Ghena Dimitrova - "Son giunta...Madre pietosa vergine..."

Ghena Dimitrova @ the 1993 Richard Tucker gala @Avery Fisher Hall in NY.........................................................................

A Tribute to Ghena Dimitrova.......................................................
With the freezing-snowstorm making for a difficult commute
The Met's evening offering looked ripe for a cancellation.
It was Franco Zeferelli's new production of "Turandot,"
The recent premiere of which had caused a huge sensation.
So I hastily prepared for my trip to Lincoln Center
Since the weather hadn't left the subways paralyzed.
It was Ghena Dimitrova in her Met debut engagement,
I was on my way to hear a voice unmatched in size.
It came time for Turandot's entrance during the riddle scene.
The set was the Emperor's palace, as opulent as could be.
Ghena's "In questa reggia" left us sitting there in awe.
In the second row I trembled and sat waiting for Act III.
That was my introduction to a singer world-renowned,
For many, many years, well known outside the Met.
Some operative at the house had deemed her voice "provincial,"
How she came to that conclusion is something I'll never get.
When I finally met my idol, it was backstage at the Met.
She extended her hand to me, I knelt and kissed it.
Later, I was told by the conductor who'd introduced me
That when I did that "mia piccola Ghena" had blushed.
Jose A. Rivera