Magda Olivero
Born: 25 March 1910 Saluzzo
Died: 8 September 2014 Milan
Died: 8 September 2014 Milan
I’ll preface the story by telling you that this will not be a complete chronology of Olivero’s career. She is typical of a certain school of Italian singer from the pre war period in that she sang small numbers of performances in an enormous number of small cities throughout Italy and it would be almost impossible to list all of them in a narrative. For those who are really interested in all of the details of her career, I will direct you to a marvelous book, in Italian, called “Magda Olivero, una voce per tre generazioni” by Di Vincenzo Quattrocchi. It has a complete day by day annal of every performance, every recital and every solo appearance as a church soloist, of which there are many. There is also a very comprehensive article in the Record Collector Volume 2 1997 that has an amazing discography. This narrative is intended to paint a picture with a rather broad brush, one that I hope will give you a sense not only of who she was but the effect that she had on audiences throughout her amazingly long career.
Magda Olivero was born at Saluzzo in the Piedmont on 25 March 1910 and pursued a course of music lessons at Turin at about the age of twelve. After several years of study, she auditioned for EIAR (Italian Radio) and was judged to be totally inadequate. The conductor ,Ugo Tansini, is quoted: “this girl has neither voice, nor musicality nor personality. She has nothing”. Undaunted, she continued her lessons in preparation for a second attempt, which failed as badly as the first. However it was at this second audition that she met Luigi Gerussi, who would, from this point be her vocal coach. After a year or so of further study she debuted at EIAR’s Turin facilities as Maria di Magdala in Cattozzo’s “I Misteri Dolorosi” with Giulia Tess and Iris Adami Corradetti. The date was 2 December 1932. Four weeks later at the same studio she sang in Respighi’s “Maria Egiziaca’ with Carlo Tagliabue and Iva Pacetti. The year was occupied with occasional concerts at the radio station as well as performances of “La Leggenda di Sakuntala” by Alfano, and Lauretta in a staged production of “Gianni Schicchi”.
On 26 December 1933, she debuted at La Scala as Anna in “Nabucco” with Gina Cigna, Ebe Stignani, Antonio Voyer, Carlo Galeffi and Tancredi Pasero conducted by Vittorio Gui. In January of 1934 she sang in “La Favorita” with Stignani, Aureliano Pertile, Giuseppe Danise and Pasero and made no impression whatever. She returned to Turin and contented herself with radio engagements for another year and a half, including Nanetta in “Falstaff” with Mariano Stabile and Maria Caniglia and “L’Amore Medico” of Wolf Ferrari.
The young singer was engaged for a summer tour of the Italian provinces with Carro di Tespi. It was a company supported by the Fascist regime which brought opera to many Italian cities that did not have regular opera seasons, as well as some that did, and it normally toured in July, August and September to about forty locations with two or three operas. Magda was asked to perform in "Rigoletto” at Carpi and Lodi with Mario Basiola in the title role. Again, nothing happened and she returned to the studios of Turin for broadcasts of “Rosenenkavalier” with Sara Scuderi and Florica Cristoforeanu under the baton of Tullio Serafin.
In 1936 she fared a little better, singing first at Turin’s Teatro Vittorio Emanuele as Micaela to the unsurpassed Carmen of Gianna Pederzini, and later in the season at that theater in “Suor Angelica” with Augusta Oltrabella and Giuseppina Zinetti. In April, at Camogli, she sang Cio Cio San for the first time and in June at La Spezia she sang Mimi. She was received very well in the two Puccini operas and returned to Carro di Tespi for “La Boheme” at Grosseto and Milan in July. Radio Turin again heard her, when she sang in Wolf Ferrari’s “I Quattro Rusteghi”, concerts, and, in November, as Massenet’s Manon with Giovanni Malipiero. She continued to study with Gerussi and he continued to encourage her, insisting that she had by now developed a strong enough technique that she could allow herself to display the individuality that was to become the indelible hallmark of her art. Though, after five years on the stage, there had still been no breakthrough, Magda remained committed to her goals, and that determination was about to reward itself in a triumphant outburst of success.
1937 began at Turin’s Teatro Carignano, with Zerlina in a splendid revival headed by Eva Turner, Iris Adami Corradetti and Carlo Galeffi. Her engagement included performances of Giordano’s “Mese Mariano” and Wolf Ferrari’s “Il Campiello”. She was noticed and received excellent reviews, especially in the Giordano opera. Tullio Serafin offered her a debut at Rome’s Teatro Reale and on 4 March she appeared as Elsa in a revival that included Voyer, Maria Benedetti, Apollo Granforte and Giuseppe Taddei. She returned to the Carignano for “Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda” by Monteverdi and made considerable headlines in Italian musical journals. The publicity generated engagements at Modena for “Manon” with Beniamino Gigli, and “La Boheme” at Brescia with Giuseppe Lugo. After Mimi at Bern, she was invited to appear at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Monteverdi’s “L’Incoronazione di Poppea”. It was an incredible cast: Giuseppina Cobelli, Gina Cigna, Elvira Casazza, Elena Nicolai, Giovanni Voyer and Tancredi Pasero, conducted by Gino Marinuzzi. In July she returned to Monteverdi and, in a double bill, sang his “Il Combattimento” and “Ballo delle Ingrate”.at Cremona. In August she recorded “Madama Butterfly” for EIAR Turin with Alessandro Ziliani, and appeared at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco as Mimi and in “Il Combattimento”. For Rome’s radio studio she sang Alfano’s “Risurrezione” in October and, later in the month she sang Marguerite in “Faust” for the first time at Turin’s radio station. Her cast was Malipiero, Pasero, Francesco Valentino and Giulietta Simionato. She stayed at Turin through November and broadcast Barbieri’s “Alcassino e Nicoletta”, after which she returned to Modena where she ended this most memorable year with Cio Cio San and Mimi.
