Licia Albanese

[Derek McGovern]

I've just learned from two posters on the Opera-L forum that Licia
Albanese turned 100 last July. Not only that, but here is the great
lady herself singing a couple of remarkably good notes at her 100
birthday party:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DaW7c7I_OKI

Amazing stuff!

The announcement has caused quite a flurry on Opera-L, since Licia has
always maintained that she was born in July 1913, which of course
would make her a "mere" 95. Several Opera-L posters insisted this date
was correct, pointing out that even the esteemed Groves Dictionary of
Music & Musicians confirms it.

Not so, according to the reliable Ed Rosen of Premiere Opera, who
recently spoke to a person who attended her 100th birthday party.
Another poster mentioned that he had long been suspicious of the 1913
date after discovering that Ms Albanese's operatic debut was not in
1934, as has always been reported, but at least as early as 1932 --
and she was certainly performing concerts in 1931. According to this
poster, Licia herself confirmed the 1932 date: "A very good friend
asked her about a specific engagement in 1932 in a small Italian town
whose name I now forget and she responded "Oh, you found that".

So Licia was 13 years older than Lanza when she appeared with him in
the Otello sequences in Serenade! I shouldn't really be surprised,
though, as Armando told me several years ago of rumours that Albanese
may have been born "as much as five years" earlier than she had always
maintained. Of course, she is by no means alone among singers in
fibbing about her age; as Ed Rosen pointed out, Dorothy Kirsten had
shaved 10 years off her age -- fooling a lot of people for a long
time. And I'd always thought that Lanza's claim to a newspaper
interviewer in 1959 that he was only 33 was outrageous! I wonder if he
was aware of his two colleagues' equal flexibility with dates?!

In any event, a belated 100th happy birthday to a great artist. May we
all be as vibrant at her age!

[ShawDAMAN]

Great stuff, thanks!

[Tonytenor]

Hi Folks! With the recent delightful news of Licia Albanese's 100th
birthday, I thought it might be interesting to hear her and hear her
at a time that would be of interest to us Lanza fans. I am sure you
have all heard the "High Jinx" interview with Mario in which he names
Licia as his dream choice for Mimi, were he to sing LA BOHEME at the
Met. Well, here's a link to an in-performance recording (at the Met
in 1950) with Licia as Mimi singing her lovely first act aria. As you
listen, try to imagine how beautifully Mario's voice, in 1950, would
have blended with hers in the duet.

http://www.4shared.com/file/78967827/ff09ff43/Licia_Albanese_-_Si_mi_chiamano_Mimi__Met_1950_.html

Enjoy

Tony

> > all be as vibrant at her age!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Derek McGovern]

It now seems that Licia Albanese may not be 100 after all! I've
received some private correspondence that casts doubt on the 1908
birthdate, despite the fact that at least one of the people who
attended her birthday party in July was told that it was her 100th.
The controversy continues, though one correspondent, in particular,
makes a strong case for the 1913 birthdate. Oh well! Whatever age she
is, she's a remarkably well-preserved great lady.

[Thelma]

I went to my first opera, La Boheme, at the Fox Theater in Atlanta,
August 1947 when I was 15 years old and heard Licia Albanese sing with
Tagliavini at a traveling Metropolitan Opera performance. It was a
thrill I have never forgotten.

[Vicki]

Unfortunately, she had already developed a bit of a hard edge to her
voice in this recording.
When I think of velvety Helen Donath singing the same aria in her 50s
(at the opening of the Detroit Opera House in 1996), there's just no
comparison (no flaming, please). Of course, Ms. Donath would have been
too young to sing with Mario in 1950. She certainly kept up with
Marcello Giordani as Rodolfo. Here's an older Donath singing Mozart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1A4JXgOfh0
I did like Ms. Albanese in the Otello scenes with Mario. I certainly
enjoyed the 100th birthday videos and was impressed with her ability
to sing a credible high note.

On Jan 4, 6:26 pm, Tonytenor <tonyparting...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Folks!  With the recent delightful news of Licia Albanese's 100th
> birthday, I thought it might be interesting to hear her and hear her
> at a time that would be of interest to us Lanza fans.  I am sure you
> have all heard the "High Jinx" interview with Mario in which he names
> Licia as his dream choice for Mimi, were he to sing LA BOHEME at the
> Met.  Well, here's a link to an in-performance recording (at the Met
> in 1950) with Licia as Mimi singing her lovely first act aria.  As you
> listen, try to imagine how beautifully Mario's voice, in 1950, would
> have blended with hers in the duet.
>

> http://www.4shared.com/file/78967827/ff09ff43/Licia_Albanese_-_Si_mi_...

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Vicki: I agree that, vocally, Albanese had lost some of her
freshness on her Otello recording with Lanza. I've always thought she
sounded a bit matronly here. (Mind you, she was anywhere between 42
and 47 at the time.) But I love her interpretation and commitment
here.

Incidentally, it was Robert Merrill's widow (Marion) who told Ed Rosen
of Premiere Opera that she had attended Licia's 100th birthday party.

> > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[Derek McGovern]

In just under two months, Licia Albanese will be officially turning 100, and I see there's going to be a concert in honour of the occasion at the Lincoln Center:

 

http://www.bridgepugliausa.it/articolo.asp?id_sez=2&id_cat=30&id_art=3646&lingua=en

 

With any luck, Ms. Albanese will be on hand for the occasion! She was certainly still appearing in public as recently as last October (and looking jolly)---even joining in on The Star Spangled Banner:

 

http://brooklyneagle.com/articles/foundation-celebrates-famed-opera-singer%E2%80%99s-100th-birthday-2012-10-22-075200

 

It's incredible to think that someone who sang opposite Gigli is still with us! Mind you, soprano Magda Olivero is alive too at 103, and still looking vibrant in this August 2012 photo:

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

[Derek McGovern]

She did it! It's official: Licia Albanese is now 100 years old:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2013/07/22/204461916/opera-diva-hits-100

And how nice to know that she is still in fine fettle, with celebratory dinner parties planned throughout this week with her son, daughter-in-law and friends. 

Happy birthday, Licia!!

[Derek McGovern]

It's just been reported on Opera-L and another operatic forum that Licia Albanese passed away today at the age of 101. I presume the news is true.  

Farewell to a very fine artist and an equally fine person.

RIP, Licia.  

[Derek McGovern]

I see on the opera website parterre.com that someone (in the comments section) has posted Licia's US naturalization papers. These show that she was actually born in July 1909! 

http://parterre.com/2014/08/15/licia-albanese-1913-2014/

Of course, this very thread began with a premature announcement of her 100th birthday in 2008. But as it turns out, reports at the time were only a year out.

Assuming these naturalization papers are correct (and I can't think why they wouldn't be), Licia made it to 105---an amazing achievement.

Let's remember her via this 1955 recording with the man whom she hailed as vocally "next to Caruso."

[Derek McGovern]

P.S. It's sad to think that with Licia's passing, only one cast member from Serenade survives: 86-year-old Jean Fenn.  In fact, even the principal members of the film crew are all gone now. 

[Vincent Di Placido]

What a great Life! :-)

[Derek McGovern]

I've been reflecting today on the incredible devotion that Licia Albanese showed towards Lanza over more than fifty years. When you consider the fact that they only spent a few weeks together in 1955---a mere blip in time for someone who lived such a long life and whose illustrious career spanned many decades---her unfailing support of Lanza was remarkable. She defended him publicly and privately---both as a man and as a singer. As she told the American Record Guide's Robert T. Jones in 1969:

"You know, people now say so many bad things about Mario. They don't know. They tell stories about his personal life, they say his voice was too small for the stage, they say he made his records in little pieces. But they don't remember how it really was." 

I also feel that in those few intense weeks in which she and Lanza worked together, she came to understand him better than all the Scharys and Robinsons and Bessettes combined:

[From The Mario Lanza Story, by Constantine Callinicos and Ray Robinson.]

Albanese was truly a remarkable person.

[Thelma F. Prince]

I have seen very little of the opera stars since I haven't attended many operas in my life.  The first one I ever attended was La Boheme in 1947 when I was 15 years old starring Lucia Albanese and the male tenor's name was Taglivini.  He was Italian and very making his debut in America.  This opera was in my home town, Atlanta, Ga.  At the time I thought I was in paradise, especially when I heard the voice of Albanese.  I have never forgotten her and I believe she was a very special person with a lovely voice and an understanding friend to Mario.

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[Vincent Di Placido]

I just thought I'd share this lovely photo that Chris Johns uploaded to the Rense forum.

[Armando]

Licia Albanese, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing in 1980, was the antithesis of the Diva or Prima Donna. She was direct, sincere and, above all, believable.

R.I.P.

[leeann]

I love that the headline in the New York Times calls Licia Albanese "an Exalted Soprano."

She paints such a great portrait of a gifted, intelligent and very human man where you recount the interview in An American Tragedy (201-203). But her words seem to tell as much about her as that direct, sincere, and caring individual as they reveal about Lanza. A great life, indeed!

[norma]

I've often wondered what Alicia Albanese was referring to when she said Mario was a very sick man and because of that she prayed for him every day.
Norma

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Norma: The Lanza with whom Albanese worked in late 1955 was not a happy man. As she noted, he was in completely the wrong environment---Hollywood---and "tortured by a lack of true understanding." She also echoed Barry Nelson's observation that Lanza was a very insecure person who needed constant reassurance and affection. Obviously, he wasn't getting much of that in Hollywood, and the years of devastating publicity, coupled with the heavy drinking, were taking their toll on his psyche.

At nearly 35, Mario was also painfully aware that time was running out for an operatic career---and yet he wasn't ready psychologically for a return to live performing. 

He was obviously very honest about himself to Albanese, though---even alluding to the less likable aspects of his past behaviour: "My life is so confused," she recalled him telling her. "If I tell you the story of my life, you would not like me." But his shortcomings meant little to her. As she said in 1969: "He had a great voice and a big soul. He was marvelous company. And he was a gentle man."

Cheers,

Derek