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. Milonguita (Delfino) 1033 B30276 Victor, Camden NJ 1924-06-13
2. Amour Mouillé (Varney) Valse d’oiseau 1053 B30275 Victor, Camden NJ 1924-06-13
3. Carmen (Bizet) Parle-moi de ma mère (w. Fleta) HRS1039 C29286 Victor, Camden NJ 1924-01-14
4. Amico Fritz (Mascagni) Suzel, buon dì (w. Fleta) HRS1039 C29285 Victor, Camden NJ 1924-01-14
5. Night hymn at sea (Goring Thomas) (w. McCormack) (3039) BVE34166 Victor, New York 1925-12-24
6. La cruz de mayo (Font y de Anta) 1190 BVE33977 Victor, Camden NJ 1925-12-08
7. Patotero sentimental (Tango milonga) (Jovés) 1190 BVE33978 Victor, Camden NJ 1925-12-08
8. In the woods (Schumann) (w. McCormack) (3039) BVE34167 Victor, New York 1925-12-18
9. La primavera d’or (Glazunov) 6699 CVE33959 Victor, Camden NJ 1925-12-02
10. Simonetta (Rumbold) 1162 BVE33477 Victor, Camden NJ 1925-12-08
11. Bohème (Puccini) Sono andati… Oh, Dio, Mimi! (w. Schipa) 8068 8068 CVE33943 CVE33944 Victor, Camden NJ 1925-11-24
12. Louise (Charpentier) Depuis le jour 6561 CVE33475 Victor, Camden NJ 1925-12-02
13. The little damozel (Novello) 1162 BVE33478 Victor, New York 1925-11-21
14. Bohème (Puccini) Donde lieta usci (Addio) 6561 CVE33476 Victor, New York 1925-11-21
15. Calm as the night (Götze) (w. Tibbett) 1747 BVE38854 Victor, New York 1927-06-01
16. G’schichten aus dem Wienerwald (Strauss) (It) 6699 CVE33960 Victor, Camden NJ 1927-05-27
17. La violetera (Padilla) 1348 BVE45164 Victor, New York 1928-05-22
18. Seguidilla (arr Reimann) 1348 BVE45165 Victor, New York 1928-05-22
19. Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Un bel dì DB1644 CVE38061 Victor, Camden NJ 1928-01-04
20. Traviata (Verdi) Ah, fors’è lui 7438 CVE41441 Victor, New York 1928-06-20
21. Mignon (Thomas) Connais-tu le pays 1361 BVE45153 Victor, New York 1928-05-18
22. Mignon (Thomas) Me voici dans son boudoir (Gavotte) 1361 BVE45154 Victor, New York 1928-05-18