Ferrier

[stewamax]

I am an uneducated philistine when it comes to opera, and I usually find warbling women, especially mezzos, not to my taste.
However…. this amazing live recording of Kathleen Ferrier singing Gluck’s ‘Che faro’ sent shivers down my spine. Even discounting the poignancy of her untimely death and the heart-breaking story of Orpheus and Eurydice, I find it quite extraordinary. I knew she was good but never realised she was that good.
The orchestral accompaniment is rather plodding and soulless, but perhaps it is this very contrast between them and Ferrier – plus her singing to a live audience – that makes this so memorable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZSr07gd1fk (starts 1min 17 secs in)