Most Wanted Recitals Mado Robin-Extraits De Mireille Et Lucia Di Lamme

First of all, Robin was famous for her notes above high C - including a B flat above high C - and this disc is full of them.The first 45 minutes of this 76 minute disc is the 1953 recital of excerpts from Mireille (2 duets, 2 arias and 1 scena) and Lucia di Lammermoor (Sulla Tomba and the Mad Scene). The Mireille arias and the Lucia Mad Scene along with some other Robin Decca recordings had appeared on a Richmond LP I had purchased in the 1970s - while her range was incredible, the sound was shrill. The Mad Scene later appeared on an Accord CD along with other Robin Decca recordings - they all suffered from shrillness.I was not prepared for the sound from the remastered CD. In this latest remastering: gone is the wiriness, gone is the shrill distortion with the flute in the Mad Scene (and later on this CD, the Mozart-Adam). Her voice is now more luscious in the middle register and the upper register, even above high C, has more warmth. Her pianissimi are stunning as is her breath control. The orchestra is much more present and the Sonnambula arias provide almost too much bass.The one glaring omission is that the booklet only contains the original recording information for tracks and has 3 blank pages. Nothing about Mado Robin. Although the notes on the back of the original French LP are shown in a photo on the disc case (in unreadable tiny print), it could and should have been printed and translated on those blank pages!Tracks:1. Mireille - "Vincenette a votre âge" - w/ Michel Malkassian2. Mireille - "O légère hirondelle"3. Mireille - "Trahir Vincent ... mon coeur ne peut changer"4. Mireille - "Heureux petit berger"5. Mireille - "Ah! Parle encore ... Prière" - w/ Andree Gabriel6. Lucia di Lammermoor - "Lucia perdona ... Sulla tomba" - w/Libero De Luca7. Lucia di Lammermoor - "Il dolce suono" - w/Lucien Lavailotte - fluteParis Conservatoire Orchestra, Richard Blareau, recorded 19538. Lakme - "Où va la jeune Indoue" (Bell song)9. Mozart-Adam - 12 Variations in C, K.265 on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman"New Symphony Orchestra, Richard Blareau, recorded 1950 & 5110. I Puritani - "Son vergin vezzosa"11. I Puritani - "Qui la voce sua soave"12. La Sonnambula - "Come per me sereno"13. La Sonnambula - "Ah, non credea mirarti"London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari, recorded 1955

So gorgeous, so unbelievably light and effortless and HIGH, she embodies coloratura soprano. But if you're considering buying this, you already know that about Mado Robin. What's more to the point is that this is an excellent recording, without the noise and loss of vocals of so many older productions. This is a nice selection of pieces, including "Ö légère hirondelle" from Mireille, with her legendary high A (over high C--opera high C!). It's great to hear this amazing talent in such a clear, smooth recording. Another well-done CD for colorature fans is Lily Pons, Coloratura Assoluta.

Mado Robin's voice was tight and fluttery, but agile and had a high extension...C above high C. This disc demonstrates all her good and exceptional vocal qualities in her repertoire. She recorded little and died young.

Soprano Mado Robin (1918-60) had an extremely high voice , perhaps the highest I have ever heard, bur less beautiful than the voice of soprano Janine Micheau. I purchased her only commercial recording of Leo Delibes ( 1836-91) opera Lakme on London Records in1955, and I have her Lakme reissued on Pearl Records 2 CD's and on Decca Original Masters. Her singing of the role is most beautiful and for long time it is recognized as a Classic. Her singing on the present recital is also beautiful , but it doesn't match her magnificent performance of Lakme. The Charles Gounod (1918-93) five arias from the opera Mireille are beautifully sung and the interpretation is very convincing. Her singing of the Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) arias from Lucia di Lammermoor are also sung beautifully , but her voice for this role is definitely too light and therefore less dramatic. How a light voiced soprano however beautiful can compete with the greatness of Maria Callas or Joan Sutherland ? I am not trying to downgradeMado Robin , because I love her voice very much in the following arias from Vincenzo Bellini ( 1801-35) I Puritani and La Sonambula where her voice is much more suitable to the lighter Bel Canto repertory. In spite of everything I have written , this is a splendid recital very well recorded between 1950-55 and the sound is very improved over all earlier issues. Produced by John Culshaw in tracks 1-7 ,and conducted by Richard Blareau and the Bellini arias by Anatolle Fistoulari. I almost forgot to include her signature performance of the Bel Song from Lakme . Here Mado Robin is in her element and her dazzling coloratura is the most Beautiful. Very highly recommended for every customer who loves great singing.

Like the recording

Robin hd one of the strangest yet most beautiful voices ever recorded. The amazing upper extension of her voice (she easily sailed in alt with B Flat, B and Cs above high C) made her into a freakish phenomenon. Robin was content to tour concert halls in France and rarely ventured outside of her home country. There is a cottage industry of official and bootleg records, but this is the only one you need to listen to if you are curious about onee of the most exhilarating vocal phenomenons of the 20th century. Note how well she pronounces (in her native French or Italian), even though her voice lies so high that most sopranos singing high notes warble rather than pronounce real syllables and words. The radiance of this unique voice and sheer joy of singing heard here are treasurable indeed, especially in such a well-produced remastering (many Robin discs are technically dismal).

Mado Robin est une admirable musicienne. Dotée d'une voix extraordinaire, elle sait donner un éclat très personnel à ce qu'elle chante. On ne se lasse pas de l'écouter dans Lakmé. Son incarnation de Mireille est également très séduisante. Il y a une pureté enfantine dans cette voix. La diction est également très belle, les mots sont intelligibles et colorés comme savaient le faire les chanteurs de cette époque.