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From Melba to Sutherland – Australian Singers on Record
rec. 1902-2008
ELOQUENCE 4825892 [4 CDs: 311:00]

This very enterprising and well-constructed anthology is a most interesting panorama of antipodean singers which begins close to the first syllable of recorded time and goes on to recordings made in the 1980s with four bonus tracks that take us even later. I must confess that quite a high proportion of the names here are completely new to me, though I think I will certainly not be alone in that, even among Australian buyers. It is an astonishing phenomenon that a country whose non-Aboriginal population was so small in the century between 1850 and 1950 should have produced so many singers who went on to have appreciable careers in Europe and America. In their booklet notes, Roger Neill and Tony Locantro consider this and come up with a number of interesting possible explanations. It is certainly true that the surprisingly small number of teachers who were responsible for the training of so many Australian singers were all, so to speak, members of the same family in terms of their approach to vocal technique and sound. The Garcia/Marchesi method which was common to them led to a type of sound that was very much of the type appreciated in northern Europe and the USA – a very straight tone with minimal vibrato. It is not at all surprising that very few Australian singers made any real headway in Italy, Spain or South America; the vibrant tone and flicker vibrato of singers from these areas up until the second world war was very far from Marchesi school of voice production.

Unsurprisingly, the set begins with three recordings of Melba which span the whole of her recording career from the first 1904 session to the live recording of her 1926 Covent Garden Farewell. These are very well chosen to show her at her best; the Jewel Song from Faust demonstrates a trill which has no superior in any singer who recorded (and probably in no singer who ever lived), Bemberg’s “Nymphs et sylvains” shows the verve and technical accomplishment of her singing and the excerpt from La Boheme shows her as close to being emotionally engaged as any of her records do. The succeeding ten tracks demonstrate particularly clearly my earlier point about the very typically school-of-Marchesi vocal timbre of Australian sopranos, though it does become less extreme as we move into the 1920s. Frances Saville shows it at its most pure, though with a sense of the character of the role and of the singer’s own personality which not all Marchesi sopranos showed. Amy Castles’ “Caro nome” (Rigoletto) is from the same mold, but the aria is a little beyond her technique in places. By the time we reach Evelyn Scotney, though the purity is still there, there is a musicality which was far from universal in the previous generation (and I would certainly include Melba in that stricture). Particularly lovely in this section is Gertrude Johnson’s performance of Cyril Scott’s “Lullaby”. As late as 1928 in the lovely voice of Frances Alda, there is little in the way of real dramatic involvement. It is interesting to note that in the first 39 tracks of the set which include “early” in their section titles, only 14 are operatic, the rest being songs and oratorio, and this lack of operatic experience helps to explains the rather undramatic nature of the singing in these sections. Many of the operatic items are well enough sung, but distinctly placid – nicely as it is sung, I doubt that Clara Serena’s Dalila would have tempted Samson from the straight and narrow. I usually find that the song recordings are preferable with this group; they often show an involvement which the operatic items do not. Again, Melba is a prime example to my ears; her song recordings show a response to the text and situation which few of her aria recordings do.

The male singers in this “early” section show the besetting sin of most Anglo-Saxon male singers of the period: a shallow tone with a lack of resonance at the top. Lionel Cecil is probably the best of the bunch, but even his voice has little richness. The basses and baritones are better than the tenors. Although its historical importance is obvious, I wish a different recording of Horace Stevens had been chosen; the distant live recording from Hereford Cathedral of an extract from Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius conducted by the composer has far too much space round the voice to allow us to hear him properly. Try to hear his Decca record of “Why do the nations?” from Messiah, it is superb. Even at the terrific lick at which it is taken, the divisions are astonishingly clean and the sense of outrage at “against the lord” is quite wonderful. Peter Dawson, of course, gets a short section all to himself, and anyone who still doubts the quality of this “popular” singer should be persuaded by this selection. I was very pleased to have the Six Australian Bush Songs by William James which demonstrate many of Dawson’s qualities very well: the clarity coupled with naturalness of his enunciation of the text, the absolute evenness of the voice throughout its range, and the ability to tell a story. The only thing not demonstrated is his florid technique, and that is on show in “Honour and arms” from Handel’s Samson which starts off his section.

