Elena Mosuc - Verdi: LA TRAVIATA, Sempre libera, Zurich 1997 High E-flat

THE SONGBIRD: Born in Iași in 1964, Elena Moșuc made her debut in her hometown singing Queen of the Night, Gilda, and Lucia. She started winning a bounty of vocal prizes in the early 1990s and was signed to the Zürich Opera House, where she has stayed for decades as prima donna. She has sung all the major coloratura roles there, while branching out into top opera houses and festivals around the globe. Moșuc's repertoire includes a few French works and plenty of high-flying Mozart (over 250 Queens of the Night -- which equates to well over 1,250 high Fs, and I am fairly confident she didn't miss even one of them). However, Moșuc has tended to focus on the Italian bel canto genre -- the standard coloratura heroines (Lucia, Gilda, Amina), the heavier "assoluta" bel canto roles (Anna Bolena, Norma, Lucrezia, Elisabetta, Luisa Miller), and more obscure ladies (Linda, Beatrice, Amalia, Imogene).

There are several uploads of Mosuc singing Violetta, but I believe this is the earliest in her career -- Zurich in 1997. It's worth noting that Mosuc sings both verses of the first aria, quite uncommon in a live performance.

THE MUSIC: Verdi's "La traviata" is the most popular opera in the world. According to Operabase statistics (https://www.operabase.com/statistics/en), since 1996 it's had 3,805 productions, more than any other opera. It was not a success at its premiere in Venice in 1853, due to the audience reactions to the singers, however productions in the following few years began to take hold (Madrid, Vienna, London, New York, and in a French translation in Paris) and this masterpiece been a part of the core repertoire ever since. Violetta, the principal soprano role and title character is a long, very challenging and rewarding role with consistently brilliant music and a compelling story arc. Her multipart aria at the end of Act One begins with an introspective recitative that segues into an intimate and probing aria "Ah fors'e lui" where she ponders her burgeoning attraction to Alfredo and what their life together might be like. Violetta stops herself cold when she realizes such a domestic life would be against her nature, and her fate, and in the highly florid cabaletta "Sempre libera" vows to continue living in the carefree lifestyle of a courtesan.

Видео Elena Mosuc - Verdi: LA TRAVIATA, Sempre libera, Zurich 1997 High E-flat канала songbirdwatcher