Col sorriso d'innocenza

THE MUSIC: Bellini's "Il pirata" premiered in Milan in 1827. Like so many bel canto operas, it was initially very popular before fading out of the repertory for many decades only to be rediscovered during the bel canto revival launched by Maria Callas (her production at La Scala in 1958 and the recording of a concert performance in New York). Frankly, I don't know this complete opera at all, but can say that Imogene is not typically sung by a lyric-coloratura and instead works well for a bigger voice that has flexibility, sometimes referred to as a "soprano assoluta." Imogene loses her mind after her husband has been killed in a jealous fight by her previous lover, who has turned himself into the authorities and is about to be executed. Her mad scene concludes the melodrama.

THE SONGBIRD: Michele Crider is lirico-spinto soprano, not a coloratura, but I am sharing her version of this bel canto mad scene to hear what bigger voices can sound like in florid bel canto works. Crider was born in Illinois in 1959. After college, she travelled to Zurich and was a winner in the Geneva voice competition in 1989, followed by the International Grand Prix. She made her debut in Dortmund as Leonora in "Il trovatore." She has sung leading roles (Aida, Tosca, Amelia, Norma, Gioconda, Butterfly, Elvira in "Ernani," and Santuzza, among others) at prominent opera houses around the world including London, Madrid, Barcelona, Zurich, Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Hamburg, Verona, Lisbon, Milan, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, and Edinburgh. Her debut at The Met came in 1997 as Cio-Cio-San, and was followed by another 50 performances there of various operas through 2008. Other appearances in the U.S. include San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.