# The Official Anna Moffo Fan Club



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

That's right. It's time for a tribute thread to my favorite soprano of all time.  Not best, just my personal favorite.

Adorable and perky, she delivered in Mozart and Verdi with aplomb.










Sadly enough, no box set for her exists. Very depressing.

Word is bond.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Ain't joinin' no club ... But that woman made some of the most gorgeous sounds that ever came out of a human mouth.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Ain't joinin' no club ... But that woman made some of the most gorgeous sounds that ever came out of a human mouth.












Your anti-cultist credentials are safe with me. _;D_

Moffo deserves her own fan club just for the way she floats "_Azni rinnova come fa la luna_" as Nannetta from Act I of the EMI Karajan _Falstaff._


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I think that it is time to... "Take the Cult out of Culture" 

And you will notice that I am smart enough to place it on this thread rather than another current one


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Becca said:


> I think that it is time to... "Take the Cult out of Culture"
> 
> And you will notice that I am smart enough to place it on this thread rather than another current one


Please explain for the Hard-of-Understanding.

My hair is currently heavy-metal platinum blonde.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Only the young Callas could make more of "Qui la voce sua soave" and Vien, diletto" than Moffo. This is pure bel canto:


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Please explain for the Hard-of-Understanding.
> 
> My hair is currently heavy-metal platinum blonde.


And start another thread like the Why M... C... thread? Surely you jest!


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Becca said:


> And start another thread like the Why M... C... thread? Surely you jest!


You were jest having fun with my elations- I know. _;D_


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Your anti-cultist credentials are safe with me. _;D_
> 
> Moffo deserves her own fan club just for the way she floats "_Azni rinnova come fa la luna_" as Nannetta from Act I of the EMI Karajan _Falstaff._


Thanks and I will check out that recording for sure. Looks awesome.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Thanks and I will check out that recording for sure. Looks awesome.


It sounds better than it looks.

_;D_


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Moffo was the Gilda in the first opera I ever bought as a lad - Rigoletto. Cost me the princely sum of £4 which was a lot of money considering the average weekly wage was about £15 a week. Her scenes with Merrill are so affecting. In fact she is still probably my favourite Gilda. Pity Solti rushes the opera off its feet much of the time.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

I don't have much to add to what has already been said about the beautiful Anna Moffo but I'd gladly join the fan club, unashamed cultist that I am. :tiphat:


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Woodduck said:


> Only the young Callas could make more of "Qui la voce sua soave" and Vien, diletto" than Moffo. This is pure bel canto:


Very good performance early in her career with fresh voice in a live Puritani, Myto release available for insanely high price on Amazon USA, but even better is Ebay vendor "arsvocalis" remastered release......unfortunately as of today it is not in stock, but is was just recently. Not sure why RCA never recorded her in this role, she is really a great Elvira......


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Albert7 said:


> That's right. It's time for a tribute thread to my favorite soprano of all time.  Not best, just my personal favorite.
> 
> Adorable and perky, she delivered in Mozart and Verdi with aplomb.
> 
> ...


True no omnibus career spanning boxset available, I would highly recommend the very cheap 10 CD boxset of extended opera scences from early in her career in freshest voice from some of her famous roles, some of these are very hard to find elsewhere, Amazon USA has it for $15 new.....


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Always been a Moffo fan. Wish she'd have done more , but I have her on my favorite version of one of my favorite operas...............


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Itullian said:


> Always been a Moffo fan. Wish she'd have done more , but I have her on my favorite version of one of my favorite operas...............





DavidA said:


> Moffo was the Gilda in the first opera I ever bought as a lad - Rigoletto. Cost me the princely sum of £4 which was a lot of money considering the average weekly wage was about £15 a week. Her scenes with Merrill are so affecting. In fact she is still probably my favourite Gilda. Pity Solti rushes the opera off its feet much of the time.


I wish RCA would release the Lucia, Rigoletto, Butterfly and Luisa Miller as hybrid SACD remasters like some of her other albums, that would be sweet.......


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

The Nanetta in Falstaff is fabulous. And she also sang Musetta opposite Callas in Boheme. Her Gilda is very natural. Sounds as if the part was made for her voice.

One point I just noticed: Due to an extremely heavy workload, Moffo suffered a serious vocal-breakdown in 1974, from which she never fully recovered. 
Anyone any insights?


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

One of my favorite sopranos. While her Violetta, Butterfly, Nanetta, Gilda, Lucia and Magda (as in _La Rondine_) are all impressively sung and well-portrayed with pathos, I still consider these two her true signature roles: Luisa Miller and Fiora from _L'amore dei tre re_ (sometimes referred as the Italian _Tristan_):

















Go to the first one for solid, stylish Verdi singing (Bergonzi is at his best too), and the second one for luscious voice soaring above Wagnerian orchestra.

