Lily Pons: Coloratura Assoluta [Original recording remastered, Import]

Vincenzo Bellini (Composer), Henry Rowley Bishop (Composer), Claude Debussy (Composer), Leo Delibes (Composer), Gaetano Donizetti (Composer), Henri Duparc (Composer), Gabriel Faure (Composer), George Gershwin (Composer), Charles Gounod (Composer), Lily Pons (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Lily Pons
• Composer: Vincenzo Bellini, Henry Rowley Bishop, Claude Debussy, Leo Delibes, Gaetano Donizetti, et al.
• Audio CD (October 20, 1998)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Sony Classical
• ASIN: B00000DFNQ
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #265,394 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. 'Chacun Le Sait'

2. 'Il Faut Partir'

3. 'Et Mon Coeur La Changer

4. La Fille Du Regiment: 'Salut A La France'

5. Sadks: 'Song Of India'

6. Lakme: 'Pourquoi Dans Les Grands Hois?'

7. Dinorah: 'Ombre Legere' (Shadow Song)

8. 'Regnava Nel Silenzio...Quando Rapita In Estasi'

9. Lucia Di Lammermoor: 'Il Dolce Suono Mi Colpi...Ardon Gl'Incensi'

10. Rigoletto: 'Caro Nome'

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Le Coq D'Er: 'Hymne Au Soleil'

2. Les Contes D'Hoffmann: 'Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille'

3. Zemire Et Azor: 'La Fauvette'

4. Mignon: 'Jesuis Titania'

5. I Puritani: 'Son Vergin Vezzosa'

6. Linda Di Chamounix: 'O Luce Di Quest' Anima'

7. La Sonnambula: 'Ah, Non Credea..Ah, Non Giunge'

8. Porgy And Bess: 'Summertime'

9. 'The Russian Nightingale'

10. 'Fledermaus Fantasy'

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In many respects, Lily Pons was the Galli-Curci of her generation: a winning combination of good looks, charm, an appealing and non-confrontational timbre, and easy facility in the stratosphere. Those who learned the "Mad Scene" from Lucia di Lammermoor or the "Bell Song" from Lakmé via the original 78s back in the 40s will be bowled over by the vivid detail and lack of background noise in these stunning Sony restorations. First-time listeners will marvel at her effortless passagework and high notes (she often transposed her arias up on records); but may be put off by a slight thinness in the middle register (not evident in her Odeon recordings from the late 20s), sketchy intonation at times, and expedient aspirating in downward scales. Although these selections encompass a gamut of stylistic and emotional contrasts, you'd scarcely know it from the singer's pleasant but characterless interpretations, which tickle the ear without quite racking the brain. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Coloratura that ever lived, July 2, 2008

By 

Heller (jacksonville fl) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lily Pons: Coloratura Assoluta (Audio CD)

I saw her perform once many years ago. She had the audience on their feet through out the performance. This remastered CD is truly a work of art. I wonder why she never get the credit she deserves by historians for she was the brighest star at the Met for many years performing to a packed house. She had a tonal quality to her voice that has never been duplicated.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, July 8, 2007

By 

Joseph Hart (Visalia, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lily Pons: Coloratura Assoluta (Audio CD)

This could have been recorded yesterday, the sound quality is excellent and without blemish. By far the best recordings of Pons I have, and I would like to have others. She reminds me of Jo, separation of notes, clear, real trills, a range to rival Sumac, flexibility to perfection, and always that today neglected once standard fare of the coloratura, the requisite leap to the top note at the end of an aria. And a pretty sound. I love this album.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is coloratura about., March 1, 2010

By 

A. F. S. Mui "Mui" (HK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lily Pons: Coloratura Assoluta (Audio CD)

People who claim that other so-so coloratura sopranos are 'top' ones simply have not heard the real things. One such is undoubtedly Lily Pons.

With the likes of Rita Streich, Mady Mesple, she brings much color to the repertoire of a lirico leggiero coloratura. Nor do I understand why coloraturas of this genre should 'force' themselves to become a dramatic coloratura in the like of Callas, Sutherland, or Gencer.

This dual-CD is an ultra-fine collection of coloratura arias and songs. Pons was particularly strong in the French repertoire.

Some reviewers draw parallel of Pons with Sumi Jo.

I don't think Jo owns a voice of Pons' color, though she is also exceptional in the genre of lirico leggiero coloratura. Perhaps the only soprano of this genre that was comparable with Pons in terms of agility is Streich. However, Streich's strength was different - her strength was in the German and Russian repertoire. This surfaces when you compare the Russian song 'Nightingale' recorded here with Streich's in her 'Waltzers and Arias' album.

I find to be particular interesting Pons' 'La Fille du Regiment' extracts. Though not a dramatic coloratura like Joan Sutherland, Pons was able to bring out the different vocal nuances and expressions in the four different arias of Marie, and with even better verbal inflection than did Sutherland!