1 9 5 4
VARIETY MAGAZINE
1954.04.07
VARIETY MAGAZINE
1954.04.28
1 9 5 5
MUSICAL AMERICA
1955 March
OPERA MAGAZINE
1955 August
Napoli. The open-air season at the Castello di San Giusto opened on July 7 with a performance of Carmen with Pia Tassinari in the title role, Roberto Turrini as Jose, Marcella de Osma as Micaela, and Giangiacomo Guelfi as Escamillo; Mario Parenti was the conductor. Other works to be heard during the summer include La Traviata (Leyla Gencer, Giacinto Prandelli, Enzo Mascherini, conductor Pino Trost) and Turandot (Carla Martinis, Renata Scotto, Attilio Planisc, Paolo Pedani and Antonio Massaria, conductor Antonio Narducci).
1 9 5 6
VARIETY MAGAZINE
1956.02.08
SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL
1956.08.23
THE PENINSULA TIMES TRIBUNE
1956.08.31
THE INDEPENDENT
1956.09.09
THE MONTREAL STAR
1956.09.21
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
1956.09.23
OPERA MAGAZINE
1956 October
San Francisco. Leyla Gencer, the Turkish soprano who has sung with success in Italy, especially at the San Carlo Opera, Naples, has been engaged to sing the title role in the new production of Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, which receives its first performance on September 28. Renata Tebaldi was originally announced for this role.
OPERA NEWS
1956.11.05
WASHINGTON POST
1956.11.06
THE TIMES PICAYUNE
1956.11.07
WASHINGTON POST
1956.11.09
MUSICAL AMERICA
1956.12.15
MUSICAL COURIER
1956.12.15
1 9 5 7
THE WORLD ALMANAC
1957
MUSICAL AMERICA
1957.01.01
MUSICAL AMERICA
1957 February
VARIETY MAGAZINE
1957.05.01
OPERA MAGAZINE
1957 June
San Francisco. The 1957 season will open on September 17 with Turandot, and continue until October 24. Besides the American premiere of Poulenc's Les Dialogues des Carmelites and the revival of Macbeth for Callas, already announced, the repertory will include the first production by the company of Ariadne auf Naxos, which will be sung in German, with the prologue in English, and performances of Lucia di Lammermoor, Cosi fan tutte, La Traviata, Un Ballo in Ma.schera, Aida, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Der Rosenkavalier. Besides Callas, newcomers to the company are Rita Streich, Eugene Tobin, Gianni Raimondi, Umberto Borghi, and Giuseppe Taddei, all making American debuts. and Antonietta Stella, Nan Merriman, Leontyne Price, Helen George, Jon Crain and Robert Merrill, making San Francisco debuts. Other singers engaged include Licia Albanese, Frances Bible, Leyla Gencer, Dorothy Kirsten. Leonie Rysanek. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Blanche Thebom. Claramae Turner; Virginio Assandri, Otto Edelmann. Heinz Blankenburg, Richard Lewis, Ralph Herbert, Nicola Moscona and Jan Peerce. Conductors will be Erich Leinsdorf, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (making his American debut). William Steinberg, Glauco Curiel and Karl Kritz. Paul Hager and Carlo Piccinato are the producers.
Palermo. The season at the Teatro Massimo continued with performances of Les Contes d'Hoffmann with Antonietta Pastori, Franca Duval, Leyla Gencer, Adrianna Lazzarini, Nicola Filacuridi, Corena, Guido Madzini, Ferdinando Lidonni, conductor Thomas Schippers. Ravello.
OPERA MAGAZINE
1957 July
Cagliari. A vigorous production of the Les Contes d'Hoffmann concluded the season, conducted with verve and by Thomas Schippers. The roles of Olympia, Guilietta, Antonia and Stella were sung by Antonietta Pastori, Franca Duval and Leyla Gencer, while Hoffmann was played by Nicola Filacuridi, a tenor of great freshness. Sergio Tedesco.
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
1957.07.17
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
1957.08.04
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
1957.08.15
OPERA MAGAZINE
1957 September
Ankara. The world premiere of Van Gogh, a dramatic opera in five acts by the young Turkish composer, Nevit Kodalli, took place at the State Opera in February. Aydin Gun. Sevda Aydan, Suna Korad, Ayhan Baran, and Azra Gün were the principal characters. In April a revival of La Traviata took place with the same cast of last year. Two performances of this opera are expected to be given by Leyla Gencer when she returns from her engagements at the Scala. The Ankara State Opera has begun to pay regular visits and give subscription series in Istanbul every fortnight. Two performances are given in every visit. Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, and La Traviata, from last year's repertory with the same cast, were welcomed with enthusiasm.