At Prato, on New Year’s Day, 1938 she sang Liu for the first time and stayed for six performances. On the 20th, she debuted at Trieste’s Teatro Verdi in “Il Campiello”, followed by “Manon”, again with Gigli. Brescia heard her in Manon Lescaut, another new role, and Genoa’s Carlo Felice presented her in “Mese Mariano” and Lattuada’s “La Caverna di Salamanca”. On 15 March she sang what up to now was the most important engagement of her career, Cio Cio San at Naples’ Teatro San Carlo, and she received enormous acclaim from the public. La Scala received her in Giordano’s “Marcella” on 23 April in a cast that included Tito Schipa, Simionato and Giuseppe Manacchini. After Mimi at Lecce she debuted at another of Italy’s most important theaters when Palermo’s Massimo presented her in six performances of “La Boheme” with Galliano Masini. She continued her season at that theater with Mangiagalli’s “Notturno Romantico”. Milan’s outdoor Castello saw her in “La Boheme” and on 9 August she debuted at Rome’s Caracalla as Liu. The casts were again outstanding; Cigna and Pacetti alternating as the Ice Princess and Galliano Masini displaying his glorious top register as Calaf. She again sang with Carro di Tespi at about a half dozen cities in her first performances of ‘La Traviata”. Her portrayal of the doomed consumptive was so enthusiastically received that before the year was over she had also performed it at Cento and in a sensational debut at Parma’s most difficult Teatro Regio. She added two other operas to her repertoire in 1938, Alfano’s “L’Ultimo Lord” at Turin and Mule’s “La Monacella della Fontana” at Bologna.
The Carlo Felice provided her first engagement of 1939 when she sang in “Madama Butterfly” with Piero Menescaldi, and a week later, on 19 January she appeared at La Scala in “La Boheme”. It was to be another year of important debuts, the first of which was at Venice’s La Fenice on 18 February when she sang in “Il Campiello” with Margherita Carosio and Ferruccio Tagliavini. The San Carlo of Naples mounted Honegger’s “L’Aiglon” for her and Pisa’s Verdi welcomed her for the first time in another new opera, Mascagni’s “L’Amico Fritz”. In April, she debuted at Reggio Emilia as Mimi and at Ravenna’s Alighieri as Cio Cio San. In May she returned to Turin at a new theater, the della Moda, in Alfano’s “Cyrano Di Bergerac” with Antonio Melandri and while there, sang “La Vedova Scaltra” of Wolf Ferrari for EIAR. The city of Faenza saw her for the first time as Violetta in July and Caracalla hosted her again on the 6th as Liu. On the 20th Genoa presented Magda in her first staged production of “Faust” in the company of Malipiero, Galeffi and Pasero. Her debut at Viareggio was as Mimi in August and on the 23rd she debuted at Pesaro in “La Monacella Della Fontana”. Her first appearances at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti were in September, as Margherita in “Mefistofele” with Lina Bruna Rasa, Giovanni Malipiero and Pasero. She repeated the Mule opera at Florence’s Comunale in October, and on the 29th she and Adriana Lecouvreur became acquainted for the first time when she sang the role for Rome’s radio studio. The cast for this historic event was Gigli, Benedetti and Afro Poli with Olivero de Fabriitis on the podium. On 29 November Magda sang the role for the first time in a staged production at Carpi and closed out her year at Parma with “Faust”.
Still another new opera waited at the beginning of 1940, “Cleopatra” by La Rosa Parodi which she sang at Parma on 2 January. She returned to Venice on the 12th for Adriana, and repeated it at Rome in March with Gigli and Masini alternating as Maurizio. She returned to Rome for “La Leggenda di Sakuntala” and “La Boheme” and repeated Mimi at Naples. Palermo’s Massimo mounted “Mefistofele” in April for Magda, Germana di Giulio, Carlo Merino and Pasero. On 18 April she returned to the San Carlo for Faust, and, at Turin, she sang Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini for the first time accompanied by Ziliani and Tagliabue. Bergamo saw her again in October, when she sang her first performances of Suor Angelica, and on the 23rd she sang in her first staged production of “Falstaff” at Rome’s Costanzi with Stabile, Gobbi, Oltrabella, Casazza and Gilda Alfano under Serafin’s direction. In November she returned to Florence for Adriana and debuted at Forli in the role on 4 December. She ended the year in a concert at Turin with Gino Bechi.
1941 began with an enormously hectic schedule, Manon Lescaut at Modena, Adriana at Naples and Trieste, Zandonai’s “Giulietta e Romeo” at Rome and Berlin, concerts throughout Italy, Traviata at Parma and Adriana at Ravenna on 29 May. The following evening the theater feted her to a gala, and at the conclusion of the on stage ceremony she sang “L’altra notte in fondo al mare” and “Si, mi chiamano Mimi”. With the final words of Mimi’s plaintive story Magda Olivero left the stage of the Dante Alighieri and the stages of the world. The stress of failure had been replaced by the stress of success.
Magda’s words: “The decision to leave the stage was the result of the commitment of my new status and also of a sudden sharpening of a personal crisis, which had been growing for some time. Afterwards, a more romantic and totally wrong interpretation was given to a decision prompted only by my wish to separate, once and for all, the world of opera from my own musical life.”
On 19 June 1941 Magda was married.
Magda’s life at that time is described in an interview published in Record Collector in 1997, reprinted from Opernwelt. “In those years, there were …the war, air raids. I went through it all, for my husband was the manager of a large factory and he was under the thumb of the military authorities, so he could not move and I stayed with him. I coped with it with plenty of composure and a good deal of pluck, incredible really. (During this time) I had two terminated pregnancies, both after six months. … Any woman will understand what it means to miss becoming a mother, twice”.
The couple was now living in Reggio Emilia, and Magda, who is a deeply spiritual woman, occasionally sang with the choir of her parish church. On 20 April 1946 she appeared at the Church of St. Augustine in a recital and sang Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, the Largo from “Xerxes”, “Dexstera Domini” by Don Dante Caliceti and “Victima Pascali” by Ettore Tedeschi. In the autumn she gave a secular recital at Reggio’s Pio Istituto Artigianelli. Among the selections heard that evening were “Io son l’umile ancella” and “Ebben ne andro lontano” from La Wally, an opera still to be performed by Magda. Yes, she was beginning to think about a return to the stage though her first complete opera performance was still four years away. Until 1951 she restricted herself to very occasional recitals at Reggio and her hometown, Saluzzo, where she was lovingly remembered and welcomed whenever she appeared.
