WFMT surveys music written for and by Pauline Viardot. The renowned mezzo-soprano, composer, and 19th-century cultural influencer inspired significant works from Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns (who wrote Samson and Delilah for her), Frédéric Chopin, Giacomo Meyerbeer, and Johannes Brahms, in addition to composing five chamber operas and over 100 songs herself.
Pauline Viardot — Diva, Muse, and Composer
Portrait of Pauline Viardot (1842) by Carl Timoleon von Neff (Public Domain)
Playlist
Pauline Viardot-Garcia: Madrid
Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano
Serouj Kradjian, piano
Gioachino Rossini: “Assisa a piè d’un salice” from Otello (fragment)
June Anderson, soprano
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna/Daniele Gatti
Rossini: “Ah quel giorno” from Semiramide
Ewa Podleś, contralto
Hungarian State Opera Orchestra/Pier Giorgio Morandi
Christoph Willibald Gluck (rev. Hector Berlioz): “Amour, viens rendre a mon ame” from Orphée et Eurydice
Shirley Verrett, mezzo-soprano
RCA Italian Opera Orchestra/Georges Prêtre
Camille Saint-Saëns: “Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse!” from Samson et Dalila
Agnes Baltsa, mezzo-soprano
Munich Radio Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis
Giacomo Meyerbeer: “Ô toi qui m’abandonne” from Le prophète
Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano
Orchestra of Royal Opera House Covent Garden/Henry Lewis
Gabriel Fauré: La Chanson du pêcheur
Véronique Gens, soprano
Munich Radio Orchestra/Hervé Niquet
Viardot-Garcia: “Faible cœur” after Frédéric Chopin’s Mazurka Op 7 No 3
Urszula Kryger, mezzo-soprano
Charles Spencer, piano
Viardot-Garcia (arr. Alexandre Dratwicki): “Je viens te rendre à l’espérance” from Cendrillon
Jodie Devos, soprano
Quatuor Giardini
Viardot-Garcia: Haï luli
Viardot-Garcia: Havanaise
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