The next section is centred on repertoire rather than period or voice type, and demonstrates some of Australia’s excellent bigger voices with an emphasis on Wagner. What would we give today for Brünnhildes of the quality of Austral, Lawrence or the almost forgotten Elsa Stralia? The steadiness of the voices and the security of their tops are like balm to the ear after their present-day equivalents. Listen to these three and weep.

The next two sections deal with music hall, variety and musical theatre, sections which, to be perfectly honest, I could have lived without, though Florrie Forde’s proto-feminist “Oh! Oh! Antonio” is still fun and it is interesting to have an 1898 example of Syria Lamonte, who was the first classical singer to be recorded in Europe.

We now move to the post-war era, again starting with sopranos. Joan Hammond was a household name in Britain in the ’40s and ’50s. I have never been able to find anything exceptional in her records, though a friend who heard her several times in the ’50s in parts such as Amelia in Ballo in Maschera and Aida tells me that she was thrilling in live performance. One of the two arias included here is “O my beloved father” from Gianni Schicchi which became almost a national institution through its regular playing on the BBC right into the 1960s, but I cannot honestly find anything out of the ordinary in its fluttery tone and very genteel delivery. “Depuis le jour” (Louise) is better, but is still a very straightforward, forthright performance with little shading and none of the floated tone that the aria really needs. The following track of Glenda Raymond, a singer totally unknown to me, is better in every way with excellent coloratura, a fine trill and real sparkle. Even finer is the duet “O mon cher fils” from Berlioz’ L’Enfance de Christ sung by Elsie Morrison and John Cameron, both singers responding beautifully to the text and to Berlioz’s subtle harmonic progressions. Nance Grant’s “Du bist der Lenz” (Die Walküre) is a little placid, but her dark, mezzo-ish tone is very impressive. Rita Hunter’s “Suicidio” (La Gioconda), a passionate performance with effective use of her chest register, is an interesting change from the Wagner with which she is so associated.

The post-war tenors are a varied bunch, both in style and quality. Donald Smith is really too Anglo-Saxon in sound for Malcolm’s aria from Verdi’s Macbeth, but he sings with a fine legato, though not a lot of shading. Ronald Dowd was my first Florestan in a concert performance of Fidelio in Liverpool for the Beethoven bicentenary in 1970, and his “Sanctus” from Berlioz’s Grande Messe des Morts is exactly how I remember the voice – beautiful when singing quietly but lacking real ring at the top and not always bang in tune. Ken Neate’s “Nessun dorma” (Turandot), like Smith’s Macbeth aria, does not really have the required Latin juice and warmth for this now-ubiquitous aria, though the top B is a good note. Albert Lance’s Flower Song from Carmen displays an almost comically poor French accent considering the great majority of his career was spent in Paris. His singing is dynamically undifferentiated, four-square and stolid, the very opposite of the language-based rhythmic freedom of the great French singers, though, as with Neate, his top is impressive.

The final proper section, “Sutherland and her Circle”, does not begin well with John Shaw’s very blustery live performance of “Cruda funesta smanie” (Lucia di Lammermoor), but Robert Allman, another singer whom I must confess was totally unknown to me, gives a very creditable performance of “Urna fatale” (Forza del Destino) with a good legato and shapely phrasing. Clifford Grant is also fine in extracts from Massenet’s Esclarmonde and Meale’s Voss. Neil Warren-Smith displays a most impressive voice in “Tu sul labbro (Nabucco). He is listed as “bass-baritone”, but sounds like a true bass to me, and sings with excellent legato and a real feel for the aria’s contours. We finish the section, appropriately, with Sutherland in three pieces recorded between 1958 and 1960 at the start of her international career, before her singing became the consonantless vocalise that it could too often be in later years. “O luce di quest’anima” (Linda di Chamounix) is a performance of real élan and technical brilliance. In a nice touch, the final item is the aria which began the first CD, the “Jewel Song” from Faust. Melba and Sutherland are very different singers, though both are technically superb, but in terms of pure musicality Sutherland wins hands down, despite some marvellous details in Melba’s performance. The slightly odd “bonus” section of four sopranos contains perfectly good performances, but none seems in any way exceptional to my ears.
Production values are excellent, with an informative and thoughtful article followed by very good brief biographies of all the singers. There are also photographs of the great majority of them. The discographical information for each track is also comprehensive, though I do regret the absence of matrix numbers for the tracks transferred from 78s. The actual transfers are rather more of a mixed bag. Although it is understandable that not all of the copies used were pristine, there do seem to be more tracks with distortion than I would have expected, and the 78 transfers often have a somewhat “bottled” sound which lacks clarity. The transfers are by no means bad, but they do not compare with those of, for example, Ward Marston, Seth Winner or Andrew Rose.

