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http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/May08/Bartok_Bluebeard_0743254.htm Posted by Martin Walker on May 13, 2008, 11:49 am 91.168.72.233 Dan Morgan writes "After all there have been many pretenders to the [Callas's]throne – remember Magda Oliviero and Elena Souliotis – and they didn’t last very long either." Yes, I remember Magda Olivero, possibly the same singer you are referring to. The singer I mean had a long career (b. 1910) which started before that of Callas, was interrupted early in 1941 (by marriage, apparently) and then resumed in the 50s - she made her debut at the Met in 1971 (!) and sang on stage for the last time at the age of 71 (when Callas was already dead). She shared relatively little of Callas's repertoire - very little Verdi - but sang roles like Iris, Adriana Lecouvreur, Fedora etc. From the point of view of an Olivero fan, it was Callas who shot across the sky like a falling star. Not that I would like to be without the recorded evidence of either.  Post a Response

Re: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/May08/Bartok_Bluebeard_0743254.htm Posted by Dan Morgan on May 13, 2008, 4:14 pm, in reply to "http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/May08/Bartok_Bluebeard_0743254.htm" 92.10.206.211 Martin Thanks for that perspective on Olivero. I imagine the Callas/Olivero link came to mind because of their dramatic abilities. As you say, their repertoire was very different - Callas in La voix humaine would have been inconceivable. Is there any single Olivero recording that you would recommend as an example of her art at its best?  Post a Response

Re: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/May08/Bartok_Bluebeard_0743254.htm Posted by Martin Walker on May 14, 2008, 3:09 pm, in reply to "Re: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/May08/Bartok_Bluebeard_0743254.htm" 91.164.198.93 Depends whether by "single recording" you mean one aria or a CD, Dan. I have all her pre-retirement 78s on LP, all with the Turin SO of the RTI: one must hear her Liu, her Adriana Lecouvreur, Mimi, Manon & Violetta from this period, which ought to be on a single CD from some source or other. There's her definitive Fedora on Decca, with the best sound of all her interpretations. I have a wonderful complete Iris from '63, too, and there's an apparently stunning live Adriana with Corelli, Bastianini & Simoniato, which I haven't heard & have just ordered!  Post a Response

Re: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/May08/Bartok_Bluebeard_0743254.htm Posted by Dan Morgan on May 14, 2008, 9:22 pm, in reply to "Re: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/May08/Bartok_Bluebeard_0743254.htm" 92.13.13.128 Thanks Martin. I saw some of those recordings on Amazon today. The Adriana looks particularly appealing, but then it also has Corelli :)  Post a Response

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