Episode 450. Onelia Fineschi Sings the Undoing of Women
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Onelia Fineschi (1921 – 2004) was one of the finest Italian lyric sopranos of her era. Probably most famous today for having provided the singing voice of Gina Lollobrigida in a 1948 filmed version of Pagliacci, she had a wide-ranging repertoire and an up-and-down career trajectory that lasted, however, nearly 25 years. Initially I became interested in Fineschi because one of my listeners gifted me with a visually arresting Cetra LP of her 1947 recordings of various opera arias, which, upon listening, revealed an equally arresting and technically solid voice with a characteristically Italian timbre. But the more I explored what little I could about her, several issues that emerged seemed particularly relevant to Women’s History Month. For instance, many 20th century female singers had truncated careers or complicated personal lives because of the demands that their voices made upon their lives. I uncovered some ambiguous comments regarding Fineschi’s marriage to the tenor Francesco Albanese (1912 – 2005), that seemed to imply that this may have been the case with her. Furthermore, much of the standard repertoire that she sang bears out the contention of French philosopher, scholar and author Catherine Clément that opera enacts “the undoing of women.” Nearly every excerpt I play explores this theme, from the “slutty” Nedda in Pagliacci (who, we are led to believe, as a free spirit, gets what she deserves) to Tosca, Manon, Mimì, Margherita in Mefistofele, Desdemona, Leonora de Vargas, Maddalena di Coigny, and Cio-Cio-San, all of them expiring, sometimes gently, sometimes violently to the most glorious music. So apart from simply resuscitating a fine lyric soprano, this episode at least scratches the surface on the topic of women in opera from a feminist vantage point, centering around the problems of inherent misogyny and sexual abuse of women that is practically baked into the business itself. Featured voices alongside Fineschi’s include Tito Gobbi, Mario del Monaco, Giuseppe di Stefano, and Mr. Fineschi himself, Francesco Albanese.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Alfredo Catalani, Luigi Illica [after Wilhelmine von Hillern]: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (La Wally). Onelia Fineschi, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]
Giuseppe Verdi, Arrigo Boito [after William Shakespeare]: Sul fil d’un soffio etesio (Falstaff). Onelia Fineschi, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica [after Henri Murger]: Sono andati? (La bohème). Onelia Fineschi, Francesco Albanese, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]
Pietro Mascagni, P. Suardon [né Nicola Daspuro] [after Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrain]: Suzel, buon dì (L’amico Fritz) [excerpt]. Onelia Fineschi, Francesco Albanese [as heard on Il Musichiere, 1958 television program]
Ruggero Leoncavallo: Sei là? [Nedda-Tonio Scene]; Nedda! Silvio, a quest’ora [Nedda-Silvio Scene] (Pagliacci). Onelia Fineschi, Tito Gobbi, Giuseppe Morelli, Orchestra dell’Opera di Roma [1946 film]
Ruggero Leoncavallo: Ah! Ebben, se mi giudici (Pagliacci). Onelia Fineschi, Galliano Masini, Tito Gobbi, Gino Sinimberghi, Giuseppe Morelli, Orchestra dell’Opera di Roma [1946 film soundtrack]
Arrigo Boito: L’altra notte in fondo al mare (Mefistofele). Onelia Fineschi, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]
Giuseppe Verdi, Arrigo Boito [after William Shakespeare]: Mio superbo guerrier [Love Duet] (Otello). Onelia Fineschi, Mario del Monaco, Tullio Serafin, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [broadcast Torino 06.IX.54]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave [after Ángel de Saavedra]: Pace, pace, mio Dio (La forza del destino). Onelia Fineschi, Riccardo Santarelli, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI [09.III.1953]
Umberto Giordano, Luigi Illica: Deggio seguirti? Sei mandata?… Ora soave, sublime ora d’amore (Andrea Chénier). Onelia Fineschi, Giuseppe di Stefano, Bruno Ragacci, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Firenze [live Firenze 04.I.62]
Jules Massenet, Henri Meilhac, Philippe Gille [after Abbé Prévost, Italian version by Angelo Zanardini]: Addio, nostro picciol desco [Adieu, notre petite table] (Manon). Onelia Fineschi, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]
Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica, Marco Praga, Domenico Oliva [after Abbé Prévost]: In quelle trine morbide (Manon Lescaut). Onelia Fineschi, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica [after Victorien Sardou]: Vissi d’arte (Tosca). Onelia Fineschi, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]
Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica [after John Luther Long, David Belasco]: Con onor muore… Tu, tu, piccolo iddio (Madama Butterfly). Onelia Fineschi, Francesco Albanese, Arturo Basile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI [1947]