MAGDA OLIVERO at 65. Mefistofele (private film) '76 MUST SEE.

[MrIV74]

Unbelievable. Thank you.

[unkadoe]

Thanks for sharing this treasure with us (including the idiots who think themselves savants).

[spiritfedora]

Amazing for ever!!!

[joaopedro12]

She has passion, she was an artist this are the ones who makes you look back about your life and feel all the world at the same time, in sit in one aria you live more than that all day itself

[ian1856]

Truly miraculous. Worked with her in 75 in FEDORA. Absolutely stunning in every respect. What a great and inspiring artist. Thanks for posting!

[longlifeluke]

OMG!!!!! I've to say: "Ecco un'artista!"

[lesleypaul59]

...thanks for this !!! LES

[lesleypaul59]

...please see my channel : i met her in the early 90ies in her apartment in milano ! she let me in as a fan. known from letters i wrote !!! i am so proud, to know this diva !!! thank you, GOD ! LES from berlin/germany

[smoothiw]

Bravissima. No words. Impeccable versmo diva, ever.

[Juliet0307]

Prodigiosa!!! Meravigliosa!!! Geniale!!!

[robertdonkers]

Some singers make it virtually impossible to listen to others singers in the same role. For me Olivero did that with Mefistofele, Iris, Fedora, Fancesca da Riminni, Manon Lescaut, Adriana LeCouvreur and various others. A well respected singer by all the great performers and severly neglected by the record companies.

[neneorganico]

@robertdonkers hahahahaha !

[rbpenelope2008]

Geniale!

[guido2877]

straordinaria. Non c'è altro da dire!!!Grazie

[80Mrmirko]

A 65 anni schiaccia con vergognosa potenza le trentenni di oggi.

Ma i cantanti lirici di oggi chi cazzo ascoltano Cristina D'avena? Con tutto il rispetto per lei ovviamente.

[cafiarelli]

Que grande la Olivero!!!!! Amo sus interpretaciones.

[andreernestgretry]

mamma mia!

[guido2877]

unica, emozionante. Grazie Magda.

[jovi1715]

this NEEDS to be released!

[nancywilken]

What a treat--tx for posting! This singer was stupendous not only vocally but as an actress (I can see her here in this private film her demonstration in a televised interview, maybe in the early 1990's telling the viewer "always" surround yourself with "white" light and you will be able to move with ease). "It does work" especially for public speaking off the cuff, diffcult to pull off!

[jimreilly43]

this is so wonderful I will not sleep tonight--she sang here (Minneapolis) once in the 70's in Tosca on the old Met tour and I missed it, not knowing she was to sing (I think she covered for someone)--I will regret forever that I missed it!

[dermotafan]

Stuart, thank you so much, again.

[sospello]

Happy Birthday at 100 years of age to the ageless Magda Olivero, born March 25, 1910.

[operaboston]

Amazing artistry and voice. She turned 100 today. What an incredible life. Thank you for posting.

[yes4albert]

Wow!!! What a great artist. I've listened to very little Olivero, but have always heard of her legend as an incredible singing actress. Now I get it.

I've got some catching up to do.

[ploplisphilin]

Truly a treasure of a film, especially for us who have never seen/heard her live--due to artistic managers of opera houses who did not recognize her importance.

[amlirco]

I suppose one should have been already accustomed to similar behaviour but it's never easy to accept this old story of empty judgements from people that obviously don't have a clue about the musical theatre and the impact of a great artist.

Thoroughly supporting Twisterjoe: celebrate and learn. Magda Olivero is about to turn her 100 on March 25.

[enrigoletto]

Ok, she's 66, her interpretation is very strong, but she's also often strongly flat or out of tune and her first octave is empty. But, of course, don't touch the diva...

[Twisterjoe]

What a disrespectful attitude regarding the opportunity to see what remains of a style and artistry from the generations that knew the composers. Finding fault in life is always easy. To celebrate what is good and can be learned from in any situation is a better path to choose. She offers a great deal. When Alicia Alonso danced Giselle in her 50s people noticed that she could not do everything as well as when she was 20, but they were grateful for the opportunity to see an artistry matured.

[enrigoletto]

The problem is that I've never liked Magda Olivero, also at her prime. And I don't agree with all the other listeners here.

[Twisterjoe]

that I can understand. Her instrument itself is distinctive enough that it can provoke opinions. I myself have never been able to enjoy the voice of Victoria de los Angeles, and yet so many are driven to ecstasy by her. Nails on a chalkboard for me.

Who do you enjoy?

[enrigoletto]

I enjoy lots of singers of the past, Muzio, Callas, Stella, often Tebaldi, Sills, Stignani, Simionato etc. But I've never understood why M.Olivero had so many fans expecially between those who think that vocal technique is basilar in singing. I understand that she was an actress full of personality, but I think that her technique was quite poor (voice with bad appoggio, fast vibrato, lack of intonation, no homogeneity). They just get excited for some pianissimo, but i hear also the rest!