It is a little difficult to know at whom the issue is aimed. It seems to me essentially a reference, almost an academic, set – anyone expecting simply to be able to put it on and listen to a stream of excellent performances is going to be disappointed, though there are, of course, many that are excellent. I am very glad to have it because I have a great interest in the history of singing, and it provides a good number of examples of singers unknown to me. If you share my interest in the byways of singings as well as the highroads, then there is much enjoyment to be had from this set.

Paul Steinson

CD 1 - Melba, the Marchesi school and other early singers
NELLIE MELBA soprano 1861–1931
1. Gounod: Ah! Je ris (Jewel Song) (Faust)
Landon Ronald, piano
Recorded: 4 September 1905
2. Bemberg: Nymphs et sylvains
Landon Ronald, piano
Recorded: March 1904
BROWNING MUMMERY tenor 1888–1974
JOHN BROWNLEE baritone 1900–1969
3. Puccini: Addio, dolce svegliare (Quartet) (La bohème)
with Aurora Rettore, soprano
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Vincenzo Bellezza
Recorded live: 8 June 1926
FRANCES SAVILLE soprano 1862–1935
4. Massenet: Obéissons, quand leur voix appelle (Gavotte) (Manon)
with piano
Recorded: Vienna, 1902–3
ADA CROSSLEY contralto 1871–1929
5. Mallinson: New Year Song
with Christopher H. H. Booth, piano
Recorded: Philadelphia, PA, 30 April 1903
FRANCES ALDA soprano 1879–1952
6. Verdi: Miserere (Il trovatore)
with Enrico Caruso, tenor
with orchestra
Recorded: Camden, New Jersey, 27 December 1909
7. Puccini: In quelle trine morbide (Manon Lescaut)
Orchestra / Rosario Bourdon
Recorded: Liederkranz Hall, New York, 26 June 1928
AMY CASTLES soprano 1880–1951
8 Verdi: Caro nome (Rigoletto)
with piano
Recorded: London, 16 September 1906
IRENE AINSLEY contralto 1883–1968
9. Metcalf: Absent with piano
Recorded: London, 1907
EVELYN SCOTNEY soprano 1887–1967
10. Auber: C’est l’histoire amoureuse (Manon Lescaut)
Orchestra / Eugene Goossens
Recorded: 20 January 1925
STELLA POWER soprano 1896–1977
11. Donizetti: Regnava nel silenzio (Lucia di Lammermoor)
Orchestra / Frank St. Leger
Recorded: 23 December 1919
 
OTHER EARLY SOPRANOS
 
MARIE NARELLE soprano 1870–1941
12. Balfe: Killarney
with orchestra
Recorded: New York, 1910
LALLA MIRANDA soprano 1871–1940
13. Verdi: Follie! Follie! … Sempre libera (La traviata) (sung in French) 2’34
with orchestra
Recorded: France c.1904
ROSINA BUCKMAN soprano 1881–1848
14. Puccini: One fine day (Un bel dì vedremo) (Madama Butterfly) 3’43
Royal Albert Hall Orchestra / Eugene Goossens
Recorded: London, 4 April 1924
GERTRUDE JOHNSON soprano 1894–1973
15. Scott: Lullaby
with Cyril Scott, piano
Recorded: London, 1929
 
