Magda Olivera
BILL REEKIE
>soprano etc._ I think this (sad) *title* must go to Magda Olivero
OI>who never achieved the same public acclaim as some others but she
OI>was easily superior to Tebaldi etc. Her voice and personality were
OI>simply *intoxicating*...
Ah, Yes, the *Divine Magda* ! I could not agree that Tebaldi was
inferior in the sheer beauty of sound, but Olivera could do things with
words and music which were unforgettable.
Bill Reekie Norwich UK bill....@almac.co.uk
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Jay Azneer
your appreciation of Magda is that she is the quintessential
theatre artist. She is an actress through and through who
happens to sing or whatever that's called. I'll never forget
what she sounds like in Fedora either on commercial records or
pirate--she is able to convince you that she is so beautiful a
woman that you could well kill for her--but Marton delivers
only the notes--which by themselves are not a very impressive
opera--though Magda would have you believe it one of the great
unperformed operatic marvels. Thereby hangs a tail!!
Jay
g.f.
>I also adore Olivero, but I don't have to sell Tebaldi short to do it.
>Renata had a voice that was one of the wonders of the century. It is no
>accident of history that she had a huge international career while Olivero
>remained in her native country until the late sixties basically singing in
>the Italian provinces. Olivero does do more with music than Tebaldi, but
>the latter has only to open her mouth to have the whole world at her feet.
Ah good, this is an opportunity for me to do what some others on the group
have been doing and ask: what am I missing? I admittedly haven't heard
much Tebaldi, the only concrete example I can think of being a recordign
of Andrea Chenier on what looked like a very budget label, but I have
never found her at all remarkable. So, bearing in mind that lots of
people with good taste love her singing, I ask Tebaldiani to convince
me! What's a recording that will put me, along with the whole world,
at her feet? :) Thanks in advance for replies, here or emailed.
Yours in Callas ;)
g.f.
fr...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
DSETIN
ano...@tiac.net
Azneer) wrote:
>. She is an actress through and through who happens to sing or whatever
that's called.
Actress? Did you ever see her act? Her Tosca in New York 15 or so years
ago is still the stuff of legend. In the lobby after act two all you could
hear were people saying, "... and then Magda saw the knife!" Say that line
today and you still get people raising their hands and drawing back in
exaggerated surprise. Right out of the silent films. She belonged to the
school that believed if you were going to move stage right you should
first point stage right and then fling yourself in that direction. Close
your eyes and you could hear some interpretation of the role, but you'd
better be able to suppress a giggle when you open them.
Regards,
John
ano...@tiac.net
> Yours in Callas ;)
> g.f.
> fr...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
In trying to compare Tebaldi with Callas, just remember that nobody ever
accused Callas of having a beautiful voice.
Regards,
John
Jay Azneer
Olivero than to Tebaldi. In fact if I had to compare
her--yeah, I know they're odious -- but she is like Milanov in
terms of being a superb noise machine. She is not a great
theatre artist in terms of being a great actress--she simply
made a supremely beautiful sound that was used with great
musicianship within her technical limits--she had been a fine
pianist before ever she studied voice--and she had perhaps the
creamiest legato imaginable. Callas was another creature
altogether. Tebaldi didn't have her feel for the text or for
great histrionic flair--I'm surprised that her Tosca is so
good, but then Milanov was a great Tosca because a) she could
handle the role's technical difficulties and she believed in
Tosca as she did in herself. Tebaldi's great role is
Desdemona--a bit placid and dreamy and beautifully simple.
Aida was not beyond her but she is not Maria! She is good as
Adriana and she was supposedly a fine Fedora(I never heard it).
Her Liu was very beautiful as was her Butterfly and her
Mimi--the disadvantage in those roles was her preternaturally
large voice! But she has some real moments of beauty and for
lack of a better word--truth.
Jay
fr...@doc.cc.utexas.edu (g.f.) wrote:
>
>In article <3qu5ni$d...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, DSETIN
><dse...@aol.com> wrote:
>Ah good, this is an opportunity for me to do what some
>others on the group have been doing and ask: what am I
>missing? I admittedly haven't heard much Tebaldi, the
>only concrete example I can think of being a recordign
>of Andrea Chenier on what looked like a very budget
>label, but I have never found her at all remarkable.
>So, bearing in mind that lots of people with good
>taste love her singing, I ask Tebaldiani to convince
>me! What's a recording that will put me, along with
>the whole world, at her feet? :) Thanks in advance
>for replies, here or emailed.
>
DSETIN
re-issued on a bargain London CD. She is in utterly splendid voice and
sings with great character. Also, give a listen to her "Tabarro" with
Merrill and Del Monaco. She omits a high C in the E ben altro, but she
sings with incredible support and creamy tone. Her "Fanciulla", except for
the squally high C in the Laggiu, is another example of great vocalism. If
you are an Olivero person, you will have to be able to adopt a different
mind-set for Renata. She is not a colorist or a very sensitive deliverer
of textual values like MO. The sheer beauty and incredible support of her
voice (she does have top problems) are simply a metaphor for the poetry of
her interpretations.
