Eileen Farrell
While opera singers who dabble in popular music are common, those who do so successfully are rare, and those with large dramatic voices who do so are rarer still. Eileen Farrell was as authentic and natural a blues and jazz singer as she was an operatic soprano. She was in fact much more comfortable on the concert stage, on radio, and in the recording studio than in the opera house. She sang relatively few fully-staged performances and was ambivalent about opera and particularly opera house management throughout her entire career (when she taught at Indiana University, she hung a sign outside her office that read, "Help stamp out opera.") Her voice was huge, but capable of great nuances in volume and expressiveness as well as rapid and accurate coloratura, letting her sing bel canto roles such as Cherubini's Medea, the spinto-coloratura Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore, the verismo Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and the great Wagner parts of Isolde and Brünnhilde (in concert).
Her parents were both singers, The Singing O'Farrells, and recognizing her potential, sent her to study voice in New York. She auditioned for various radio shows and was hired by CBS for chorus and ensemble work. In 1941, she got her own program, Eileen Farrell Sings, where she performed songs and lighter classical music. She remained with them until 1947, when she began to explore other venues, including the Bach Aria Group. She also began studying with Eleanor McLellan, who helped her hone her vocal technique, particularly helping her develop a pianissimo. In 1955, she sang for the film dramatization of singer Marjorie Lawrence's life, Interrupted Melody (Eleanor Parker acted the role), and the music, ranging from folk to Brünnhilde's immolation scene, showed off her power, rich voice, and versatility. In 1957, she appeared for the first time on the opera stage, as Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana in Tampa, FL, and two years later, sang for the first time in London, in a recital. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1960 in the title role of Gluck's Alceste, and in 1962, won a Grammy for her recording of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder and the "Immolation Scene" from Götterdämmerung, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Her relationship with Met management was an uncomfortable one, partly due to differences of personalities and her finding the repertoire they offered unchallenging, and her contract was allowed to drop in 1965. Towards the end of the decade, her voice was beginning to show signs of wear at the very top, and Farrell moved back into jazz and blues recordings, and taught music at Indiana University. She made her last record in 1993, at the age of 72. Farrell died on March 23, 2002.
© TiVo
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The Greatest Hits Collection
Pop - Released by Music Manager on Apr 20, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cherubini: Medea, Highlights (Mono Version)
Eileen Farrell, Andre Turp, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Arnold Gamson
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on Jan 1, 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Interrupted Melody
Film Soundtracks - Released by Vintage Music on Sep 20, 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Joy to the World
Christmas Music - Released by Snowflakes on Dec 16, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of
Pop - Released by Stardust Records on Sep 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It's Christmas Time with Eileen Farrell
Christmas Music - Released by silentnight records on Nov 30, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini Arias
Eileen Farrell, Max Rudolf, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Miscellaneous - Released by Vinyle Numérique on Apr 20, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The 12 Days of Christmas with Eileen Farrell
Christmas Music - Released by All I Have To Do Is Dream on Dec 2, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Christmas Collection (All Original Artist Recordings)
Eileen Farrell & Luther Henderson & His Orchestra
Christmas Music - Released by Music All Records on Nov 27, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint Noel
Eileen Farrell & Luther Henderson & His Orchestra
Christmas Music - Released by Grand Hits Records on Nov 13, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Viva La Verdi
Eileen Farrell, Armando Aliberti, Laszlo Rooth
Classical - Released by Music Manager on Nov 17, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Back 2 Back Divas
Juanita Hall With The Claude Hopkins All-Stars, Anita O'Day, Eileen Farrell
Blues - Released by Music Manager on Jul 28, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Back 2 Back Divas
Eileen Farrell, Big Mama Thornton, Anita O'Day
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on Jul 28, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carols for Christmas (Original Album 1959)
Eileen Farrell, Luther Henderson and his Orchestra
Christmas Music - Released by The Sound Of Christmas on Jan 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas Carols (Choral Edition)
Eileen Farrell, Luther Henderson
Classical - Released by Concerto on Nov 27, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eileen farrell in grand opera
Eileen Farrell, Thomas Schippers, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on Sep 30, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Pop - Released by Victory Recordings on Oct 1, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eileen Farrell Sings Christmas Songs
Christmas Music - Released by Noel’s shots on Dec 24, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carols for Christmas
Eileen Farrell, Luther Henderson and his Orchestra
Pop - Released by Cantelope Records on Oct 8, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eileen Farrell Sings French and Italian Songs
Eileen Farrell, George Trovillo
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on Jul 31, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo