Description:

Coming of age as a musician in the world of opera, I participated in many different amateur and student productions as I slowly worked my way up the ladder. For the most part, those productions met my expectations (which were rather low), but every once in a while, I would find myself in some church basement working next to an artist who was destined for stardom. This performance of Anna Bolena, performed with just a piano, captures exactly that rare magic—lightning striking twice in the form of Marisa Galvany and a very young Samuel Ramey.

Both artists deliver world-class performances in what must have been very modest surroundings. Galvany throws herself into the role with fearless abandon, relishing every interpolated high note and then shifting effortlessly into a resonant chest register that would be the envy of many a mezzo. Ramey, even early in his career, displays the vocal presence and dramatic authority that would soon make him a major name on the world’s stages.

The sound is generally good, although there are some missing sections in the performance.

In Mono

OD 11548-2