Anna Case (soprano) - O sleep, why dost thou leave me? ('Semele' - Handel) (1928) скачать в хорошем качестве

Anna Case (soprano) - O sleep, why dost thou leave me? ('Semele' - Handel) (1928)

Anna Lucretia van Nuyse Case was born in Clinton, New Jersey, on 29 October 1887. There, she sang in the choir of the Reformed Church and learned to play both organ and violin. At age 15, she commenced singing lessons with a local teacher. Subsequently, her tuition was taken over by Augusta Ohrstrom-Renard in New York. In 1909, Case was offered a student contract with the Metropolitan Opera House. She remained at the Met until the 1917-8 season, thereafter devoting her attention more and more to concert work. She retired in 1930, and the following year married millionaire Clarence H. Mackay. She died on 7 January 1984. After her first Carnegie Hall recital in 1916, Richard Aldrich wrote of Case's voice as 'one of the most beautiful of its kind that has been heard for a long time. It is a light soprano of the most lyric quality, of delightful freshness and transparent purity when it is heard at its best; a voice not adapted for dramatic expression nor for the utterance of deep emotions but yet capable within its limits of a variety of colour and of manifold charming effects.' The voice was well-equalised and supple, although not brilliant, and able to cope with florid music as well as simple ballads. The style was smooth and the diction was good - and who could fail to mention Case's special attention to the letter 'r.' Case recorded some 80 titles for Edison from 1912 to 1926. The remainder of her recordings (from 1928 to 1930) were made for US Columbia. Almost 25 years ago, I used many of these recordings as the basis of a CD reissue. Transfer techniques have improved since then, and YouTube is likely to reach a wider audience than the CD ever did, so my plan is to reinvent that project on this channel. Hopefully, it will introduce a wider audience to Case's artistry. This lovely version of the Handel aria was recorded in New York on 16 November 1928.