OTHER EARLY MEZZOS AND CONTRALTOS
 
ELLA CASPERS contralto 1887–1971
16. Molloy: Darby and Joan
with piano
Recorded: London, 1913
DOROTHY HELMRICH mezzo-soprano 1889–1984
17. Schumann: Thou art so like a flower (Du bist wie eine Blume) (Myrthen)
with Hubert Foss, piano
Recorded: 8 November 1933
EILEEN BOYD contralto 1890–1975
18. Brahe: I passed by your window with piano
Recorded: Sydney, 9 February 1927
CLARA SERENA contralto 1890–1972
19. Saint-Saëns: Tonight … O love, from thy power (Samson … Amour, viens aider) (from Samson et Dalila)
Orchestra / Stanford Robinson
Recorded: 25 February 1929
ESSIE ACKLAND contralto 1896–1975
20. Brahe: Bless this house
with Herbert Dawson, Kingsway Hall organ
Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 10 March 1933 · HMV B 4439
 
EARLY TENORS
 
ALFRED HILL tenor 1869–1960
21. Hill: Waiata Poi Mirrie Hill, piano
Recorded: 9 July 1926 · Matrix Bb 8717–I · HMV test recording S/S 6-2688 unpublished
WALTER KIRBY tenor 1877–1934
22. Kneass: Ben Bolt (Trilby’s Song)
with piano
Recorded: Sydney, 20 January 1927
BROWNING MUMMERY tenor 1888–1974
23. Leoncavallo: No! Punchinello, no more (No! Pagliaccio non son) (Pagliacci)
Orchestra / Sir John Barbirolli
Recorded: London, 17 July 1929
ALFRED O’SHEA tenor 1889–1954
24. MacMorrough: Macushla
with orchestra
Recorded: Sydney, May 1928
LIONELLO CECIL tenor 1893–1957
25. Puccini: Amore o grillo (Madama Butterfly)
with Vittorio Weinberg, baritone
Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Carlo Sabajno
Recorded: Milan, 25 October 1929 · HMV C 1951
 
EARLY BARITONES AND BASSES
 
HORACE STEVENS bass-baritone 1876–1950
26. Elgar: Jesu! by that shuddering dread (The Dream of Gerontius)
London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Edward Elgar
Recorded live: Hereford Cathedral, 6 September 1927
 
CD 2 - More early singers · Wagner and the dramatics · Music Hall and Variety
 
ANDREW BLACK baritone 1859–1920
1. Sullivan: Time was when love and I (Curate’s Song) (The Sorcerer)
with piano
Recorded: London, November 1905 · G&T 3–2327
PETER DAWSON bass-baritone 1882–1962
2. Handel: Honour and Arms (Samson)
Orchestra / George Byng
Recorded: London, 1 November 1927 · HMV C 1500
James: Six Australian Bush Songs
3. No. 1 The Land of Who Knows Where
4. No. 2 Bush Silence
5. No. 4 Comrades of Mine
6. No. 5 Bush Night Song
7. No. 6 The Stockrider’s Song
with Gerald Moore, piano
Recorded: London, 12 October 1927
8. Trad. Cornish arr. Moss: The Floral Dance
with Gerald Moore, piano
Recorded: London, 14 January 1927
MALCOLM McEACHERN bass 1883–1945
9. Handel: O ruddier than the cherry (Acis and Galatea)
Orchestra / Clarence Raybould
Recorded: London, 21 June 1935
HAROLD WILLIAMS baritone 1893–1976
10. Cowan: Onaway, awake beloved
Orchestra / Clarence Raybould
Recorded: London, 11 December 1931
11. Villaume: Old John Bax
Maynard Wilkinson, piano
Recorded: Sydney, March 1955, unpublished
JOHN BROWNLEE baritone 1900–1969
12. Mozart: Deh vieni alla finestra (Serenade) (Don Giovanni)
Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra / Fritz Busch
Recorded: Glyndebourne Opera House, 5 July 1936
RICHARD WATSON bass 1903–1968
13. Sullivan: When a felon’s not engaged in his employment (Policeman’s Song) (The Pirates of Penzance)
D’Oyly Carte Opera Chorus · New Promenade Orchestra / Isadore Godfrey
Recorded: London, 29 July 1949
 