[Twisterjoe]

i did not always value Olivero either, but one day I heard wth my entire heart, how she was singing Liu, and I understood part of the opera that I never had before. She made her voice wilt like a broken flower under torture, and then rise like a blossoming angel as she sang of love for her Calaf. The heart or her Liu was so big that she even loved the princess and sang as if she would bless them from heaven. A rare and most real vision for the opera. She happy in heaven, they happy on earth.

[lelecoloco]

@Twisterjoe WELL SAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KILLERADVICE]

Don't critize if you don't like (or, unfortunately don't understand nothing) ? You don't like : it's ok.

But don't explain her fans are tone deaf...

[enrigoletto]

I understand so little, that your post for me is arabic. Please write in your language, it's better for me. Maybe you are telling me that it's more correct to say: I don't like it, gne gne gne, instead of explaining why, or else you fans could get angry and offended? Please, enter in an adult world...

[KILLERADVICE]

I understand very well : you want to teach Magda Olivero how to sing : that's enough for me ! Do you think she was not able to correct by herself her weaknesses if it was possible ? Her voice is really powerful on this rendition. Today, who can sing like that ? Nobody, of course. This a live rendition : you admire the divine Muzio but where are her live performances ? Only studio recordings. It makes, for me, a very big difference.

[enrigoletto]

I don't teach to anyone, I  think that now maybe it's a bit to late for her to change technique ;) My answer anyway is no, noone is able to correct by himself his weaknesses, at least not always. Sing like that? Except for the drama that she puts, unique, tell me what is so impossible to obtain for any other singer today, yesterday and tomorrow. I don't believe in divinity, I see the facts, and use my ears. But won't go on discussing with someone who's in love. Who cares about live or studio...

[Twisterjoe]

@enrigoletto not believing in divinity will leave one unable to ever understand the higher levels of art achieved by a certain class of great artists. Not believing in divinity creates people who criticize how an artist holds their brush, or how perfectly or not they replicate a vase of flowers, but closes them to the power of the vision that the artist is trying to unveil.

[enrigoletto]

@Twisterjoe My dear, I understand perfectly what you're saying. I understand also who loves Olivero's interpretations. It's a matter of taste. What I don't understand is the ones who admire without any doubts her technique! Many people says that she is technically unbeatable! This is what I don't agree. And while there are no arguments against taste (luckily!), there are a lot if you talk about vocal technique.

[robertdonkers]

Even technique can be disputed, bearing in mind that Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was an admirer of Olivero saying "Thank God, there is Magda Olivero who can demonstrate perfect technique to young singers". I think it is quite amazing how the other opera greats have always been in awe of Olivero's technique and artistry. Without technique a voice could not have lasted over 60 years, certainly within the heavy roles she performed.

[enrigoletto]

@robertdonkers Well, she didn't sing with continuity for 60 years, and anyway lasting doesn't mean every time having a perfect technique. Olivero's technique was, in my opinion, uncorrect, but not necessarily dangerous for her. I know that she's admired by many people, but I simply don't agree. And in particular I think also Schwartzkopf had a poor technique ;)

[Twisterjoe]

@enrigoletto I teach in the arts, though mostly in dance. One of my guiding principles is that technique, by definition is a "how" to accomplish. When it is valued alone, it sterilizes art, and becomes a pedantic measure. For a singer, as in most arts that use the body, technique serves two major purposes: accomplish the material with enough skill that artistic nuance is available to you, and keep the body safe while doing that to accomplish longevity. Glottal attacks and scoops are style often.

[Twisterjoe]

@enrigoletto Many great artists in the past practiced the style of their day, and used the technique necessary to fulfill that style. Often they are evaluated for technique on issues that I perceive as style. Great "technicians" in any art are like great technicians in painting that are disrespected if they have nothing to say with their work. Great artists have always placed technique in its proper place, as a means to an end. Her style remained unchanged all her life. Inimitable, it was hers.

[Twisterjoe]

@enrig In Olivero's day, all singers had different sound and style. You could tell who was singing within three or four notes. In the same way you could tell always Peggy Lee from Rosemary Clooney now matter what song. It was a living art, with living artists who moved and compelled people with passion and insight. Opera was theater, and the singers delivered theater with all its varieties of interpretation. When that is gone, so is technique. Technique without an artistic end is merely skill.

[enrigoletto]

@Twisterjoe I agree with everything you've said. The "touch" of the great artists of the past is something that thrills me everytime. And for sure Olivero had her style. But still I can't avoid hearing her lack of intonation, the tremble of her voice, the lack of homogeneity, the poorness of her volume in the repertoire she used to sing etc. So I understand that someone may love her (I like a lot Di Stefano, for example, who wasn't perfect), but to affirm that she had a perfect technique...

