Tag: Josephine Veasey

  • Anna Reynolds: Berlioz ~ LA CAPTIVE

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    Anna Reynolds was my first RHEINGOLD Fricka; at The Met’s Saturday matinee performance of February 22nd, 1969, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, Ms. Reynolds replaced the scheduled Josephine Veasey in the role of Wotan’s wife and made a memorable impression on me. I sent Anna Reynolds a fan letter a couple of days later, and received the above photo from her soon after. Read about that spectacular February weekend here.

    In 1975, I had the good fortune to see Ms. Reynolds again on The Met stage as the WALKURE Fricka; she was superb. For years, I owned an LP of the mezzo-soprano singing Schumann songs; her interpretation of Mondnacht remains a favorite, though the LP has long since vanished.

    Among the hundreds of items I was able to rescue from my old cassettes – converting them to MP3s – this recording of Anna Reynolds singing Berlioz’ La Captive from a 1969 BBC broadcast is particularly dear to me.

    Anna Reynolds – Berlioz ~ LA CAPTIVE – BBC 1969