WAGNERIANS AND OTHER DRAMATICS
 
LEMPRIÈRE PRINGLE bass 1868–1914
14. Wagner: The King’s Prayer (Lohengrin) (sung in English)
with orchestra
Recorded: London, c.1910
ELSA STRALIA soprano 1881–1945
15. Wagner: Elisabeth’s Greeting (Tannhäuser) (sung in English)
Orchestra / Hamilton Harty
Recorded: 5 May 1920
FLORENCE AUSTRAL soprano 1892– 1968
16. Wagner: Ho-jo-to-ho (Brünnhilde’s Battlecry) (Die Walküre)
Orchestra / Spencer Clay
Recorded: Hayes, 7 September 1922
FREDERICK COLLIER bass 1885–1964
17. Wagner: Welches Unholds List (Götterdämmerung)
London Symphony Orchestra / Albert Coates
Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 18 October 1928
MARGHERITA GRANDI soprano 1894–1972
18. Verdi: La luce langue (Macbeth)
Scottish Orchestra / Berthold Goldschmidt
Recorded live: King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 27 August 1947
MARJORIE LAWRENCE soprano 1907–1979
19 Wagner: Starke Scheite (Brünnhilde’s Immolation) (Götterdämmerung) opening (sung in French)
Orchestre de l’Association des Concerts Pasdeloup / Piero Coppola
Recorded: Paris, 23 October 1933
20. Rachmaninov: Floods of Spring, Op. 14 No. 11
with Ivor Newton, piano
Recorded: London, 2 July 1946
SYLVIA FISHER soprano 1910–1996
21 Britten: Is this all you can bring? (Albert Herring)
with Johanna Peters contralto English Chamber Orchestra / Benjamin Britten
Recorded: Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, 1–8 April 1964
 
MUSIC HALL AND VARIETY
 
SYRIA LAMONTE soprano 1869–1935
22 Trad: Comin’ thro’ the rye
with piano
Recorded: 31 Maiden Lane, London, 2 September 1898
HAMILTON HILL baritone 1868–1910
23 Hill: The Boys’ Brigade
with military band
Recorded: 24 August 1906
VIOLET MOUNT (L’INCOGNITA) soprano 1875–1972
24 Bishop: Lo! Here the gentle lark
with John Amadio, flute
Orchestra / George W. Byng
Recorded: London, 23 September 1921
ALBERT WHELAN music hall singer and whistler 1875-1961
25 Thurban: The Whistling Bowery Boy
with orchestra
Recorded: London, 7 November 1905
FLORRIE FORDE contralto 1876–1940
26 Murphy & Lipton: Oh! Oh! Antonio
with orchestra
Recorded: London, 22 September 1908
BILLY WILLIAMS comedian 1878–1915
27 Weston & Barnes: When father papered the parlour
with orchestra
Recorded: London, 18 February 1910
 
CD 3 - Musical Theatre, Radio, Comedy · Singers after World War II
 
GLADYS MONCRIEFF soprano 1892–1976
1. Fraser-Simson: Love will find a way (The Maid of the Mountains)
Columbia Concert Orchestra / Gilbert Dechelette
Recorded: Sydney, 12 December 1928
ROBERT CHISHOLM baritone 1894–1960
2. Tate: A Paradise for Two (The Maid of the Mountains)
with orchestra
Recorded: London, June 1926
STRELLA WILSON soprano 1894–1989
3. Friml: Some Day (The Vagabond King)
with chorus and orchestra of radio program ‘Show of Shows’
Recorded: Sydney, 26 September 1941
CLEMENT Q. WILLIAMS baritone 1898–1957
4. O’Hagan: Let’s take a trip to Melbourne
with orchestra
Recorded: Sydney, 19 October 1934
MALCOLM McEACHERN bass 1883–1945
5. Hilliam & McEachern: Is ’e an Aussie, Lizzie, is ’e?
Flotsam and Jetsam (with B. C. Hilliam, tenor & piano)
Recorded: London, 20 October 1939
ROSINA RAISBECK mezzo-soprano 1916–2006
6. Rodgers: Climb Every Mountain (The Sound of Music)
Orchestra of the Princess Theatre, Melbourne / Eric Clapham
Recorded: Princess Theatre, Melbourne, 1961
JUNE BRONHILL soprano 1929–2005
7. Rodgers: The Sound of Music (The Sound of Music)
Orchestra of the Princess Theatre, Melbourne / Eric Clapham
Recorded: Princess Theatre, Melbourne, 1961 · OCSD 7580
 
