THE VOCAL RECORD COLLECTORS' SOCIETY

PRESENTS


A TRIBUTE TO MAGDA OLIVERO

By
NICHOLAS E. LIMANSKY


Nick Limansky's VRCS programs are always awaited with keen anticipation. His subjects have run the gamut from verismo opera to coloratura sopranos, and he has even given two programs on the singular Yma Sumac, the second of which was done in conjunction with the publication of his book, YMA SUMAC Ð THE ART BEHIND THE LEGEND. And now, here he is again, this time with a particularly timely tribute to the great Magda Olivero, whose one-hundredth birthday we all celebrated along with her this past March. Most of what can be said of Magda (she is rarely called anything else) has already been said for about three-quarters of a century now, but Nick plans to discuss her technique, elaborate on her life and legacy, and take us through many of her recordings, perhaps even treating us to a comparison study of some of them with those of several of her soprano contemporaries (the term ÒrivalsÓ would be incorrect since she was, and remains, ÒuniqueÓ by any standard you may wish to apply), most of whom she outlasted even though, in most cases, she was a dozen years or more their senior and was recording when they were still in adolescence!

Nick Limansky has been singing professionally in New York City since 1979, specializing in concert and church work, and has appeared with such choral groups as Musica Sacra, The Bach Aria Group, The New York Philharmonic, Opera Orchestra of New York, Musica Aeterna, The National Chorale, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. In addition to now being a biographer, he also writes on singing, his reviews appearing in THE RECORD COLLECTOR, OPERA NEWS and OPERA QUARTERLY, and he has written a series of critical analyses of arias from the soprano literature for the first-named publication. An avid collector, Nick specializes in live recordings and has a library of over 6,500 complete operatic performances, 2,000 recitals, and more than 300 collections that concentrate on single artists. He is also a VRCS board member and is now lead writer of the notes for our annual CD issues, the most gargantuan of which, the 2009 double-CD set, constituted a particularly grueling job for which we are all in his debt

One can never get enough of Magda Olivero, nor of Nick Limansky, so do come and bear witness to the latter celebrating the former in fine VRCS style.




DATE: FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2010
TIME: 7:30P.M. SHARP
PLACE: CHRIST CHURCH BASEMENT AUDITORIUM
PARK AVE. & 60TH STREET
N. Y. C.


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