From the category archives:
Obituaries
Leyla Gencer 1924-2008
One of my favorites has passed away. La Diva Turca, La Regina, La Gencer. I have 2.1 days of Leyla Gencer in my iTunes (and I haven’t even completed The Great iTunes Migration yet). What I admire about Gencer is her intense emotional commitment no matter what she’s singing, and she sang a lot of repertoire: in my iTunes alone, I’ve got 2 Gencer Elisabettas, 2 Gencer Elviras, 2 Gencer Gildas, 2 Gencer Giocondas, 2 Gencer Lucrezias …. I could go on, of course. For me, though, it was Gencer’s unique ability to make you feel like she was communicating directly to you which really made her special. The prima donna assoluta, indeed.
To commemorate this great artist’s passing, let’s listen to the Verdi Requiem with La Gencer singing the soprano role.
Leyla Gencer
Franca Mattiucci
David Hugues
Marius RintzierJohn Barbirolli, conductor.
Genoa 1967
Verd Requiem Part 1 Verdi “Messa di Requiem” Part 1
Verdi Requiem Part 2 Verdi “Messa di Requiem” Part 2
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