comment