I’m sure that the cognoscenti had watched her ascent under James Levine‘s patronage so she did not exactly come from nowhere. For us music-school types, her back story was inspirational. We’d all known of excellent singers who took the music-ed route: a performance degree was just too risky and a bit presumptuous. We didn’t care if hers was a mostly phonogenic instrument (after all it’s all we had to go on), and this was years before I had any idea that there were rumors her voice at the Met was artfully but artificially amplified. No matter. Her sound, her whole being, was like a perfectly ripe, perfectly proportioned strawberry. In time, I would come to prefer (for example) Gruberova‘s Zerbinetta. I would mostly eschew Miss Battle’s renditions of fill-in-the blank, though her Poulenc “Gloria” is still seared in my brain and entrails, and it’s easy to forget that her recorded legacy is strong. If pressed, I could probably get excited about other renditions of this perilous ditty. But back in the day, she had it all, she was it all.
A favorite Mozart performance from RudigerVT
At the time of the recording's release, Kathleen Battle was getting established.
parterre in your box?
Get our free weekly newsletter delivered to your email.
Comments