The Victor Recordings, 1914-1925
Few singers received the adulation accorded Lucrezia Bori, whose glorious soprano finally gets its recorded due in these miraculous transfers by Ward Marston, which convey the body and warmth slighted in her previous incarnations on LP and CD. Bori's light, lyric voice was used with intelligence and pathos, making her one of the greatest Puccini singers, a wonderful Traviata, a spirited Carmen, and a masterful advocate of Spanish song, all virtues in evidence here. Most treasurable are the duets with partners like John McCormack, Tito Schipa, and Beniamino Gigli in concerted pieces like theRigoletto"Quartet." Her "O Parigi" duet with McCormack is priceless. Even her Mozart arias, however unstylish they may seem these days, get to the heart of the music.--Dan Davis