Descripción de Soprano Frances Alda ~ Romance (1912):

Soprano Frances Alda (1879-1952 ) / Romance (Debussy) / Recorded: April 4, 1912 -- "Romance" by Paul Bourget (1852-1935) - Claude Debussy (1862-1918) L'âme évaporée et souffrante, L'âme douce, l'âme odorante Des lis divins que j'ai cueillis Dans le jardin de ta pensée, Où donc les vents l'ont-ils chassée, Cette âme adorable des lis? N'est-il plus un parfum qui reste De la suavité céleste Des jours ou tu m'enveloppais D'une vapeur surnaturelle, Faite d'espoir, d'amour fidèle, De béatitude et de paix? The vanishing and suffering soul, The sweet soul, the fragrant soul Of divine lilies that I have picked In the garden of your thoughts, Where, then, have the winds chased it, This charming soul of the lilies? Is there no longer a perfume that remains Of the celestial sweetness Of the days when you enveloped me In a supernatural haze, Made of hope, of faithful love, Of bliss and of peace? Frances Alda (May 31, 1879 September 18, 1952), born Fanny Jane Davis, was a New Zealand/Australian operatic soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th Century due to her outstanding singing voice, fine technique, colourful personality, and singing opposite famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. Alda was born in Christchurch, New Zealand into a musical family and brought up in Melbourne, Australia. She sang in productions of Gilbert and Sullivan in Melbourne before leaving Australia for Europe at the age of 22 in order to undertake additional study and pursue an international singing career like her future soprano rival Nellie Melba. After receiving lessons from the renowned teacher Mathilde Marchesi in Paris, she made her debut at the Opera-Comique in 1904 in Massenet's Manon. She appeared at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London, in 1906 and at La Scala, Milan, during the 1906-1908 seasons. In 1910, she married the La Scala impresario Giulio Gatti-Casazza. According to American Art News (New York, March 19, 1910), the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury was painting her just before she married Giulio Gatti-Casazza on April 4, 1910. Alda's husband had become director of the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in 1908. It was in New York that Alda furthered her career, appearing to acclaim in such famous operas as Martha, Manon Lescaut, Otello, Faust, Mefistofele and La bohème. It was during this time that she recorded for the Victor Talking Machine Company. Alda also created the title roles in Victor Herbert's Madeleine and Henry Hadley's Cleopatra's Night. She also sang regularly with Enrico Caruso, perhaps the most renowned Italian tenor of the 20th century. Alda toured Australia and New Zealand in 1927. She and Gatti-Casazza separated the following year and then divorced. In 1929, she left the Met but continued to give concerts, make radio broadcasts and appear in vaudeville. Alda's acerbic 1937 autobiography was titled Men, Women, & Tenors. The book reflects her fiery, forthright temperament. She remarried in America in 1941 and travelled extensively in later life. She died of a stroke in Venice, Italy, aged 73. Alda was one of the finest lyric sopranos of her era, possessing a beautiful vocal timbre and a splendid vocal method. (wikipeia) ******************************