Description

LUCREZIA BORI (VALENCIA, SPAIN, 24 DECEMBER, 1887 – NEW YORK, USA, 14 MAY, 1960)

Her real name was Lucrezia Borja Gonzalés de Riancho. Her father was an officer. She first received her education at a monastery school in Spain, then studied piano and music theory at the Valencia Conservatory. Her voice was discovered during a trip to Italy in 1908, and she was trained by the educators Sibella and Melchiorre Vidal in Milan. That same year, she made her debut at the Teatro Adriano in Rome as Micaela in Carmen. The success of this debut led to her being contracted by the Teatro Alla Scala for the following season, where she sang the role of Carolina in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto (1910). In 1911, she appeared in the premiere of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier as Octavian, and later that year, she also performed in the premiere of Humperdinck’s Königskinder. Since 1910, she had been a frequent guest at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, where she again performed in the premiere of Königskinder under Toscanini in 1912. On August 14, 1914, at the Teatro Colón, she participated in the premiere of the opera El Sueño de Alma by Carlos López Buchardo. In 1913, she sang the role of Alice Ford in Falstaff and appeared as Violetta in La Traviata at the Verdi commemoration in his birthplace, Busseto.

She also made successful guest appearances in Paris (notably in 1910 with a guest performance of the Metropolitan Opera New York ensemble in Manon Lescaut opposite Enrico Caruso), as well as in Madrid and Barcelona. In 1912, she was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she made her debut in Manon Lescaut alongside Enrico Caruso. In 1914, she performed in the premiere of Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre re and the following year in the premiere of Leoni’s L’Oracolo. She also guested at the Boston Opera as Cio-Cio-San with sensational success.

Due to illness, she had to retire from the stage from 1915 to 1919. However, after a neck operation, she regained her voice through intensive study. In 1919, she resumed her career at the Monte Carlo Opera, where she sang the roles of Mimì in La Bohème and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. From 1919 to 1936, she was once again one of the great prima donnas of the Metropolitan Opera, opening her second engagement at the house in 1919 as Mimì in La Bohème. During the 1924-1931 seasons, she performed almost every year at the summer opera in Ravinia near Chicago, and during the 1933-1934 season, she also sang at the San Francisco Opera. She retired from the stage in 1936 and became the first woman to join the directorate of the Metropolitan Opera. From 1936 onward, she served as the chair of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

TRACKLIST

1. La paloma (Yradier) 88480 C14644 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-03-27
2. Malagueña (Pagans) 87190 B14643 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-03-27
3. Niña pancha (Valverde) 87189 B14642 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-03-27
4. Traviata (Verdi) Parigi o cara (w. McCormack) 88453 C14686 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-04-08
5. I hear you calling me (Marshall) 87188 B14645 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-03-27
6. Rigoletto (Verdi) Bella figlia dell’amore (w. McCormack, Jacoby & Werrenrath) 89080 C14657 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-04-08
7. Bohème (Puccini) O soave fanciulla (w. McCormack) 87512 B14658 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-04-08
8. La danza (Rossini) 87181 B14439 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-02-12
9. Traviata (Verdi) Addio del passato 87178 B14438 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-02-12
10. Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Ballatella 88398 C14437 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-02-12
11. El puñao de rosas (Chapí) (w. de Segurola) 87225 B15903 Victor, New York 1915-04-16
12. Contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach) Elle à fui, la tourterelle 88525 C15825 Victor, Camden NJ 1915-03-23
13. Clavelitos (Valverde) 87217 B15823 Victor, Camden NJ 1915-03-23
14. Iris (Mascagni) In pure stille 87219 B15904 Victor, New York 1915-04-16
15. Iris (Mascagni) Un dì al tempio 88524 C15824 Victor, Camden NJ 1915-03-23
16. La Revoltosa (Chapí) Porque de mis ojos (w. de Segurola) 88526 C15902 Victor, New York 1915-04-16