Glass Shatterers! Mariella Devia is astonishing! (+ long cadenza)

~The "Glass Shatterers!" series focuses on sopranos who sustain High F, or sing higher. THE SONGBIRD: Here is the legendary Mariella Devia, one of the great coloratura sopranos of our -- or any -- era. She was born in 1948, made her debut as Despina at the Spoleto Festival in 1972, and was still singing concerts in good form through 2020 (acknowledging the pandemic had halted or altered many venue bookings). Devia is a bel canto specialist, but also sings baroque works and the lyric-coloratura roles of Mozart and several French composers. THE MUSIC: Auber's 1856 opera-comique was the first of the three major operatic treatments of Abbé Prévost's novel "Manon Lescaut," but his has been eclipsed in popularity by the much more emotionally rich versions from Puccini and Massenet. In Auber's hands the role of Manon, the country girl who becomes a glittering courtesan in Paris then dies in Louisiana, is one of the most technically daunting in the French coloratura repertoire with several long, high, and florid arias and ensembles. The best known piece from the work is "C'est l'histoire amoureuse" -- also known as "L'eclat de rire" or the "Laughing Song." It is not a stand-alone aria in the opera, but woven into the finale of Act One -- which you can hear in context from Devia's complete performance. Similar to Adele's aria in "Die Fledermaus," Auber uses coloratura figures to mimic laughter. Ever since its creation it has been a chosen showcase for singers such as Adelina Patti (who interpolated it into the lesson scene in "The Barber of Seville"), Amelita Galli-Curci, Bidu Sayao, Lily Pons, and others.