SAN BERNARDINO SUN
1957.09.29
OPERA NEWS
1957.10.14
SAN RAFAEL DAILY INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
1957.10.18
LOS ANGELES TIMES
1957.10.20
OPERA MAGAZINE
1957 December
San Francisco. Maria Callas had been scheduled for Lucia and Verdi's Macbeth and Antonietta Stella for Un Ballo in Maschera and Aida. Both were taken ill in Italy, with the result that Leyla Gencer, whom we had previously admired as an efficient lyric soprano, blossomed into a great coloratura as the bride of Lammermoor, Leontyne Price won her biggest operatic success as Aida, and Leonie Rysanek took the town by storm as Amelia and Lady Macbeth and also as Strauss's Ariadne and Turandot; she had originally been engaged only for the last two roles.
Trieste. The 1957-58 season at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi opened on November 16 with II Trovatore conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza with Leyla Gencer, Dora Minarchi, Mario Filippeschi and Ettore Bastianini in the leading roles.
1 9 5 8
THE WORLD ALMANAC
1958
THEATRE ARTS MAGAZINE
1958 January
MUSICAL AMERICA
1958 February
MUSICAL AMERICA
1958 February
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
1958.05.01
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
1958.05.11
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
1958.05.06
THE MODESTO BEE AND NEWS HERALD
1958.06.08
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
1958.06.21
MUSICAL AMERICA
1958 July
ORLANDO SUN
1958.07.25
THE WALNUT CREEK SUN
1958.07.25
OPERA MAGAZINE
1958 July
San Francisco. The autumn season is due to open on September 12 and will continue until October 23; American debuts will be made by Eugenia Ratti, Sebastian Feiersinger, Ernest Blanc, Rolando Panerai, Keith Engen, Giuseppe Modesti and Arnold van Mill; and local debuts by Lisa della Casa, Christel Goltz, Joan Moynagh, Irene Dalis, Grace Hoffman, and Cecilia Ward. The company further includes Leyla Gencer, Leontyne Price, Leonie Rysanek, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Sylvia Stahlmann, Claramae Turner; Jussi Bjorling, Richard Lewis, Gianni Raimondi, Eugene Tobin, Frank Guarrera, Ralph Herbert, Giorgio Tozzi and Lorenzo Alvary. The conductors will be Jean Fournet (American debut), Leopold Ludwig (American debut), Francesco Molinari-Pradelli and Glauco Curiel.
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
1958.07.28
PETALUMA ARGUS CURIER
1958.08.02
INDEPENDENT PRESS TELEGRAM
1958.08.17
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
1958.09.07
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
1958.09.11
SAN FRANCOSCO EXAMINER
1958.09.11
DAILY REVIEW
1958.09.12
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
1958.05.12
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
1958.09.13
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
1958.09.14
MUSICAL AMERICA
1958 October
THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SUN
1958.10.22
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
1958.11.02
JOURNAL COURIER
1958.11.21
THE TIMES
1958.12.08
MILLVILLE DAILY REPUBLICAN
1958.12.13
THE AKRON BEACON JOURNAL
1958.12.14
MUSICAL AMERICA
1958.12.15
INTELIGENCER JOURNAL
1958.12.16
DAILY INTELLIGENCER
1958.12.16
CHRONICLE TRIBUNE
1958.12.17
GOLDSBORO NEWS ARGUS
1958.12.17
THE AUSTIN DAILY HERALD
1958.12.17
THE WORLD NEWS
1958.12.17
ABILENE REPORTER NEWS
1958.12.18
LOWELL-SUN
1958.12.18
THE DURHAM SUN
1958.12.18
THE GUAM DAILY NEWS
1958.12.19
KINGSPORT TIMES
1958.12.19
THE PALM BEACH POST
1958.12.19
THE BRISTOL DAILY COURIER
1958.12.20
THE INDEPENDENT RECORD
1958.12.21
JACKSONVILLE DAILY JOURNAL
1958.12.21
WALLA UNION BULLETIN
1958.12.21
ARDMORE DAILY ARDMOREITE
1958.12.22
MUSKOGEE DAILY POENIX AND TIMES DEMOCRAT
1958.12.26
SOUTHERN ILLINOISIAN
1958.12.26
THE TOWN TALK
1958.12.26
BILOXI DAILY HERALD
1958.12.27
1 9 5 9
THE WORLD ALMANAC
1959
MUSICAL COURIER
1959 January
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959.01.01
DOYLESTOWN INTELIGENCER
1959.01.03
CASPER MORNING STAR
1959.01.09
SAINT JOHNS DAILY NEWS
1959.01.09
VICTORIA ADVOCATE
1959.01.09
PALM BEACH LIFE MAGAZINE
1959.01.15
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
1959.01.22
STANDART-SENTINEL
1959.01.22
AKŞAM DAILY NEWSPAPER
1959 February
MÜŞERREF HEKİMOĞLU
Once, during a formal reception given at Çankaya Mansion, a British ambassador listened one of our opera artists and then asked: “Why don’t you send this young lady abroad?” “We have no funding.” they responded. The art loving ambassador then said: “Shut down one of your embassies if necessary, but help this beautiful voice improve.”
