Cathy Berberian
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Catherine Anahid Berberian (Attleboro, Massachusetts, July 4 1925 - Rome, Italy, March 6 1983) was a composer, mezzo-soprano singer, and vocalist.
From 1950 to 1964 she was married to composer Luciano Berio, who deconstructed her voice in Thema (Omaggio a Joyce) (1958) and wrote his Circles (1960), Folk Songs (1964), Sequenza III for woman's voice (1965), and Recital I (for Cathy) (1972) for her. In addition Sylvano Bussotti, John Cage, Hans Werner Henze and Igor Stravinsky wrote works for her voice.
She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music, Armenian folk songs, Monteverdi, The Beatles, and her own compositions. Her best known work is Stripsody (1966), in which she exploits her vocal technique using comic book sounds.
Cathy Berberian is mentioned 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."
Albums
- Ora Mi Alzo / Autostrada (1956)
- Revolution (1969)
- Cathy Berberian's Second Hand Songs (1980)
- Songs Cathy Sang (1988)
- magnifiCathy: The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian (1988) - a compilation album
- The Unforgettable Cathy Berberian (1993) - a compilation
- Cathy Berberian Sings Monteverdi (1995)
- Homage to Cathy Berberian (1997) - a compilation
- Beatles Arias (2005) (Same as Revolution)
