I have had some thrilling moments in my years of doing the Morning Show at WGTD, but I’m not sure anything quite equals the thrill I had of doing a phone interview with one of the most legendary singers of the 20th century, Eileen Farrell. Her voice was famously likened to Niagra Falls, and I’m not sure there’s a better way to describe its magnificence. But what really set her aside from other opera singers was her astonishing versatility. There has never been a singer who could shift from Isolde’s Liebestod to “Ten cents a dance” with such seamless ease.
When her autobiography was published, I contacted the publisher and asked if it might be possible for me to do a phone interview with Brian Kellow, the Opera News contributor who was the co-writer of her book. Incredibly, the publisher offered me the chance to interview Ms. Farrell instead – and I’m just glad I didn’t suffer a heart attack right then and there.
As I dialed her up for our interview, I remember how hard my heart was pounding- and I hoped that I would be able to calm down enough to do a decent interview. As it turns out, Ms. Farrell was friendly and down-to-earth and very easy to talk to. Her answers were a little too succinct for my taste- I would have loved for her to answer my questions a bit more thoroughly – but except for that, I was delighted with how it went.
Here is an excerpt; this is the part of the interview where she talks about her years on the opera stage (she devoted longer periods of her career to radio programs and concerts). It includes a fun story about the making of her duets album with tenor Richard Tucker and the squabble over billing that ensued.
You’ll hear a couple of brief examples of her singing as well. Enjoy!