For non-operatic recordings, I particularly enjoy her excerpts from _Chants d'Auvergne_ conducted by Stokowski, where her rosy timbre perfectly fits the heavenly music:









She also sang a number of operettas and pop songs. I really like her diction here:


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Thanks so much.... Sony/RCA needs to collate all of her recordings into a box set. She is definitely of the most underrated singers of her time and the lack of scholarship on her voice startles me to this very day.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

One of my favourite singers.
I found this forum by searching for Anna Moffo.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Thanks so much.... Sony/RCA needs to collate all of her recordings into a box set. She is definitely of the most underrated singers of her time and the lack of scholarship on her voice startles me to this very day.


True. And I find it very annoying that I almost found none of the above mentioned recordings on Spotify. Poor Moffo


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

silentio said:


> True. And I find it very annoying that I almost found none of the above mentioned recordings on Spotify. Poor Moffo


Tebaldi gets a huge box set.
Callas gets a huge box set.
Sutherland gets a huge box set.

And where is Moffo?

Relegated to the two dollar bin.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DarkAngel said:


> True no omnibus career spanning boxset available, I would highly recommend the very cheap 10 CD boxset of extended opera scences from early in her career in freshest voice from some of her famous roles, some of these are very hard to find elsewhere, Amazon USA has it for $15 new.....


Thanks for the tip DarkAngerl, JPC has it for just € 12.99 ordered it right away. :tiphat:


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Just reading Solti's biography. Apparently Moffo collapsed on stage while he was conducting Rigoletto in act 1 scene 2. She was apparently suffering from exhaustion and had to be replaced.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)




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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Just listening to Moffo's Mussetta. Wonderful!


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

My introduction to Anna Moffo was with this delightful opera, and a very delightful performance by a youthful Anna Moffo:


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Florestan said:


> My introduction to Anna Moffo was with this delightful opera, and a very delightful performance by a youthful Anna Moffo:


Wish the lip sinc was better!


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

DavidA said:


> Wish the lip sinc was better!


Google for it. There were a number of postings of it and some may have better sync. Also you can find 5 parts with English subtitles that cover about 40 minutes. This was apparently made for TV so there is an insertion in the middle of maybe 10 minutes that is not part of the opera. The master, Montarsolo, is in the Abbado Cenerentola Video and very good there also.


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

Anna was my introduction to opera, it's a shame she doesn't get more recognition. She had such a lovely voice.


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

My first Violetta...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DarkAngel said:


>


Arrived yesterday, again many thanks for mentioning this :tiphat:


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Pugg said:


> Arrived yesterday, again many thanks for mentioning this :tiphat:


I love the format where you get extended sequences of important or signature opera performances as well as a variety to show full scope of artist, some of these are very hard to find separately, and a great price

I have many of these 10cd boxes now for different artists....


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

When I listen to these, so do the neighbors.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I will be picking up my Anna Moffo LP that I won from eBay from the mailbox. I never mail ordered vinyl so we will see how it goes.


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## annacousin (Jun 20, 2015)

I am looking for people who may be interested in Anna Moffo recordings, photos and misc items. I am going through some archival stuff and seem to have some old reel to reel recordings and some other things... though I have not delved into them to see exactly what they are. I will be examining further in July, so if you know of anyone who is interested in archival things from Anna Moffo please contact me.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Pugg said:


> Arrived yesterday, again many thanks for mentioning this :tiphat:


At risk of financial ruination and spousal scolding, please do tell me what you think of this, it's been on my radar for some time.

As mentioned in current opera listening, I just started Anna Moffo's "Luisa Miller" and I look forward to exploring her work more.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sonata said:


> At risk of financial ruination and spousal scolding, please do tell me what you think of this, it's been on my radar for some time.
> 
> As mentioned in current opera listening, I just started Anna Moffo's "Luisa Miller" and I look forward to exploring her work more.


Sorry, just see your post only now.
If the price will put you off..only 14.00 for 10 CD's , come you can kiss and make up 
This following piece is from the Amazon site, couldn't put it better myself.

_This unusual set contains 10 CDs of Anna Moffo singing arias and songs recorded from 1955-'60, at the beginning of her splendid but too short career. Only one opera is presented in its entirety: "Il Filosofo di Campagna," by Baldassare Galuppi. Otherwise, all the tracks are individual arias featuring Ms. Moffo, some of which are solos and some of which are ensemble pieces. The idea, evidently, was to present only those tracks where Anna Moffo is singing. Thus there are anywhere from one to several arias from each opera. These include selections from "Rigoletto," "La Traviata," "La Sonnambula," "Falstaff," "La Figlia del Reggimento," "I Puritani," "Capriccio," "La Fiamma," "Dinorah," "Semiramide," "Madama Butterfly," "Cosi fan Tutte," "Le Nozze di Figaro" (as both Susanna and Cherubino), "Don Giovanni," and "Lucia di Lammermoor." There are also some songs by Mozart and two selections from his "Great" mass in C minor.

