In a message dated 9/4/00 4:31:38 PM, ibracamonte@y... writes:
<< Her voice was certainly
extraordinary, but her fantastic debut and the
unveiling of the voice we associate with her came at
the age of 28, not 21. >>
It's only a quibble, but I believe that what was lacking at her debut was not
so much voice, per se, as a solid technique.
When he heard her sing for the first time (about 6 months prior to her debut,
if memory serves) Caruso told Ponselle "You have it here (in the throat) and
you have it here (in the head) but only time will tell if you have it here
(the heart). " Sounds to me like somebody who's already got a lot of voice. I
believe it was he who dubbed her "Caruso in petticoats."
Ponselle was absolutely terrified at her Met debut--and in fact throughout
her career--because she never fully understood what made her voice work.
This fact may also go a long way toward explaining the ups and downs of her
career--and the fact that she chose to retire from the stage so abruptly. The
critics have been faulted for trashing her interpretation of Carmen, but I
have heard that tapes of some of those performances exist, and they are far
from her best work.
Ponselle's voice was like a force of nature--and it was a big, robust sound
from the time that she was a very young girl. But like many "natural"
singers, she largely crossed her fingers and hoped for the best. When it
worked, which was much of the time, it was purely phenomenal. Perhaps the
greatest voice of the century. Her long, effortless phrasing is incomparable.
Those interested in learning more about Rosa Ponselle might want to take a
look at her autobiography (it's old fashioned and sometimes embarrasingly
unsophisticated, but interesting reading nonetheless) , and at the section of
Great Singers on Great Singing by Jerome Hines.
Judy
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