GIANNINA RUSS , the art of

The Record Collector TRC 29
(see website in the links section to order the cd)

Every self-respecting vocal buff is –or should be - of course a subscriber to the record collector. Every self-respecting vocal buff  should also get their cd-releases. As their previous issue on tenor Stefan Islandi was sold out in weeks we urge you to order the Russ release asap. There were Giannina Russ LP releases before but nothing on CD. Giannina Russ (1878-1951) can be heard on 23 tracks including arias and duets recorded from 1904 till 1910. To those who love vocal archeology or nostalgia for that matter Russ doesn’t need any introduction either yet  in singers’ books she seems to be rather neglected even Michael Scott in his Record of Singing hardly pays any attention to her a fate also bestowed on Eugenia Burzio. The late Italian critic Rodolfo Celetti was far more positive describing her as “probably the only Italian singer in the first 20 years of the 20th century who succeeded in expressing completely the old formula of the soprano drammatico d’agilita”.  Other adjectives to describe her voice by Celetti include marvellous timbre, silvery brightness, homogenous resonant in every register, fluidity, belcantistic, great volume and a diamond-like ring. The booklet include an essay on her career and an assessment of her recordings by Alan Bilgora. The photo on the CD cover comes from the Otto Striebel collection and not from our own Charles Mintzer as stated in the CD's booklet.

Rudi van den Bulck