‘The situation was saved by a young singer from Samara, Lydia Fridman, who had trained at the local bel canto academy and had been Remigio’s cover from the very beginning. Usually such sudden substitutions do not bode well, but in this case the audience was in for a pleasant surprise. The young singer had an extremely beautiful voice with a rather dark timbre, as well as a very high quality technique for such a young age (she is only 23). […] I was particularly impressed by the final recitative.
