Rosa Ponselle (soprano) - Casta diva ('Norma' - Bellini) (1929/8)

Gollum indicated that he would like to hear more of Rosa Ponselle: so we start by going from Italian song to fully-fledged opera!. 'Casta Diva' was recorded in Liederkranz Hall, New York on 30 January 1929 (side 1) and 31 December 1928 (side 2). Ponselle is accompanied by the 65 member Metropolitan Opera Chorus and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (30 members) conducted by Guilio Setti - so this is about as close as we will ever get to how it sounded at the Met at that time!
From Wikipedia: Rosa Melba Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 - May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano.
She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century.
She was born Rosa Ponzillo on January 22, 1897, in Meriden, Connecticut...Ponselle had an exceptionally mature voice at an early age and, at least in her early years, sang on natural endowment with little, if any, vocal training...By 1914, her reputation as a singer led to a long-term engagement at the San Carlino theatre, one of the largest movie houses in New Haven, near the Yale campus.
By then, Carmela was already an established singer in vaudeville...In 1915, Carmela brought Rosa to audition for her vaudeville agent...Rosa impressed with her voice, and she was hired to perform with Carmela as a 'sister act...'
In 1918, Carmela and Rosa demanded a substantial fee increase... as a result of which their act was dropped. At the time, Carmela was studying in New York with a well-connected voice teacher/agent named William Thorner...Thorner persuaded the great tenor Enrico Caruso, star of the Metropolitan Opera, to visit his studio to hear Carmela and Rosa sing. Caruso...was deeply impressed with Rosa's voice. He arranged an audition for the Met's general manager, Giulio Gatti-Casazza, who offered Rosa a contract for the 1918/1919 season.
Rosa Ponselle made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on November 15, 1918, just a few days after World War I had ended, as Leonora in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, opposite Caruso and Giuseppe De Luca. It was her first performance on any opera stage. She was quite intimidated for being in the presence of Caruso, and in spite of an almost paralyzing case of nervousness (which she suffered from throughout her operatic career), she scored a tremendous success, both with the public and with the critics...[From that time, her operatic activities were centred at the Met.] In addition...Ponselle had a lucrative concert career...
Outside the US, Ponselle sang only at Covent Garden in London (for three seasons) and in Italy (in order, so she said, to honour a promise she had made to her mother that she would one day sing in Italy)...
Ponselle continued in the 1930s to add roles to her repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera...
Differences with the Met management regarding repertoire led her not to renew her contract with the company for the 1937/38 season. Her last operatic performance was as Carmen on April 22, 1937, in a Met tour performance in Cleveland.
Ponselle did not consciously or purposely retire after that Cleveland Carmen in 1937; she just let her career slip away. A variety of factors contributed to this...Ponselle later said that she never missed performing after she retired. She and [husband Carl] Jackson built a luxurious home near Baltimore, Maryland, the Villa Pace, where she lived the rest of her life.
Her marriage to Jackson was rocky and they divorced in 1949. The breakup was traumatic for Ponselle, and she suffered a nervous breakdown. Although she never again appeared on the concert or opera stage, Ponselle continued to sing at home for friends, who reported that her voice was as magnificent as ever. This was confirmed in 1954, when RCA Victor came to Villa Pace and recorded Ponselle singing a wide variety of songs. In the late 1940s, Ponselle became the guiding force of the fledgling Baltimore Civic Opera Company, providing coaching and voice lessons for the young singers who appeared with the company...
Ponselle died at her estate, Villa Pace near Baltimore, on May 25, 1981, aged 84, after a long battle with bone marrow cancer. She is buried in nearby Druid Ridge Cemetery. In her obituary, Allen Hughes wrote in The New York Times, 'Miss Ponselle made an indelible impression through the impact of her phenomenal voice. It was a dramatic soprano that seemed to move seamlessly from the low notes of a contralto to a dazzling high C. She had coloratura flexibility, a splendid trill, powerful fortes, delicate pianissimos and precise intonation...'
I transferred this side from HMV DB 1280. The copy isn't perfect, but it's serviceable.

[@hrbooksmusic7878]

Mesmerizing... Was there anything Rosa Ponselle couldn‘t do with her voice? Her singing sounds absolutely flawless... ✨✨✨ Thank you for sharing this great aria and rendition! 🙏🍀

[@vintagesounds3878]

Certainly a great record!

[@hrbooksmusic7878]

@@vintagesounds3878 Yes, indeed!

[@vintagesounds3878]

@@hrbooksmusic7878 I wanted to upload "Ernani involami," but as soon as I put on the disc I realised there was a problem, which the matrix number confirmed: it's a transfer! Of all the copies I've seen of that wonderful record, how did I manage to keep a transfer?!!! Now I have to go through piles of duplicates to see if I have an earlier pressing!

[@hrbooksmusic7878]

@@vintagesounds3878 Even if you don‘t (which would be a pity, of course) I‘m sure you‘ll come up with something equally wonderful instead!

[@DCBfanboy]

I only now realise you posted this as a response to my comment, sorry about that ! I really enjoyed this - her voice is always a nice, blooming, open sound and never harsh on the ears. Lovely !

[@vintagesounds3878]

Thanks. Yes, a very unusual but lovely voice. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Lily-ky8ew]

I want to express it as a voice given by God.

[@vintagesounds3878]

No doubt about it!

[@johnllewlyndavies222]

"When discussing singers, put Rosa Ponselle and Caruso to one side and think about the rest"

[@vintagesounds3878]

Probably quite a valid approach!