OP1960. LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Live Performance, 1 March, 1952, w.Reiner Cond. Victoria de los Angeles, Nadine Conner, Mildred Miller, Cesare Siepi, Giuseppe Valdengo, Salvatore Baccaloni, Alessio de Paolis, Jean Madeira, Roberta Peters, etc. (E.U.) 2-Myto 00216. Specially priced. - 0801439902169

CRITIC REVIEWS:

“The real Countess is portrayed by one of the loveliest vocal artists ever to inhabit the Met stage, Victoria de los Angeles….Unlike many a Countess, she can come on cold and offer a full-toned ‘Porgi amor’ without a hint of tremulousness….The great recitative and aria of the third act better reveal her merit. Light and shade finally invade the dramatic phrases of recitative, and the aria's opening phrases are very lovely….Siepi, having launched his Met career as King Philip, moves closer to his métier as the servant Figaro. Still under thirty, he leaves no doubt of his artistic maturity on this afternoon.”

- Paul Jackson, SIGN-OFF FOR THE OLD MET, pp.50-51



“Any record by Victoria de los Angeles is special, be it song or opera. For me she was the essence of Spanish elegance. She had a voice which brought with it the warmth of the Spanish sun and it made us smile.”

- Richard Anwyl Williams, THE RECORD COLLECTOR, 2009



"Born Victória Gómez Cima into a humble Catalan family in Barcelona, she studied at the Barcelona Conservatory, graduating in just three years in 1941 at age 18. That year, she made her operatic debut as Mimì at the Liceu, but then resumed her musical studies. In 1945, she returned to the Liceu to make her professional debut as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro. After winning first prize in the Geneva International Competition in 1947, she sang Salud in Falla's LA VIDA BREVE with the BBC in London in 1948. In 1949 she made her first appearance in the Paris Opéra as Marguerite. The following year, she debuted in Salzburg and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Mimi, and the United States with a recital at Carnegie Hall. In March, 1951, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York as Marguerite, singing with the company for ten years. She made noted recordings of LA VIDA BREVE, LA BOHEME, PAGLIACCI, and MADAMA BUTTERFLY. The last three paired her with renowned tenor Jussi Björling. She also sang at La Scala in Milan from 1950 to 1956. In 1957 she sang at the Vienna State Opera. After making her debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Elisabeth in 1961, she devoted herself principally to a concert career. However, for the next twenty years, she continued to make occasional appearances in one of her favourite operatic roles, Carmen. She was among the first Spanish-born operatic singers to record the complete opera in 1958, a recording conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham using the recitatives added by Ernest Guiraud after Bizet's death. Though Carmen lay comfortably in her range, she nevertheless sang major soprano roles, best known of which were Donna Anna, Manon, Nedda, Desdemona, Cio-Cio-San, Mimi, Violetta and Mélisande. Like Montserrat Caballé, she was a true exponent of bel canto singing. De los Ángeles performed regularly in song recitals with pianists Gerald Moore and Geoffrey Parsons, occasionally appearing with other eminent singers, such as Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. On January 15 2005, Victoria de los Ángeles died of heart failure in Barcelona at age 81."



“After studying in Turin, Valdengo made his début in 1936 at Parma as Rossini 's Figaro, then sang Sharpless at Alessandria. Though engaged at La Scala in 1939, he did not sing there (because of military service) until 1941 , when he made his début as Baron Douphol. In 1946 he performed at the New York City Opera, then in 1947 made his San Francisco début as Valentin, returning as Escamillo, Sharpless, Iago, Amonasro and Rigoletto. At the Metropolitan (1947–54) he sang Tonio, Marcello, Germont, Count Almaviva, Belcore, Ford, Paolo (SIMON BOCCANEGRA) and Giacomo Puccini 's Lescaut. In 1955 he sang Don Giovanni and Raimbaud (LE COMTE ORY) at Glyndebourne, and in 1961 he created the Lawyer in Renzo Rossellini's UNO SGUARDO DAL PONTE in Rome. His recordings of Iago, Amonasro and Falstaff, deriving from NBC broadcasts (1947–50) conducted by Arturo Toscanini , are vividly and firmly sung, with an even, flexible line.”

- Alan Blyth