Maybe this story is fake but it’s made up well. Not all the embassies who represent our nation can promote Turkey very well. But a good artist with a beautiful voice may accomplish such mission perfectly in a short time. Here is Leyla Gencer. This precious soprano is our best ambassador of art. She presented us in the world. She became famous in Italy, Germany, Austria, America; where newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts wrote/spoke highly of the Turkish artist with appreciation and admiration. And she was applauded by thousands of people.
We are all aware that foreign press rarely writes about Turkey and when they do, it’s only because of political reasons. They rather criticize our economic situation, or the absence of freedom regarding press, number of imprisoned reporters and even prohibition of political humour. We don’t have scientific and artistical happenings worthy of mentioning in the foreign press. And that’s why we must support with all our strength our few artists who help to build up a positive reputation for our country. I wonder by spending how many millions of liras, which of our ambassies could win the amount of the hearts won by Leyla Gencer with her beautiful voice and acting skills? Moreover, Gencer’s success and the popularity is universal.
By excluding Leyla Gencer, Ankara State Opera may have made a constitutional decision but I wonder if they could’t have made a better choice. Isn’t Gencer’s duty of being an art ambassador more important than all her other duties? Aren’t there people among opera singers who get paid anyway without even setting foot on stage? If there aren’t, then I wouldn’t have anything to say but if there are, it would have been necessary to tolerate Leyla Gencer’s absence as well. For she has a reason why she can’t perform at Ankara Opera: she attains success in foreign theaters and she promotes our country.
Personally, I think that this situation could have been handled in a friendlier way. The administrators of Ankara State Opera and Gencer could have met in person and they could have made up a plan which would allow her to continue her work as an art ambassador whilst remaining a state artist. We couldn’t understand the reason why it was decided this way so radically and fast. Wouldn’t it have been better to consider Leyla Gencer’s special condition and continue supporting her through her mission as an art ambassador?
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959 February
MESSENGER INQUIRER
1959.02.03
PANAMA CITY NEWS
1959.02.08
AKİS WEEKLY MAGAZINE
1959.02.21
İLHAN MİMAROĞLU
Leyla Gencer was fired
Last week it was announced that Leyla Gencer’s employment at Ankara State Opera is terminated. A few months ago, when the probabilities of her dismissal or her compulsory resignation were first discussed; it was rumoured that the President prevented it from happening. But this time since the well-known soprano was abroad and the President had more important things to do rather than to disrupt the plans made against estimable people; it seems that people who shall be described as nemesis of valuable assets, achieved their goals without encountering any obstacles.
It finally happened: The State Opera is now without Gencer. And more importantly a valuable artistical asset was suddenly let go. As a matter of fact, The State Opera was already without Gencer before. In between her performances abroad, the famous soprano could have performed at least two or three times at the Ankara Opera every season. But the real reason that drew Leyla Gencer to becoming indifferent towards the establishment of which she was a part of, was because she didn’t receive the same amount of respect as she did at La Scala, San Carlo or San Francisco Opera. When compared to the brightest stars of the opera world, Gencer has a more qualified voice and better musicality than Maria Callas and her dramatic capacity is superior than Renata Tebaldi’s. But are there any intendants who can rise against this type of little schemes and can see the plain truth?
One may wonder “If a monthly paycheck of 1500 liras was considered too much for Gencer?” People should know that in the western countries no opera singer or even a maid would have worked for this amount of a monthly paycheck. And not even ten times of this money could ever give the amount of reputation that Leyla Gencer acquires for Turkey.
No wonder the new Opera Intendant Necil Kazım Akses made his first blunder at this job by annulling Leyla Gencer’s contract. In the meantime, I would also like to ask this: Aren’t there any singers employed at the Ankara State Opera who earn pay checks quite equal to Gencer’s although they haven’t performed in years? And unlike Gencer, aren’t there singers who spend the foreign currencies of the government during their stays abroad?
BARTLESVILLE EXAMINER ENTERPRISE
1959.02.22
THE EDMOND JOURNAL
1959.02.25
MUSIC CLUBS MAGAZINE
1959 April
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959 March
OPERA MAGAZINE
1959 March
Philadelphia. The first five operas of the Grand Opera Company's 24th season were Un Ballo in Maschera (Nelli, Marie Traficante, Belen Amparan, Giuseppe Campora, Cesare Bardelli), Carmen (Amparan, Richard Cassilly), Il Trovatore (Anita Cerquetti, Irene Kramarich, Walter Fredericks, Frank Valentino), II Barbiere di Siviglia (Giulietta Simionato, Thomas Hayward, Frank Guarrera, Nicola Moscona, Gerhard Pechner), and La Traviata (Leyla Gencer, Eugene Conley, Cornell MacNeil). Giuseppe Bamboscheck conducted all the performances.
