As I listen to my ipod shuffle, Lee Venora's renditions of various songs from the Lincoln Center revivals of Kismet and The King and I keep popping up. I begin to wonder whatever happened to her. Her voice is a thrilling and grand operatic lyric soprano that just somehow manages to surpass that of Doretta Morrow (being a remarkable singer herself, no disrespect is intended), the singing actress that originated the roles of Marsinah and Tuptim. Hearing Venora take on the final ascending line of "My Lord and Master" is nothing short of breathtaking; or listening to how she takes the final solo reprise of "And This is My Beloved" and completely makes you forget anyone else ever in existence ever sang that song.
Her musical theatre record credits aren't many: she recorded these two albums, the OBCR of Kean (on which she sings "Willow, Willow, Willow", Wright and Forrest's haunting musical setting of Othello's "Willow Song") and as Carrie on a studio cast album of Carousel, with Alfred Drake and Patrice Munsel in the leads. (The latter has never been released on CD). There's also an easy-listening album of Show Boat, but I wonder if anyone's ever heard that. My searches online are coming up with absolutely nothing, except that she has sung the role of Mimi in La Boheme and was also a soloist on various classical recordings, most notably Leonard Bernstein's Mahler's Symphonies.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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5 comments:
Lee has been retired for a goodly number of years. Lived in Alexandria, Va. for many years - recently relocated to Paso Robles,Ca. No longer singing. But she does have a tape with many of her songe from various shows/operas/oratorios (privately produced)
I attended the recording session held in NYC in September of 1963 for the Mahler 2nd symphony with Lee Venora as soloist with the NY Philharmonic and choir under Leonard Bernstein. I can still recall her lovely angelic voice soaring over the massed orchestral and choral sound.
The Bernstein recording is still considered among the very best of the many available recordings of
the "Resurrection" symphony.
I saw her in the superb production of KISMET at Lincoln Center in 1967. Alfred Drake, Anne Jeffries, Henry Calvin... What a cast!
Maybe that was 1969...
She spent the late 60's at Deutsche Oper, Berlin. Later on, she sang the title role in Hans Werner Henze's "Rachel la Cubana" which was filmed in Toronto and shown on PBS.
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