Search - Georges Bizet, Friedrich von Flotow, Charles Gounod :: Lebendige Vergangenheit: Margherita Perras

Another Distinquished Greek Soprano

10/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perras for some reason is omitted in Steane's The Grand Tradition, and like a Bordeaux estate passed over in the 1855 classification, her reputation has suffered, and lauding her to others can be an uphill struggle. Yet Perras, a Greek soprano who had a fascinating European career, developed into an outstanding German soprano between the wars. A protege of the conductor Bruno Walter, her singing shows off a patrician command of the highest operatic demands, her long sustained notes, her accute and unerring pitch, a fine trill when trills were fast diappearing on the opera stages of Europe - she is a singer who must be heard, and most especially in Mozart, where her skills are imbued with an ever present humanity. Her rendition of Mozart's aria "Marten aller Arten" from the "Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" sets a very high standard indeed! But all her singing is an utter delight, very modern in its musicality, unfailing in the way she conveys the meaning of the words. Retiring from the opera stage at the start of the war may partly explain how such a great artist could be so forgotten. There was certainly no nobler singer while she was recording.

Steane missed a few - don't miss this fine soprano!"

Very Fine Over-Looked Singer

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 10/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The other Perras review is a remarkable review for a kid.

Anyway, Perras was a popular German radio opera singer who sang, not without success, in the German opera houses and abroad up until the beginning of the Second World War. There is not a great deal of information about this singer - several of her duets were highly thought of in her day, such as the Duet with Husch on this CD from Mozart's Magic Flute. On the smallish stage of Glyndebourne her deficiencies as an actress were not appreciated; her retirement from the stage was expedited by her marriage to a Swiss doctor, and her leaving Germany to live in neutral Zurich. After the war she made a few performances, but for the most part her operatic career, at least in major roles, was an exceedingly brief one. After 1939 or so her career was filled with lieder evenings and recitals. She made a few, very rare, recordings of the Swiss composer, Otmar Schoeck. After the war she made a few guest appearance in Vienna for a year. It would be nice if Preiser might release a second Perras CD with a few more of her recordings, perhaps an air check? And a few of the impossible to afford Schoeck songs would be great and exactly why we have reissues. As it stand this is all there is or is likely to be, unless, like myself, you collect old shellac recordings.



Perras's voice remains the consummate Mozart voice, an exquisite tone, carried out on long sustained lines. Her technique was good enough to surpass most of her contemporaries; Perras' performances as Constanze from Mozart's Entfuhrung aus dem Serail set off most of her strengths, though they are by no means the beginning and the end of the things making this singer a clear standout. In quieter passages Perras maintained the noble lines and pathos of her characters as well as the best singers. I especially admire her in the Carmen duet on this CD, but as I have many of her original 78's I'll only add that here is a singer of some musical distinction; Perras is a very modern singer in her approach to note values, and attention to score details.

Although she at times recalls Jokl the coloratura, her voice is altogether larger and more adaptive for roles requiring a full lyric soprano and not a coloratura. Finding just the right role for this versatile artist sometimes poses difficulties - Perras is quite good in a surprisngly large range of singing, from the coloratura demands of Mignon to the heavier singing of Puccini. However there's little doubt she's a perfect fit in Mozart, especially in Constanze and Tamina, the German soprano leads. There she's ravishing, a must hear."