Francesco Cilea, through an intermediary, requested Magda to sing once more, his beloved “Adriana” and she “without a thought, signed the contract”. On 20 January 1951 she returned to the opera stage at Rome for performances of “La Boheme”. She was not critically acclaimed. The majority of written opinion declared that her voice was now too large and muscular for the role of the sickly seamstress. When she appeared as Adriana at Brescia on 3 February, there were no equivocations. The reception she received upon her entrance was “monumental” and after “Poveri Fiori” there was such a demonstration that the aria had to be encored. Cilea, who had been the instrument of her decision to return to the stage did not live to see his dream come true. He died just a few weeks before the now historic and legendary return of “his” Adriana. The cast that evening was Elena Nicolai, Giuseppe Campora and Luigi Borgonovo. Opera magazine for May 1951 recalled Magda’s performance: “Much of the time she sang pianissimo, but her fortissimi pierced one through and through, and contributed to an intensity, both musical and dramatic, which was quite extraordinary”. She returned to Naples on the 17th for “La Boheme” and the reaction was quite different from Rome. Magda’s performance was very warmly received by both the audience and the press. She returned to Rome, in May, where she sang in Massenet’s “Manon”, and in June she debuted at Livorno’s Teatro Goldoni in “Iris”. On 29 July she made her first appearance at the Verona Arena in “Manon” with Giuseppe di Stefano as a most ardent Des Grieux.
It was as though time had stood still. She was now more in demand than she had ever been; the offers kept pouring in and she made every attempt to honor each and every one. Before the year was out, she had appeared at Salsomaggiore, Bologna and Biella as Mimi, at Volterra and Rosignano Solvay as Suor Angelica, at Milan, Rome, Turin and Forli in recital, at her beloved Ravenna as Manon and at Trieste’s Teatro Verdi in “Adriana”.
In 1952 she debuted at San Remo as Liu, at Lugo as Violetta, at Zurich as Nanetta, and as Mimi on a tour to England. Harold Rosenthal was not among those who warmed to her performances. “Magda Olivero,… an artist of considerable reputation, ….was nowhere near being in good voice. This was a great pity, for she was one of the few artists in the company whose appearance had been keenly anticipated….. Her death scene was highly dramatic but was more like the last act of Tristan than of Boheme”. Italy, though, continued its love affair with Magda, where she sang Violetta at Verona, Brescia, Livorno, Palermo and Modena as well as Angelica at Trieste, Adriana at Enna and Iris and Manon , again at Modena In 1953 Magda toured to twenty one Italian cities in a number of roles: Violetta, Angelica, Cio Cio San, and Manon Lescaut, and in concerts. On 25 November she debuted at Catania’s Massimo Bellini as Fedora, and a week later she appeared there in “Manon Lescaut” with Carlo Bergonzi. Her performance as the Russian princess was received with uncontained enthusiasm, and one newspaper stated “her ability to enthrall us with a depth of expression hardly imaginable, is a miracle of the lyric stage”. Another said “Magda does not sing a role, she interprets a life”.
Throughout the fifties Magda continued to sing in about twenty cities every year and her repertoire focused on several roles: Adriana, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Margherita in Mefistofele, Liu, Suor Angelica, Violetta and an occasional Mimi. In 1954 she debuted at Lisbon’s Sao Carlos in “Quatro Rusteghi” and sang at Florence’s Maggio Musicale in Tshaikovsky’s “Masepa” with Ettore Bastianini and Boris Christoff. On 27 December she sang Costagutta’s “Santa Rita da Cascia” at Genoa’s Carlo Felice. In 1955 she returned to the Portugese capitol for Carvalho’s “Penelope” and “Suor Angelica”, and on 6 August in commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of Puccini’s death, she sang a concert of his music at Torre del Lago. In 1956 she sang in the world premiere of Renzo Rossellin’s “La Guerra” at Naples’ San Carlo, and at Lisbon she sang in “Il Tabarro” for the first time as well as in “Adriana”. In November she debuted at the Barcelona Liceo as Violetta with Gianni Raimondi and Manuel Ausensi, to extraordinary acclaim. On 30 March 1957 she sang Minnie in “Fanciulla del West” at the Rome opera for the first time and it was an overwhelming success, comparing her femininity in the role to Caniglia’s overt domination of scene. At the conclusion of the premiere, Magda received a twenty minute standing ovation.
In 1958 she sang Mother Marie in Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” at Rome and for RAI of Milan she sang in Langella’s “Assunta Spina” and Gentilucci’s “Don Ciccio”. Magda returned to Palermo for “Fanciulla” and “Mefistofele” and to Rome and Scala for “Adriana”. Later in the season Munich saw her in “Manon Lescaut”. On 24 October Magda debuted at the Paris Theatre des Champs-Elysses as Cio Cio San and received remarkable reviews not only for her singing, but also for her most “moving” portrayal of the abandoned “Geisha”. 1959 was unexceptional except for her return to La Scala as Zandonai’s “Francesca da Rimini” with Mario del Monaco and Giangiacomo Guelfi. One critic noted “With a thread of sound, Magda Olivero draws us into the story as though we were part of the scene. But, it is not only the voice that arrests us. She is a remarkable and an exciting actress.” Magda’s words: “I have always been described as a singing actress. What typifies me, I think, is a combination of scrupulous vocal and musical technique with good acting”. At Catania she sang Mother Marie, at Rome’s Caracalla, “Tosca” and at Barcelona, Violetta, again.
