Search - Luigi Arditi, Vincenzo Bellini, Georges Bizet :: Lebendige Vergangenheit: Graziella Pareto

Dulcet-toned Spanish coloratura

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 12/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Graziella Pareto records are invariably a treat, and we are fortunate this Cd is available; another early offering from Pearl seems to have disappeared.

Pareto's was an exquiste and beautiful voice, touched with a bewitching sense of coloring, and used with real distinction. While still a teenager Pareto studied in Milan with Melchiorre Vidal, and her style shows her as one of the last of the 'old school' sopranos, and not a Verismo singer. (Like many sopranos from Spain - not to mention the mezzos, such as Superiva!, Pareto's career was well on its way long before she turned twenty.)

The Preiser selections offer slightly better sound than Pearl's Cd on the earliest 1907 recordings, made when she was only 18! The high surface noise on these have always been the bane of collectors; despite a few shrill high notes this is engaging and charming singing of a rare order. Pareto's next batch of recordings took place over a decade later - the sound is a little better and a lot cleaner, but the essential quality and charm of her singing remains.

Pareto is often compared, unfairly, to some of her great contemporaries, such as Tetrazzini or Bori or Galli-Curci. Chicago actually hired her as a replacement for Galli-Curci, quite an act to follow! Pareto's performance on this Cd of Michaela's aria from Carmen (in Italian) has a great deal of the true Melba fire - the highest compliment! At her best Pareto is not only a sweet-toned coloratura but a superb artist.

"