SOPRANOS AFTER WORLD WAR II
 
JOAN HAMMOND soprano 1912–1996
8. Puccini: O my beloved father (O mio babbino caro) (Gianni Schicchi)
Hallé Orchestra / Leslie Heward
Recorded: Belle Vue, Manchester, 29 September 1941
9. Charpentier: Depuis le jour (Louise)
Hallé Orchestra / Warwick Braithwaite
Recorded: Houldsworth Hall, Manchester, 28 September 1942
GLENDA RAYMOND soprano 1922–2003
10. Thomas: I am Titania (Je suis Titania) (Mignon)
Australian Symphony Orchestra / Hector Crawford
Recorded: 1947–53
ELSIE MORISON soprano 1924–2016
JOHN CAMERON baritone 1918–2002
11. Berlioz: O mon cher fils (L’Enfance du Christ)
St. Anthony Singers · Goldsbrough Orchestra / Colin Davis
Recorded: Battersea Town Hall, London, October 1960
ANGELINA ARENA soprano born 1926
12. Verdi: Saper vorreste (Un ballo in maschera)
Queensland Symphony Orchestra / Wilfred Lehmann
Recorded: 1974
MARIE COLLIER soprano 1927–1971
13. Richard Strauss: Ich kann nicht sitzen (Elektra)
with Birgit Nilsson, soprano / Wiener Philharmoniker / Georg Solti
Recorded: Sofiensaal, Vienna, 14 June, 30 November 1966, 22 February & 14–15 June 1967
NANCE GRANT soprano born 1931
14. Wagner: Du bist der Lenz (Die Walküre)
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / Leif Segerstam
Recorded: Melbourne Town Hall, September 1979
RITA HUNTER soprano 1933–2001
15. Ponchielli: Suicidio! (La Gioconda)
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra / Dobbs Franks
Recorded: Government House, Hobart, August 1989
 
MEZZOS AFTER WORLD WAR II
 
LORNA SYDNEY mezzo-soprano 1910–1974
16. Mahler: Urlicht (Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’)
Wiener Staatsopernorchester / Felix Prohaska
Recorded: Vienna, 1951
YVONNE MINTON mezzo-soprano born 1938
17. Mahler: Rheinlegendchen (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Georg Solti
Recorded: Medinah Temple, Chicago, 1 & 7 April 1970
 
TENORS AND BARITONES AFTER WORLD WAR II
 
MAX WORTHLEY tenor 1913–1999
18. Purcell: All our days and our nights (The Masque in Dioclesian)
Choir and Orchestra of the Concentus Musicus, Wien / Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Recorded: Palais Schönburg, Vienna, 1965
DONALD SMITH tenor 1922–1998
19. Verdi: O figli miei! … Ah, la paterna mano (Macbeth, Act IV)
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra / Vanco Cavdarski
Recorded: ABC Studios, Hobart, 1973
HAROLD BLAIR tenor 1924–1976
20. Trad. Aboriginal arr: Loam: Maranoa Lullaby
with piano accompaniment
Recorded: 1950 · Private recording
JOHN CAMERON baritone 1918–2002
21. German: The Yeomen of England (Merrie England)
New Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Victor Olof
Recorded: Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, 9–11 March 1953
 
CD 4 - More singers after World War II · Sutherland and her circle

RONALD DOWD tenor 1914–1990
1. Berlioz: Sanctus (Grand Messe des Morts, Op. 5)
Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis
Recorded: Westminster Cathedral, London, November 1969
KENNETH NEATE tenor 1914–1997
2. Puccini: Nessun dorma (Turandot)
Orchestre Philharmonique de Paris / Napoleone Annovazzi
Recorded: Salle Wagram, Paris, 1956
RAYMOND NILSSON tenor 1920–1998
JOHN LANIGAN tenor 1921–1996
3. Britten: People! … No! I will speak! (Peter Grimes) 2’08
with James Pease, baritone · Jean Watson, contralto · Claire Watson, soprano
Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House / Benjamin Britten
Recorded: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, December 1958
GLENDA RAYMOND soprano 1922–2003
4. Puccini: Lovely maid in the moonlight (O soave fanciulla) (La Bohème) 3’24
Australian Symphony Orchestra / Hector Crawford
Recorded: 1947–1953
ALBERT LANCE tenor 1925–2013
5. Bizet: La fleur que tu m’avais jetée (Carmen) 3’37
Orchestre du Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris / Roberto Benzi
Recorded: Paris, June 1960
 
