Lily Pons: Mad Scene From Lucia

The great coloratura in a signature role. For me, this is what Lucia should sound like. We have gone through a period in operatic history where for many conductors, stage managers and theater directors, only the voice mattered, and we have been treated, as a result, to what are supposed to be early teen-aged girls (I'm thinking of Lucia and Cho-cho san) who come off sounding like Aida and looking like they are embarking on a 3rd or 4th marriage. The operas—Lucia in particular—gain so much when the leading role can be sung by an actual teen-ager (unheard of today, but Adelina Patti did it at 16) or at the very least someone who sounds and looks like a girl, not a matron. The diminutive Lily Pons actually did look like a girl, and a little girl at that, and her vocal approach reflects that child-like simplicity. And that sound, to my ear, is near-perfect. This recording demonstrates what I would contend is a moving portrayal of the tragic child Lucia, and without any startling vocal tricks, extravagant fioratura, or roof-raising notes. A simple portrayal of a heart-broken child. Period. That's what the Mad Scene, at its aesthetic best, is about.