Episode 375. Gilda Cruz-Romo In Memoriam
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Back in December I published my first episode honoring the superb soprano Gilda Cruz-Romo, as part of my series honoring Mexican opera singers. In my research, I amassed a large number of live recordings from which I intended to cobble together a second episode in honor of her upcoming birthday. I was distracted by some family issues and, her February birthday came and went, and now, alas, Gilda is no longer with us. But to pay tribute to this exceptional artists, I have assembled a brand new setlist which seeks to do at least partial justice to the breadth and depth of her exceptional career. After last week’s episode featuring Carol Neblett, here is another exceptional soprano whose talent brought glory to the stage of the New York City Opera in the early days of her career and went on to become an important member of the Metropolitan Opera as well. We hear extended excerpts of a number of her Paraderollen, including Aida, Violetta, Manon Lescaut, Mimì, Leonora di Vargas, and Maddalena di Coigny, as well as two later-career roles that might surprise you. Guest artists heard on the episode include Silvano Carroli, Carlo Bergonzi, Cesare Siepi, Colenton Freeman, John Alexander, Gianfranco Cecchele, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Salvador Novoa, and Franco Corelli; conductors include Julius Rudel, Zubin Mehta, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Nino Sanzogno, and Riccardo Muti. Carol Neblett even puts in a brief appearance!
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Arrigo Boito: Ah! Amore! Mistero celeste (Mefistofele). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Salvador Novoa, Julius Rudel, New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus [live New York 10.III.71]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave [after Alexandre Dumas fils]: Un dì, felice (La traviata). Gilda Cruz-Romo, John Alexander, Walter Herbert, Philadelphia Opera [01.VII.70]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica [after Henri Murger]: Sono andati? (La Bohème). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Carol Neblett, William Ledbetter, Julius Rudel, New York City Opera Orchestra [live NYCO 28.II.1970]
Umberto Giordano, Luigi Illica: Ecco l’altare… Ora soave (Andrea Chénier). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Carlo Bergonzi, Emerson Buckley, Florida Grand Opera [live Miami 26.I.74]
Vincenzo Bellini, Felice Romani: Casta diva… Ah, bello a me ritorna (Norma). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Zubin Mehta, Orquestra del Palacio de Bellas Artes [Mexico City, Pablo Casals Tribute Concert 1976]
Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica, Marco Praga, Domenico Oliva [after Abbé Prévost]: Manon, senti, amor mio… Vedi, vedi, son io che piango… Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Manon Lescaut). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Gianfranco Cecchele, Nino Sanzogno, Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino [live Torino 24.II.1977]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave [after Ángel de Saavedra]: Ah, s’ei mi respingesse!… Chi mi cerca?… Venite fidente alla croce… Sull’alba il piede all’eremo… Tua grazia, o Dio (La forza del destino). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Cesare Siepi, Riccardo Muti, Wiener Philharmoniker [live Wien 29.IX.74]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Renato Simoni [after Carlo Gozzi]: Straniero, ascolta! [Riddle Scene] (Turandot). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Colenton Freeman [live Teatro Degollado, Guadalajara 1984]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave, Andrea Maffei [after William Shakespeare]: Vi trovo alfin! Che fate?… Ora di morte (Macbeth). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Silvano Carroli, Gabriele Bellini, Connecticut Grand Opera Orchestra [live Bridgeport 11.IX.1983]
Giuseppe Verdi, Antonio Ghislanzoni [after Auguste Mariette and Temistocle Solera]: Vedi, di morte l’angelo… O terra. addio (Aida). Gilda Cruz-Romo, Franco Corelli, Nell Rankin, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli [live New York 23.VI.73]