On 26 November, Magda received a call from the Director of the San Carlo of Naples begging her to step into the role of Adriana , which was to be presented in less than forty eight hours. Renata Tebaldi had developed a throat infection and had been forced to cancel the engagement. Magda, herself, was recuperating at home after minor but difficult surgery, and felt in no condition to make the commitment. However, after listening to the problems involved with finding another artist, she agreed to perform. It was the greatest success of her career and it has become the centerpiece of her extraordinary legend. There were ovations all evening for the soloists: Simionato, Corelli and Bastianini. Each one in turn took the spotlight. Olivero and Simionato received an enormous greeting after the second act. At the end, as Magda stepped onto the proscenium, there was “an eruption such as this venerable theater has never seen”. It is preserved forever on recording, and it is the opinion of the author that among many wonderful souvenirs in his collection, this is perhaps the one without which his life would seem the poorest. There is a moment that always brings chills. As the orchestra intones the final few sorrowful notes, a solitary “brava” rises from the abyss. “Shhhhhh!” “Ecco la luce………”.
Magda Olivero! Her name was now known on every continent. The story of Naples and Adriana had been told around the world. In 1961 she appeared at Cairo and Alexandria, Lisbon, Madrid, Helsinki in Menotti’s “The Medium”, and at Caracas. In 1962 she sang in Luxembourg, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Malta and in 63 she sang in a famous revival of “Adriana” at Edinburgh. 1964 found her at Zagreb, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Amsterdam. At Palermo, she appeared as the Old Prioress in the local premiere of “Dialogues of the Carmelites”. 1965 found Magda back in Amsterdam for “Adriana” and at the Vienna Staatsoper for Tosca. In 1966 Magda sang Adriana at Antwerp and in 67 she performed the role in Dublin. In the spring of 67 she returned to Cairo for “Tosca” with Tito Gobbi. At Naples’ San Carlo she unveiled Santuzza, and in September she sang “Fedora” at Bilbao and Oviedo Spain.
On 4 November she made her United States debut at Dallas in Cherubini’s “Medea”. John Ardoin reported for Opera magazine in February 1968 “Anyone who knows Olivero’s art will not have to be told that her characterization and acting of Medea were exceptional. What an impact that crazy, strange but wonderful voice of hers made!” On 4 December, at Dallas, she sang Tosca to equal acclaim. She returned to the States in 1968 and again sang Medea, this time at Kansas City, in May. At Dublin she sang Tosca and at Amsterdam she sang what was now an annual ritual, a recital of opera selections.
In 1969 Magda returned to Edinburgh for Malipiero’s “Seven Songs” and crossed the ocean to sing Adriana in Hartford, Connecticut and Fedora at Dallas. The author saw her for the first time on 7 November 1970 when she sang Tosca in Newark, New Jersey. The first two acts were as riveting as anything I have ever experienced on the opera stage and her voice was under perfect control. However, in act three she appeared to be tired, and it was an effort of will to complete the performance. Nevertheless, I felt that I had experienced a very special event, one whose memory I continue to cherish. At Dallas she sang in “Il Tabarro” and “La Voix Humaine”, a role which would be most important in her final years on the stage. On 2 November 1971, I was among two thousand people who gave her a five minute ovation upon her entrance into New York’s Philharmonic Hall. I will defer to my friend Bob Connolly in describing the event as reported in Record Collector.
“Before she sang a note she was greeted by a thunderous ovation of several minutes duration…She sang “Donde lieta usci”..the two arias from “Adriana Lecouvreur” and, for an encore, “In quelle trine morbide”. She was in exceptional voice, and the effect of all the Olivero tricks… the final note begun as a file di voce, and then gradually increased to almost unbearable intensity, the pianissimi that should not be audible but are, the high C resolved into a heart rending sob…was electrifying. “ Of “La Voix Humaine”, Bob said “Her performance was large scaled and Italianate rather than intimate and French…At the end she was awarded an ovation which has been equalled only by Sutherland’s Puritani…and Horowitz’s return”.
If the audience was of one mind, the press was certainly not. She had polarized this city as no other artist with the exception of Maria Callas. But, as noted at the time, the extremes of verismo have always had detractors, especially among Anglo Saxon tastes.
In 1972 she sang in “La Wally” at Bergamo and in 73 she debuted at Marseilles in a gala concert, which, because of the ovations, lasted nearly four hours. In 1974 Magda sang the Countess in “Pique Dame” at Florence, Kostelnicka at La Scala and Tosca at Dallas.
On 3 April 1975 Magda debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House as Tosca. It is said to have been the longest ovation in the history of the theater. There were moments during the evening that left people gasping for air as she spun her lines with a breath control that was simply astounding. This time, the reviews were not only respectful, they were idolatrous and the theater was packed to the rafters for all three performances. Magda was sixty five years old!
It is inevitable that even the greatest of our heroes will eventually face their own mortality. Though Magda is exceptional, she is no exception. Her activities became fewer and fewer over the remaining ten years of her career, though the love that she engendered across the footlights never diminished. In fact, at Carnegie Hall in 1979 she received standing ovations from a large segment of the audience after every single selection, and the ovations at the end of the evening made headlines, even in jaded New York City.
She sang in von Einem’s “The Visit of the Old Lady” at Naples San Carlo in 1977 and appeared in an English version of “Pique Dame” at Charleston, South Carolina in the spring of that year.
In 1978, she triumphed as Tosca in both Boston and San Francisco, where her debut found people literally standing on their chairs at the end of the performance. It remains one of the most talked about evenings in the history of San Francisco’s musical life.
In 1979 she joined the Met opera tour and sang Tosca in seven cities, five of which also saw Luciano Pavarotti’s Cavaradossi. Later in the year she returned to San Francisco for “Voix Humaine” and she received no less a welcome than she had the previous year. Her travels now near an end, she visited Caracas for a recital at the end of 79 and in 1980 gave a concert at Paris’ Theatre de la Athanee.
The time had come. On 27 March 1981 Verona’s Teatro Filarmonico mounted “Voix Humaine” for her and with this revival she bid farewell to the opera stage. There were only tears on either side of the footlights.
