CARMEN: Maria Gay & Giovanni Zenatello ~ Final Duet (1930)

For "MrCafiero" / mezzo-soprano Maria Gay (1879-1943) & tenor Giovanni Zenatello (1876-1949) / Sei tu? Son io! / Carmen (Bizet) / Recorded: 1930 --

Of this famous recording Rodney Milnes writes in OPERA ON RECORD: "And it is wise, on the whole, to sing the notes rather than resort to shouting. Giovanni Zenatello and his wife Maria Gay go at the scene hammer and tongs in Italian and in a very Italianate manner, he gets too weepy too soon and she is too cruel, shrieking with laughter at his "Mais moi, Carmen, je t'aime encore'. He then lapses into the full sob-stuff (at no stage, surely, should Jose lose his dignity) and both shout the allegro fuocoso passage. The end is sheer Mascagni. It is certainly exciting, but nothing to do with Bizet." (Opera on Record - Edited by Alan Blyth / Hutchinson & Company - 1979)

MARIA GAY (June 13, 1879 - July 20, 1943) was a Catalan opera singer, a mezzo-soprano born as Maria de Lourdes Lucia Antonia Pichot Gironés. She has sometimes been referred to as Maria Gay Zenatello. According to one story, young Maria was arrested for singing revolutionary or nationalist songs. She defiantly continued to sing them in prison, with a voice so fine she was offered a chance to study bel canto. In 1897 she married Catalan composer Joan Gay i Planella. In 1902 she debuted in the title role of Carmen in Brussels. She was a hit in the role and became one of the best regarded interpreters of "Carmen" of her era. She reportedly shocked and mesmerized audiences, portraying the gypsy girl as an impudent, magnetic, but coarse and unrefined peasant, eating an orange and spitting out the seeds before singing the famous Habanera. In 1906 she debuted at Milan's La Scala, where she met tenor Giovanni Zenatello. Gay and Zenatello would live together the rest of their lives, and were often described as husband and wife, although they may never actually have gotten married, and legally Maria Gay may still have been married to Juan Gay Planella until his death in 1926. She made a series of gramophone records for the Columbia Phonograph Company. Gay and Zenatello worked to find, help train, and promote promising young singers. Their most famous find was Lily Pons, who the couple managed until Pons and the couple had a falling out. Gay and Zenatello set up a home in Manhattan, New York City in 1936, where she lived the rest of her life. Maria Gay was buried in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

GIOVANNI ZENATELLO (February 2, 1876 - February 11, 1949) enjoyed an international career as a dramatic tenor of the first rank. His operatic career gained momentum during the early years of the 20th century, and on February 17, 1904, he created the role of Pinkerton in the world premiere of Puccini's Madama Butterfly at La Scala, Milan. He succeeded Francesco Tamagno (1850-1905) as the world's greatest exponent of Giuseppe Verdi's Otello, and recorded highly acclaimed extracts from the work. When Zenatello retired from opera he taught singing, Lily Pons one of his pupils. As to his private life, he lived with the Spanish mezzo-soprano Maria Gay from 1906 until her death in 1943. They were often described as husband and wife although they may never have actually married. Zenatello was instrumental in having the Verona Arena, built originally by the ancient Romans, restored and turned into a world famous open-air venue for opera performances. Zenatello arranged for a promising young soprano named Maria Callas to appear at the arena's Summer Festival in Ponchielli's La Gioconda. This appearance would give Callas' career an invaluable boost in Italy and help set her on the path to future stardom. Zenatello died in New York City in 1949, aged 73 Zenatello left an important musical legacy in the form of a considerable number of commercial recordings that reflect the wide range of his repertoire and confirm the impressive power, thrust and ardency of his singing. (wikipedia)

******************************

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Maria
• Gay
• Giovanni
• Zenatello
• Opera
• Bizet
• Carmen
• 78RPM
• CurzonRoad

[stewballmax3]

I am very grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to listen to this sterling quality jewel.

Thanks,

Max

[CurzonRoad]

@stewballmax3

Max:

Again... the pleasure is mine!

All Best.

Doug --

[HM0880]

Yes, Carmen is a cold-blooded wench who cares only for herself, and Don José is driven to madness and despair by her rejection of him, but I find that the overt emotionalism present in this recording makes the scene laughable instead of making a statement about the inner conflict of the characters.

An interesting performance, but not the definitive "Carmen" by a long shot. It's always good to listen to different interpretations, and boy, was this one different! Thank you for posting. :)

[CurzonRoad]

@HM0880

Definitive? never... but the lurid drama unfolds, and we're willing listeners, gripped by the raw, over-the-top, and yes at times laughable excess. Speaking of definitive, check out the Vallin-Friant!

[MrGer2295]

LOVELY PERFORMANCE!!! Thank you Sir Doug for sharing this Wonderful video.

[rodlarocque]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVED IT

[65attila]

This spark flying rendition makes my heart race, Although the opera is written by a Frenchman these singers give it a more Mediteranean overt style of the characters. I love it.

It reminds me of Del Monaco and Archipova and Corelli and Simionato..

Thanks Doug and regards _john

[TomRexdale]

What a sterling performance --by husband and wife in real-life! Zenatello was no youngster when this was recorded--but his many years of on-stage performance shine through -Gays voice was not of the world-class quality of her husbands yet the chemistry works--the whole picture unfolds as the duet proceeds to its inevitable ending! How many of us have heard such a performance in the opera house recently?? Also as someone has mentioned, the live voices of these two in the house--bravi!!

[CurzonRoad]

@SilvanaZenatello

Thank you... very, very much!

A great honor to hear from you!

All Best.

Doug --

[SilvanaZenatello]

@nejopichot

che coincidenza!

Giovanni Zenatello era il fratello di mio nonno !!

Giovanni Zenatello was my grandfather's brother!!!

[sugarbist]

@castellomatese My Father told me that tenors like Zenatello,De muro&Martinelli were voices that were must larger and more impressive in the theatre than on records&these 3 voices rang out morethanDel Monacos which was always hard for me to accept.However Del MonacoCorelli Destefano&Lanza remain my 4 favorite tenors but i try to enjoy all singers depending on the roles their doing .im not crazy about Carmen either.I would neversee it,unless of course Zenatello was appearing.HA.ENJOY & THANKS

[castellomatese]

@sugarbist I agree 100%. I have always hated this opera; the character of Don Jose never rang true to me. (and the more modern-day directors fuss with it, the worse it gets! I can appreciate most of this commentary, but frankly I think Zenatello more than capably expresses quite a range of human emotion. I suspect that they would have been incredibly powerful in a theater. Their "over-the-top" interpretation wouldn't work with lesser singers.