Magnificathy - The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian

Cathy Berberian (Attleboro, Massachusetts, July 4 1925 - Rome, Italy, March 6 1983) was a composer, mezzo-soprano singer, and vocalist. From 1950 to 1966 she was married to Composer Luciano Berio, who deconstructed her voice in Thema (Omaggio a Joyce) (1958) and wrote his Circles (1960) and Recital I (for Cathy) (1972) for her. In addition, she worked in close collaboration with Sylvano Bussotti, John Cage, Hans Werner Henze and Igor Stravinsky.

She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music, Armenian Folk Songs, Monteverdi, The BEATLEs, and her own compositions. Her best known work is her Stripsody (1966), in which she exploits her vocal technique using comic book sounds. Above all, she is a trivial pursuit question for classic Rock fan baby boomers: who is Cathy Berberian in the Steely Dan song "Your Gold Teeth" from the 1973 album Countdown To Ecstasy: "Even Cathy Berberian knows/There's one roulade she can't sing."

Reference
CathyBerberian.com
MVDaily.com: A Musical enchantress On the anniversary of Cathy Berberian's death, JENNIFER PAULL remembers the legendary singer who cast Musical spells
Meirion-Bowen.com: Contemporary Cathy
Frank's Vinyl Museum: Cathy Berberian: Revolution BEATLEs songs go baroque! An Operatic first!
Cathy Berberian
Magnificathy: The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian
Wergo 60054
Released 1993

1. Claudio Monteverdi: La Lettera Amorosa
2. Chansons De Bilitis: La Flute De Pan
3. Chansons De Bilitis: La Chevelure
4. Chansons De Bilitis: Le Tombeau Des Naiades
5. John Cage: A Flower
6. John Cage : The Wonderful Widow Of Eighteen Springs
7. Sylvano Bussotti: O, Atti Vocali (Aus La Passion Selon Sade)
8. Kurt Weill: Surabaya-Johnny (Aus Happy End)
9. Beatles (John Lennon & Paul McCartney): A Ticket To Ride
10. George Gershwin: Summertime (Aus Porgy And Bess)
11. Cathy Berberian: Stripsody