Born in Philadelphia of Italian parents, Giannini's voice was peculiarly Italian in timbre, almost to a fault. Its fiery, steely character has often been commented on, but just that kind of bright, spinto sound is what we so often miss today in protagonists of the Verdi and Puccini repertory. There can be little doubt that in the opera house, even more than in the confined studio conditions of her day, Giannini would make a tremendous impression. Her singing here of Leonora's and Aida's arias are the real thing, delivered in unstinting voice and with a real gleam in the tone. These and Desdemona's Act 4 pieces also disclose an appreciable ability to fine down the tone to the demands of Verdi for pp singing.
At the same time, Giannini isn't a 'deep' interpreter in the Ponselle or Callas mould. Rather she sings instinctively, bravely—but then most of the records included here were made in 1928 when she was only 26, and one imagines at the Metropolitan a few years later she may have matured as an interpreter. There are signs of that development in the two Carmen pieces recorded in 1932. The Habanera reveals a spirited gipsy, one who is provoking yet never in an exaggerated way—each note is truly struck and the character comes from the inflexion of the text—in excellent French— while the Card scene benefits from being sung evenly and accurately, as Bizet commands, thus emphasizing its fatalistic nature. These are readings that deserve to rank with the best in the Carmen discography. As to Manon Lescaut and Butterfly, there is no nonsense about these being wilting heroines: the singing is full-blooded and soaring. And how many sopranos, aged 26, could project them with such generous and expansive tone?
The songs fill in the picture of a vivid and attractive artist. Manella mia suggests the eternal feminine of Latin women. The Neapolitan folk-song, Luise, is seductively and characterfully done. Both these items, as recorded, show the warmth and richness of Giannini's voice, one whose like one would dearly love to hear today when the breed seems so nearly extinct. Faithful, quiet transfers.'