Episode 410. Magda Olivero Revisited
SOCIAL SHARE
SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
If we have to live in a world of extremes, I want it to be a world in which Magda Olivero reigns supreme. Her artistry combined both integrity (personal, vocal, and artistic), alongside originality and fearless risk-taking. She was never afraid to go out on a limb and it was this quality (alongside her extraordinary longevity) that endeared her to so many opera lovers. Today I have culled my Olivero collection and combined excerpts from a number of rare albums in my collection with material culled from The Magda Olivero Archives, maintained by Denis Robert, a friend and confidante of Olivero who has made it his life’s work to present the great diva in all her many facets. We hear the great diva in excerpts from Manon Lescaut, Mefistofele, Traviata, Tristan (!), Bohème, Manon, Medea, and Adriana Lecouvreur (probably her most significant role). In addition, I offer up live excerpts from her two Carnegie Hall recitals as well as rare recordings of Italian songs, including an excerpt from her official farewell appearance in 1991 at the age of 81. There was never another soprano even remotely like her, and if she is your cup of tea (as she most emphatically is mine), this episode will provide an exceptional opportunity to revel in many aspects of her artistry.
Denis Robert’s articles on Magda Olivero can be accessed here: https://myscena.org/author/denis-robert/
The Magda Olivero Archives are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@themagdaoliveroarchives9199
Many of the photos reproduced here first appeared on The Magda Olivero Archives.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Luigi Gerussi, Giosué Carducci: Panteismo. Magda Olivero, Ermelinda Magnetti [1953]
Nino Porto, Alfonso Gatto: Lontananza. Magda Olivero, Maria Teresa Conti [unknown date]
Alfonso Guercia, Ernesto Del Preite: Non m’amava. Magda Olivero [unknown performance details]
Francesco Cilea: from Adriana Lecouvreur [Edinburgh 1963].
- Io son l’umile ancella
- Poveri fiori [with Sesto Bruscantini]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica [after Henri Murger]: from La Bohème [Amsterdam 1968].
- Sì, mi chiamano Mimì
- Donde lieta uscì
Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica, Marco Praga, Domenico Oliva [after Abbé Prévost]: from Manon Lescaut [Amsterdam 1964].
- In quelle trine morbide
- Sola, perduta, abbandonata
Arrigo Boito: L’altra notte in fondo al mare (Mefistofele) [Amsterdam 1963]
Luigi Cherubini, François-Benoît Hoffmann [Italian version by Carlo Zangarini]: De tuoi figli (Medea). [Dallas 1967] [with Bruno Prevedi]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave [after Alexandre Dumas fils]: Teneste la promessa… Addio del passato (La traviata). [Amsterdam 1967]
Richard Wagner: Dolce e calmo (Tristan und Isolde). Franco Mannino, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [15.XII.1958]
Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, Devilli (né Alberto Curci) [Italian text]: L’amore è una cosa meravigliosa [RAI Milano 03.XII.57]
Stefano Donaudy, Alberto Donaudy: Vaghissima sembianza. Magda Olivero, Ivan Davis [live New York 05.XII.1977]
Paolo Tosti, George Doncieux: Pour un baiser. Magda Olivero, Ivan Davis [live New York 05.XII.1977]
Jules Massenet, Henri Meilhac, Philippe Gille [after Abbé Prévost]: Allons, il le faut… Adieu, notre petite table (Manon). Magda Olivero, Garrick Ohlsson [live New York 27.X.1979]
Alessandro Stradella [falsely attributed]: Pietà, Signore. Magda Olivero, unknown organist [live Milano 05.XI.1991]
Charles Gounod [after Johann Sebastian Bach]: Ave Maria. Magda Olivero, Maria Concetta Balducci [live Firenze, Chiesa di San Jacopino 28.III.1969]