Dame Margaret Price: Mozart - Cosi fan tutte, 'Come scoglio'

Dame Margaret Berenice Price, DBE (13 April 1941 -- 28 January 2011) was a Welsh soprano. Her father, a talented amateur pianist, was opposed to a musical career, and hence she never attended a young Eisteddfod and was aiming for a career as a biology teacher. She was educated at Pontllanfraith Secondary School, near Caerphilly. At 15, her school music teacher organised an audition with Charles Kennedy Scott, who convinced her to study with him at Trinity College of Music in London and obtained a scholarship for her. Over the next few years, Price was trained as a mezzo soprano. Price was most famous for her Mozart portraits, especially Fiordiligi, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, the Contessa in The Marriage of Figaro (after having sung Cherubino and Barbarina at the beginning of her career), and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Additionally, she sang Verdi roles, such as Amelia (Un ballo in maschera, a role she also recorded with Luciano Pavarotti), Elisabetta (Don Carlos) and Desdemona (Otello), her debut role at the Met, as well as the title role in Aida (also with Pavarotti in San Francisco, which was preserved on video), Richard Strauss's Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Adriana Lecouvreur by Cilea. Price retired to a 160-year-old farmhouse on Ceibwr Bay, part of Moylegrove near Cardigan, Ceredigion, overlooking the Irish Sea. From there, she successfully bred and showed Golden Retrievers, having the rear seats of her Chrysler removed to create what she termed a "dogmobile." She came out of retirement once to perform at a Poppy day concert at her local church, something she later commented on: "It was the most nerve-racking occasion of my life. Never again will I sing in public." Price was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to music in 1993... en.wikipedia.or...
Lyrics & English Translation
You audacious person, leave this place!
You cannot profane,
with these infamous words,
our hearts, our ears
and our affections.
It is useless for you
to seek to seduce our souls;
our faithfulness is intact
and is pledged to our lovers
until death,
in the face of misfortune, everlasting.
Like a rock, we stand immobile
against the wind and storm,
and are always strong
in trust and love.
From us is born the light
that gives us pleasure and comfort,
and the power of death alone
can change the affections of our hearts.
Respect, ungrateful spirit.
We are examples of loyalty
against your primitive hopes,
and do not make you bold.
A link to this wonderful artist's personal website: www.allmusic.co...
Please Enjoy!
I send my kind and warm regards,