In general, I hesitate to post singers this far back in time because the recordings are not good. However, in the case of Luisa Tetrazzini, the recordings have been remastered and sound pretty good for their time.
Tetrazzini was a coloratura soprano with at large voice. She came from a time period where Bel Canto singing was the norm, and her technique is stunning. She is one of the best singers that I have ever heard. To appreciate this, you have to listen through the sound and imagine what she must have sounded like live.
Bellini, La Sonnambula, “Ah, non credea”
Ah, non credea mirarti
si presto estinto, o fiore;
passasti al par d’amore,
che un giorno sol(o) duro.
Potria novel vigore
il pianto mio recarti
ma ravvivar l’amore
il pianto mio, ah no, non puo.
Bellini, The Sleepwalker, “Oh, I didn’t believe”
Oh, I didn’t believe that I would see you
so quickly extinct, flowers;
you have passed away like love
that only lasted one day.
Could my tears bring you
new life
but cannot revive love
o no, cannot.
Rossini, Semiramide, “Bel raggio lusighier”
SEMIRAMIDE
Bel raggio lusinghier
Di speme e di piacer
Alfin per me brillò:
Arsace ritornò, – Sì, a me verrà .
Quest’alma che sinor
Gemé, tremò, languì…
Oh! come respirò! –
Ogni mio duol sparì,
Dal cor, dal mio pensier
Si dileguò il terror…
Bel raggio lusinghier
Di speme, di piacer
Alfin per me brillò:
Arsace ritornò, – Qui a me verrà . –
Dolce pensiero,
Di quell’istante,
A te sorride
L’amante cor, sì.
Come più caro,
Dopo il tormento,
È il bel momento
Di pace, e amor,
È il bel momento
Di gioia, e amor.
Rossini, Semiramide, “Alluring ray of light”
Alluring ray of light,
Of endless hope and joy,
At last you shine for me!
Arsace has returned;
He’ll soon be here.
This soul, that for so long
Oh! would sigh and weep in pain, oh!
How happy it feels!
All my sorrow is gone;
From my heart and my thoughts
The awful fear has fled.
Alluring ray of light,
Of endless hope and joy,
At last you shine for me!
Arsace has returned;
He’ll see me here.
How sweet to picture
That happy instant
When I can greet you
With loving heart, yes!
How even dearer,
After the torment,
Will be the moment
Of peace and love,
Will be the moment
Of gladness and love.
Verdi, La traviata. “È strano . . . sempre libera”
VIOLETTA
È strano! È strano! In core
scolpiti ho quegli accenti!
Saria per me sventura un serio amore?
Che risolvi, o turbata anima mia?
Null’uomo ancora t’accendeva – O gioia
ch’io non conobbi, esser amata amando!
E sdegnarla poss’io
per l’aride follie del viver mio?
Ah, fors’è lui che l’anima
solinga ne’ tumulti
godea sovente pingere
de’ suoi colori occulti!
Lui che modesto e vigile
all’egre soglie ascese,
e nuova febbre accese,
destandomi all’amor.
A quell’amor ch’è palpito
dell’universo intero,
misterioso, altero,
croce e delizia al cor!
Follie! follie! Delirio vano è questo!
Povera donna, sola,
abbandonata in questo
popoloso deserto
che appellano Parigi.
Che spero or più?
Che far degg’io? Gioire,
di voluttà ne’ vortici perir.
Gioir, gioir!
Sempre libera degg’io
folleggiare di gioia in gioia,
vo’ che scorra il viver mio
pei sentieri del piacer.
Nasca il giorno, o il giorno muoia,
sempre lieta ne’ ritrovi,
a diletti sempre nuovi
dee volare il mio pensier.
Verdi, The fallen woman, How strange . . .revel in joy”
VIOLETTA (alone)
How strange! How strange! His words
are burned upon my heart!
Would a real love be a tragedy for me?
What decision are you taking, oh my soul?
No man has ever made me fall in love. What joy,
such as I have never known – loving, being loved!
And can I scorn it
for the arid nonsense of my present life?
Ah, perhaps he is the one
whom my soul,
lonely in the tumult, loved
to imagine in secrecy!
Watchful though I never knew it,
he came here while I lay sick,
awakening a new fever,
the fever of love,
of love which is the very breath
of the universe itself –
Mysterious and noble,
both cross and ecstasy of the heart.
Folly! All is folly! This is mad delirium!
A poor woman, alone,
lost in this
crowded desert
which is known to men as Paris.
What can I hope for?
What should I do? Revel
in the whirlpool of earthly pleasures.
Revel in joy! Ah!
Forever free, I must pass
madly from joy to joy.
My life’s course shall be
forever in the paths of pleasure.
Whether it be dawn or dusk,
I must always live. Ah!
Gaily in the world’s gay places,
ever seeking newer joys.
Luisa Tetrazzini
June 29, 1871 – April 28, 1940
Luisa Tetrazzini was an Italian coloratura soprano, one of the finest of her time.
In Florence, Tetrazzini studied with her sister Eva, a successful dramatic soprano, and at the conservatory, making her debut in 1895 as Inez in Giacomo Meyerbeer’s opera L’Africaine. After her well-received debut, Tetrazzini sang in Rome and other Italian cities with a success that led to tours as far away as Russia, Mexico, and South America. She first sang at Covent Garden in London in 1907, as Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata. Her New York City debut was at the Manhattan Opera House in 1908, and she sang with the Chicago Opera in 1913–14. The greatest period of her career was before World War I, although she appeared in recitals after the war and taught singing in Milan.
Tetrazzini’s voice was light in quality. Critics held that she was a poor actress, a characteristic shared by most Italian singers of her time. Her vocal technique, however, was stunning and remained so very nearly until her death. She described her career in My Life of Song (1921) and published another book, How to Sing, in 1923.