Ponselle Prima Voce

Amilcare Ponchielli (Composer), Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Gaspare Spontini (Composer), Vincenzo Bellini (Composer), Ernesto de Curtis (Composer), Marcello da Capua (Composer), Anton Arensky (Composer), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Composer), Carrie Jacobs Bond (Composer), Antonio De Curtis (Composer), Eduardo di Capua (Composer), Rosario Bourdon (Conductor), Giulio Setti (Conductor), Josef A. Pasternack (Conductor), Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Orchestra), Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (Orchestra), Romano Romani (Performer), Rosa Ponselle (Performer), Giovanni Martinelli (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Romano Romani, Rosa Ponselle, Giovanni Martinelli
• Orchestra: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
• Conductor: Rosario Bourdon, Giulio Setti, Josef A. Pasternack
• Composer: Amilcare Ponchielli, Giuseppe Verdi, Gaspare Spontini, Vincenzo Bellini, Ernesto de Curtis, et al.
• Audio CD (December 2, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nimbus Records
• ASIN: B0000037J6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,039 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #4 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Ponselle, Rosa
  • #95 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > M to P

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most ravishing soprano voice. Ever., August 23, 2005

By 

Klingsor Tristan (Suffolk) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ponselle Prima Voce (Audio CD)

Many would argue that this was the most beautiful soprano voice ever - or at least ever recorded. And it's a strong argument. Such richness, such depth, such warmth, such glorious freedom, such security - who else, before or since, can match them. Destinn? A bit blousy. Boninsegna? The voice changes through the passagio. Rethberg? Close, but no cigar. Tebaldi? A bit shrill by comparison. Callas? Dramatic, yes, but beautiful, I don't think so. Gheorgiu? Good by today's standards, but no contest.

No, this thick double-cream stream of tone is something to relish, to sit back and just enjoy. Try her 'Casta Diva' or 'Un bel di' to see how it feels when you approach every high note with joyous anticipation and not with the prospect of a wince (cf. Callas). The Nile aria from Aida is as near perfection as we have any right to expect this side of Opera Heaven - a wondrous piano high C. And on these discs you will also find one of my all-time favourite records - La Vergine degli Angeli from La Forza del Destino where you get, not only Ponselle's wondrous soprano at the top, but also her bass equivalent, Ezio Pinza, below. Two wonderful voices for the price of one.

The Nimbus sound, achieved by recording what actually emerges from the record into a room rather than directly off the shellac, is not to everyone's taste. But it is to mine. It allows the singer's voice to develop and bloom and sound, to my ears, very natural.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most beautiful human voice ever, August 6, 2001

By 

Dag Kyndel "Kottebo" (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ponselle Prima Voce (Audio CD)

Having listened to the voice of Rosa Ponselle in these arias and songs, I must confess hers to be the most beautiful human voice I have ever heard. The sound quality is unbelievable!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Callas was correct..., November 18, 2002

By 

José Manuel Vizcaya (México, D.F. Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ponselle Prima Voce (Audio CD)

When I read that Maria Callas credited Rosa Ponselle as her vocal idol and only inspiration, the first thought I had was that if a soprano as great as Callas said this, is because it should be true. When I bought this CD I proved the affirmation was correct: you only have to hear Rosa Ponselle's voice and verify that she is one the best sopranos of the century, and why her voice was the inspiration of many Callas's roles, including Norma, La Gioconda and La vestale. The sound quality of this CD is incredible if we consider that the recordings dates from the 1920's