Search - Giuseppe de Luca, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini :: Lily Pons-Opera Arias

Greatest Coloratura in the 1st Half of the 20th Century

Opera Obsessed | Baltimore, MD USA | 06/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lily Pons is a French lyric-coloratura soprano who rose to prominence at the time when radio broadcasts came into the mainstream, being one of the first opera singers to capitalize on this new medium to forward her career. She did not have a big voice, but a uniquely distinctive one and all but charmed audiences with her very attractive figure and exotic facial features, unique among a profession of frequently plump women.



Bel Canto opera was not in great fashion during her time as it is now. Operas on complex subjects based on the precedent of Wagner had come to almost outshadow what was considered fanciful and even silly, repetitive singing of the Bel Canto era. Wagnerian operas showcased the richer voices of the lyric and dramatic soprano, which were thought superior to the canary-like, flexible voices necessary for fast,high, and ornamented passages of Bel Canto opera.



Maria Callas would however later forever change that notion in the 1950's. With her darker tone and penetrating acting ability, she demonstrated that Bel Canto could indeed be moving and powerful. Callas would also forever dispel the notion that the music of Donizetti, for example, was fanciful, portraying through voice and acting all levels of Lucia's psychological collapse in his Lucia di Lammermoor. Callas virtually created the vocal range what would become known as the "dramatic coloratura," later picked up by more recent greats such as Joan Sutherland and Edita Gruberova.



It is almost unthinkable to hear a coloratura sing the Mad Scene nowadays without comparing her to Callas or pointing out how the contemporary singer might have been influenced by her standard. Yet, Lily Pons was the reigning diva before Callas before this example was ever set. It can be argued that Pons represented the culmination of a long tradition of bel canto coloraturas starting from the age of when the operas were actually composed in the early 1800's. In her interpretation Pons built upon a century long tradition and basically perfected it. Listening to Pons sing is the closest current listeners can get to how the Bel Canto composers originally intended their arias to be sung.



Lily Pons will amaze you with her very, very secure high notes that she can sing at all volumes, not just either fortissimo or piannisimo. She has a finely developed vocal technique and can glide through two+ octave runs with perfect facility. Her vibrato is unlike that which is taught to more recent lyric coloraturas such as Beverly Sills and Natalie Dessay. Pons has a much faster one, and it gives just the right richness to her tone while not sounding too wobbly. Her voice is indeed high, but it is well supported and not shrill. There is something quite enchanting about her voice.



This recording was compiled from perfomances from the 20's and 30's, so stratchiness is quite loud. However, it does not detract too much from enjoying her voice. Additionally, the CD is a quite nice compilation with all the great arias she was known for. Some of the best tracks include "Una voce poco fa" from the Barber of Seville, the Mad Scene, all the passages from Rigoletto, and most notably the Bell Song from Lakme. (Some critics consider Pons's interpretation of Lakme considering both voice and acting on stage to be the absolute greatest of all time.) Avoid the Odeon Recordings CD since those arias were recorded while Pons was still relatively unexperienced and before she made it big. This recording is more than enough to enjoy all her splendor."

Good illustration of the work of Lily Pons

Steven A. Peterson | Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL) | 02/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lily Pons succeeded Amelita Galli-Curci as the reigning coloratura soprano at the Met. While this CD has a scratchy sound, that's par for the course for recordings from 1928-1939 (the time frame of Pons' career covered by this CD). This work shows Pons' technique very nicely. It is a different style of singing from Sutherland on to Dessay, whose work I prefer, but Pons' approach has its own virtues.



Some illustrative cuts include the following, about which I'll briefly comment.



From "The Magic Flute," Pons sings "Ach ich fuhls" (in French). She shows the listener a light and agile voice. She floats a sweet sounding high note and exhibits a very smooth line in her singing. Rossini's "Una voce poco fa" is characterized by sweet singing and, again, an agile voice. The florid singing is fine, with well done appoggiaturas. She hits the high notes well, although the final one does sound a bit strained.



Then there is the "Mad Scene" from Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," "Ardon gl'incensi" and "Spargi d'amaro pianto." The former is smoothly sung and melodic. There is some trill technique (although, overall, Pons does not seem to have a really strong trill, based on her singing on this CD). In "Spargi d'amaro pianto," we hear, again, a smooth, light, and agile voice. The first time through is well sung with standard ornamentation. The repeat features more florid singing, but not at the level of ornamentation of Sills or Sutherland (tastes in singing have probably changed over time). There is an unpleasant sound in the middle of the repeat. She hits the high notes well (for the most part).



Delibes' "Lakme" features the well known "Bell Song." She takes this at a fast pace (she seems to favor faster tempos than what we hear today in a number of the cuts on this CD, displaying the remarkable agility of her voice).



A delightful and enjoyable final cut is her version of Strauss' "Blue Danube." This is well sung, with some nice ornamentation. This is a lot of fun. There are a couple high notes well hit at the end of this waltz.



All in all, a good representation of the work of Lily Pons. It is obvious that coloratura technique was different in the early part of the century (and see CDs of Galli-Curci) than since the era of Sutherland and Sills to Dessay and Jo. Comparing the earlier techniques with those of the recent past and today is a good learning experience.

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