I saw Diener's Aldonza in London in the summer of 1968 (opposite the sublime Keith Michell) , when I was a teenager. It is one of those first performances that shaped my idea of what a star performance in the musical theater might be (and I saw Sammy Davis in "Golden Boy" that same trip -- what a time!) I still remember her singing "Aldonza." I'd never seen anything like that moment. Or imagined the musical theater providing it. This seems random, but to fill in the impression she made: I recall seeing Audra in "Marie Christine" -- and having strange flashbacks to Diener in "La Mancha," though of course the material is in no way similar. Again, first exposures to commanding performers can plant images and ideas.