Magda turned to religious music with an increasing passion and continued to give recitals in churches until 1986. There were a few secular performances as well. In 1985 she traveled to Jerusalem, where, at the Basilica of Gethsemane, she sang Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, unaccompanied. Her final public appearance was on the feast of the Assumption in 1986 when she sang “O Mio Signor” by Handel, “Ave Maria” of Camille Saint-Saens, and Cesar Franck’s “Panis Angelicus” in her parish church at Solda.
Magda now lives in Milan and is still a part of Italy’s musical scene, receiving visitors, lending opinions and corresponding with admirers and friends around the world.
© Bob Rideout
Magda Olivero was born at Saluzzo in the Piedmont on 25 March 1910 and pursued a course of music lessons at Turin at about the age of twelve. After several years of study, she auditioned for EIAR (Italian Radio) and was judged to be totally inadequate. The conductor ,Ugo Tansini, is quoted: “this girl has neither voice, nor musicality nor personality. She has nothing”. Undaunted, she continued her lessons in preparation for a second attempt, which failed as badly as the first. However it was at this second audition that she met Luigi Gerussi, who would, from this point be her vocal coach. After a year or so of further study she debuted at EIAR’s Turin facilities as Maria di Magdala in Cattozzo’s “I Misteri Dolorosi” with Giulia Tess and Iris Adami Corradetti. The date was 2 December 1932. Four weeks later at the same studio she sang in Respighi’s “Maria Egiziaca’ with Carlo Tagliabue and Iva Pacetti. The year was occupied with occasional concerts at the radio station as well as performances of “La Leggenda di Sakuntala” by Alfano, and Lauretta in a staged production of “Gianni Schicchi”.
On 26 December 1933, she debuted at La Scala as Anna in “Nabucco” with Gina Cigna, Ebe Stignani, Antonio Voyer, Carlo Galeffi and Tancredi Pasero conducted by Vittorio Gui. In January of 1934 she sang in “La Favorita” with Stignani, Aureliano Pertile, Giuseppe Danise and Pasero and made no impression whatever. She returned to Turin and contented herself with radio engagements for another year and a half, including Nanetta in “Falstaff” with Mariano Stabile and Maria Caniglia and “L’Amore Medico” of Wolf Ferrari.
The young singer was engaged for a summer tour of the Italian provinces with Carro di Tespi. It was a company supported by the Fascist regime which brought opera to many Italian cities that did not have regular opera seasons, as well as some that did, and it normally toured in July, August and September to about forty locations with two or three operas. Magda was asked to perform in "Rigoletto” at Carpi and Lodi with Mario Basiola in the title role. Again, nothing happened and she returned to the studios of Turin for broadcasts of “Rosenenkavalier” with Sara Scuderi and Florica Cristoforeanu under the baton of Tullio Serafin.
In 1936 she fared a little better, singing first at Turin’s Teatro Vittorio Emanuele as Micaela to the unsurpassed Carmen of Gianna Pederzini, and later in the season at that theater in “Suor Angelica” with Augusta Oltrabella and Giuseppina Zinetti. In April, at Camogli, she sang Cio Cio San for the first time and in June at La Spezia she sang Mimi. She was received very well in the two Puccini operas and returned to Carro di Tespi for “La Boheme” at Grosseto and Milan in July. Radio Turin again heard her, when she sang in Wolf Ferrari’s “I Quattro Rusteghi”, concerts, and, in November, as Massenet’s Manon with Giovanni Malipiero. She continued to study with Gerussi and he continued to encourage her, insisting that she had by now developed a strong enough technique that she could allow herself to display the individuality that was to become the indelible hallmark of her art. Though, after five years on the stage, there had still been no breakthrough, Magda remained committed to her goals, and that determination was about to reward itself in a triumphant outburst of success.
1937 began at Turin’s Teatro Carignano, with Zerlina in a splendid revival headed by Eva Turner, Iris Adami Corradetti and Carlo Galeffi. Her engagement included performances of Giordano’s “Mese Mariano” and Wolf Ferrari’s “Il Campiello”. She was noticed and received excellent reviews, especially in the Giordano opera. Tullio Serafin offered her a debut at Rome’s Teatro Reale and on 4 March she appeared as Elsa in a revival that included Voyer, Maria Benedetti, Apollo Granforte and Giuseppe Taddei. She returned to the Carignano for “Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda” by Monteverdi and made considerable headlines in Italian musical journals. The publicity generated engagements at Modena for “Manon” with Beniamino Gigli, and “La Boheme” at Brescia with Giuseppe Lugo. After Mimi at Bern, she was invited to appear at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Monteverdi’s “L’Incoronazione di Poppea”. It was an incredible cast: Giuseppina Cobelli, Gina Cigna, Elvira Casazza, Elena Nicolai, Giovanni Voyer and Tancredi Pasero, conducted by Gino Marinuzzi. In July she returned to Monteverdi and, in a double bill, sang his “Il Combattimento” and “Ballo delle Ingrate”.at Cremona. In August she recorded “Madama Butterfly” for EIAR Turin with Alessandro Ziliani, and appeared at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco as Mimi and in “Il Combattimento”. For Rome’s radio studio she sang Alfano’s “Risurrezione” in October and, later in the month she sang Marguerite in “Faust” for the first time at Turin’s radio station. Her cast was Malipiero, Pasero, Francesco Valentino and Giulietta Simionato. She stayed at Turin through November and broadcast Barbieri’s “Alcassino e Nicoletta”, after which she returned to Modena where she ended this most memorable year with Cio Cio San and Mimi.
