This is the incomparable Mady Mesplé. I first encountered this lovely lady as a callow lad of 19 or so back in [**mumbles year**]. I picked up an LP recording of French coloratura arias sung by Mlle Mesplé, and my excitement knew no bounds! This was my first exposure to the Bell Song from Lakme, the Doll Song from Hoffmann, and quite a few other gems of the French coloratura repertoire.
Here, however, we have Zerbinetta's aria from Ariadne auf Naxos, quite a tour de force, which the lovely Mlle Mesplé sings as if it were as easy as breathing to her. Apparently this was in Aix-en-Provence in 1966. The video quality isn't terrific, but the singing more than makes up for it!
Although her Wikipedia bio-blurb states she did a lot of recording, it's not always easy to find those recordings.
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