# Round One:Io son l'umile ancella. Olivero and Caballe



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

This will be like a Xmas present to some of you as this is such a popular opera aria. 




What has been called Magda Olivero's greatest ever performance of Adriana. Live 1965





Adriana Lecouvreur: Io son l'umile ancella · Montserrat Caballé · Francesco Cilea. Mansini conductor


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

Here is Olivero on listening to young singers:



> "So far nobody has left me speechless. They sing, but without technique. The problem is that there are many singing teachers, but few of any worth. They don’t teach that to sing you must breath and support the voice: a wonderful rule that isn’t taught. The foundations are not firmly in place when the singer already starts confronting opera arias. We used to spend years doing vocal exercises. Only in this way can a voice become uniform, smooth and increase its range, and you learn expressiveness.





> Today no-one sings with expression; it seems they don’t understand what interpretation means. And everyone immediately wants to tackle the most difficult composers, like Verdi. I hope that a young singer manages to find someone who knows how to spot defects, and can explain how to intervene. And when someone tells them that they have a beautiful voice to not be big-headed but understand that they must continue studying, you never stop learning. Today, however, they want to get there fast, which is sad because they end up ruining their voices."











Magda Olivero at 102: The problem is that there are many singing teachers, but few of any worth


Just after Magda Olivero's 102nd birthday, (on March 25), the Corriere della Sera went to visit her. This remarkable woman still has a lot to say. While many




www.gramilano.com






"Miss Olivero made her operatic debut in her native Italy in 1933 but did not appear at New York’s Metropolitan Opera until 1975, when she was 65 and sang the title role of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca.” The audience interrupted the music with shouts of “Brava!” and gave Miss Olivero a 20-minute ovation.

Many critics were unmoved by what they described as her “strident” voice and overblown theatrics. But Miss Olivero defiantly sang on, continuing to give recitals well into her 90s and developing a considerable legion of fans.

She was one of the last practitioners of the century-old Italian tradition of “verismo” singing, which was known for its dramatic realism and emotional expressiveness. She abandoned herself to her characters as if she were a method actor.

“Whatever it is that makes audiences turn to jelly,” music critic Howard Klein wrote in the New York Times in 1971, “whatever that unknown quality is that reaches magnetically from a stage to communicate strong emotions to an audience, Olivero — in spite of technical limitations — has it.”

Detractors pointed to what they considered flaws in Miss Olivero’s voice, such as a hollow, reedy tone, tight vibrato and an upper register that tended toward shrillness. She continued to play ingenue roles past age 70, prompting a critic for New York magazine to dismiss her as the “Norma Desmond of opera,” referring to the vain, superannuated actress in the 1950 film “Sunset Boulevard.”

Even if her voice was limited, most aficionados agreed that Miss Olivero had a superb mastery of such technical qualities of singing as breath control, pitch, tone, dynamics and diction, all of which she used to full dramatic effect. Her vocal range reached to a high F. She could effortlessly build a single note from a whispery pianissimo to a full forte, then return to near-silence.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/magda-olivero-opera-star-renowned-for-her-intensely-dramatic-style-dies-at-104/2014/09/13/8ac20eca-3ab4-11e4-8601-97ba88884ffd_story.html


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

Well worth reading - 









My Favourite Opera Singers- Montserrat Caballe


Montserrat Caballe Vocal Category: Lirico-spinto Soprano Composers: Puccini, Mozart, Strauss, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Wagner, Handel, Rossini, Massenet, Gounod, Cilea Strengths of the singer One…




talesoftessitura.wordpress.com





"One of the most renowned singers of the 20th century, affectionately nicknamed ‘La Superba’ by the operatic world, Caballe’s voice is characterised by some of the purest lyric singing ever heard on stage. An extremely benevolent timbre, generous in size and capable of both intimate vocal dynamics and a more tempestuous sound in heavier repertoire. Undoubtedly however, Caballe’s most distinguishable vocal skill is that of the ‘piannisimo’, the ability to completely soften and float the tone even across a large orchestra. 

Most famously, Caballe’s exemplary control of breath can be heard in the climax of Verdi’s opera Don Carlo; In this highly charged finale, Caballe holds the High B5 for 16 seconds- in fortissimo! Whereas in the previous example Caballe shows her ability to extend long piano tones, here she maintains the pitch and quality of sound over a much bigger orchestration, whilst singing entirely in full voice. The difficulty of producing such an extended note whilst singing forte is potentially extremely perilous, but Caballe’s resevoir of strength and stamina combined with a solidity of technique allowed such vocal feats. 



Spoiler: Montserrat Caballé - Best "Don Carlo's" Ending...