At Prato, on New Year’s Day, 1938 she sang Liu for the first time and stayed for six performances. On the 20th, she debuted at Trieste’s Teatro Verdi in “Il Campiello”, followed by “Manon”, again with Gigli. Brescia heard her in Manon Lescaut, another new role, and Genoa’s Carlo Felice presented her in “Mese Mariano” and Lattuada’s “La Caverna di Salamanca”. On 15 March she sang what up to now was the most important engagement of her career, Cio Cio San at Naples’ Teatro San Carlo, and she received enormous acclaim from the public. La Scala received her in Giordano’s “Marcella” on 23 April in a cast that included Tito Schipa, Simionato and Giuseppe Manacchini. After Mimi at Lecce she debuted at another of Italy’s most important theaters when Palermo’s Massimo presented her in six performances of “La Boheme” with Galliano Masini. She continued her season at that theater with Mangiagalli’s “Notturno Romantico”. Milan’s outdoor Castello saw her in “La Boheme” and on 9 August she debuted at Rome’s Caracalla as Liu. The casts were again outstanding; Cigna and Pacetti alternating as the Ice Princess and Galliano Masini displaying his glorious top register as Calaf. She again sang with Carro di Tespi at about a half dozen cities in her first performances of ‘La Traviata”. Her portrayal of the doomed consumptive was so enthusiastically received that before the year was over she had also performed it at Cento and in a sensational debut at Parma’s most difficult Teatro Regio. She added two other operas to her repertoire in 1938, Alfano’s “L’Ultimo Lord” at Turin and Mule’s “La Monacella della Fontana” at Bologna.
The Carlo Felice provided her first engagement of 1939 when she sang in “Madama Butterfly” with Piero Menescaldi, and a week later, on 19 January she appeared at La Scala in “La Boheme”. It was to be another year of important debuts, the first of which was at Venice’s La Fenice on 18 February when she sang in “Il Campiello” with Margherita Carosio and Ferruccio Tagliavini. The San Carlo of Naples mounted Honegger’s “L’Aiglon” for her and Pisa’s Verdi welcomed her for the first time in another new opera, Mascagni’s “L’Amico Fritz”. In April, she debuted at Reggio Emilia as Mimi and at Ravenna’s Alighieri as Cio Cio San. In May she returned to Turin at a new theater, the della Moda, in Alfano’s “Cyrano Di Bergerac” with Antonio Melandri and while there, sang “La Vedova Scaltra” of Wolf Ferrari for EIAR. The city of Faenza saw her for the first time as Violetta in July and Caracalla hosted her again on the 6th as Liu. On the 20th Genoa presented Magda in her first staged production of “Faust” in the company of Malipiero, Galeffi and Pasero. Her debut at Viareggio was as Mimi in August and on the 23rd she debuted at Pesaro in “La Monacella Della Fontana”. Her first appearances at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti were in September, as Margherita in “Mefistofele” with Lina Bruna Rasa, Giovanni Malipiero and Pasero. She repeated the Mule opera at Florence’s Comunale in October, and on the 29th she and Adriana Lecouvreur became acquainted for the first time when she sang the role for Rome’s radio studio. The cast for this historic event was Gigli, Benedetti and Afro Poli with Olivero de Fabriitis on the podium. On 29 November Magda sang the role for the first time in a staged production at Carpi and closed out her year at Parma with “Faust”.
Still another new opera waited at the beginning of 1940, “Cleopatra” by La Rosa Parodi which she sang at Parma on 2 January. She returned to Venice on the 12th for Adriana, and repeated it at Rome in March with Gigli and Masini alternating as Maurizio. She returned to Rome for “La Leggenda di Sakuntala” and “La Boheme” and repeated Mimi at Naples. Palermo’s Massimo mounted “Mefistofele” in April for Magda, Germana di Giulio, Carlo Merino and Pasero. On 18 April she returned to the San Carlo for Faust, and, at Turin, she sang Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini for the first time accompanied by Ziliani and Tagliabue. Bergamo saw her again in October, when she sang her first performances of Suor Angelica, and on the 23rd she sang in her first staged production of “Falstaff” at Rome’s Costanzi with Stabile, Gobbi, Oltrabella, Casazza and Gilda Alfano under Serafin’s direction. In November she returned to Florence for Adriana and debuted at Forli in the role on 4 December. She ended the year in a concert at Turin with Gino Bechi.
1941 began with an enormously hectic schedule, Manon Lescaut at Modena, Adriana at Naples and Trieste, Zandonai’s “Giulietta e Romeo” at Rome and Berlin, concerts throughout Italy, Traviata at Parma and Adriana at Ravenna on 29 May. The following evening the theater feted her to a gala, and at the conclusion of the on stage ceremony she sang “L’altra notte in fondo al mare” and “Si, mi chiamano Mimi”. With the final words of Mimi’s plaintive story Magda Olivero left the stage of the Dante Alighieri and the stages of the world. The stress of failure had been replaced by the stress of success.
Magda’s words: “The decision to leave the stage was the result of the commitment of my new status and also of a sudden sharpening of a personal crisis, which had been growing for some time. Afterwards, a more romantic and totally wrong interpretation was given to a decision prompted only by my wish to separate, once and for all, the world of opera from my own musical life.”
On 19 June 1941 Magda was married.
Magda’s life at that time is described in an interview published in Record Collector in 1997, reprinted from Opernwelt. “In those years, there were …the war, air raids. I went through it all, for my husband was the manager of a large factory and he was under the thumb of the military authorities, so he could not move and I stayed with him. I coped with it with plenty of composure and a good deal of pluck, incredible really. (During this time) I had two terminated pregnancies, both after six months. … Any woman will understand what it means to miss becoming a mother, twice”.
The couple was now living in Reggio Emilia, and Magda, who is a deeply spiritual woman, occasionally sang with the choir of her parish church. On 20 April 1946 she appeared at the Church of St. Augustine in a recital and sang Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, the Largo from “Xerxes”, “Dexstera Domini” by Don Dante Caliceti and “Victima Pascali” by Ettore Tedeschi. In the autumn she gave a secular recital at Reggio’s Pio Istituto Artigianelli. Among the selections heard that evening were “Io son l’umile ancella” and “Ebben ne andro lontano” from La Wally, an opera still to be performed by Magda. Yes, she was beginning to think about a return to the stage though her first complete opera performance was still four years away. Until 1951 she restricted herself to very occasional recitals at Reggio and her hometown, Saluzzo, where she was lovingly remembered and welcomed whenever she appeared.