THEATRE ARTS
1959 March
TIME COLONIST
1959.03.02
VICTORIA DAILY TIMES
1959.03.02
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
1959.03.29
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959 April
OPERA MAGAZINE
1959 May
Firenze. La Battaglia di Legnano (Verdi). May 10, 12. 17 Leyla Gencer, Gastone Limarelli. Giuseppe Taddei. Conductor Vittorio Gui; producer Franco Enriquez.
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959 June
OPERA MAGAZINE
1959 June
Genoa. Teatro Carlo Felice. II Trovatore (Leyla Gencer, Barbieri, Franco Corelli, Anselmo Colzani; conductor Oliviero de Fabritiis, producer Franco Zeffirelli)
CORPUS CRISTI TIMES
1959.05.19
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959 July
LEDGER STAR
1959.07.04
THE RECORD
1959.07.25
THE MORNING UNION
1959.07.26
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959 August
CUMHURİYET DAILY NEWSPAPER
1959.08.18
CEVAT FEHMİ BAŞKUT
We Turkish people are unlike other
The King of Greece gave one of the most important legion of honours to one of their opera singers. The reason for this appreciation and rewarding is because the mentioned artist has been singing at German theatres for 14 years and never visited homeland during all that time. And since this artist has been performing at foreign opera theatres and promoting Greece as a representative of Greek Art, she was found worthy of rewarding.
How similar actions are valued and rewarded differently in every nation!
Didn’t our Leyla Gencer do exactly the same thing even more successfully and brilliantly? Wasn’t that her who sang as a protagonist at the most important theaters of America and Europe? Wasn’t that her who got invited to one foreign embassy to another? Wasn’t that her who made herself and her country applauded by the foreign opera public, when some people didn’t know even the location of Turkey in the map? Wasn’t it her for whom European and American press wrote articles full of appreciation.
And what did we do in return for all this? We don’t have any legions of honours to give out. And we surely don’t have the tendency to build statues for living people to show our appreciation. But some things had to be done. And so, we did! We sent her a telegram which said, “Come straight back to Ankara!”. She responded “I can’t come these months. I had taken permission since I have signed contracts”. Then, “Is that so?” we asked and terminated her contract with the Ankara State Opera. We dismissed her from our national theatres. We cut off her “three pennies” pay check. Yes, this is exactly how we rewarded the important representative of the Turkish Performing Arts; a traveller of the world; the most heard, appreciated and loved Turkish woman!
This is the approach of our government. It’s obvious to see how many centuries of difference there is between us and Greeks. What can we say? A situation to cry over!
CUMHURİYET DAILY NEWSPAPER
1959.08.24
LÜTFİ AY
Interview
We were once again facing each other after a prolonged break. But with one difference; this time we were at the spacious terrace of Çınar Hotel facing Marmara Sea, instead of the Gencers’ lovely penthouse balcony in Ankara. Leyla whom I used to encounter in Ankara, was always in between travels, a bit agitated, getting prepared for new productions excitedly and restlessly. But this time she was enjoying the delightful peace of a rather long and thorough period of rest. She was so perfectly embraced by the sun and the sea of Istanbul, which she’d yearned for a long time that; the white primadonna had become a real Aida in her exotic print beach dress, with her black hair that she’d combed back and adorned with a bandana.
First, we had a rambling conversation. Then I asked the questions that she avoids the most but which are the ones that her fans are most interested in.
“Why and how did you resign from Ankara State Opera?”
Leyla frowned and spoke in a reproachful way:
“Well you know this matter better than me.” she said
“No” I said. “What we know doesn’t matter. We would like to hear it from you.”
After a moment of hesitation, Leyla responded:
“Alright, I will tell you exactly what happened. But first, I would like to underline this: I didn’t willingly leave the stage that I loved and grew on, but I was obliged to do so. I’ve always kept the promise that I had given to a great person whom I fully respect and love and who’s always been interested in my artistry. I didn’t want to cut ties with the State Opera.
“Then how did that happen if you didn’t want it so?”
“It’s as simple as this: When the management of the opera changed, the perception of art and its appreciation also changed with it. People have always asserted claims that I was never present in Ankara, that I never got on stage and I spent all season abroad.
The previous intendant, my teacher Muhsin Ertuğrul, was a genuine artist who knew that a Turkish artist who is valued and accepted at international theatres would eventually face hard challenges and competition. And in order to succeed, one has to stay there and work hard. He also knew and appreciated the national benefits that would come out of this accomplishment, for both our opera and our country. So that’s why he always gave me permission and liberated me for my deeds abroad. He knew that Maria Callas had become famous after 19 years of struggle, vast range of opportunities provided by a millionaire husband and an enormous amount of publicity. I tried to gain the same result just in a period of 5 years, only with my personal efforts and God given talent. And fortunately, I succeeded.”
An Italian journalist had pointed out exactly this fact while interviewing her at Spoleto Festival.
“Didn’t you get any financial support from the State Opera during your performances in Europe?”
“No, I just received my monthly pay check which only paid the expenses for the apartment that I had to preserve in Ankara. Whereas all my colleagues who went on one year or longer educative journeys abroad not only received money for the road but also kept on receiving their pay checks in foreign currents too. I never received any money from the government; neither money for my trips, nor any foreign currency or allowance.
During the time that I stayed and worked in Europe and America, I paid all my expenses with the money that I received from the foreign theaters where I performed as a professional artist. By the way, it’s occasionally written in some newspapers that I’m “invited” to sing in various places. The concept of these invitations is misunderstood and I would like to clear it out. An invitation for a professional opera artist means a business contract. The artist works under the terms and conditions of the contract and receives the sum of money stated in the contract for the work done. The artist pays all the personal expenses with the cachet earned.”
“Is artistic training expensive in Europe?”
“It’s quite expensive. During the opera season, I study at least four hours a day. And I always do these trainings with the best teachers and corepetitors. In Italy, an hour lesson’s cost equals approximately to 45-50 Turkish liras. So accordingly, the monthly pay check that I used to receive from the State Opera paid only a quarter of my lessons.”
“Are these trainings essential for your art?”
“Of course! When I first got on the stage in Europe in 1954, I only had 4 operas in my repertoire. But today I know by heart and can perform 38 operas all written in foreign languages. A soprano with an international fame is supposed to have a richer repertoire in order to fulfil the expectations that might come from various theatres.”
“Do you think that maybe your contract at the State Opera had to be terminated because of an administrative acquirement, since you couldn’t perform at the Ankara Theater?”
“I don’t think so. Because in the first three of the past five years I performed at the Ankara Opera every season, weather less or more. And in the last two years: I always told the opera administration that I would perform in Ankara for a month or two if I were informed in 6 months advance. But the administration never prepared a schedule that considered my condition.
“Thank you very much. I exhausted you in your rest period.”
“Not at all. I thank you since you bothered to come here to talk to me on such a hot day. I spoke gladly because I want all your readers and music lovers to know these facts. Send my regards and love to my audience before whom I would happily perform again one day.
THE GUARDIAN
1959.09.03
TUCSON DAILY CITIZEN
1959.09.05
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959 October
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959.11.01
MUSICAL AMERICA
1959.11.15
1 9 6 0
THE WORLD ALMANAC
1960
Unknown Newspaper
1960s
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
1960.05.07
OPERA MAGAZINE
1960 July
THEATRE WORLD MAGAZINE
1960 July
CORRIERE DELLA SERA
1960.11.22
OPERA MAGAZINE
1960 December
Trieste. Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Trieste Francesca da Rimini. Leyla Gencer, Anna Gasperini, Giuseppe Campora, Mario Ferrara, Anselmo Colzani. Conductor Franco Capuana.
1 9 6 1
THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA 1923 – 1961
1961
ARTHUR J. BLOOMSFIELD
1956
If a production can be said to be lovable, the San
Francisco Opera's Cosi fan tutte is that. It was unveiled in 1956 in George
Jenkins' admirably light and tasteful rococo-modern settings and immediately
found a place in the hearts of the patrons. The musical genius of Mozart was
brilliantly served by a well-knit cast-Schwarzkopf, Rankin, Patrice Munsel,
Lewis, Frank Guarrera and Alvary, with Hans Schwieger conducting-and Hager let
the rousing humour of the piece come through with a mixture of laughs and
style. If every detail of execution wasn't perfect the first time around, this
was a production that, in total spirit, really clicked. (As Mozart productions,
it must be said, had not often done in San Francisco.) The transparent symmetry
of the action, with its pairs of characters, helps, of course, to clarify the
comedy for performance in a big house, and with its fabulous score Cosi was a
natural candidate for success-should the performers be up to and beyond
requirements. The victory was positive: ticket demand was so great a third
performance was added to the scheduled two.
There was no contemporary opera this year, but there
were controversial new stagings of Walküre and Boris, the first Boccanegra in
fifteen years and the first Falstaff in eight. Not to mention the American
debuts of sopranos Leonie Rysanek, Birgit Nilsson and Leyla Gencer,
mezzo Oralia Dominguez, baritone Anselmo Colzani, bass Boris Christoff and
conductor Oliviero DeFabritiis. Furthermore, Eileen Farrell sang for the first
time with a "major" operatic organization and an expatriate American
tenor named Richard Martell was given special opportunities to shine. The La
Scala baritone Rolando Panerai and the Yugoslavian conductor Lovro Von Matacic
were also announced but didn't make it. Nor did Cleva.