"The most notable limitation of Caballe’s instrument was her lack of range in the upper register. Whereas in pianissimo she could ascend to a High D6, her attempts in fortissimo were often extremely ungainly and revealed a harshness to her singing that was in completely contrast to the overall lustre of the rest of the voice;

As Caballe’s career progressed, her ability to sing forte with overtones became almost impossible, most infamously in this recording of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammemoor. The high C#6’s she attempts are complete screams, blood-curdling high tones that sound so coarse and strained that it renders the music almost ridiculous. It was this division in her range that forced her to sing almost exclusively in pianissimo late in her career, as she could no longer access the high notes with any kind of certainty. A problem almost certainly exacerbated by Caballe’s choice of repertoire in the mid 70’s that included Lucia, Tosca, Salome, Medea, Gioconda- all incredibly heavy roles that inevitably drained a lot of freshness and innocence from Caballe’s instrument."


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Here we should have a _kunst diva _vs. a _stimm diva, _a diva steeped in art and the other concerned mostly with voice, but in this instance, I am as affected by Caballe as I am by Olivero - perhaps because Caballe is herself affected by the role of *Adriana Lecouvreur*.

Olivero is a master of her voice - you can tell by the immense _crescendo _she gives us at the penultimate word (”di”) of the aria (_che al nuovo di morra). _

Caballe herself shows her own mastery by the subtle gradations of _piano _and _pianissimo _throughout, though I found it surprising she shows a beat in some of her sustained notes. YouTube dates this to 1974, too early to show signs of decline. One trick she has: she elides the last two words (and their notes) with a _portamento _and holds them in one breath. Masterful.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Now I understand it when Mas strongly vows his allegience to both Callas and Corelli.
I have this same feeling when it comes to Olivero's voice because I know that even though she lacks a beautiful sound, what she does with her strong voice, sopranos today only wish they could too. I love her passionate delivery.
I am also a big fan of Montsie and think she did as admirable a job with her rendering which was more tender without the Olivero dramaric ending, and was also appreciated by me.
I wish I could vote for both but my goosebumps belong to Magda.

PS. About Caballe's Don Carlo last note: Not all find it spectacular. Some voice the word "vulgar."


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Now I understand it when Mas strongly vows his allegience to both Callas and Corelli.
> I have this same feeling when it comes to Olivero's voice because I know that even though she lacks a beautiful sound, what she does with her strong voice, sopranos today only wish they could too. I love her passionate delivery.
> I am also a big fan of Montsie and think she did as admirable a job with her rendering which was more tender without the Olivero dramaric ending, and was also appreciated by me.
> I wish I could vote for both but my goosebumps belong to Magda.
> ...


I would have preferred to post Olivero's version of this as a senior citizen but it was with piano which you don't like. I find it amazing that she sounded so good in her 80s!!!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

@nina foresti
I was torn here because I love Magda as well, who is _sui generis, _but Caballe is sometimes irresistible and she sounds so sincere here. 

P.S. Her *Don Carlo *with that spectacular ending also stars Corelli! It is said it was because of his antics that she decided to “show them!”


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Oh I don't know. I think both ladies show superb mastery of their instruments, but both are a little too self-indulgent for my taste. I think both of them take the aria too slow, for a start. It loses its shape when pulled about so much. Olivero does that amazing crescendo at the end (something of a trademark, I believe) but holds the note far too long (in my opinion). Caballé seems more intent on showing off her pianissimi and incredible breath control than making any musical sense out of it. I admire both performances enormously without really liking them very much, but then I don't really like _verismo_, and don't much like this opera.

Gun to my head I'll vote for Caballé, for the greater beauty of her instrument.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I simply adore this (hated by the masses) opera. The main theme is repeated through the opera and gives me gooosebumps every time I hear it. It leaves me all teary eyed. I am aware that many of the sopranos longed to do the part so Cilea had some fans out there. I recall a Tebaldi-Bing disagreement. He hated it -- she loved it.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> I simply adore this (hated by the masses) opera. The main theme is repeated through the opera and gives me gooosebumps every time I hear it. It leaves me all teary eyed. I am aware that many of the sopranos longed to do the part so Cilea had some fans out there. I recall a Tebaldi-Bing disagreement. He hated it -- she loved it.


He tells us in one of his books that she insisted in doing *Adriana Lecouvreur, *but she cancelled for some reason and ”we had to do the wretched opera without Tebaldi!”


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Oh I don't know. I think both ladies show superb mastery of their instruments, but both are a little too self-indulgent for my taste. I think both of them take the aria too slow, for a start. It loses its shape when pulled about so much. Olivero does that amazing crescendo at the end (something of a trademark, I believe) but holds the note far too long (in my opinion). Caballé seems more intent on showing off her pianissimi and incredible breath control than making any musical sense out of it. I admire both performances enormously without really liking them very much, but then I don't really like _verismo_, and don't much like this opera.
> 
> Gun to my head I'll vote for Caballé, for the greater beauty of her instrument.


