Great Singer of the Week: Carol Neblett

Today I give you Carol Neblett, a great singer of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.  She made her Met debut singing Senta, and sang Tosca over 200 times in some pretty impressive company.  Here she is with Justino Diaz (Caracas, 1988, cond. Carlos Riazuelo according to one commenter):

This bio is only current to 2002, but rumor has it she remains active teaching and coaching, and one commenter to the above video noted that she was in a Los Angeles run of Follies at the time of the comment. More videos: Singing Quando m'en vo on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, apparently in 1979:

Singing In questa reggia in Pittsburgh, audio only, 1978:

Miss Neblett sang Norma in Miami in 1990, and I was in the chorus.  There were some absolutely sublime moments, and some less so--both for the chorus and for Carol.  I procured a CD online (it must be legal if it's sold online, right?) and enjoy listening to it in the car. (Have I mentioned I'm a great big Normaphile, too?)  No, I'm not going to give you a link.

Another great singer: Edita Gruberova

In chatting with another operaphile last evening, I shared how as a young singer I only cared about voice, voice, voice.  When I was a student, I didn't quite understand the fame of some singers whose voices were showing their age but whose artistry was in full bloom.  At the time anything I was taught beyond singing--and, frankly, I wasn't taught that very well--and musicianship went right over my blow-dried head.  (It was the 80s.)  As an old man, that is on my list of regrets.  It's a long list.

I wrote two years ago about today's singer, Edita Gruberova, that hearing her current recordings made me want to poke my eyes out, but when I saw her on stage it was magic.  Whilst staying up all night watching opera videos, I came upon this documentary about the lovely Miss Gruberova, which I repost for you here in its entirety.

You may thank me at your leisure.

RIP a Great American Artist: Evelyn Lear

A sad reason to feature another great singer who has somehow evaded profiling on Taminophile:  American soprano Evelyn Lear.  Known for her artistry, versatility, and beautiful singing, this Brooklyn babe was educated at Hunter College and Juilliard before heading off to Deutschland.  She left this world for Valhalla only a few days ago, on July 1.

On to the videos!  First, a role not commonly associated with Evelyn Lear, but see how beautifully she sings this.

Audio accompanied by photos, but what an Ach ich fühl's!

With husband, bass-baritone Thomas Stewart, I think at a tribute to George London: