V0051. CONCHITA SUPERVIA: The Complete Conchita Supervia, Vol. I: Fonotipia / Odeon recordings, incl. Songs by Castro-Chané, Baldomir, Vives, Romero, Méndez, Marqués, Pahissa, Valverde, Turina, Manén, Luna, de Falla, Toldrá, Torroba, Bou, Marraco & Chapí; Arias & Ensembles (w.Manuritta, Ederle, Ferraris, etc.) from Nozze, Barbiere, La Cenerentola, L’Italiana in Algeri, Samson et Dalila, Carmen, Hänsel und Gretel & Der Rosenkavalier. 2-Marston 52041, recorded 1927-28. Transfers by Ward Marston. Booklet features discographic information, photos & extensive notes by Stanley Henig. - 638335204123

CRITIC REVIEWS:

“We cannot surmise how [Supervia] sang Octavian in 1911, except on the basis of some records she made from [Der Rosenkavalier] in 1928 when she appeared in the role at La Scala under Strauss himself. Together with her Sophie, Ines Maria Ferraris, she recorded the Presentation of the Rose and the final duet. The language is Italian, and we find at once that Supervia belongs to that rare group of singers…who enunciate and phrase with such unifying art that they can make a translation sound like the original….In fact, there is a peculiar charm in these Supervia recordings of German opera in Italian, and the Hänsel und Gretel duet (again with Ferraris) explains the great success of this Milanese production.”

- Desmond Shawe-Taylor, OPERA, Jan., 1960



"Supervia loved to sing and seemed always to be eager for the next performance….’Is every nerve in your body awake?’ she often used to ask me just before we went on to the stage, and when I hopefully assured her that every nerve was tingling with impatience, she would say, ‘Good, let us begin’. Supervia’s vitality seemed to be endless; she never showed fatigue and her gaiety was inexhaustible."

- Ivor Newton, AT THE PIANO – IVOR NEWTON, The World of an Accompanist, p.141



"Both on the opera stage and on the concert platform [Supervia] displayed a communicative power which can hardly have been surpassed; and this warmth of temperament is evident too in almost every one of the 200 or so recordings she made. She was incapable of dullness; even in the most trivial song there will come a phrase so personal and so completely genuine that the listener feels something akin to physical contact. In whatever language she sang – and she was a gifted linguist – she filled each word with meaning, and lent the utmost grace and point to the turn of every musical phrase….she always conveys to the listener an extraordinary sense of joy in the sheer act of singing."

- Desmond Shawe-Taylor, THE OPERA BEDSIDE BOOK, pp.71-72



"[Supervia] mixed the colours of her song with daring and intuitive skill: its scents and shades, flashes of scarlet among pastel tints and delicate half-tones, were a florist’s shop in themselves, and rivals were soon out of business….She remains, through her records, one of the most vivid and enchanting of all singers."

- J. B. Steane, SINGERS OF THE CENTURY, Vol. II, pp.12 & 16