Francesco Cilea, through an intermediary, requested Magda to sing once more, his beloved “Adriana” and she “without a thought, signed the contract”. On 20 January 1951 she returned to the opera stage at Rome for performances of “La Boheme”. She was not critically acclaimed. The majority of written opinion declared that her voice was now too large and muscular for the role of the sickly seamstress. When she appeared as Adriana at Brescia on 3 February, there were no equivocations. The reception she received upon her entrance was “monumental” and after “Poveri Fiori” there was such a demonstration that the aria had to be encored. Cilea, who had been the instrument of her decision to return to the stage did not live to see his dream come true. He died just a few weeks before the now historic and legendary return of “his” Adriana. The cast that evening was Elena Nicolai, Giuseppe Campora and Luigi Borgonovo. Opera magazine for May 1951 recalled Magda’s performance: “Much of the time she sang pianissimo, but her fortissimi pierced one through and through, and contributed to an intensity, both musical and dramatic, which was quite extraordinary”. She returned to Naples on the 17th for “La Boheme” and the reaction was quite different from Rome. Magda’s performance was very warmly received by both the audience and the press. She returned to Rome, in May, where she sang in Massenet’s “Manon”, and in June she debuted at Livorno’s Teatro Goldoni in “Iris”. On 29 July she made her first appearance at the Verona Arena in “Manon” with Giuseppe di Stefano as a most ardent Des Grieux.
It was as though time had stood still. She was now more in demand than she had ever been; the offers kept pouring in and she made every attempt to honor each and every one. Before the year was out, she had appeared at Salsomaggiore, Bologna and Biella as Mimi, at Volterra and Rosignano Solvay as Suor Angelica, at Milan, Rome, Turin and Forli in recital, at her beloved Ravenna as Manon and at Trieste’s Teatro Verdi in “Adriana”.
In 1952 she debuted at San Remo as Liu, at Lugo as Violetta, at Zurich as Nanetta, and as Mimi on a tour to England. Harold Rosenthal was not among those who warmed to her performances. “Magda Olivero,… an artist of considerable reputation, ….was nowhere near being in good voice. This was a great pity, for she was one of the few artists in the company whose appearance had been keenly anticipated….. Her death scene was highly dramatic but was more like the last act of Tristan than of Boheme”. Italy, though, continued its love affair with Magda, where she sang Violetta at Verona, Brescia, Livorno, Palermo and Modena as well as Angelica at Trieste, Adriana at Enna and Iris and Manon , again at Modena In 1953 Magda toured to twenty one Italian cities in a number of roles: Violetta, Angelica, Cio Cio San, and Manon Lescaut, and in concerts. On 25 November she debuted at Catania’s Massimo Bellini as Fedora, and a week later she appeared there in “Manon Lescaut” with Carlo Bergonzi. Her performance as the Russian princess was received with uncontained enthusiasm, and one newspaper stated “her ability to enthrall us with a depth of expression hardly imaginable, is a miracle of the lyric stage”. Another said “Magda does not sing a role, she interprets a life”.
Throughout the fifties Magda continued to sing in about twenty cities every year and her repertoire focused on several roles: Adriana, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Margherita in Mefistofele, Liu, Suor Angelica, Violetta and an occasional Mimi. In 1954 she debuted at Lisbon’s Sao Carlos in “Quatro Rusteghi” and sang at Florence’s Maggio Musicale in Tshaikovsky’s “Masepa” with Ettore Bastianini and Boris Christoff. On 27 December she sang Costagutta’s “Santa Rita da Cascia” at Genoa’s Carlo Felice. In 1955 she returned to the Portugese capitol for Carvalho’s “Penelope” and “Suor Angelica”, and on 6 August in commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of Puccini’s death, she sang a concert of his music at Torre del Lago. In 1956 she sang in the world premiere of Renzo Rossellin’s “La Guerra” at Naples’ San Carlo, and at Lisbon she sang in “Il Tabarro” for the first time as well as in “Adriana”. In November she debuted at the Barcelona Liceo as Violetta with Gianni Raimondi and Manuel Ausensi, to extraordinary acclaim. On 30 March 1957 she sang Minnie in “Fanciulla del West” at the Rome opera for the first time and it was an overwhelming success, comparing her femininity in the role to Caniglia’s overt domination of scene. At the conclusion of the premiere, Magda received a twenty minute standing ovation.
In 1958 she sang Mother Marie in Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” at Rome and for RAI of Milan she sang in Langella’s “Assunta Spina” and Gentilucci’s “Don Ciccio”. Magda returned to Palermo for “Fanciulla” and “Mefistofele” and to Rome and Scala for “Adriana”. Later in the season Munich saw her in “Manon Lescaut”. On 24 October Magda debuted at the Paris Theatre des Champs-Elysses as Cio Cio San and received remarkable reviews not only for her singing, but also for her most “moving” portrayal of the abandoned “Geisha”. 1959 was unexceptional except for her return to La Scala as Zandonai’s “Francesca da Rimini” with Mario del Monaco and Giangiacomo Guelfi. One critic noted “With a thread of sound, Magda Olivero draws us into the story as though we were part of the scene. But, it is not only the voice that arrests us. She is a remarkable and an exciting actress.” Magda’s words: “I have always been described as a singing actress. What typifies me, I think, is a combination of scrupulous vocal and musical technique with good acting”. At Catania she sang Mother Marie, at Rome’s Caracalla, “Tosca” and at Barcelona, Violetta, again.
On 26 November, Magda received a call from the Director of the San Carlo of Naples begging her to step into the role of Adriana , which was to be presented in less than forty eight hours. Renata Tebaldi had developed a throat infection and had been forced to cancel the engagement. Magda, herself, was recuperating at home after minor but difficult surgery, and felt in no condition to make the commitment. However, after listening to the problems involved with finding another artist, she agreed to perform. It was the greatest success of her career and it has become the centerpiece of her extraordinary legend. There were ovations all evening for the soloists: Simionato, Corelli and Bastianini. Each one in turn took the spotlight. Olivero and Simionato received an enormous greeting after the second act. At the end, as Magda stepped onto the proscenium, there was “an eruption such as this venerable theater has never seen”. It is preserved forever on recording, and it is the opinion of the author that among many wonderful souvenirs in his collection, this is perhaps the one without which his life would seem the poorest. There is a moment that always brings chills. As the orchestra intones the final few sorrowful notes, a solitary “brava” rises from the abyss. “Shhhhhh!” “Ecco la luce………”.
