The Verdi Soprano

The Italian soprano Anita Cerquetti (1931-2014) was a phenomenon. Her opera career began in 1951 in Spoleto - as Aida (!) - and took her to the greatest opera houses in the world, only to end in the Netherlands in 1960. After just nine seasons, the then 29-year-old singer withdrew from the stage to her private life. The reasons for this are still not entirely clear today; in an interview the singer explained that she no longer wished to be exposed to the stress and time pressure of modern opera life The stress and pressure of modern opera life. There are only two commercial recordings of her, both released by Decca in 1957. The prima donna was, however, denied a studio career: at that time, the major soprano roles were unfortunately assigned by the record companies to Maria Callas or Renata Tebaldi. But thanks to numerous preserved live recordings, she instead became the "Queen of the Pirates", whose semi-illegal to illegal recordings circulated early on as special treasures on the black market among singers and opera lovers On the black market. The reasons for this are understandable: Because here lies a voice that radiates pure sensuality in the most luxuriant femininity. Because this voice is one of the most beautiful ever heard in opera; never aggressive, sharp, shrill, but round, soft, lyrical, empathetic. This voice is practically made for Giuseppe Verdi's romantic heroines - for the softly swinging, melancholic melodic lines of Ernani and Vespri Siciliani-Elvira, the Masked Ball-Amelia, Don Carlo-Elisabetta, Forza del destino-Leonore, even for the powerful octave leaps of the imperious Nabucco-Abigaille. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of her death, this box is being released, in honor of the unforgettable Anita Cerquetti as the most prominent Verdi interpreter of her time.