Episode 383. Get to Know Carol Smith
SOCIAL SHARE
SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
If the exceptional Illinois-born contralto Carol Smith (20 February 1926 – 06 June 2021) has previously escaped your notice, now is the perfect opportunity to get to know her better. She began her career singing the music of Bach with the legendary Bach Aria Group, founded in 1946 by philanthropist, scholar, and collector William H. Scheide. Smith then went on for further vocal training in Italy, making her operatic stage debut in 1961 in Napoli. There followed a glorious operatic career as one of the world’s leading dramatic mezzo-sopranos, with performances throughout Italy and Germany as well as with her home company in Zürich. She went on to become an esteemed and highly respected voice teacher on two continents. This episode digs deep into her recorded legacy, featuring cantata arias of Bach, Lieder of Brahms, arias by Gluck, Verdi, and Saint-Saëns, and scenes from Cavalleria rusticana, Roberto Devereux, and Penthesilea, a hidden early 20th-century masterpiece by Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck. No matter what repertoire Smith was singing, she was, by virtue of her chocolate-timbred voice, dramatic flair, and vocal glamour, power, and flexibility, a true Queen of Song.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Johannes Brahms, Felix Schumann: Meine Liebe ist grün (Junge Lieder I), Op. 63/5. Carol Smith, Renato Cellini [1954]
Gaetano Donizetti, Salvadore Cammarano [after Jacques-François Ancelot, Felice Romani]: Tutto è silenzio (Roberto Devereux). Carol Smith, Nello Santi, Orchestra of the Zürich Opera [live Zürich 1972]
Giuseppe Verdi: Liber scriptus (Messa da Requiem). Carol Smith, Willem van Otterloo, Residentie Orkest, Groot Okmroepkoor [live Den Haag 12.XI.1970]
Camille Saint-Saëns, Ferdinand Lemaire: Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix (Samson et Dalila). Carol Smith, Nello Santi, Orchestra of the Baden Baden Music Festival [live 31.V.1969]
Johann Sebastian Bach: Ach Herr, was ist ein Menschenkind (Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110). Carol Smith, Robert Bloom, Erich Itor Kahn, Bernard Greenhouse [Bach Aria Group, William H. Scheide, director] [live Town Hall 07.I.1953]
Pietro Mascagni, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, Guido Menasci [after Giovanni Verga]: Fior di giaggialo (Cavalleria rusticana). Carol Smith, Jussi Björling, Zinka Milanov, Renato Cellini, RCA Victor Orchestra [1955]
Johannes Brahms, Hermann Lingg: Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer, Op. 105/2. Carol Smith, Renato Cellini [1954]
Giuseppe Verdi: Lux aeterna (Messa da Requiem). Carol Smith, Alexander Young, Martti Talvela, Willem van Otterloo, Residentie Orkest [live Den Haag 12.XI.1970]
Gaetano Donizetti, Salvadore Cammarano [after Jacques-François Ancelot, Felice Romani]: Tanta il destin fremente… All’ambascia ond’io mi struggo (Roberto Devereux). Carol Smith, Kari Nurmela, Nello Santi, Orchestra of the Zürich Opera [live Zürich 1972]
Othmar Schoeck, Heinrich von Kleist: excerpts from Penthesilea. Zdeněk Mácal, Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester [live Luzern 08.IX.73]
- O sieh, wie sein gewitterrdunkles Antlitz schimmert [Love Scene] Carol Smith, Roland Hermann
- Der Sohn des Peleus fordert mich ins Feld? [Battle Cry]. Carol Smith, Hana Janků, Barbara Scherler, Raili Kostia, Chöre des Norddeutschen Rundfunks Hamburg und des Westdeutschen Rundfunks
Christoph Willibald Gluck, Rainieri De’ Calzabigi: Che farò senza Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice). Carol Smith, Nello Santi, Orchestra of the Baden Baden Music Festival [live 31.V.1969]
Johann Sebastian Bach: Wann kommt der Tag (Wachet! betet! betet! Wachet!, BWV 70). Carol Smith, Bernard Greenhouse, Erich Itor Kahn [Bach Aria Group, William H. Scheide, director] [live Prades 02.VII.55]
