Rita Hunter in Concert
Rita Hunter is one of the great unsung heroines among sopranos. This live London concert from the 1970s catches her at her best in a programme of variety and passion.
Pietro Mascagni composer
Ivor Novello composer
Giacomo Puccini composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composer
Gus Kahn composer
Arthur A. Penn composer
Sigmund Romberg composer
Haydn Wood composer
Oscar Straus composer
Paolo Tosti composer
The recital was recorded live at Wyndham's Theatre, London, on 27 November 1977, with Victor Morris at the piano.
The programme mixes Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni and Mozart arias with lighter songs by Novello, Romberg, Straus and others. The Tall Poppies CD issue was digitally edited and remastered from that concert tape.
Reviews
It is a puzzle why, if Pavarotti can make it big, the infinitely more gifted Rita Hunter has been so seriously ignored by opera companies and record labels alike.…(on this CD) Hunter goes through her paces in a real old-fashioned recital program.…Of course, these are as much showpieces as the stuff that Pavarotti trots out, but Hunter's artistry is of an altogether higher order. Where Pavarotti deals in cliche after sobbing cliche, Hunter brings a far greater emotional range and places it at the service of a searching musical intelligence…Hunter's performances are thoroughly distinguished.
Artist
Rita Hunter
Rita Hunter (1933–2001) was a British dramatic soprano celebrated for her Wagnerian roles. From 1981 she made her home in Sydney and sang with the Australian Opera.
Tracks
- Aida Ritorna vincitor Giuseppe Verdi 6:36
- Cavalleria rusticana Voi lo sapete Pietro Mascagni 4:13
- King's Rhapsody Some day my heart will awake Ivor Novello 2:48
- The Dancing Years Waltz of my heart Ivor Novello 3:00
- Gianni Schicchi O my beloved daddy Giacomo Puccini 2:29
- Le nozze di Figaro Porgi amor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 3:04
- Springtime When April sings Gus Kahn 3:03
- Smilin' Through Arthur A. Penn 2:52
- La bohème They call me Mimì Giacomo Puccini 5:00
- The New Moon One kiss Sigmund Romberg 3:55
- Aida O patria mia Giuseppe Verdi 6:49
- A Brown Bird Singing Haydn Wood 3:24
- Bird of Love Divine Haydn Wood 3:10
- Madama Butterfly One fine day Giacomo Puccini 4:05
- Don Carlo Tu che le vanità Giuseppe Verdi 9:12
- The Chocolate Soldier My hero Oscar Straus 3:25
- Goodbye Paolo Tosti 4:26
Performers
- Victor Morris · piano
- Rita Hunter · soprano
Composers
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana lives by melody that cuts straight to the heart. The Intermezzo and the aria Voi lo sapete carry the opera's heat in a few concentrated minutes of lyric drama.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He wrote over 600 works, many of them pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic and choral music, and remains among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Giacomo Puccini
Puccini’s operas live on melody that climbs and breaks, on love, jealousy and sacrifice drawn with verismo heat. La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot still fill houses because the drama is already inside the tune.
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi wrote the operas that still define the Italian stage: Rigoletto, La traviata, Aida, Otello. His music turns private passion and public fate into melody audiences know by heart and never tire of hearing.
Arthur A. Penn
Arthur A. Penn was the composer of the ballad Smilin’ Through (1919).
Oscar Straus
Oscar Straus wrote Viennese operettas and songs that balance theatre sparkle with a lighter lyric voice. His best-known stage works include A Waltz Dream and The Chocolate Soldier, whose waltz and aria writing still surface in recital.
Where to listen
Rita Hunter in Concert is available for streaming through Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
Rita Hunter in Concert is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- TP021
- Total playing time
- 71 minutes 31 seconds
- Editing Engineer
- Belinda Webster
- Mastering Engineer
- Don Bartley
Meredith Brooks - Venue
- Wyndham's Theatre, London
- Release date
- 19 May 1993
- Label
- Tall Poppies
- Musical work
copyright - © 1993 Tall Poppies Records
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 1993 Tall Poppies Records
- Category
- Voice / Soundscape
- Genres
- Vocal & Opera, Stage & Screen
- Barcode
- EAN 9399000002123
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