Anita Cerquetti - The Verdi Soprano
PC10464 (Pan Classics, CD, 14 discs)
COMPILATION (11 October 2024)
Booklet pages: 32
℗ 2002-2008 Gebhardt Musikvertrieb
© 2024 note 1 music gmbh
Main country of recording: Italy
Country of manufacture: Netherlands
Reviewer: Gerald Fenech
Review of Anita Cerquetti - The Verdi Soprano published on 6 November 2024
Anita Cerquetti, soprano
Giuseppe Verdi:
CD1
Aida
CD2-3
I vespri siciliani
CD4, 5 and 6
Don Carlo
CD7-8
Un ballo in maschera
CD9-10
Ernani
CD11-12
La forza del destino
CD13-14
Nabucco
The Italian soprano Anita Cerquetti (3 April 1931-11 October 2014) was a phenomenon. Her operatic career began in 1951 in Spoleto, debuting as Aida(!), and took her to the world's great opera houses before ending in Holland in 1960. After just nine seasons, the then twenty-nine-year-old singer retired from the stage. There are only two commercial records of her (on Decca); the record companies at the time filled the major soprano roles with Callas or Tebaldi. But thanks to numerous live recordings which circulated on the black market from the very beginning, Anita Cerquetti is still held in honour today. Why? Because here is a voice that exudes pure sensuality with the most opulent femininity. Because her voice is one of the most beautiful that opera has ever heard: never aggressive, sharp or shrill, but round, soft, lyrical and emphatic. Her voice was practically made for Giuseppe Verdi's romantic heroines - perfectly suited to the softly swinging, melancholy melodic arches of Ernani and Vespri siciliani - Elvira, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Don Carlo's Elisabetta, and Leonora in La Forza del destino, even for the formidable octave leaps of the imperious Nabucco-Abigaille. This special priced box set, which honours Anita Cerquetti as the leading Verdi interpreter of her time, is now being released on the tenth anniversary of her death.