Search - Umberto Giordano, Napoleone Annovazzi, Andrea Mineo :: Umberto Giordano: Fedora

Olivero is wonderful but . . .

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 01/11/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Fedora" is the other opera by which the composer, Umberto Giordano, is remembered. How the man who composed the marvelous "Andrea Chenier"--the very best Puccini opera that Puccini never wrote--could be guilty of this mediocrity is a puzzler. I suppose it stems from the libretto. After all, not even Mozart could achieve true sublimity when he was stuck with the libretto of an opera seria. "Fedora" is a soap opera, and a remarkably lame one, set to music.



"Amor ti vieta", an aria for the tenor, is about the only piece in "Fedora" that holds a place in the public mind. In the opera the aria is almost thrown away. It stands up much better on its own as a concert bonbon.



The sole attraction of this disc is the wonderful Magda Olivero as Fedora. Whatever my negative opinion of the opera, "Fedora" has undoubtedly been highly attractive to the great, lush-voiced Italian sopranos, once so common but now virtually extinct: Caniglia, Tebaldi, Olivero. Madame Olivero, although woefully under-recorded, is by no means the least of these. (To hear what I mean when I say that she is wonderful, compare the complete "Manon Lescaut" of Olivero and Tucker--recorded when both were at or near retirement age--with the comparitively feeble attempt of the much younger Freni and Pavarroti.)



The tenor here is Giuseppi diStefano. No one holds the glorious tones of that man's golden voice in higher esteem than I do, but this recording documents all-too clearly the shocking decline that led to the premature end of his singing career. "Amor ti vieta" on this set is . . . sad.



This a live performance. The sound quality is bearable, no more. The audience, as usual, is obnoxious but also bearable.



Five stars for Olivero, triumphant over all, less one star for poor diStefano and another for the lameness of the vehicle."

The Magnificent Olivero, and then there was Di Stefano...

J. Martin | Pensacola, FL | 02/21/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If anyone has ever seen Olivero live, you know that she pretty much ruins the opera she is singing permanently, since no one else can ever get into the heart of a role as does this incredible lady. I was priviledged enough to see her maybe half a dozen times, and listening to her various Fedora recordings (there are 4 currently available) I still get goosebumps. I have 5 different sopranos singing Fedora, but as much as I love Canglia, della Rizza, Zeani, Petrella, and Freni, none of them can even come close to the depth of character, nuance, and total immersion into the role that Olivero brings to it.. This performance, like all of her live Fedora peformances as well as the commercial recording on London, reveal the art of a great singer, the likes of whom we will never see again. She was the last great verismo soprano in the grand tradition. Watch the youtube video of her singing Panis Angelicus at age 91! This performance is magnificent for the divine Magda, but is ruined by the disgusting, spready howling of Di Stefano, whose lack of technique, finesse, and intelligence caused his early vocal demise, a shame since his natural voice was glorious (listen to his early perforamcnes 1948-1952, after that, well...).



This wasn't given 5 stars because di Stefano does his best to ruin what is a memorable performance. In spite of him however, this performance is worth purchasing."