Episode 288. Teresa Żylis-Gara Revisited
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Today I revisit the life, career, and sumptuous voice of the great Polish soprano Teresa Żylis-Gara, who died three years ago on 28 August 2021 at the age of 91. The soprano was for the most part shockingly under-recorded, so I have scoured the internet for examples of her live in performance, and unearthed examples of her singing Wagner, Massenet, Puccini, Verdi, Strauss, Giordano, Mozart, and Berlioz with some divine tenorial counterparts including Franco Bonisolli, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, John Alexander, Alfredo Kraus, Wiesław Ochman, Peter Lindroos, and Piero Visconti. I know I am not the only one who revels in the rich velvety timbre of Mme. Żylis-Gara, and each of the tenors heard alongside her presents her versatile voice in a different facet of its beauty.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Richard Wagner: Dich, teure Halle (Tannhäuser). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Orchestra conducted by James Levine [live New York 03.III.84]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave [after Alexandre Dumas fils]: Un dì felice, eterea (La traviata). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Wiesław Ochman, Jacek Kaspszyk, Orkiestra Opery Poznańskiej [Orchestra of the Poznań Opera] [live Poznań 10.XII.77]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Emanuel Schikaneder: Ach, ich fühl’s (Die Zauberflöte). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Orchestra conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski [live New York 17.I.70]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica [after Henri Murger]: O soave fanciulla (La bohème). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Luciano Pavarotti, Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam [live New York 09.III.74]
Giacomo Puccini, Giovacchino Forzano: Senza mamma (Suor Angelica). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Orchestra conducted by James Levine [live New York 26.II.77]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica [after David Belasco, John Henry Long]: Vogliatemi bene (Madama Butterfly). Teresa Żylis-Gara, John Alexander, Orchestra conducted by Richard Woitach [live New York 03.IV.76]
Hector Berlioz Auguste Barbier, Léon de Wailly [after the memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini]: Ô Teresa, vous que j’aime plus que ma vie (Benvenuto Cellini). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Franco Bonisolli, Wolfgang Brendel, Seiji Ozawa, Orchestra di Roma della RAI [live Rome 08.V.73]
Jules Massenet, Henri Meilhac, Philippe Gille [after Abbé Prévost]: Pardonnez-moi… N’est-ce plus ma main (Manon). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Alfredo Kraus, Jean Fournet, Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra [live Chicago 29.IX.73]
Giuseppe Verdi, Antonio Somma [after Eugène Scribe]: Teco io sto (Un ballo in maschera). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Piero Visconti, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Orchestre National de France [live Paris 1985]
Richard Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal: .Ich weiß, so ist es dort, wohin du mich führest (Ariadne auf Naxos). Teresa Żylis-Gara, Peter Lindroos, Maryann Polsinelli, Marie Thérèse Keller, Elizabeth Whitehouse, Berislav Klobučar, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice [live Nice 1986]
Umberto Giordano, Luigi Illica: Vicino a te (Andrea Chénier). Teresa Żylis-Gara, José Carreras, Gianfranco Masini, Beethoven Orchester Bonn [live Bonn 11.II.85]
I only heard her in Vier Letzte Lieder. One of the best renderings.
I completely agree! When I published a memorial episode two years ago, the concluding number was “Beim Schlafengehen” from her performance with Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. You can find that episode (which is comprised of an entirely different setlist) here: https://countermelodypodcast.com/index.php/2021/09/05/episode-105-teresa-zylis-gara/