Jay Azneer
d'Arte--flat on her back with her head OVER the settee? What I
mean by actress is that she manages to put on the character and
wear it like a glove--it may be outsize compared to realistic
acting or CarolVaness and the like--but you cannot ever forget
it--vide your comment. When was the last time you saw a
performance you will remember in 15 years?
Jay
ano...@tiac.net
Azneer) wrote:
> When was the last time you saw a
> performance you will remember in 15 years?
> Jay
>
Jay,
Good post! As for 15 years from now, how about Graham Clark singing the
Song of the Worm from Ghosts of Versailles while sliding down a
bannister--head first, on his belly? That's only two years, but it ranks
as the same kind of acrobatics as Magda's Vissi d'arte, I suppose. Allan
Glassman didn't attempt the physical part last season.
John.
Charles Handelman
performances withnher amd saw her as Tosca and fedora here in NYC and in
New jersey. She writes "Verismo letters" to me and to my friend. At age
85 she still can sing..I have the Bongiovanni Adriana plus some RAI TV
performances plus ,master classes from last year. The woman is the
kindest and most beloved "flawed soprano" of the age..and I think had I
lived in Italy in 1956 and not in NY..Olivero would have replaced Zinka
Milanov as my all-time favorite diva.
She is an "acquired taste" like Leyla gencer, Maria Callas, and
Virginia Zeani..but once you get to understand what she does with the
line and the text..you are smitten forever. When I saw the Fedora,those
gorgeous hands just captivated me. This woman is magic onstage and I hope
she lives to 100..and will probaboly still record!
Just the way she swelled on the word "rimuneri" at the end of the
"Vissi d'arte" at th Met debut in 1975(at age 65) was worth the whole
evening..I do not want to bore you all..but she is special....My best
Charlie Handelman
Charles Handelman
>mind-set for Renata.
adopt a different attitude toward each..as for Callas, de Los Angeles,etc.
As a Milanov lover supreme, I still know that Tebaldi gave me some of
the greatest thrills in my life..onstage and off..since we knew her as a
delightful warm person as well as a great singer. True, you did not go to
a Tebaldi performance for depth of textual interpretation, but for the
beauty of sound with a spinto voice the size of NILSSON, and great
feeling for music..you were just captivated in Boheme, Otello, Butterfly,
etc.
I am happy to have known Renata personally...and to have seen her in
her great era. I am happy to share experiences with all of you. as ever
Charlie Handelman
ano...@tiac.net
(Charles Handelman) wrote:
> I am happy to have known Renata personally...and to have seen her in
> her great era. I am happy to share experiences with all of you. as ever
> Charlie Handelman
Hey, Charlie!
Here you are on rec.music.opera, coming through just as clearly as on opera-l.
You knew Renata personally. Closest I can come to that is opening night of
the Verona season in 1956--or was it 1957? In either case, it was almost
traditional in Verona for it to rain just before curtain time. Two of my
army buddies and I were having dinner in the Ristorante da Tre Corone
across the Piazza Bra from the Arena. The place started to fill up with
damp opera goers waiting for the rain to stop when all of a sudden in came
Renata Tebaldi and her mother. The headwaiter looked around and the only
empty spaces were at the other end of our table. He looked like he wished
we would disappear, but brought the women over, murmured a "Permesso," and
seated them. They had a small coffee and a bread stick or something like
that, and exchanged pleasantries with us under the stares of most of the
other diners. When the rain stopped they left. We wanted to pay their
check but the management said it had already been taken care of.
A couple of nights later she sang a recital on the lawn beside the
cathedral-- San Zeno--some unfamiliar arias, and sang "Pace, pace, mio
Dio" as an encore. The orchesra was conducted by Rudolf Kempe.
A couple of weeks later I sat at the next table from Giovanni Martinelli
on the sidewalk outside. Poor fellow couldn't enjoy his vino for all the
admirers who came to greet him.
Regards,
John
joao paulo andre
of "La Fanciulla del West" of Puccini (With Mario Del Monaco) by DECCA.
For me she is wonderful in this character, and she sounds more moving and
sweet than never.
Joao Paulo Andre
jpa...@ci.uminho.pt
Charles Handelman
than the London recording..a few top notes are sceamy..but that card
scene is incredible....and every time i play it I go nuts. I also knew
her in the 1950's and 1960's and she was the sweetest kindest human being
imaginable...as well as having one of the greatest (and hugest) voices of
the century. recently my friend went to see her and had a great time.At
73 she is still a sweetheart and looks great (we have home videos) CH