Nina Koshetz Edition
Published:
COMPOSERS: Various
LABELS: Pearl Opal
PERFORMER: Nina Koshetz
CATALOGUE NO: OPAL CDS 9855 (2 discs)
If Galli-Curci’s brilliant and engaging voice triumphs over the passage of time so, surely, does the passionate, sweet-and-silvery vocalising of operatic superstar, restaurateur, Hollywood music coach and bon viveur, Nina Koshetz. Larger than life both in spirit and body, Koshetz was the stuff that romantic novels are made of.
Pearl’s Opal set includes a multitude of gems, not least being Chopin’s Tristesse, the traditional Yiddish Eili Eili and music by Rachmaninov (who was once Koshetz’s lover), Tchaikovsky, Grechaninov, etc. Heard directly after the theatrical emotionalism of Nina Koshetz, Kirsten Flagstad’s imperious declamations might seem rather cold, even formidable – appropriately, perhaps, given Flagstad’s preference for gods, heroes and heroines.