Gianna D'angelo is in peak form with pristine tone and coloratura

Bellini: I PURITANI, Qui la voce and Vien diletto, Bilbao, 1967 High E-flat THE SONGBIRD: Gianna d'Angelo (1929 - 2013) was born Jane Angelovich in Hartford, but changed her name to its Italian equivalent at the suggestion of Toti dal Monte, with whom she studied while in Venice. D'Angelo made her debut in Rome in 1954 as Gilda and the following year sang Rosina in Glyndebourne. There were more roles in Italy, and jobs in Paris and Edinburgh — then her American debut as Lucia came in 1959 in San Francisco. She first sang at The Met in 1961 as Gilda. Over eight seasons there, she sang 45 performances and has the distinction of being The Met's very first Zerbinetta -- in the 1962 company premiere of "Ariadne auf Naxos," conducted by Karl Böhm. She sang leading roles in New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Houston, among other U.S, companies. When she retired from singing, she joined the voice faculty at Indiana University, where she taught for nearly 30 years. THE MUSIC: "I puritani" was Bellini's last opera. It premiered in Paris in January 1835, and Bellini died in September 1835 at the age of 33. It was tremendously successful and the opera was performed regularly throughout Europe and in New York until the early 1900s. It went mostly dormant until it caught the public's attention during the bel canto revival ignited by Maria Callas and carried forward by Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, Edita Gruberova, and others. Elvira is one of Bellini's most mentally delicate creatures and her mad scene is an elegant depiction of her fragile emotional state. The entire mad scene is very long (almost 20 minutes with no cuts), this excerpt begins a few minutes into the scene.