Well, I could have said all this, but I didn't and you did. Now let's hear someone sing this in a flowing tempo, with a beautiful sound and with expression, but without exaggeration.

Having said that, I have to concede the possibility that the opera might be less effective if sung tastefully.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Oh I don't know. I think both ladies show superb mastery of their instruments, but both are a little too self-indulgent for my taste. I think both of them take the aria too slow, for a start. It loses its shape when pulled about so much. Olivero does that amazing crescendo at the end (something of a trademark, I believe) but holds the note far too long (in my opinion). Caballé seems more intent on showing off her pianissimi and incredible breath control than making any musical sense out of it. I admire both performances enormously without really liking them very much, but then I don't really like _verismo_, and don't much like this opera.
> 
> Gun to my head I'll vote for Caballé, for the greater beauty of her instrument.


I am going to ask a stupid question because I want to learn. What is it about verismo that you don't like? You do like emotional interpretations by Callas but not this type?? I know verismo is realistic as in real life but why is the style of singing different?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> He tells us in one of his books that she insisted in doing *Adriana Lecouvreur, *but she cancelled for some reason and ”we had to do the wretched opera without Tebaldi!”


I don't know the opera well, having heard it only a couple of times, but it does strike me as a work that would stand or fall on the voice and charisma of its title character.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Joan Sutherland once said, “one can’t always go around grunting and groaning.” I think.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> Joan Sutherland once said, “one can’t always go around grunting and groaning.” I think.


I actually was almost tempted to put her singing it as she puts so much feeling in it. I can make out words but you guys are so much pickier than me on enunciation. She had a big hit with the part late in her career. I think she loved the aria because it was not tragic for a change.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I am going to ask a stupid question because I want to learn. What is it about verismo that you don't like? You do like emotional interpretations by Callas but not this type?? I know verismo is realistic as in real life but why is the style of singing different?


I'm not sure quite. I think that in a lot of cases I find _verismo _anytihing but realistic. The plots are often ridiulously convoluted and it seems to encourage a deal of hammy over-singing and overacting. For example, I'd much prefer hearing this aria sung simply and unaffectedly with a pure line, as it is by Callas on her 1954 _Lyric and Coloratura_ recital, or as it is by Scotto in her complete recording. 

In general, though, I find most of _verismo _just too overwrought. I make an exception for that theatrical wizard, Puccini, even if I prefer the music of the _bel canto _and Verdi and I also think _Cavalleria Rusticana _is a mini-masterpiece, though again I prefer it sung without all those extraneous sobs, aspirates and glottal stops, so beloved of old _verismo _school singers. But actually I find some of Bellini's long, plaintive melodies much more moving than anything in _verismo _and, both musically and dramatically, Verdi is in a different league.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'm not sure quite. I think that in a lot of cases I find _verismo _anytihing but realistic. The plots are often ridiulously convoluted and it seems to encourage a deal of hammy over-singing and overacting. For example, I'd much prefer hearing this aria sung simply and unaffectedly with a pure line, as it is by Callas on her 1954 _Lyric and Coloratura_ recital, or as it is by Scotto in her complete recording.
> 
> In general, though, I find most of _verismo _just too overwrought. I make an exception for that theatrical wizard, Puccini, even if I prefer the music of the _bel canto _and Verdi and I also think _Cavalleria Rusticana _is a mini-masterpiece, though again I prefer it sung without all those extraneous sobs, aspirates and glottal stops, so beloved of old _verismo _school singers. But actually I find some of Bellini's long, plaintive melodies much more moving than anything in _verismo _and, both musically and dramatically, Verdi is in a different league.


Thanks, that makes sense. I also really like Cavalleria Rusticana a lot. They would play the full opera back when I had Metopera Radio. It was very unified and full of raw emotion but not full of sobs. La Boheme was verismo in subject I believe but not in style from what you describe.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Well, I could have said all this, but I didn't and you did. Now let's hear someone sing this in a flowing tempo, with a beautiful sound and with expression, but without exaggeration.
> 
> Having said that, I have to concede the possibility that the opera might be less effective if sung tastefully.


