What prompted this note was the mention by John Craven of the Czech coloratura opera singer Patricia Janeckova whom I had only stumbled across a few days ago.
I was deeply affected as I listened to the duet from Phantom of The Opera – she looked about sixteen and had a truly tremendous voice but when I looked her up I was shocked to discover she had died at the age of 25.
I am not an opera buff as such but I love to hear the sopranos – Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Renee Fleming among others and most recently the delightful Charlotte Jaconelli.
I have always loved music and one of my earliest memories was of my mother singing to me -’Buttons and Bows’ and,‘Kiss me Goodnight Sergeant-Major’
I never knew much about my mother but was told that she also played the mandolin; her sister used to play piano and sing in the pubs of Portsmouth.
My earliest female favourites were such as Jo Stafford, Kaye Starr, Anne Shelton, Billie Holiday, Judy Garland and later on Patsy Cline, Peggy Lee. Diana Ross, Sarah Vaughan, and then Karen Carpenter, Judith Durham and Nana Mouskouri.
My favourite ‘popular’ female singer though was Judith Durham.
Featured image: Patricia Janečková, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
¨
© Gillygangle 2024
