Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert Rec

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EdisonWizard
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Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert Rec

Post by EdisonWizard »

Finally got this great record added to my collection! Sounds beautiful. I took a video for your enjoyment. I think I have the speed adjusted properly after listening to many different versions. Let me know what you think!

https://youtu.be/aloW1kakyrc
J.F.

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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by barnettrp21122 »

Very nice performance! Do you have a recording date?
The rpm speed seems about right to me. Thanks for posting!
Bob
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EdisonWizard
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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by EdisonWizard »

barnettrp21122 wrote:Very nice performance! Do you have a recording date?
The rpm speed seems about right to me. Thanks for posting!
Bob

I was told the date was 1906!
J.F.

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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by Viva-voce »

Great video--a fun performance (and a hard to find disc) by Ms. Bosetti and a beautiful L-door you have there :)

Steven

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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by melvind »

Nice video. Thanks for posting!

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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by epigramophone »

Hermine Bosetti (1875-1936) spent most of her career with the Munich Royal Opera, and it was in Munich that she recorded for G&T in 1906.

Many collectors consider Frieda Hempel's 1911 Victor/HMV recording of the Queen of the Night's Aria to be the definitive version, but I prefer Maria Ivogun on Odeon. Both these versions are on 12 inch records, but I note that the Bosetti is on 10 inch.

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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by Viva-voce »

epigramophone wrote:Hermine Bosetti (1875-1936) spent most of her career with the Munich Royal Opera, and it was in Munich that she recorded for G&T in 1906.

Many collectors consider Frieda Hempel's 1911 Victor/HMV recording of the Queen of the Night's Aria to be the definitive version, but I prefer Maria Ivogun on Odeon. Both these versions are on 12 inch records, but I note that the Bosetti is on 10 inch.
Imperial Russian soprano Antonina Nezhdanova made a very good recording of it in 1912 sung in Russian, with the right amount of dramatic weight the aria requires plus effortless high notes. She was an outstanding singer and one of the most satisfying sopranos on acoustic records. A lyric-coloratura who sang a very wide repertoire over a long career--she was also effective in the heavier lyric roles and was capable of using a wide variety of tonal colour and weight to suit the music. She could sound convincingly girlish (as in the arias from Snow Maiden) or dark and somber (Tamara's Aria from The Demon).

Another recording of Der Holle Rache from the same era which I enjoy--for laughs-- is by Maria Galvany, from 1906. She was a highly skilled soprano but her rapid-fire staccati and furious rushing of the tempo in those sections, plus other interpolations, is over-the-top! Both recordings I have mentioned are on you-Tube.

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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by OrthoSean »

Viva-voce wrote:A recording of Der Holle Rache from the same era which I enjoy for laughs is the one by Maria Galvany, from 1906. She was a highly skilled soprano but her rapid-fire staccati and furious rushing of the tempo in those sections, plus other interpolations, is over-the-top! Both recordings I have mentioned are on you-Tube.
Galvany recorded this at least twice. I've got it on Victor and a 14 inch center start Pathé. It's great fun!

Then there's also the Florence Foster Jenkins recording of it....

Sean

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Re: Queen of the Night Aria - Bosetti on Gramophone Concert

Post by Viva-voce »

Ah yes, Madame Jenkins, of course. In her rarified category she was the Queen of Song.
As Feodor Chaliapin famously said (not in reference to Florence but it certainly applies here), "In a garden where there are no birds, a croaking toad is a nightingale."

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