Search - Giordano, Marton, Carreras :: Fedora

VIVA MARTON!

DILLON L HAYNES | MILFORD, OH United States | 10/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Eva Marton was a soprano of considerable talent, mostly her rather large voice. It was a voice that carried such heavyweight Wagner roles as Brunnhilde (EMI) Elsa (RCA) and Puccini's Turandot (Sony) to perfection. Her voice, however, did not last long, not a big suprise with the roles she was singing. And some later recordings find her in sour vocal shape. This recording was made before she had a chance to destroy that lovely insturment. WOW she really packs an punch in this juicy verisomo role. If you are unfarmiluar with Fedora, its really a sopranos opera. More popular when, of course there were sopranos avilable to tackle such a difficult part. The 1950's were a heyday for this kind of artist and there are some pirate recordings of the greats singing Fedora eg. Callas, Tebaldi and Olivero. Considering the sound quality of those recordings though, they make a poor introduction to this work, known best for the great tenor aria "Amor ti vienta". Carreras was near the end of what was a rather short lived voice, but he makes the most of Loris and pops some lovely lines here and there. The death scene at the end is so touching, one of the most moving in all verisomo opera. If you have not had a chance to experience this opera of Eva Marton I urge you to consider this wonderful studio recording from Sony."

The ideal soprano vehicle

Alfredo R. Villanueva | 04/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I do not mean to comment on this recording, which unfortunately I have not heard as yet, but merely to respond to a couple of misleading observations made by the previous reviewer. Sadly, while it is true that Callas sang Fedora at La Scala back in 1956, there are no recordings of her in the role, despite rumors that one of the performances was taped from the wings. The photographs I have seen suggest that her stage performance was compelling in every way, and the music seems to have been written for just her type of voice, but the opera was not broadcast, so that no live recording is available. On the other hand, there is indeed a splendid commercial recording with Magda Olivero in the title role and Mario del Monaco as Loris; it was made by DECCA in 1969. While del Monaco's unusually thin and metallic-sounding voice lacks the easy-going sensuality required in this type of music (Caruso's vintage 1902 recording gives a much better idea of what the hit aria "Amor ti vieta" is supposed to sound like, despite the poor sound quality), Olivero's performance is so involving that one forgets the plot's many absurdities, the kitschy music and her own vocal failings to marvel at her extraordinary talent. Fedora is not the sort of opera that can survive a poor performance. On the other hand, a singer such as Olivero can persuade you, despite your better judgement, that Giordano was a musical genius (this was no doubt true of Callas as well). While I am more than ready to believe that Marton's performance displays the star quality usually associated with her, I would recommend the older DECCA set to anyone except verismo enthusiasts (who presumably have it already)."