EIGHTIES LADIES
Here are some sopranos who achieved their greatest fame in the 1980's. They may have started earlier, and may still be singing, but generally I think of them as "peaking" in the during the Me Decade.
I didn't used to like Judith Blegen's voice -- it struck me as thin and brittle; but lately I've been re-evaluating her art and find her to be marvelous! Great style, poise, and high notes. And not afraid to ornament! I think the studio engineers had a hard time capturing the distinctive overtones in her voice.
Is Luciana Serra still singing? This photo of her as Olympia is from about 1980 -- considering she debuted in 1966 (!), that is really the middle of her career, although she didn't hit the bigtime until the 80's. A completely distinct and gifted coloratura singer -- great with florid work and fearless. She sang just about everything.
Christine Weidinger started as a folk singer in coffee house, then heard Sutherland and switched to opera. She won the Met auditions and debuted there as Musetta. Appearing in small roles in the 1980's with Horne and Sutherland led her to bel canto, and now she sings the heavier florid leads from Donizetti and Verdi around the world.
Mariella Devia looking glamorous and involved as Gilda above and Violetta in the Brindisi below. I find her voice to be getting a bit thick now, but in the 80's and 90's she was simply unmatchable for tone, flexibility, brilliant high notes, ornamentation, legato. The woman was as close to flawless as one could hope for in this lifetime.
Kathleen Battle is still concertizing (and creating controversy), but I'm sure she is looking forward to retirement soon. I've seen her live many times, and find her voice absolutely stunning in its celestial beauty. She is pictured below in a rare, very pretty candid shot.
Can you believe how young and lovely she is in this cover shot? It is from the early 1980's when she was just beginning to make a splash at the Met.
Erie Mills continues to sing, having just knocked the socks off of critics in a rare remount of Argento's Miss Havisham's Fire. But her peak was mid-1980's.
The amazing Edita Gruberova is still singing, and one could argue better than ever, but since she hit it big in the 1980's, I've included her here. Will she just sing forever? Pictured below looking young and romantic in Bellini -- perhaps Giulietta?
The often glamorous Yvonne Kenny, from Australia, looking intentionally frumpy in Strauss' Intermezzo. In her early years she sang the most gorgeous, gleaming coloratura. She has since moved into more lyric roles.
