An exceptional career, for length and consistency: this, in a nutshell, the curriculum of Victoria de Los Angeles, one of the most acclaimed sopranos of the 1900s, a true icon for opera lovers, and one that unfortunately - despite her many recordings and the favour of the press - still remains, for the public at large, in the shade of Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi. Of Catalan origin, Victoria de Los Angeles was born in Barcelona on November 1st, 1923; and in her native city she recently passed away, on 15th January 2005. Hundreds of recordings provide a well-documented profile of the progress and stylistic development of this soprano, whom nature had gifted with extraordinary means as far as the volume and extension of her voice and who, in the course of her artistic path, was sought by the most important conductors, among them Beecham, Karajan, Solti, Monteux, de Sabata, Giulini, Kertész, Metha, and Prêtre. The present 2-CD set features a rich anthology of this singer’s recordings: from the early recordings of the 1940s, to her unforgettable interpretations of Spanish folk songs, to the triumphant Puccini’s and Massenet’s roles of the 1950s.
1949-1955 studio and live recordings