[zamyrabyrd]

@enrigoletto Esatto!!! As much as I appreciate her artistry (and the "messa di voce" on the high C's) in "Sempre Libera" here on youtube, I couldn't figure out why the roulades were not clean. They are not in actuality difficult to do, when one practices them enough. But I did have some thoughts about the use of her voice, which was led in a verismo direction rather than bel canto. Callas did both. I don't remember recordings of Olivero doing Bellini or Donizetti, although they may exist.

[andreernestgretry]

@enrigoletto if she hadn't had technique she would not sing this at 66 after a career like hers!

[Twisterjoe]

@enrigoletto I appreciate how kindly you answered me, and i hope my debate has not been disrespectful. I share my thoughts freely regarding art.

[TheseusTex]

@Twisterjoe Boo. You made many good comments, but it is stupid to think one needs to believe in god or divinity or the supernatural in order to feel art at the depth of your being. It is humanity that is expressed in great art. We, as humans, are amazing. More amazing than we can yet comprehend. We have an incredible ability to empathize and relate to each other on profound levels. This is art to me. Not magic in the sky.

[Twisterjoe]

@TheseusTex to which comment are you referring? I do not recall suggesting that someone needed religion to understand the arts, I looked through them to find what you might have meant, but cannot.

I very seldom express my spiritual feelings except to close friends, and your analysis above would not apply to what I believe or teach in the arts.

[Twisterjoe]

@TheseusTex I found it. Divinity. I consider that a much more loose term than religious, but what ever we consider to be divine at high levels if ideal. Divine is an applied term for me, not an inherent one in which magic or supernatural are implied. Divine chocolate brownies are fine for me, but cooking with such an ideal in mind is how growth often comes. For me, that wonderful empathetic power is divine, but has no relationship to religion or even spirituality.

[Twisterjoe]

@TheseusTex you could substitute "sublime" for the word "divine" above, and it would probably be more accurate than what I wrote. Please do not call me stupid without talking to me first, because you may have misunderstood. Divine is a word that is not owned by religion or spirituality, and I refuse to allow words that speak of things intangible, yet beautiful, to belong only to religion. I use those words, but do not mean religion. I hope that helps clear up for you what I think.

[TheseusTex]

@Twisterjoe Got it. Sorry. I guess I still don't understand that comment, but in general, I think we are on the same page. And, technically, I didn't call you stupid. I said "it is stupid to believe..." which you don't believe, ergo, you are not stupid! :-) in any case, this video is definitely sublime! I love this aria so much. Got to see Aprile sing it live last year at Lincoln center. It was breathtaking, and strange, but still amazing.

[Twisterjoe]

@TheseusTex This aria has been a favorite of mine for most of my life. I loved the melody the first time I heard it. I am not sure how dramatic a two verse aria really can be within the structure of an opera, and I have never seen this one, but I know that I love to hear it. I can hardly believe that Aprile's debuts were so long ago already.

[glaucodichio]

Mamma mia, a 66 anni è riuscita a dare questa interpretazione.

Senza parole!

Grazie Magda.

[robertdonkers]

After listening to Magda in this role simply all other great sopranos fall short. Her vocal control and involvement is simply unique. Thank you.

[idialegray]

I've owned this rare and special video since 2002. I decided that I would make it public the day Magda finally went to her rest. She will be 100 on March 25th. and thank goodness she is still going strong, bless her heart.

[corellithebest]

Excuse me, would you happen to have her performances from Dallas (Medea and Fedora with Bruno Prevedi), I think from 1969 or so? I would really appreciate it if you happened to be able to post it.

[corellithebest]

Wow, this is truly stunning! What sublime artistry and deep involvement in this tragic heroine! And at 67! OTHERWORLDLY! And more surprisingly, Olivero is still with us, almost aged 100, and is A LIVING LEGEND!

[sospello]

I too am just amazed by this film of Olivero--precious and rare document of why on stage she could totally involve the audience in her performance.

[AAGMR]

Impressionanteeeeeeee....

Grandissima!!!!

[cleanears]

My supreme compliments to you StuartLou, whoever you are. This is proof that dinosaurs really did roam the earth! I cannot thank you ever enough for this!

[operamyheart]

Magda is about 67 here. Incredible!!!! God bless you Magda.

[ctenor06]

Une fabuleuse "actrice-chantante", tellement dans la lignée du "recitar cantando" déjà à l'honneur dans l'Italie de Monteverdi ... Qui, mieux qu'Olivero, aura su dans le répertoire vériste, donner au texte l'absolue primauté sans jamais rien céder aux lois du beau chant ancien ? Mille mercis, StuartLou. Quelle merveille !!

[racheleleeba]

Words fail. All I can say is thank you.

[bargalad]

WOW!

Unbelievable. Rare indeed.

I adore the voice and it is captured here perhaps better than I have ever heard it if you know what I mean. Thanks.

[schaunard1]

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where did you get it???

[meganailsa]

unbelievable and astounding.Please post any more if you have it

[StuartLou]

~ those squeeks you hear at the beginning- someone moving scenery backstage. This is one of my desert island videos.. good for a "hand-held" camera.