Reappearance of The Flying Dutchman served to
introduce Munich and Vienna's Rysanek in one of the best of her many good
roles. She subtly conquered her audience with the first haunting pianissimo and
has sustained, with only minor blemishes, a superb reputation in San Francisco
ever since. She revealed a big lyric-dramatic soprano rather in the
Rethberg-Lehmann tradition if not precisely similar in sound, and also an
intelligence, taste and clarity of musicianship which is hardly an every-night
commodity on the operatic stage. Following the Dutchman, which was excellently
conducted by Steinberg, she sang Aida and Sieglinde, the latter in a
Kerz-designed production of Walküre with Nilsson as Brünnhilde and Hotter as
Wotan. Needless to say, it was full of vocal splendours, but at the same time
it offered some visual curiosities. Modern man need not worry much over Wotan's
having given up his eyepatch, but did Brünnhilde have to wear that dowdy
short-skirted institutional dress? And did the rocks of the third act have to
be reached by pink onyx steps? The Valkyries had ponytail haircuts which were
not unattractive, and Hunding's hut, if it did have touches of the contemporary
suburban tract home, had its decorative points. The post-performance
prescription, however, was this: get away from the old-fashioned trappings,
fine, but make a few amendments next time.
If the sets and costumes of Walküre caused a fair
amount of near-violent discussion, Nilsson's vocalism resulted in no alarm-only
admiration for her exceptionally bright, clear, steely voice, hardly as rich as
Flagstad's but with something approaching that crisp northern tonal beauty
remembered from earlier days. The complete orchestration was used, and
Schwieger's conducting had poetic insight.
The Kerz-set Boris, which was sung by Christoff and
associates in Russian, was even more problematical. Actually, there were some
strokes of great artistic beauty-surely the simple Revolutionary Scene with its
stark downward daggers and projections had visual merits beyond the fairy-tale
literalism of the older version-but removing all the pomp and glitter from the
Coronation Scene coldly negated the point of the matter. It had been thought
that the music and costumes would provide enough of the requisite peasant colour,
and that the stern daggers, lowered to different levels in various scenes,
would have strong symbolic value. But all the open space worked against the
best acoustic interests of the chorus, and when Christoff insisted on certain
trappings they collided with the aesthetic of the mise-en-scene.
As far as Christoff's interests were concerned, the
company had specifically inquired of the Hurok Office whether the bass would be
offended by a modern staging. The answer was in the negative, but it was also
incorrect. When the Bulgarian bass arrived, he didn't like the production at
all. Furthermore, he had an argument with Steinberg, who replaced Von Matacic
as conductor, and left a rehearsal to go off and sulk in his dressing room.
Swallowing his dissatisfactions some- what, he came onstage when due and
performed according to announcement. The relatively lyric, formal approach was
a distinct change from the frenetic Rossi-Lemeni manner with its
near-Sprechstimme: both interpretations, of course, have much to offer. The
cast had not completely jelled, but taken part by part it had strong merits.
Lewis was a vivid Dimitri, Curzi an unusually young-looking Shouisky, Hotter a
powerful Rangoni, and Alvary a Varlaam who didn't overdo the clowning.
The Francesca da Rimini project stemmed from the fact
that Tebaldi was learning the role for the Maggio Musicale in Florence, but
when that festival dropped the work, she was less interested. It was more
feasible for San Francisco to go ahead with a substitute soprano rather than a
substitute opera-the production was already built when Tebaldi made her
negative decision so Leyla Gencer, a Turkish soprano with Naples Opera
experience, was imported. She turned out to be an exceptionally interesting if
uneven artist. Her physical beauty was marked, her poise sure, her pianissimo
exquisite and her voice in general, when well-projected, remarkably warm in
tone. She did not quite do for this opera what a magnetic Tebaldi might have
done, but this was beside the point: Francesca, which dates from 1914 and has
not been performed at the Metropolitan since 1918, was not really worth doing.
It has some sweeping love music of a Richard Straussian sort, and its unfolding
at the end of the first act, with the solo viola and lute providing a nice
medieval colour, is felicitous. But much of the score-related to Puccini,
Giordano, Montemezzi, Wagner and Debussy-is simply derivative and not very
interesting. Zandonai's opera, which might, incidentally, be called L'Amore dei
Tre Fratelli, is akin to Montemezzi's L'Amore dei Tre Re in that both are
romantic-medieval tales set to music at a time when verismo was at its height
in the Italian lyric theatre ⁶. But the
Montemezzi is tauter and has held up this special tradition more strongly.
Colzani and Curzi as the two disagreeable brothers offered vivid portrayals the
uninhibited Colzani almost chewing the scenery in the fiery finale.
