Mirella Freni 1935-2020

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

A truly great soprano who partnered Pavarotti in so many fine operatic performances and recordings.

Versatile too, from Mozart to Russian opera

[cloughie]

A truly great soprano who partnered Pavarotti in so many fine operatic performances and recordings.

Versatile too, from Mozart to Russian opera

Another of those names on many a good recording over the years. RIP Mirella.

[Zucchini]

My wife sat next to her at the ROH during a Pavarotti recital. She willingly signed our programme at the interval, asked my wife's name & said she was off to see Luciano and would get him to sign it as well. It said/says "Dear [wife's name], thank you for recognising my dear friend. Luciano P".

Mirella was beautifully dressed and wore a fabulous Cartier watch. My wife made me buy her a not dissimilar Rolex Cellini for her birthday so an expensive night out.

A wonderful singer and performer on stage. Only saw her performing with LP.

[Master Jacques]

My wife sat next to her at the ROH during a Pavarotti recital. She willingly signed our programme at the interval, asked my wife's name & said she was off to see Luciano and would get him to sign it as well. It said/says "Dear [wife's name], thank you for recognising my dear friend. Luciano P".

What a lovely anecdote. It speaks well for Mirella Freni, one of those generous singers for whom nobody seems to have had a bad word. Her earlier, lighter recordings will easily maintain their (and her) place in the pantheon for decades to come. I'm sad to hear she's gone.

[LHC]

I saw her in concert singing Puccini arias at the RFH with the Philharmonia and Sinopli. At the end of the concert she sang her prepared encore, un bel di from Madama Butterfly, but the audience just wouldn’t let her leave. After being called back to the stage several times, she looked up at Sinopli and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, well what do we now? After a quick conflab, she repeated two of the arias she had sung earlier in the concert, eventually leaving the stage to great acclaim.

[LeMartinPecheur]

a truly great soprano who partnered pavarotti in so many fine operatic performances and recordings.

Versatile too, from mozart to russian opera

RIP

[I'm not a great collector of Italian opera on disc, but the very first complete opera I bought was Colin Davis's newly released Nozze di Figaro with Freni as Susanna. A bargain in 1972 at a Philips introductory price of £7 instead of £10 but even so, being still at school, I had to arrange a loan from my sister.]

[CallMePaul]

Mirella Freni RIP

Sad news: https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...freni-obituary

RIP Mirella

[Barbirollians]

Very sad news - a great soprano - time to play the end of Act 1 from her La Boheme before bed.

[underthecountertenor]

Her Desert Island Discs was worth 30 minutes of my time. I didn't learn much that I didn't already know, and Roy Plomley's oleaginous approach sounds really dated ('Do you like cooking?'), but her generous personality shines through.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mzmb

[Barbirollians]

I have been listening to her and Pavarotti in Boheme and Butterfly and how much more involved and how much better Pavarotti’s vocal acting appears to be when singing with her than say Sutherland - chemistry I suppose.