SUTHERLAND AND HER CIRCLE
 
JOHN SHAW baritone 1924–2003
6. Donizetti: Cruda, funesta smania … La pietada in suo favore (Lucia di Lammermoor) 4’04
with Robert Bowman, tenor · Joseph Rouleau, bass
Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House / Tullio Serafin
Recorded: London, 1959
ROBERT ALLMAN bass-baritone 1927–2013
7. Verdi: Una fatale del mio destino (La forza del destino)
Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Eric Clapham
Recorded: ABC Music Studios, Sydney, 1978
CLIFFORD GRANT bass born 1930
8. Massenet: De l’autel vénéré … O divine Esclarmonde! (Esclarmonde) 4’55
John Alldis Choir · National Philharmonic Orchestra / Richard Bonynge
Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 2–5 & 9–15 July 1975
GEOFFREY CHARD baritone born 1930
HEATHER BEGG mezzo-soprano 1929–2009
9 Meale: I am behind you, Voss … Nothing could be safer or more solid (Voss)
Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Stuart Challender
Recorded: Sydney, 1987
ROBERT GARD tenor born 1927
10. Meale: I am looking at the map of my hand (Voss)
Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Stuart Challender
Recorded: Sydney, 1987
NEIL WARREN-SMITH bass-baritone 1930–1981
11. Verdi: Vieni o levita … Tu sul labbro (Nabucco)
Ensemble of cellos led by Gregory Elmaloglou
Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Eric Clapham
Recorded: ABC Music Studios, Sydney, 1978
LAURIS ELMS mezzo-soprano born 1931
12. Graun: Se il dovere in quest’addio (Montezuma)
Geoffrey Parsons, Valda Aveling, harpsichords
London Philharmonic Orchestra / Richard Bonynge
Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 21–30 March, 1 April & 2 September 1966
MARGRETA ELKINS mezzo-soprano 1930–2009
13. Elgar: In Haven (Capri) (Sea Pictures, Op. 37)
Queensland Symphony Orchestra / Werner Andreas Albert
Recorded: ABC Studios, Brisbane, August 1983
JOAN SUTHERLAND soprano 1926–2010
14. Rossini: La fioraia fiorentina
with Richard Bonynge, piano
Recorded: London, 20 June 1958
15. Donizetti: Ah! tardai troppo … O luce di quest’anima (Linda di Chamounix)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire / Nello Santi
Recorded: La Maison de la Chimie, Paris, 28–30 April 1959
16. Gounod: Oh Dieu! Que de bijoux … Ah! Je ris (Jewel Song) (Faust)
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 12 July & 15–18 August, 1960
 
BONUS TRACKS
 
JOAN CARDEN soprano born 1937
18. Catalani: Ebben? … Ne andrò lontana (La Wally)
Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra / Roderick Brydon
Recorded: Brisbane, 29 January 1996
YVONNE KENNY soprano born 1950
18. Novello: We’ll gather lilacs (Perchance to Dream)
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / Vladimir Kamirski
Recorded: Melbourne, 1993 · ABC Classics 442 509-2
DEBORAH RIEDEL soprano 1958–2009
19. Kálmán: Mary kam vom gold’nen Strande (Die Herzogin von Chicago)
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra / Richard Bonynge
Recorded: SFB Studios, Berlin, 2–8 February 1998
EMMA MATTHEWS soprano born 1970
20. Gounod: Dieu ! quel frisson … Amour, ranime mon courage (Roméo et Juliette)
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo / Brad Cohen
Recorded: Auditorium Rainier III, Monte Carlo, 16 September 2008

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