The result is a feast for fans of Anna Moffo, since we can just pop in any CD and hear her on every track. Her voice during those early years, moreover, was gorgeous - the ill effects associated with her demanding schedule and her nose surgery had not yet manifested themselves.

The set is contained in a cardboard box with a photo (perplexingly) taken when Ms. Moffo was older. Each CD comes in a card-stock envelope with the featured arias and track numbers on the back. There is no booklet. I am pleased that the sound is uniformly good (at least on the 3 CDs I have played), even if it's not outstanding by current standards, and does not particularly show its age. A short biographical sketch of Ms. Moffo appears on the back of the box. Ms. Moffo's many fans will be pleased at this chance to own such a collection._

Kind regards.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

This came up in a search and says is on ebay. Looks interesting.


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

Let me revive this thread! Have any of you listened to Moffo's recording of Madama Butterfly? What are your thoughts on it? And do you know if a complete version of the recording is still available? I have been listening to the highlights and I quite like what I hear.

Thank you :tiphat:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

A worthy thread to revive. I don't know the opera Madama Butterfly.

However, I can offer that this is an awesome Moffo performance that I think I posted years ago in this thread and that video is gone, so here it is again:


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## 1846 (Sep 1, 2021)

Count me in. I love this singer. I have quite a few (or even most) of her complete operas, including the questionable ones, Thais and Carmen. I know I've heard that Butterfly in the past, by by "in the past" I mean like 50 or so years ago.

My personal Moffo story comes from 1970. My high school graduation present from my parents was a trip to Minneapolis to see the Met on tour. The Saturday matinee was _Il Barbiere_ with Moffo, Luigi Alva, and Sherril Milnes. The evening was Trovatore with James McCracken, Gabriella Tucci, Mario Sereni.

It was with great anticipation that I took my seat, opened the program, and to my great dismay, Anna had cancelled. How could she? This was my graduation present, she was supposed to be there. Nuts. A guy about three rows down was positively apoplectic when he discovered the bad news. Colette Boky did a reasonably good job of replacing her, though, and I did enjoy the performance anyway. This the only time I was ever present for a live performance by the Met, and also the only time I was ever able to hear Milnes live. I will, however, never live down the disappointment. Trovatore was pretty good, too.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

In my early record-buying life, I used to buy all of my LPs at Discount Records on Market Street in San Francisco. They gave discounts to members of the KKHI Club, listeners of that local radio station, One of the knowledgeable salespeople, "Bud," was an Anna Moffo fan and used to tease me about my Callas adherence, but gave me good advice on other recordings (non-specific to either soprano). I did listen and buy some Moffo records, but never became a Moffo-devotee. I found her voice too light and her singing uninteresting, though superficially beautiful.

One if the records I bought was the *Madama Butterfly* and the light voice seemed perfect for the young Gheisha. I don't know if Moffo ever sang the role on stage, it probably would've been harmful.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

My first Luisa...


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## Concertantek364 (Mar 13, 2021)

Her Nanetta in the 1956 EMI/UK Columbia Falstaff conducted by Karajan and Susanna in the 1959 EMI/UK Columbia Figaro conducted by Giulini are vivid, enchanting and beautifully sung. For me these are her best recorded roles.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Concertantek364 said:


> Her Nanetta in the 1956 EMI/UK Columbia Falstaff conducted by Karajan and Susanna in the 1959 EMI/UK Columbia Figaro conducted by Giulini are vivid, enchanting and beautifully sung. For me these are her best recorded roles.


I agree. I'd aso include her Musetta on the Callas/Votto *La Boheme*, which John Ardoin calls unformed. I don't agree at all and I much prefer her to the usual sparky soubrette. She sounds flighty and temperamental, but has the warmth and tenderness needed for the last act.

The *Luisa Miller* is very good too.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'd also include her Musetta on the Callas/Votto *La Boheme*, which John Ardoin calls unformed. I don't agree at all and I much prefer her to the usual sparky soubrette. She sounds flighty and temperamental, but has the warmth and tenderness needed for the last act.


No reason Musetta shouldn't have a voice with body and a bit of sensuality. Moffo also contrasts nicely with Callas. In many performances (and not only of _Boheme_) you end up with a couple of anonymous lirico-somethings you can hardly tell apart.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I think Moffo's career would be much bigger today in the age of video because of her combination of talent and great beauty. Maybe bigger than Netrebko... and in my opinion much better.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I forget if I said that I saw her in the seventies when she was more full figured, still beautiful and singing wonderfully in Atlanta when I was in my 20's. I knew her through the Villa Lobos album they played for mental patients in the hospital. It was recital and she wore blue. It was typical recital fare, no opera.


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