VIDEO PODCAST: Slava Ukraini! - recorded on the day Europe woke up to the news that Vladimir Putin's Russian forces had invaded Ukraine. Also features Caitríona O'Leary and Eric Fraad discussing their new film Island of Saints, and pays tribute to Joseph Horovitz, Malcolm Troup and Maria Nockin.
SPONSORED: An Integral Part - Lindsey Wallis looks forward to the Canadian Music Centre's tribute concert to composer Roberta Stephen.
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Italian soprano sfogato Giuditta Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Negri in Saronno, Lombardy on 26 October 1797. She studied in Milan. Her teachers included Davide Banderali, Girolamo Crescentini, Ferdinando Paer and Giuseppe Scappa.
Her professional operatic debut was in Milan in 1816, and soon she was singing regularly in London, Naples, Paris and Venice. Later she sang in Germany and Russia.
She is remembered for her successes in three roles written especially for her voice - the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena (1830), Amina in Bellini's La sonnambula (1831) and the title role in Bellini's Norma (1831).
Giuditta Pasta died in Blevio on 1 April 1865, aged sixty-seven.
Ensemble. A Notable Success - Grange Park Opera's 'Norma', reviewed by Robert Hugill
Ensemble. Sometimes Impressive - Bellini's 'Norma' from English Touring Opera, heard by Robert Hugill
Ensemble. A Musical Gem - Donizetti's 'L'elisir d'amore', enjoyed by Maria Nockin