Marcella Sembrich in great sound: Vespri Siciliani, Halka, Traviata, Don Pasquale & Zarzuela

Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935) was one of the most famous and celebrated opera singers of her time, especially during her prime years during the 1880s and 1890s. Her recordings made in the early 20th century still show her in amazing vocal shape, and despite their unavoidably poor quality they reveal an extremely flexible vocal instrument, with a vibrant and full lyric quality, solid low and high notes, and a remarkable and vivacious coloratura, especially her trills, certainly among the best in the history of opera recordings. Now you can hear these four great arias and one delightful duet in much improved sound (keep in mind, though, that these are still 110-year-old registers!). Included are two beautiful rarities seldom recorded. 1) Asenjo Barbieri: "Lo que está de Dios" - 1910 [0:00] 2) Verdi: "Mercè, dilette amiche", from I Vespri Siciliani [3:56] 3) Moniuszko: "Gdyby rannym słonkiem", from Halka [7:31] 4) Verdi: "Ah, fors'è lui... Sempre libera", from La Traviata [11:47] 5) Donizetti: "Vado, corro", from Don Pasquale, with baritone Antonio Scotti [15:57]