Yma Sumac, The Peruvian Songbird, sings

In a piece of classic exotica, the unique Yma Sumac (19222008) displays her most unusual voice. I, like many, have mixed feelings about Sumac (whose name, in Quechua, means How beautiful ) Some feel there was a potentially great operatic voice here, had it been trained as such. However, the decision was made to frame her performance as essentially a presentation of exotica. To a certain extent, Ivan Rebroff made the same decision. One cannot gainsay the past, but there is ample evidence of an extraordinary voice here, that much is certain.