Maria Vitale - Vissi d'arte [Tosca] - 1950s

Born in 1924, Vitale studied with the renowned Giannina Arangi-Lombardi in Milan. At first it was assumed that her voice was that of a coloratura soprano, however upon the recommendation of composer Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli, she turned to the dramatic soprano repertoire. After singing in the Martini-Rossi concerts on Italian radio, she appeared as a guest at the Paris Opéra in 1950 to considerable success, singing Norma, Leonora, Amelia, Aida. From 1951, the 50th anniversary Giuseppe Verdi's death, she became something of a specialist in Verdi rarities, making RAI recordings of Leonora in Oberto, Giselda in I Lombardi, Lucrezia in I due Foscari, and Mina in Aroldo. ..................................... This channel is primarily about vocal emission—aural examples of basically correct singing, correct impostazione—chiaroscuro, vowel clarity, firm and centered pitch, correct vibrato action, absence of throatiness or thickness, sounds free from constriction and from the acoustic noise that accompanies it—with occasional video examples that demonstrate what the body, face, mouth, jaw, and tongue look like when used with correct impostazione—the vocal emission of the one and only Italian school. Caveat: I'm biased in favor of baritones and baritone literature, but if you want to learn about and listen to all the greatest singers in the old-school tradition, explore this spreadsheet (voice parts are separated by tabs): https://bit.ly/2W4qmE3