American Contralto Claramae Turner ~ Deep River (1950)

American contralto Claramae Turner (1920-2013) / Deep River (Traditional Spiritual) / Recorded: 1950 / Special Thanks and Good Cheer to "operamark1" for suggesting and providing the sound file --

Claramae Turner (born October 28, 1920) is an American opera singer. She was made very famous by singing the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" in the musical Carousel.

Born in Dinuba, California, she was a contralto with the Metropolitan Opera during the late 1940's and early 1950's, and also sang with the New York City Opera. She created the role of Madame Flora in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium, reprising it in an episode of Omnibus on television. She also recorded the role of Ma Moss in Aaron Copland's The Tender Land (opposite Joy Clements and Norman Treigle), and one of her roles at the Met was that of Gertrud in an English version of Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hänsel und Gretel, starring Risë Stevens and Nadine Conner. This performance was one of the first Metropolitan Opera record albums of a complete opera ever released (by Columbia Masterworks Records). Miss Turner reprised the role on television in an installment of "NBC Television Opera Theatre".

All of these early television appearances were live, not done on film or videotape.Turner also sang the role of the Nurse in the Met's famous 1946 production of Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, starring Jussi Björling and Bidu Sayão. On radio, she sang the role of Ulrica in conductor Arturo Toscanini's 1954 broadcast performance of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, starring Herva Nelli, Jan Peerce, and Robert Merrill. This performance was later released on LP and CD by RCA Victor. In 1956, Turner appeared in her only film, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, based on their stage success. In the film, she played the role of Nettie, and along with Barbara Ruick and others, sang the songs June is Bustin' Out All Over and A Real Nice Clambake, while soloing on "You'll Never Walk Alone" (reprised at the finale by Shirley Jones, several other members of the cast including Turner and Ruick, and mixed chorus). She sang the role of Nettie again in a Command Records studio cast recording of Carousel, starring Alfred Drake and Roberta Peters, released in the early 1960's. (This version has never been published on Compact Disc.)

The song I Left My Heart in San Francisco was written for Turner, and it was she, not Tony Bennett, who originally sang it. However, Tony Bennett first recorded it.

Albums have recently been released of Turner featured in complete live recordings of Verdi's La forza del destino, starring Zinka Milanov and Mario del Monaco in a performance conducted by Walter Herbert, and the Verdi Requiem, conducted by Guido Cantelli. (wikipedia)

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