The death has been announced of Antonietta Stella, a leading performer in all major Italian houses and at the Vienna Opera and the Met.
Her career was somewhat overshadowed by Callas and Tebaldi, but she left some outstanding recordings.
pictured here with Ettore Bastianini
The US violinist has announced she is still…
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Hers was my first recording of “Il Trovatore” (with Bergonzi, Bastianini, and Simionato, conducted by Serafin). At the time, I had just discovered opera and was in an “all things Bergonzi” and “all things Leontyne Price” mode, so Stella herself was a pleasant discovery, a very handsome and capable voice.
I still remember that DG opera series on vinyl, in handsome red boxes with gold lettering. And though I no longer own vinyl, I still have this recording on CD.
Yes, so do I – and Stella excellent on it. She seemed to one of those supremely reliable artists who tend to get damned with faint praise. I always thought she deserved better.
My favorite Stella recordings are the DON CARLO with Labo, Cossotto, and Christoff, the TROVATORE with Bergonzi and Cossotto, and – especially – the CHENIER with Corelli and Sereni.
Antonietta Stella had much more than a solid technique and efficent voice I think. She could create empathy with her characters through her sensitive identification with the music and the text. Certainly opera houses were pleased to employ her over a long career. She never short changed her audience , but gave them her best. A thorough professional.
What voice! What diction! What vowels! Callas may have had the musicianship, the technique, and the drama, but she had none of these other three.
There is a Madama Butterfly with Daniele Barioni on youtube…
Always Loved her singing and was Thrilled to play all the rehearsals for return at Carnegie Hall for Meyerbeer’s L’Africana..she was delight and sang magnificently.
What a treat to hear that ‘pastosa voce’ fly through Sempre Libera…