Ghena Dimitrova: Puccini Verdi Opera Arias

We are very blessed to have had Ghena Dimitrova in the modern era, when technology had advanced enough to catch her in excellent sound. She indeed was the last of the great Italianate dramatic soprano voices. Similarly Susan Dunn was the last of the great Verdi stylists. Do other sopranos sing Verdi, yes, and quite well. Do others also have big voices, yes, indeed!!! But the open and natural vocality, the MASTERY OF THE CHEST TONE, the refined use of the head tone, and natural feeling for the word were in totality, lost when Ghena Dimitrova died. I don't blame the singers though, but the milieu. I can GUARANTEE that there EXIST TODAY singers in the Dimitrova mold, who have not and are not being encouraged, guided, appreciated, and least of all understood. Their time will come and the strong will survive.

Yet, for all of her bigness, the most memorable aspect of her vocal art is her pianissimo and its integration with the rest of her voice. I dont' think Dimitrova ever intended to sing Mimi sul palcoscenico, but we are lucky that she recorded her arias, as well as the other lighter things.

Yes, her tone turns acidic at forte. Her phrases are sometimes cut short and clunky, and her vibrato can be unmusical, as she admitted. But she is all we have among the real dramatics in modern sound, and for this I am grateful. I am NOT grateful that we live in operatic environment which bewails the loss of the big chesty voices, but scorn the new ones who are trying hard to pave a way for themselves. Ironic? Indeed! Well, the big voices will never lilt like Fleming, but could she ever stir the soul with a flood of sound that leaves one in tears and in awe? Dimitrova did it and could do it TODAY!!!!!

Tracklist

01. Puccini - In Questa Regia (Turandot, Act Ii)
02. Puccini - Tu Che Di Gel Sei Cinta (Turandot, Act Iii)
03. Puccini - Senza Mamma (Suor Angelica)
04. Puccini - O Mio Babbino Caro (Suor Angelica)
05. Puccini - Un Bel Di Vedremo (Madama Butterfly, Act Ii)
06. Puccini - Che Tua Madre (Madama Butterfly, Act Ii)
07. Puccini - Tu, Tu, Tu, Piccolo Iddio! (Madama Butterfly, Act Iii)
08. Puccini - Se Come Voi Piccina (Le Villi, Act I)
09. Puccini - Si, Mi Chiamano Mimi (La Boheme, Act I)
10. Puccini - Quando Me'n Vo Soletta (La Boheme, Act Ii)
11. Puccini - Donde Lieta Usci (La Boheme, Act Iii)
12. Puccini - Vissi D'arte, Vissi D'amore (Tosca, Act Ii)
13. Puccini - In Quelle Trine Morbide (Manon Lescaut, Act Ii)
14. Puccini - Sola, Perduta, Abbandonata (Manon Lescaut, Act Iv)
15. Verdi - Ritorna Vincitor (Aida, Act I)
16. Verdi - Salve Maria (I Lombardi, Act I)
17. Verdi - Scena E Romanza (Attila, Act I)
18. Verdi - Scena E Cavatina (Macbeth, Act I)