Thank you, Mr. Bing


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'm not sure quite. I think that in a lot of cases I find _verismo _anytihing but realistic. The plots are often ridiulously convoluted and it seems to encourage a deal of hammy over-singing and overacting. For example, I'd much prefer hearing this aria sung simply and unaffectedly with a pure line, as it is by Callas on her 1954 _Lyric and Coloratura_ recital, or as it is by Scotto in her complete recording.
> 
> In general, though, I find most of _verismo _just too overwrought. I make an exception for that theatrical wizard, Puccini, even if I prefer the music of the _bel canto _and Verdi and I also think _Cavalleria Rusticana _is a mini-masterpiece, though again I prefer it sung without all those extraneous sobs, aspirates and glottal stops, so beloved of old _verismo _school singers. But actually I find some of Bellini's long, plaintive melodies much more moving than anything in _verismo _and, both musically and dramatically, Verdi is in a different league.


Hahahaha. And these are all the reasons I adore verismo. It lacks the pomposity, dignity and class of the others and is down-to-earth and dirty and full of sobs and emotion. Ah yes. Verismo IS opera!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Hahahaha. And these are all the reasons I adore verismo. It lacks the pomposity, dignity and class of the others and is down-to-earth and dirty and full of sobs and emotion. Ah yes. Verismo IS opera!


Personally I think it's more like melodrama. After all opera had existed for around 300 years before the _verismo _movement started.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Personally I think it's more like melodrama. After all opera had existed for around 300 years before the _verismo _movement started.


Agree. That's what I love about it. Even the melodramatists like Corelli, Gigli, Olivero,Callas (oh yeah, don't say no!), Chaliapin, Tucker, Vickers, Martinelli, etc.) That's what makes opera exciting for me.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Agree. That's what I love about it.


Chacun à son goût.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Hahahaha. And these are all the reasons I adore verismo. It lacks the pomposity, dignity and class of the others and is down-to-earth and dirty and full of sobs and emotion. Ah yes. Verismo IS opera!


YOU should love a song I will post soon. Oh, my!


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> This will be like a Xmas present to some of you as this is such a popular opera aria.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am used to this aria sung very gently, almost like Caballe, although not all the pianissimi. But it also usually bores me, so I wellcome that Magda Olivero makes something else with it. She also has an unjust advantage of the recitative. She has my vote.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Shaughnessy said:


> She could effortlessly build a single note from a whispery pianissimo to a full forte, then return to near-silence.


That is a description of an ornament "messa di voce", isn't it ? I thought she was going to do it at the end of our aria, but, at least this time, I have heard only the first part, i.g. going from pianissimo to forte.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I would have preferred to post Olivero's version of this as a senior citizen but it was with piano which you don't like. I find it amazing that she sounded so good in her 80s!!!


Why don't you post it here, out of contest ?


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Oh I don't know. I think both ladies show superb mastery of their instruments, but both are a little too self-indulgent for my taste. I think both of them take the aria too slow, for a start. It loses its shape when pulled about so much. Olivero does that amazing crescendo at the end (something of a trademark, I believe) but holds the note far too long (in my opinion). Caballé seems more intent on showing off her pianissimi and incredible breath control than making any musical sense out of it. I admire both performances enormously without really liking them very much, but then I don't really like _verismo_, and don't much like this opera.
> 
> Gun to my head I'll vote for Caballé, for the greater beauty of her instrument.


I that case, I am looking forward to the interprets you _do_ like. Who are they ? 
I also don't like this aria much, but Olivero made it fun for me.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> ... all those extraneous sobs, aspirates and glottal stops, so beloved of old _verismo _school singers.


This is new to me and I've been discovering it only recently and here, at Talk classical. I am used to more contemporary singing of verismo.



Tsaraslondon said:


> But actually I find some of Bellini's long, plaintive melodies much more moving than anything in _verismo
> _




I adore Bellini. Didn't he try something like different verismo in La straniera ? Too early though.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

I was all set to vote for Montserrat. Then I listened to Magda and she blew me away. The two performances almost can't be compared. Magda is singing in a theatre with all the drama and excitement that brings. Montserrat is singing in a recording studio with the intimacy and understatement that brings. I'll take the drama and excitement. What an electrifying performer she must have been.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Well I accept the gift! (I expect I'm the only Olivero AND Caballe fan here so it must be for me!)

I generally don't know who will win this one. Olivero doesn't get much love here. The voice wasn't beautiful and some find her too over the top. I love her. Caballe gets mixed and often lukewarm reviews, so this will be interesting.

Olivero sings this like she was born to and she is particularly good in this recording in very good sound. Was this an Amsterdam performance of the opera? I know I shall be voting for her as I prefer her in this aria compared with Caballe who I primarily like in Verdi and Bel canto. Olivero's pianissimi are prodigious, but she also sings with great intensity, the dynamic and expressive range are impressive.

Oh, Caballe is very good here. This isn't the straight out Magda slays her contest I thought it would be. However, the tempo is too slow in this version and whilst there is something exquisite about Caballe's singing she doesn't have Olivero's emotional impact.

As expected, I'm voting for Olivero.

N.


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