Tebaldi's roles this year were Tosca, which she sang
beautifully- and sans encore-and Amelia in Boccanegra, a part she learned for
San Francisco. She sang much of it well, but there was a disconcerting lack of
volume control: the tone could get hard and explosive. Martell, an American
from Paris, was the Cavaradossi of the first Tosca. His compact voice was not
quite of ideal size for the house, but his refined, sure, dulcet vocalism had a
first-rate thrill to it, and his handsome appearance and solid acting ability
helped form a total impersonation of real distinction. He deserved
re-engagement. Bjoerling, absent for five years, was the second Cavaradossi.
Warren and Colzani, two of the best available Scarpias anywhere, shared that
role.
Eileen Farrell was introduced as Leonora in Trovatore
and barring some shrill tones she sang the part with great richness. She acted
hardly at all, but her stage experience then was limited: her impressive career
had been restricted largely to radio and concert. The Mexican Dominguez (with
La Scala performances to her credit) were a relatively refined but excellent
Azucena. Bjoerling and Colzani helped make this 1956 Trovatore an afternoon's
entertainment to remember.
⁶ Neither is without some of the shock tactics of verismo within its regal setting.
Dominguez was also a young-looking Quickly in
Falstaff, the beautifully revived Steinberg special. Warren took over the title
role, singing it sonorously if missing some of the points of joviality, and
Schwarzkopf lent her top talents to Mistress Ford. Audrey Schuh, a young
soprano who had sung in New Orleans, was a good Nanetta, and the Fenton was
Giuseppe Campora of the Metropolitan, who displayed an extremely attractive
voice and an occasional coarseness of style. He was also heard in a fairly
dismal stepchild revival of The Elixir of Love. Munsel was Adina and Italo Tajo
Dr. Dulcamara. The latter was in particularly bad voice, and conductor Curiel
had trouble holding the ensemble together. Some of the magic of 1948 was
needed. Panerai's replacement-as Belcore and as Lescaut in the Manon Lescaut
which opened the season-was Louis Quilico, a Canadian with New York City Centre
experience. He showed off a beautiful dark baritone, and a far from magnetic
stage manner.
Most of the Italian repertory was conducted this year
by Oliviero DeFabritiis, the well-known Rome Opera maestro. His work could be
summed up by four words: poetic but not punchy. His emphasis on lyricism rather
than vigour indicated that he was a sensitive leader of fine ability, but not
the man to preside over the Italian wing regularly. With Metropolitan openings
moving up into late October, Cleva was no longer available, and a strong
substitute was needed.
The Los Angeles season was more profitable than
ever-eight of the fifteen performances in the 6,500 seat Shrine Auditorium
being sold out. Average attendance approached 6,000! The southern proceedings
began with a praiseworthy Manon Lescaut which had better pace and fewer kinks
than the one which opened the home season.
The dressy and opulent audience which crossed the red
carpet into the prosaic, unfashionably located Shrine knew they were hearing a
good show. Kirsten and Bjoerling were joined on this occasion by Guarrera, a
new Lescaut, and there was plenty of applause for all. But the enthusiasm meter
oscillated with special brio at the end of Act 1 of La Boheme with Albanese and
Peerce. The applause welled up from the acres of main floor seats and the wide,
colossal balcony. As happens in the Shrine, the first sound of hands coming
together was so widespread and great the audience became additionally excited
and applauded with renewed vigour, as if no one in the hall wanted to keep his
hands still.
In Los Angeles the productions sometimes suffer from
the toy look of a normal-sized stage picture set inside an overly large
proscenium, but the advantage of prior performances in San Francisco often
results in smoother sound. Tebaldi, for instance, caught the stride of Amelia
in a Boccanegra which was more flexibly sung than those San Franciscans heard.
Turrini, ending an inexplicably long attachment with the company, repeated his
San Francisco Adorno and added Cavaradossi in Los Angeles.
Continuing an arrangement begun in 1955, the two
popular series in San Francisco remained on Thursday and Saturday nights, but
the incidence of four extra Sunday matinee performances reminded one of the
previous plans, in which one of the popular series always took place on Sunday
afternoons (1949-54).
1957
Contemporary opera returned this season with the American premiere of Francis Poulenc's subtle and finespun Dialogues of the Carmelites. The date: September 20, eight months following the original premiere at La Scala. Erich Leinsdorf conducted the triadic-beatific score with great sensitivity, and the cast was a strong one which sang clear English. Harry Horner's sets, which sat on a revolving stage, had a fitting austerity and could be swung into place without unduly long waits between scenes. ⁷
⁷ No wait was more than a minute. The curtain was not lowered during the changes, and the pit lights, which tend to spill over onto the stage, were turned out for the scene shifts from a dimmer by the conductor's stand. When Leinsdorf was sure the orchestra could play the last few bars of a scene from memory, he pushed the button. As for the sets themselves, Rudolf Bing has expressed interest in using them sometime.
