Aida Gonzaga sings and decorates with golden-age glory

THE SONGBIRD: Aida Gonzaga (1879 - 1972) was born in Florence. She studied singing in Lisbon and became a specialist in the core Italian bel canto florid repertoire (Lucia, Gilda, Adina, Rosina, Amina, etc.). She had initial successes at the turn of the century in opera houses in Spain and Portugal, and appeared in Brazil for a season. Gonzaga's career then progressed in Italy (Parma, Milan, Messina, Modena, Turin) and she made guest appearances in Havana, Odessa, Prague, and St. Petersburg. She recorded a couple dozen sides of operatic arias and duets in busy studio sessions in 1907 and 1909 for the Fonotipia label, and retired from the stage in 1923.
THE MUSIC: "I puritani" was Bellini's last opera. It premiered in Paris in January 1835, and Bellini died in September 1835 at the age of 33. It was tremendously successful and the opera was performed regularly throughout Europe and in New York until the early 1900s. It went mostly dormant until it caught the public's attention during the bel canto revival ignited by Maria Callas in the 1950s. Elvira is one of Bellini's most mentally delicate creatures and her mad scene is an elegant depiction of her fragile emotional state. The entire mad scene is very long (almost 20 minutes with no cuts), but it was typical in these early gramophone days to truncate arias to fit on a side of a 78 rpm.

[@magicmonkichi]

Thank you for sharing! I did not expect that final cadenza!!!!! Wonderful for me to discover a voice new to me ^_^.

[@georgemeiser3231]

Nice clear transfer from an obviously early recording. Much appreciated hearing this rendition. I love to know on what label this aria was recorded. Many thanks to the poster.

[@songbirdwatcher]

It was Fonotipia. This site has more info on the label and many recordings to sample. fagottobooks.gr/blog/more-than-700-fonotopia-recorded-pieces-of-classical-music/

[@BartBosman-abc]

This lady is new to me. Not sure I like every decoration (some of them are fabulous) but her technique seems solid and she is fearless. Great stuff.

[@ThomasDawkins88]

Did you notice the one of the typical "Caro nome" ornaments in the cadenza?