This was a great voice. Please keep in mind that the bigger the voice, the harder it is to record. You will have to listen through the crackles and the placement of the microphone (that is, too close) to hear the voice. According to her obituary, she was a rival of Callas. I can believe that.
There is no drag on the voice. By this, I mean that there is no tension in the throat or from the tongue. This was a stupendous voice. We don’t have anything like this today.
Puccini, Tosca, “Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore”
Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore,
non feci mai male ad anima viva!…
Con man furtiva
quante miserie conobbi, aiutai…
Sempre con fe’ sincera,
la mia preghiera
ai santi tabernacoli salì.
Sempre con fe’ sincera
diedi fiori agli altar.
alzandosi
Nell’ora del dolore
perché, perché Signore,
perché me ne rimuneri così?
Diedi gioielli
della Madonna al manto,
e diedi il canto
agli astri, al ciel, che ne ridean più belli.
Nell’ora del dolore,
perché, perché Signore,
perché me ne rimuneri così?
Puccini, Tosca, “I lived for art, I lived for love”
I lived for art, I lived for love:
Never did I harm a living creature! …
Whatever misfortunes I encountered
I sought with secret hand to succor …
Ever in pure faith,
My prayers rose
In the holy chapels.
Ever in pure faith,
I brought flowers to the altars.
In this hour of pain, why,
Why, oh Lord, why
Dost Thou repay me thus?
Jewels I brought
For the Madonna’s mantle,
And songs for the stars in heaven
That they shone forth with greater radiance.
In this hour of distress, why,
Why, oh Lord,
Why dost Thou repay me thus?
Puccini, Manon Lescaut, “Sola, perduta, abbandonata”
Sola, perduta, abbandonata…
in landa desolata!
Orror! Intorno a me s’oscura il ciel…
Ahimè, son sola!
E nel profondo deserto io cado,
strazio crudel, ah! sola abbandonata,
io, la deserta donna!
Ah! non voglio morir!
No! non voglio morir!
Tutto dunque è finito.
Terra di pace me sembrava questa…
Ahi! Mia beltà funesta,
ire novelle accende…
Strappar da lui mi si volea; or tutto
il mio passato orribile risorge,
e vivo innanzi al guardo mio si posa.
Ah! di sangue s’è macchiato.
Ah! tutto è finito.
Asil di pace ora la tomba invoco…
No! non voglio morir… amore, aita!
Puccini, Manon Lescaut, “Alone, lost, abandoned”
Alone, lost, abandoned.
in this desolate plain!
Ah, the horror of it! Around me the day darkens.
Alas I am alone!
And in the depth of this desert I fall –
what cruel torment! Ah! alone, abandoned,
a woman deserted!
Ah! I do not want to die,
no, I do not want to die.
So all is over.
I thought this would be a land of peace.
Alas! my fatal beauty
arouses fresh troubles,
they wanted to snatch me from him.
Now all my past rises up starkly
and stands vividly before my gaze.
Ah! It is stained with blood
Ah! All is over!
As a haven of peace I now invoke the tomb.
No, I do not want to die, I do not want to die, No, no, I do not want to die: love, help me.
Verdi, La forza del destino, “Pace, pace, mio Dio!”
Pace, pace, mio Dio!
Cruda sventura
M’astringe, ahimè, a languir;
Come il di primo
Da tant’anni dura
Profondo il mio soffrir.
L’amai, gli è ver!
Ma di beltà e valore
Cotanto Iddio l’ornò.
Che l’amo ancor.
Nè togliermi dal core
L’immagin sua saprò.
Fatalità! Fatalità! Fatalità!
Un delitto disgiunti n’ha quaggiù!
Alvaro, io t’amo.
E su nel cielo è scritto:
Non ti vedrò mai più!
Oh Dio, Dio, fa ch’io muoia;
Che la calma può darmi morte sol.
Invan la pace qui sperò quest’alma
In preda a tanto duol.
Misero pane, a prolungarmi vieni
La sconsolata vita . . . Ma chi giunge?
Chi profanare ardisce il sacro loco?
Maledizione! Maledizione! Maledizione!
Verdi, The force of destiny, “Peace, Peace, my God!”
Peace, peace, my God!
Cruel misfortune
compels me, alas, to languish;
my suffering has lasted for so many years,
as profound as on the first day.
I loved him, it is true! But God had blessed him
with such beauty and courage
that I love him still,
and cannot efface his image
from my heart.
Fatal destiny! A crime
has divided us down here!
Alvaro, I love you
and in heaven above it is written
that I shall never see you again!
O God, God, let me die, for only death can bring me peace.
In vain this soul of mine here sought peace,
a prey to so much woe.
(She goes to a rock on which the Father Superior has left food for her).
Wretched bread, you come to prolong
my inconsolable life. – But who comes here,
daring to profane this sacred retreat?
A curse! A curse! A curse!
Elisabetta Barbato
September 11, 1921 – February 1, 2014
Elisabetta Barbato was an Italian dramatic soprano. She starred in many theaters around the world, from the Colon in Buenos Aires to the Metropolitan in New York. Barbato, who was the first leading actress for the debut of Giancarlo Menotti at La Scala in Milan, was born in Barletta on September 11, 1921. “A great rival of Callas in her early years,” Mastelloni (her nephew) recalled, “Barbato rivaled all the famous sopranos of the time, not only for her very particular voice but also for her extraordinary interpretations.” During her career, among other things, she lent her voice to Anna Magnani in Carmine Gallone’s film “Avanti a lui tremava tutta Roma.”