Silky Smooth Gem: Giulietta Simionato

This morning I discovered a "Gem" by the name of Giulietta Simionato while listening to a fairly-priced CD titled Favorite Opera Duets . Bought it for RM 21.90 from Popular Bookstore.

On Track 11, she was duetting with Franco Corelli (a dramatic tenor) in the song "Si la Stanchezza...Ai Nostri Monti" in the Opera "Il Trovatore" Act 4 written by famous composer Verdi .

Giulietta is described as the most universally recognised best mezzo-soprano in Great Singers homepage.

From the track that I have listened, her voice is beautiful. What sets her apart from the other mezzo-sopranos that I have listened to is the vibrancy of her voice.

Her chest voice is very stable. In my opinion, her voice is quite big compared to mezzos like Joan Sutherland or Marilyn Horne. You can feel the smoothness of the voice as she moves along the lines, be it high or low notes. Not an amount of friction, jitter or sudden rough sound.

While most sopranos have very sharp voices, another feature that set her apart from them is hers having a rounder and fuller feature.

For me, this is High Art. Silky, Beautiful, simply beautiful !

I did not see any of her CDs in Tower Records KLCC, probably because she is not as famous now as she used to be many decades ago. Her career actually started in the 30s and ended in 1966.

You can visit this Blog to view many of her recorded performances. Thanks to Miss Felipe Cunha from Rio de Jainero, Brazil that I am able to appreciate this Silky Smooth Gem