Spanish soprano, 1887 - 1960
Biographical notes:
She was born in Valencia. Lucrezia y Borja Gonzales de Riancho received a well-grounded musical education at the local conservatory. In 1908 she made a successful debut as Micaela at
the Teatro Adriano in Rome. She also appeared in Italian provincial theatres. Soon afterwards she was called to the San Carlo to substitute for Maria Farneti in Madame Butterfly (!). Bori’s
distinction in these early performances was soon recognised. She was offered a contract at La Scala for the 1910 - 1911 season, at Toscanini’s urging. At the same time she was offered an
American debut at the Met, but had to defer it for two years as she was under contract with La Scala. She made her debut as Carolina in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto at La Scala, and in the
same year she sang Octavian in the Italian premiere of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier! In 1912 she made her debut as Manon Lescaut at the Met. Her other roles included Gilda, Mimì, Nedda,
Norina, Micaela and others. In 1915 she had developed nodes on her vocal chords requiring a series of delicate operations, and she passed nearly four years in silence, hoping her voice would
return unimpaired. She made her return to the stage at Monte Carlo in 1919 as Mimì, singing opposite Beniamino Gigli for the first time. The outcome was sufficiently successful that she
returned the following year for a more ardous schedule. She returned to the Met in 1921 as Mimì. 1921 marked her return to the Victor studios. She was one of the most highly respected and
greatly loved singers in the Met’s history and after her retirement she was appointed to the Board of Directors, the first singer to be so honored.
As Suzanne in Wolf-Ferrari’s “The Secret of Suzanne”
In the title role of Mascagni’s Iris
As Norina
Lucrezia Bori in Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut”
As Manon
Comment: Her voice was of modest size but it was of a individual and delicate timbre, capable to draw
characters of pathetic fragility. She imbued them with intense and passionate feeling. There is elegance and charme in her singing which is entirely her own. Listen to John McCormack, Miguel
Fleta, Beniamino Gigli or Giuseppe de Luca, all singers partnered her in a number of superb duets. I like her voice best in her acoustic recordings.
Lucrezia Bori certainly belongs to the great lyric sopranos of the century. She is a singer of fine and exquisite taste. My favorite recordings:
- La Danza (Rossini / Victor 1914) - O soave fanciulla (Mimì in La Bohème / Puccini / Victor 1914) - Parigi,o cara, noi lascieremo (Violetta in La Traviata / Verdi / Victor 1914) - Un dì, ero piccina, al tempio (Title role in Iris / Mascagni / Victor 1915) - In uomini (Despina in Così fan tutte / Mozart / Victor 1922) - Non mi resta (Suzel in L’Amico Fritz / Mascagni / Victor 1923) - Adieu, notre petite table (Title role in Manon / Massenet / Victor 1923) - Sono andati? Fingevo di dormire with Tito Schipa (Mimì in La Bohème /Puccini / Victor 1925) - O Dio, Mimì with Tito Schipa (Mimì in La Bohème / Puccini / Victor 1925)
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