Pilar Lorengar was a Spanish soprano known for performing in major opera houses internationally. She sang a wide range of roles in both lyric and dramatic repertoire, including works by composers such as Mozart, Puccini, Dvořák, and Korngold. Lorengar performed notable roles such as Rusalka and Marietta, and her recordings and performances remain part of the operatic canon.
Her vibrato was very rapid, at least on recordings. Putting that aside, her voice was well placed (proper placement allows for greater control over the voice, making it easier to navigate different vocal registers and styles).
Lorengar was and is still underrated. I cannot explain why this was and is the case. To my mind, she was an important soprano during the time in which she sang.
Korngold, Die Tote Stadt, “Glück, das mir verblieb”
Glück, das mir verblieb,
rück zu mir, mein treues Lieb.
Abend sinkt im Ha(a)g—
bist mir Licht und Tag.
Bange pochet Herz an Herz—
Hoffnung schwingt sich himmelwärts.
Wie wahr, ein traurig Lied.
Das Lied vom treuen Lieb,
das sterben muss.
Ich kenne das Lied.
Ich hört es oft in jungen,
in schöneren Tagen….
Es hat noch eine Strophe—
weiß ich sie noch?
Naht auch Sorge trüb,
rück zu mir, mein treues Lieb.
Neig dein blass Gesicht—
Sterben trennt uns nicht.
Mußt du einmal von mir gehn,
glaub, es gibt ein Auferstehn
Korngold, The dead city, “Happiness that remained”
[You my] happiness that remained,
turn to me, my true love.
Evening is setting in the grove—
you are light and day to me.
Anxiously heart beats against heart—
hope soars heavenward.
How true, a sad song.
The song of the faithful lover
who must die.
I know the song.
I heard it often in younger,
in better days….
It has another verse—
do I still know it?
Though grim sorrow may approach,
turn to me, my true love.
Incline your pale face—
death will not separate us.
If you must leave me one day,
trust there is a resurrection.
Mozart, Mitridate, Re di ponto, “So quanto a te dispiace”
So quanto a te dispiace
l’error d’un figlio ingrato:
ma pensa alla tua pace,
questa tu déi serbar.
Spettacolo novello
non è, se un arboscello
dal tronco, donde è nato,
si vede tralignar
Mozart, Mitridate, King of Ponto, “I know how it displeases you”
I know how it displeases you
when your son shows his ingratitude,
but think of your own tranquility,
which you must maintain.
If a young sapling
is seen to deteriorate
from the greatness of the trunk which bore it,
it is no new spectacle.
Dvořák, Rusalka, “Hymn to Moon”
Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém,
Světlo tvé daleko vidím.
Po světe bloudíš širokém,
Díváš se v příbytky lidí.
Měsíčku, postůj chvíli,
řekni mi, řekni
kde je můj milý.
Řekni mu, stříbrný měsíčku,
Mé že jej objímá rámě,
Aby si alespoň chviličku
Vzpomenul ve snění na mne,
Zasviť mu do daleka,
Řekni mu, řekni m kdo tu nan ceka!
O mneli duse lidska sni,
Rt’se tou vzpominkou vzbudi!
Měsíčku, nezhasni, nezhasni!
Dvořák, Rusalka, “Hymn to the Moon”
Moon, high and deep in the sky
Your light sees far,
You travel around the wide world,
And see into people’s homes.
Moon, stand still for a moment,
Tell me, tell
Where is my beloved.
Tell him, silvery moon,
that I am embracing him,
for at least a little while,
Let him remember dreaming of me,
Illuminate him far away
Tell him, ah tell him who is here waiting!
If he is dreaming about me,
May this remembrance waken him!
O, Moon, don’t disappear, don’t disappear!
Puccini, Madama Butterfly, “Un bel dì
Un bel dì, vedremo
levarsi un fil di fumo sull’estremo
confin del mare.
E poi la nave appare.
Poi la nave bianca
entra nel porto, romba il suo saluto.
Vedi? È venuto!
Io non gli scendo incontro. Io no. Mi metto
là sul ciglio del colle e aspetto, e aspetto
gran tempo e non mi pesa
la lunga attesa.
