La jolie fille de Perth

Listening and discussion begin at 2:00 PM.

Born in Martinique, Eda-Pierre who was one of the reigning French coloratura sopranos of the mid-20th century and is still with us today at age 87. Although I had collected a number of her live performances during my early “pirate” days, I only managed to catch Eda-Pierre once in person as Antonia in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, one of just three parts she sang with the company and her only French role there.

In March 1982 during my second-ever trip as an adult to New York City, I snagged a ticket to the brand-new Otto Schenk Hoffmann production. In my naivete I thought I had to order the best seats and to my surprise I found myself sitting in the front row directly behind conductor Riccardo Chailly in his sole Met engagement. Although I most remember him grunting during the septet and Ruth Welting’s hilarious Olympia, Eda-Pierrer’s doomed, passionate Antonia was another great highlight. — Christopher Corwin

Bizet: La Jolie Fille de Perth
BBC
December 1973
Broadcast

Catherine Glover — Christiane Eda-Pierre
Mab — Delia Wallis
Henry Smith — Alexander Young
Duc de Rothsay — Raymond Hayter
Ralph — Michael Rippon
Simon Glover — Stafford Dean

BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

Conductor — David Lloyd-Jones