In 1983, mezzo-soprano Bianca Berini (above) gave a recital at a church in West Hartford, Connecticut, with Dan Saunders at the piano. Berini was a great favorite of mine, an old-style Italian mezzo with an intense, chest-based voice. During the program, she sang several operatic arias from works by Donizetti, Verdi; and Saint-Saens. The audience responded with mad enthusiasm. For her encores, Berini brought forth more lyrical pieces, including a beautifully intimate Venetian lullabye.
Oberon's Glade 