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The Canadian contralto opera artist and recitalist has died. She was 79. [Today's Events
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A well written and inclusive obit for Miss F. Excellent, and a lovely
YouTube clip. What an artist she was – and that lovely effortless
technique, and clear diction. She had it all. I cherish her memory.
One of the first classical voices to capture my devotion. Rest in peace.
Be patient with this, she does appear:
I grew seeing her perform many times. She was really a household name in Canada. Her Mahler was absolute perfection. She made it all sound so easy.
Thanks, Maureen for all the pleasure you have given us over the years.
Rest in Peace, Maureen Forrester….
And, if the Globe and Mail is to be believed, she was a contralto with a top C:
“After her late entry into opera, Forrester never looked back, singing a wide range of the juiciest mezzo roles. In Wagner, she sang Erda (Metropolitan debut, 1975) and Brangaene; in Verdi, Ulrica and Mistress Ford.”
My introduction to her — singing the “Urlicht” from the Mahler 2nd — is burned in my memory. It was truly one of those rare performances (like, say, von Stade’s Cherubino) that you just can’t imagine being bettered.
Ah, Maureen! It is sad to hear of her passing. Here in Washington we had the luxury of encountering her as Arnalta in Monteverdi’s POPPEA in the early 1970s. She sang a hypnotic “Oblivion soave” and played the comedy with delicious aplomb.
I also remember her appearance with the Gay Men’s Chorus here sometime in the late 80s. She sang some pieces that you’d expect (I think Brahms’ Alto Rhaposody was among them) and then moved into cabaret/Broadway territory, most memorably with Cole Porter’s “I Like Pretty Things.” Finally, at the end of the concert she stepped forward and, with a charming sort of self-deprecation, said something like “Well, I’ve never done anything like what I’m about to do, but since I was asked, I thought I’d give it a try.” Then, backed by the chorus, she sang the pop radio AIDS anthem “That’s What Friends Are For,” giving the tune silky opulence and all of her accustomed dignity.
A treasurable artist.
As a child, I saw her green-faced witch in Hansel and Gretel, and fell in love with opera. I can remember my brother and me racing around our basement on broomsticks, pretending to be her. (There was only 1 TV channel – the CBC – when we were growing up in Prince George, British Columbia. So an opera of Hansel and Gretel seemed like pretty good kids entertainment back then… even if Miley Cyrus wasn’t in it.)
Her voice is how I hear Mahler in my head. Dido, too. What a glorious performer and a generous human being.
A special singer with an extraordinary voice. She was born to sing Mahler. And her rednition of “Ombra mai fu” is my favourite. When I listen to her sing this over-played aria, it sounds fresh and moving.
Who is the very weird conductor in the first clip?
Apparently…..Glenn Gould.
Great pianist. But a bizarre, unsubtle, hamfisted approach to conducting. I wonder, did he come up with that highschool band director technique himself, or did someone tell him to do it that way?
Excuse me. I should have said limpwristed rather than “hamfisted”. My bad.
I think the term you are going for is “veal-fisted.”
I’ll always remember her in Giulio Cesare. Her Cornelia was grief stricken, dignified, and steadfast with a burst of joy, at last, in her final aria.
There are a very few recordings I won’t listen to much because I don’t want them to become familiar to the point of not meaning anything to me. One is her Abschied from Das Lied. A very great performance from a beloved singer.