Episode 145. Teresa Berganza In Memoriam
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A week ago today the beloved and revered Spanish mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza, died at the age of 89. This episode pays tribute to her artistry through the exploration of her operatic roles, from Neris in Medea opposite Maria Callas, through her matchless Mozart and Rossini portrayals, through her fascinating and highly individualized portrait of the title heroine of Bizet’s Carmen. Special emphasis is given to her performance of Spanish music, from the zarzuelas of Ruperto Chapí and Federico Moreno Torroba, to art songs of Manuel de Falla and Fredric Mompou. Vocal guest stars include Mirella Freni, Pilar Lorengar, Lola Rodríguez Aragón, Franco Bonisolli, and the incendiary Callas herself, an early mentor and supporter of Berganza. I began the preparation for this episode with an incomplete appreciation of Berganza’s voice and artistry, but she won me over and I am now, even if belatedly, a huge fan.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
John Waters: Excerpt from Female Trouble (The Dinner Party). Mink Stole as Taffy; Divine as Dawn Davenport [1974]
Alfonso X El Sabio: Santa María. Teresa Berganza [1974]
Traditional Spanish, arr. Manuel de Falla: Polo (Siete canciones populares españolas, No. 7), Teresa Berganza, Felix Lavilla [1961]
Joaquín Turina, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, né Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastida: Tu pupila es azul (Tres Poemas, Op. 81/2). Lola Rodríguez Aragón, Joaquín Turina [1937]
Ruperto Chapí, Carlos Arniches, Ramón Asensio Más: Tanguillos (El Puñao de Rosas). Teresa Berganza, Ataúlfo Argenta, Orquesta de Cámara de Madrid, Coros Cantores de Madrid [1954]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lorenzo da Ponte: È amore un ladroncello (Così fan tutte). Teresa Berganza, Hans Rosbaud, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire [live Aix-en-Provence 26.VII.1957]
Luigi Cherubini, François-Benoît Hoffmann [Italian version by Carlo Zangarini]: Neris, che hai fatto tu del dono mio? (Medea). Maria Callas, Teresa Berganza, Nicola Rescigno, Orchestra of the Dallas Civic Opera Company [live 06.XI.1958]
Gioacchino Rossini, Jacopo Ferretti: Non più mesta (La Cenerentola). Teresa Berganza, Alexander Gibson, London Symphony Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lorenzo da Ponte: Ah, se in tuo loco… Non so più cosa son (Le nozze di Figaro). Teresa Berganza, Elisabeth Söderström, Carlo Maria Giulini, Philharmonia Orchestra [live London 1961]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Pietro Metastasio: Parto, parto, ma tu ben mio (La Clemenza di Tito). Teresa Berganza, István Kertész, Wiener Staatsopernorchester [1967]
Georges Bizet, Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy, after Prosper Mérimée: C’est toi… C’est moi (Carmen). Teresa Berganza, Franco Bonisolli, Kurt Herbert Adler, San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus [30.X.1981]
Robert Schumann, Adalbert von Chamisso: An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust (Frauenliebe und -leben, Op. 42/7). Teresa Berganza, Ricardo Requejo [1982]
Frederic Mompou, Josep Janés i Olivé: Te presentia como el mar (Combat del somni, No. 3). Teresa Berganza, Felix Lavilla [1960]
Federico Moreno Torroba, Federico Romero, Guillermo Fernández Shaw: Como soy Chulapona (La Chulapona). Teresa Berganza, Gran Orquesta Sinfónica, Orfeón Donostiarra, conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos [1964]
Ruperto Chapí, José Estremera: Carceleras (Las Hijas del Zebedeo). Teresa Berganza, Orchestra conducted by Benito Lauret [1959]
José Serrano, Luis Fernández de Sevilla, Anselmo C. Carreño: Que te importa que no venga (Los Claveles). Teresa Berganza, Luis Antonio García Navarro, Orquestra Simfónica de Barcelona [1980]
Federico Moreno Torroba, Federico Romero, Guillermo Fernández Shaw: Confieso que le quise por envidia (La Chulapona). Pilar Lorengar, Teresa Berganza, Gran Orquesta Sinfónica, Orfeón Donostiarra, conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos [1964]
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: Fac ut ardeat cor meum; Quando corpus morietus (Stabat Mater). Mirella Freni, Teresa Berganza, Ettore Gracis, Solisti dell’Orchestra “Scarlatti” [1972]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lorenzo da Ponte: Soave sia il vento (Così fan tutte). Pilar Lorengar, Teresa Berganza, Gabriel Bacquier, Georg Solti, London Philharmonic Orchestra [1974]
