At the age of fifty-nine, the great Spanish soprano, much loved from many recitals in Britain, was approaching the end of her career. This Scottish leg of her farewell tour presumably included Edinburgh, Galsgow and Aberdeen. Perhaps more surprising was the inclusion of Dundee and Inverness.
The voice was clearly not as fresh as it had been at her peak - she had, after all, been before the public for some forty years. But if her Schumann was perhaps slightly hesitant, her Spanish songs after the interval were still gorgeous, and received with rapture by a Dundee audience no longer able to take for granted regular visits by the star singers.
De Los Angeles was, in her heyday, accustomed to collaborating with famous pianists including Geerald Moore and Geoffrey Parsons. Graham Johnson was of a younger generation, but played with a lovely range of subtle touches.
The programme was as follows:
Vivaldi Two arias
Piango, gemo, sospiro.
Ingrata, si mi svena.
Handel: So shall the lute and harp awake Judas Maccabaeus.
Schumann: Frauenliebe und -leben.
Mompou: El Combat del Somni.
1 Damunt de tu nomes les flors.
2 Aquesta nit un mateix vent.
3 Jo et pressentia com la mar.
Albeniz: Two Italian Ballads
1 Barcarola
2 Morirò.
Montsalvatge: Cinco Canciones Negras
1 Cuba dentro de un pano
2 Punto de Habanera
3 Chevere
3 Cancion de cuna para dormir a un negrito
5 Canto negro
Three encores included Bizet: Seguidille Carmen - also two Zarzuela items.
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