Favorite Tone Poems...of DEATH!

[knight66]

That was Kathleen Ferrier and the report of the concert I read was that tears were running down her cheeks as the final word was repeated. Her final performance on stage was as Gluck's Orfeo in Amsterdam. Her cancer was advanced. She abandoned the stage directions and leaned against the scenery to complete her singing. Her hip had broken.

Mike

[Cato]

That was Kathleen Ferrier and the report of the concert I read was that tears were running down her cheeks as the final word was repeated. Her final performance on stage was as Gluck's Orfeo in Amsterdam. Her cancer was advanced. She abandoned the stage directions and leaned against the scenery to complete her singing. Her hip had broken.

Mike

Amazing!  I wil look into this more.  Many thanks!

[PerfectWagnerite]

Amazing!  I wil look into this more.  Many thanks!

It is pretty well publicized:

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Ferrier

The first Orpheus performance, on 3 February, was greeted with unanimous critical approval. According to Barbirolli, Ferrier was particularly pleased with one critic's comment that her movements were as graceful as any of those of the dancers on stage.[96] However, she was physically weakened from her prolonged radiation treatment; during the second performance, three days later, her left femur partially disintegrated. Quick action by other cast members, who moved to support her, kept the audience in ignorance. Although virtually immobilised, Ferrier sang her remaining arias and took her curtain calls before being transferred to hospital.[97] This proved to be her final public appearance; the two remaining performances, at first rescheduled for April, were eventually cancelled.[98] Still the general public remained unaware of the nature of Ferrier's incapacity; an announcement in The Guardian stated: "Miss Ferrier is suffering from a strain resulting from arthritis which requires immediate further treatment. It has been caused by the physical stress involved in rehearsal and performance of her role in Orpheus".

Awhile ago there an interesting thread on Ferrier:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,965.0.html

A lot of the thread was on David Hurwitz essentially condemning her as a 3rd rate oratorio singer singing 10th rate music. If you have an insider subscription to classicstoday.com you should read the article it is really funny. It was free back in 2007. The title was "Kathleen Ferrier: England's Greatest Contralto or Fruit Basket".

[listener]

add: Lord BERNERS Trois petites marches funèbres  (for piano)
- Pour un  home d'état. Pour un canari and Pour une tante à heritage (who appears to have been generous in her will)
There is a recording TROY/ALBANY 290 and a printed edition by Masters Music Publications
also ALKAN's Funeral March on the death a Papagallo recorded by Raymond Lewenthal (LP only, I think)