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Lisa della Casa


Born: Burgdorf, 2 February 1919
D�but: Solothurn-Biel, 1941, Madama Butterfly

This Swiss soprano was associated overwhelmingly with one role - that of Arabella. She recorded it under Georg Solti for Decca, as well as various extracts which are also available on CD. Her voice was well-suited to Strauss phrases, with full, creamy tone in the upper register, and she has been much acclaimed in both Strauss and Mozart. Most people seem to me wilfully to overlook the down side - that below a certain pitch (not that low down) her voice was virtually dead - almost totally devoid of tone and colour. In this area of the voice she was also inclined to sing slightly under the note. Unfortunately this meant that in almost any role there were going to be patches that were less agreeable than others. Certainly it's the case with Ariadne, where the singer is expected to reach down to a low A. On the other hand, her voice was larger than one might guess from listening to her studio recordings, so that she was able to sing roles as heavy as Chrysothemis.

Other roles included Countess Almaviva, Donna Elvira and the Marschallin, all of which can be heard on CD.


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