Kiss Me Again-Victor Herbert song by Amelita Galli-Curci

We would like to venture into the world of performance art, something that involves both vocal skill and vocal direction. It is important to the world of art, because it permits the same material to be used in multiple ways. Part arrangement, part orchestration, part vocal direction: these are the elements that permit us to enjoy a rousing production number or an enticing love song. Much of this depends on the singer. Let us repeat what we said in our liner notes for Victor Herbert’s Collected Songs: ” ‘Kiss Me Again’ began life in the 1905 comic opera, Mlle. Modiste, as the third section of Fritzi Scheff’s Act One showpiece ‘If I Were on the Stage,’ a number very similar to Adele’s Act Three audition number ‘Spiel ich die Unschuld vom Lande’ in Johann Strauss, Jr.’s Die Fledermaus. In the number, Miss Scheff as the modiste Fifi showed her approach to playing three different roles if she became a singer. The third section, a ‘romantic waltz,’ became so popular that it was eventually published as a separate song. Lyricist Henry Blossom and Herbert wrote a new, sincere verse, allowing the romantic song to stand on its own outside the score for Mlle. Modiste.” (New World Records, 80726-2)

The song was not suited to Fritzi Scheff, who was more inclined to show the versatility that was demanded in “If I Were on the Stage;” in our opinion, the greatest rendition of the popular song was given by Amelita Galli-Curci. Her light coloratura was so front and flexible that she could sing at a faster tempo than others (as she did with the recording of “Sempre Libera” from Verdi’s La Traviata), hit high notes without pause or hesitation and deliver the same notes pianissimo that others had a hard time taking full voice. The voice that most closely resembled Galli-Curci during the modern era was Lily Pons. As we listen to Amelita’s version of “Kiss Me Again,” please keep asking yourself, is this entertainment or seduction?

https://youtu.be/56w__fgsR8E