Back to Opera Vocals page
FÉLIA LITVINNE
Félia
Litvinne (soprano) was born in St. Petersburg in 1860 of German and
Canadian parents. After study in Paris her debut in 1883 was as
Amelia in Simon Boccanegra (Verdi) with the Theatre Italien
company. Her voice was suited to the larger rather than coloratura
roles, and she appeared as Brunnhilde in Die Walkure, Siegfried
and Götterdämmerung (Wagner) (in French and
Russian as well as in the original German), as Isolde in Tristan
und Isolde (Wagner) and in Aida (Verdi) and
L'Africaine (Meyerbeer). She died in 1936.
'I
SACRI NOMI' (Aida) (Verdi)
Historic Masters HMB10 (modern vinyl pressing of Fonotipia 39217),
recorded Paris, 1905 (1.4MB).
Benefiting from the reduced surface noise of the vinyl pressing
this recording from the Italian Fonotipia label - remarkably good for
its age - shows her clear and dramatic voice off well (and the
limitations of the piano). Transferred at 80rpm as indicated on the
label.
Symposium
have issued two CDs which include records by Litvinne, amongst
others: the numbers are SYMCD1101 & 1128.
I have not heard these transfers and list them here simply for
information. I can't guarantee they are still available.