Magda Olivero! Her name was now known on every continent. The story of Naples and Adriana had been told around the world. In 1961 she appeared at Cairo and Alexandria, Lisbon, Madrid, Helsinki in Menotti’s “The Medium”, and at Caracas. In 1962 she sang in Luxembourg, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Malta and in 63 she sang in a famous revival of “Adriana” at Edinburgh. 1964 found her at Zagreb, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Amsterdam. At Palermo, she appeared as the Old Prioress in the local premiere of “Dialogues of the Carmelites”. 1965 found Magda back in Amsterdam for “Adriana” and at the Vienna Staatsoper for Tosca. In 1966 Magda sang Adriana at Antwerp and in 67 she performed the role in Dublin. In the spring of 67 she returned to Cairo for “Tosca” with Tito Gobbi. At Naples’ San Carlo she unveiled Santuzza, and in September she sang “Fedora” at Bilbao and Oviedo Spain.
On 4 November she made her United States debut at Dallas in Cherubini’s “Medea”. John Ardoin reported for Opera magazine in February 1968 “Anyone who knows Olivero’s art will not have to be told that her characterization and acting of Medea were exceptional. What an impact that crazy, strange but wonderful voice of hers made!” On 4 December, at Dallas, she sang Tosca to equal acclaim. She returned to the States in 1968 and again sang Medea, this time at Kansas City, in May. At Dublin she sang Tosca and at Amsterdam she sang what was now an annual ritual, a recital of opera selections.
In 1969 Magda returned to Edinburgh for Malipiero’s “Seven Songs” and crossed the ocean to sing Adriana in Hartford, Connecticut and Fedora at Dallas. The author saw her for the first time on 7 November 1970 when she sang Tosca in Newark, New Jersey. The first two acts were as riveting as anything I have ever experienced on the opera stage and her voice was under perfect control. However, in act three she appeared to be tired, and it was an effort of will to complete the performance. Nevertheless, I felt that I had experienced a very special event, one whose memory I continue to cherish. At Dallas she sang in “Il Tabarro” and “La Voix Humaine”, a role which would be most important in her final years on the stage. On 2 November 1971, I was among two thousand people who gave her a five minute ovation upon her entrance into New York’s Philharmonic Hall. I will defer to my friend Bob Connolly in describing the event as reported in Record Collector.
“Before she sang a note she was greeted by a thunderous ovation of several minutes duration…She sang “Donde lieta usci”..the two arias from “Adriana Lecouvreur” and, for an encore, “In quelle trine morbide”. She was in exceptional voice, and the effect of all the Olivero tricks… the final note begun as a file di voce, and then gradually increased to almost unbearable intensity, the pianissimi that should not be audible but are, the high C resolved into a heart rending sob…was electrifying. “ Of “La Voix Humaine”, Bob said “Her performance was large scaled and Italianate rather than intimate and French…At the end she was awarded an ovation which has been equalled only by Sutherland’s Puritani…and Horowitz’s return”.
If the audience was of one mind, the press was certainly not. She had polarized this city as no other artist with the exception of Maria Callas. But, as noted at the time, the extremes of verismo have always had detractors, especially among Anglo Saxon tastes.
In 1972 she sang in “La Wally” at Bergamo and in 73 she debuted at Marseilles in a gala concert, which, because of the ovations, lasted nearly four hours. In 1974 Magda sang the Countess in “Pique Dame” at Florence, Kostelnicka at La Scala and Tosca at Dallas.
On 3 April 1975 Magda debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House as Tosca. It is said to have been the longest ovation in the history of the theater. There were moments during the evening that left people gasping for air as she spun her lines with a breath control that was simply astounding. This time, the reviews were not only respectful, they were idolatrous and the theater was packed to the rafters for all three performances. Magda was sixty five years old!
It is inevitable that even the greatest of our heroes will eventually face their own mortality. Though Magda is exceptional, she is no exception. Her activities became fewer and fewer over the remaining ten years of her career, though the love that she engendered across the footlights never diminished. In fact, at Carnegie Hall in 1979 she received standing ovations from a large segment of the audience after every single selection, and the ovations at the end of the evening made headlines, even in jaded New York City.
She sang in von Einem’s “The Visit of the Old Lady” at Naples San Carlo in 1977 and appeared in an English version of “Pique Dame” at Charleston, South Carolina in the spring of that year.
In 1978, she triumphed as Tosca in both Boston and San Francisco, where her debut found people literally standing on their chairs at the end of the performance. It remains one of the most talked about evenings in the history of San Francisco’s musical life.
In 1979 she joined the Met opera tour and sang Tosca in seven cities, five of which also saw Luciano Pavarotti’s Cavaradossi. Later in the year she returned to San Francisco for “Voix Humaine” and she received no less a welcome than she had the previous year. Her travels now near an end, she visited Caracas for a recital at the end of 79 and in 1980 gave a concert at Paris’ Theatre de la Athanee.
The time had come. On 27 March 1981 Verona’s Teatro Filarmonico mounted “Voix Humaine” for her and with this revival she bid farewell to the opera stage. There were only tears on either side of the footlights.
Magda turned to religious music with an increasing passion and continued to give recitals in churches until 1986. There were a few secular performances as well. In 1985 she traveled to Jerusalem, where, at the Basilica of Gethsemane, she sang Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, unaccompanied. Her final public appearance was on the feast of the Assumption in 1986 when she sang “O Mio Signor” by Handel, “Ave Maria” of Camille Saint-Saens, and Cesar Franck’s “Panis Angelicus” in her parish church at Solda.
Magda now lives in Milan and is still a part of Italy’s musical scene, receiving visitors, lending opinions and corresponding with admirers and friends around the world.
© Bob Rideout