Glass Shatterers! Beverly Hoch - Proch: Deh torna mio bene (theme and variations), Live, High A-flat

~The "Glass Shatterers!" series focuses on sopranos who sustain High F, or sing higher.

THE SONGBIRD: Beverly Hoch is one of those singers whose name fits her voice well since "hoch" mean "high" in German. She was born in Kansas in 1951. Hoch’s music studies included a Bachelor of Music from Oklahoma City University in 1975 and a Masters of Music from Wichita State University in 1978. Hoch won the regional division The Met national auditions in 1977 and the Young Concert Artists contest in 1979. Her professional debut was at the Santa Fe Opera in "La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein.” Other U.S. opera engagements included the Dew Fairy at Wolf Trap, Tiny in Britten's "Paul Bunyan" in Saint Louis, Olympia in Hawaii, Lakme in Arizona, and Ann Page in Washington D.C. Internationally she sang Adele in Strasbourg, Philine at the Wexford Festival, Queen of the Night at Glyndebourne, Lucia in Stockholm, Blonde in Lyon, and Zerbinetta in cities throughout Germany.

THE MUSIC: Though Austrian composer Heinrich Proch wrote over 200 art songs, three operettas, and one opera, he is really only known today for one coloratura concert showpiece, the theme and variations "Deh torna mio bene." It was programmed and recorded regularly up until about the 1980s, and although it is less popular now, it does occasionally show up in soprano recitals. The piece was sometimes used in the 20th century as a substitution aria in the music lesson scene in Act Two of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," replacing the aria "Contro un cor" that Rossini wrote for Rosina, but that trend has fallen out of favor.