Mary Costa - Bellini: LA SONNAMBULA, Final scene, High E-flat
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 เม.ย. 2022
- THE SONGBIRD: Mary Costa was born in Knoxville in 1930. When she was a teenager, she moved to California with her family and entered the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. She began singing professionally in concerts, on radio, and in commercials. She was cast as the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney animated film "Sleeping Beauty." Costa stepped in for Elisabeth Schwarzkopf at a gala concert in the Hollywood Bowl, which led to an offer for her first staged operatic production, "The Bartered Bride." She made her debut at The Met as Violetta in 1964 and continued singing there into the 1970s (Alice Ford, Manon, Vanessa, Marguerite, Rosalinde, and Musetta). Other operatic appearances included Glyndebourne, Covent Garden, and San Francisco (as Tytania in the American premiere of Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1961). In 1971, she sang Cunegonde in the inaugural production of the Kennedy Center Opera House. Her versatility, glamour, and appealing personality made her a successful guest on many television specials alongside Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
THE MUSIC: Bellini's "La Sonnambula" is a gem in the sub-genre of sentimental Italian opera semiseria. The opera premiered in Milan in 1831 with Giuditta Pasta as Amina, the sleepwalking character referred to in the title. The role is long and contains bel canto music demanding both aching lyricism and florid fireworks. The opera culminates with an exquisite final scene that has the shape of a bel canto mad scene, but here Amina has not lost her mind -- she is merely in a melancholy trance due to her sleepwalking. The plaintive aria "Ah, non credea mirarti" is arguably Bellini's most beguiling melody. When Amina wakes up and realizes all is well, she launches into a bouncy and joyful cabaletta, "Ah, non giunge." - เพลง
When I was in grammar school students were given a field trip to the Tennessee theater in Knoxville to hear Mary Costa sing. She was so beautiful . Years later I worked at a cafe in West Knoxville at Bearden Hill and waited on her several times. She was very sweet and such a lovely person. I heard that Disney had her sing behind a curtain and could only see her outline. When he saw her he had Sleeping Beauty made to look like her.
Magnificent performance by Ms. Costa! Her singing makes me wish she'd sung more bel canto opera; Mary would have given Sutherland and Sills a run for the money!
Best handwriting of any person to walk this Earth.
That’s one amazing glissando from the high E-flat. Go Sleeping Beauty!!
Divine Sleeping Beauty
Wunderschöne ❤❤❤❤❤💯👌🏻
Absolutely flawless, my goodness this has to be one of the most beautiful performances I've ever heard
Beautiful woman with a awesome voice in a phenomenal interpretation.
Beautiful performance....BRAVA DIVA!!!!!
Absolutely wonderful performance. Many thanks for sharing!
Lovely!
Brava.
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘
Wonderful. Can you please tell us the source? Where and when this was performed?
As I wrote in the video intro, I don’t know the date or venue. I got this in trade several years ago and there was no detail provided.
@@songbirdwatcher Thanks for sharing anyway.
@@songbirdwatcher Ms Costa said it was from Brevard North Carolina
I love it and she sings actual areas and this is absolutely beautiful, but is it wrong that no matter what she sings I always go back to what she did for Disney with sleeping beauty. I can’t help it. I hear it and everything she thinks.