E … uscito dalla folla cittadina
un uomo, un picciol punto
s’avvia per la collina.
Chi sarà? Chi sarà?
E come sarà giunto
che dirà? Che dirà?
Chiamerà “Butterfly” dalla lontana.
Io senza dar risposta
me ne starò nascosta
un po’ per celia … e un po’ per non morire
al primo incontro, ed egli alquanto in pena
chiamerà, chiamerà:
“Piccina mogliettina,
olezzo di verbena,”
i nomi che mi dava al suo venire.
(a Suzuki)
Tutto questo avverrà,
te lo prometto.
Tienti la tua paura – io con sicura
fede l’aspetto.
Puccini, Madame Butterfly, “One fine day”
One fine day we’ll notice
a thread of smoke arising
on the sea, in the far horizon,
and then the ship appearing;
then the trim white vessel
glides into the harbour, thunders forth her cannon.
Do you see? Now he is coming!
I do not go to meet him. Not I.
I stay upon the brow of the hillock, and wait there,
and wait for a long time, but never weary
of the long waiting.
From out the crowded city there is coming
a man, a little speck
in the distance, climbing the hillock.
Can you guess who it is?
And when he’s reached the summit,
can you guess what he’ll say?
He will call: “Butterfly” from the distance.
I, without answ’ring,
hold myself quietly conceal’d.
A bit to tease him and a bit so as to not die
at our first meeting; and then, a little troubled,
he will call, he will call:
“Dear little wife of mine,
dear little orange blossom!”
The names he used to call me when he came here.
(to Suzuki)
This will all come to pass,
as I tell you.
Banish your idle fears, for he will return,
I know it.
Pilar Lorengar
January 16, 1928 – June 2, 1996
Spanish soprano Pilar Lorengar was born on Jan. 15, 1928 in Zaragoza, Spain. From an early age, she was involved in performance, appearing on the radio program “Ondas Infantiles.” She moved to Barcelona to study at the local conservatory and would then head to Madrid to continue her studies. She became a member of the chorus at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in 1949 and in 1950, she made her professional debut in Algeria in the role of Maruxa. Her Spanish debut in a principal role came in “El Canastillo de Fresas” and in 1952, she was soloing in symphonic works by Beethoven and Brahms.
In 1955, she went to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, where she appeared as Cherubino in “Le Nozze di Figaro.” In 1958, she signed a contract with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 1961, she debuted at the Salzburg Festival and would go on to perform at such venues as the Met Opera, Vienna State Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Opéra de Paris, among others
Lorengar had a bright, distinctive sound that was not to all tastes. Her detractors often pointed to her wide vibrato, a characteristic that is shared by many Spanish singers and has been described by Ms. Lorengar’s admirers as an expressive shimmer. The vibrato aside, she was an attractive and vibrant singer who created a sense of feminine vulnerability in roles like the Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Dona Elvira in “Don Giovanni” or Mimi in “La Boheme,” but could also be a commanding Tosca and a lively Fiordiligi in “Cosi fan Tutte.”
Although she sang with orchestras and opera companies all over the world, and made recordings with many conductors and ensembles, she was unusual in that she considered a single company, the Berlin Deutsche Oper, her artistic home. Miss Lorengar made her debut there in Orff’s “Carmina Burana” in 1958, when the company was called the Berlin City Opera, and quickly became a favorite of Berlin audiences and critics. When the company opened its new house in 1961, it was with a production of “Don Giovanni” in which she sang Donna Elvira.
Lorengar sang most of the major Mozart roles in Berlin, as well as Wagner’s Elsa in “Lohengrin” and Eva in “Die Meistersinger,” the title roles in Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut,” “Madama Butterfly,” “Tosca” and “Suor Angelica,” and Verdi’s Desdemona in “Otello,” Violetta in “La Traviata” and Alice Ford in “Falstaff.” She was made a lifetime member of the Deutsche Oper in 1984, when the company staged a 25th-anniversary gala for her. And it was in Berlin that she gave her last operatic performance, as Tosca on June 9, 1990.