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Maria Nemeth sings Arias by Verdi, Mozart, Weber and Goldmark Recorded 1927, 1929 Download ID: 265040 (Duration 74'55") Restoration by HTS Studio for Hänssler Classic COMES WITH ENGLISH NOTES & COVERS

Pace, pace, mio dio Verdi - La Forza del Destino

»Turandot? Yes, I like it - but only when Nemeth sings it.« This was the answer that Lotte Lehmann gave when asked about the Viennese premiere of Turandot. It was a double premiere: On October the 14th, 1926, Lotte Lehmann and Leo Slezak sang the lead roles, and on October the 15th, Maria Nemeth and Jan Kiepura sang them. Lehmann knew very well that she didn't have the right type of voice for the killer role of Turandot; she lacked the metallic penetration in the upper register that one simply must have to sing this role - a vocal quality which Maria Nemeth held with sovereignty. According to eye-witnesses, the Nemeth/Kiepura duel foreshadowed the type of »Clash of the Titans« that Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli delivered a generation later.

Because of this legend, the role of Turandot was Nemeth's claim to fame; unfortunately, however, the recordings she left behind leave one imagining the tone quality of the Hungarian singer rather than hearing it. Her studio recording of Turandot's entrance (Grammophon, 1927) suffers not only under the hurried tempo of the conductor, but also under the weakly imaginative performance of the singer. In addition, the last flourish up to the high notes ends up clearly too flat - apparently Nemeth wasn't in her best form for the recording. Proof of this voice that could cut like a laser beam through the choral and orchestral masses can be heard in fragments of two Turandot performances recorded at the Vienna State Opera (1934 with Kiepura, 1941 with Todor Mazaroff). Regrettably, the tone quality of these home-made recordings is too poor to be able to really enjoy them.

However, there is a whole array of recordings that not only prove the exceptional quality of her voice, but that also paint a many-faceted picture of the singer.The majority of them contain the normally-considered portrait, and the more one listens, the less one can understand why Nemeth was so heavily identified with Turandot. Certainly, the flame-like heights are impressive, especially in the two excerpts from Konigin von Saba; here one can form a lively conception of how exciting this voice must have been in the theater. But why is she not at least equally well-known as a Verdi singer? An Aida, Forza-Leonora, and Amelia of this quality should have already been in demand at this time...

Excerpted from enclosed sleevenotes, Thomas Voigt © 2004

Track Listing:

1. Ritorna vincitor! - Verdi - Aida
2. O patria mia - Verdi - Aida
3. Wehe, main Vater! (Ciel, mio padre!) - Verdi - Aida
4. Son giunta! / Madre, Madre, pietosa vergine - Verdi - La Forza del Destino
5. Pace, pace, mio dio - Verdi - La Forza del Destino
6. Tacea la notte placida - Verdi - Il Trovatore
7. Di tale amor - Verdi - Il Trovatore
8. Nicht fühl ich Furcht / In deines Kerkers tiefe Nacht (Timor di me? - D'amor sull'ali rosee) - Verdi - Il Trovatore
9. Der Tod sei mir willkommen (Morrò, ma prima in grazia) - Verdi - Un Ballo in Machera
10. Wenn das Kraut, wie die Seherin kündet (Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa) - Verdi - Un Ballo in Machera
11. Ach ich liebte - Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail
12. Martern aller arten - Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail
13. Ozean, du Ungeheuer - Weber - Oberon
14. Der Freund ist dein - Goldmark - Die Königin von Saba
15. Doch eh' ich in des Todes Tal zur letzen Ruhe gehe - Goldmark - Die Königin von Saba

Please note: This is not a Pristine Audio historic restoration.

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