Introduced to San Francisco as Mme. Lidoine, the new
Prioress, was a young Negro soprano with Porgy and Bess and NBC Television
Opera experience. Her name: Leontyne Price. She sang her difficult and ascetic
role with rare charm and beauty but there was no clear indication that this
girl would turn into one of the greatest Aidas of our time. In San Francisco
her opportunities were to grow, as indeed her voice itself evolved into a big
dramatic instrument. Another debutante was Sylvia Stahlman, ⁸ a pure lyric soprano who provided just the right
sort of freshness of light-textured tone for the part of Sister Constance.
Dorothy Kirsten was in the central role, Blanche de la Force.
She and her colleagues movingly projected the story of
a band of nuns who, during the French Revolution, are sentenced to the
guillotine. Set against their collective story is that of the timid, confused
and complicated Blanche, who joins the Carmelite Order as a refuge from her
fear of life, and finally wins over her fear of death by going, in her moment
of truth, to the guillotine happily.
Poulenc's score is dedicated to Debussy, Monteverdi,
Moussorgsky and Verdi, and there is no question that Debussy and Moussorgsky
were influences. In spirit the music is descended, actually, from a long line
of French composers including Couperin, Berlioz and Fauré. It is not
derivative, but simply a logical and unhurrying follow-up to an old tradition
of tastefully sweet Musico-religious expression.
The Carmelites was received with enthusiasm-Claramae
Turner, the First Prioress, had a big success with her death scene, and Price
won prolonged applause for her beautifully spun-out lyric passage in the Prison
Scene. There was enough interest to schedule three performances in San
Francisco altogether: the last one a special attraction presented in connection
with an "International Industrial Development Conference" under
Time-Life auspices. In the last analysis, The Carmelites provided a theatrical
experience so freshly moving and penetrating that some of the conventional,
less Musico-dramatic operas which followed seemed rather more melodramatic and
deficient in thought than usual.
The elusive Maria Callas had been signed for the 1957
season in January, and when September arrived the public was anticipating with
interest her scheduled appearances in Verdi's Macbeth and Donizetti's Lucia.
But in the papers of September 13-opening night of the season was the
seventeenth-San Franciscans read that Adler was checking into rumours Callas
planned to cancel her engagement with the company. She had withdrawn from
performances with La Scala at the Edinburgh Festival after an August 29
Sonnambula because the cold air in that city had afflicted her and she was not
feeling well. The report in the San Francisco papers on September 17 was this:
the diva's husband Meneghini said Madame Callas would be happy to sing four
performances with the San Francisco Opera beginning October 15! But her first
Lucia was scheduled for September 27, her second October 5 and her first
Macbeth October 11. And, the papers continued, as far as the San Francisco
Opera was concerned, Madame Callas was fired, and a complaint was being sent
off to the American Guild of Musical Artists. The fact that a recording of
Cherubini's Medea was on the ailing Callas' September schedule-it is mentioned
in the album notes that the recording was made in September 1957- did not sit
exactly well with Adler and Miller. Most subscribers felt they were to be
commended for their uncompromising action, and after Leonie Rysanek's Lady
Macbeth and Leyla Gencer's Lucia- both highly successful-Maria Callas
was, if not forgotten, hardly missed.
⁸ Hailing from Tennessee, Stahlman had sung with the Brussels Opera under the name of Giulia Bardi.
AGMA, it might be noted, ultimately released a
reprimand in which it was concluded that Callas was "not wholly
justified" in her failure to fulfil her contract. "There is reason to
believe," said the reprimand, "on the basis of medical statements
submitted, that Maria Meneghini Callas would have been justified in not
performing because of her physical and emotional condition at the time. But the
board further finds that, in fact, Maria Meneghini Callas did not rely entirely
upon the medical advice, and, in fact, indicated to the San Francisco Opera
Association her willingness to perform during a portion of the period covered
by the contract. In view of these circumstances and other incidents testified
to before the Board demonstrating that she did not rely entirely upon medical
advice, the Board concludes and is of the opinion that she was under an
obligation to come to the United States at the time called for by her contract
with the San Francisco Opera." On the heels of the Callas affair came
Antonietta Stella's sudden cancellation, reportedly because of an emergency
appendectomy. She had been slated for Aida and A Masked Ball. Rysanek, who had
originally been engaged for Turandot and Ariadne, the title role in each case,
took on Callas' two San Francisco Lady Macbeths and one each of Stella's Aidas
and Amelias in addition. The Amelia she sang in German to the rest of the
cast's Italian, the opera becoming monolingual again when Herva Nelli came out
for the second Masked Ball. Rysanek handled her taxing assignments with a high
degree of effectiveness, and one remembers in particular the ease of production
and care of musicianship she put into her supreme interpretation of the Chinese
princess in Turandot. Puccini's opera opened the season and also served to
introduce to America the man who has become the chief conductor of the Italian
wing, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli. This well-liked little maestro from the
leading Italian opera houses would seem to be, in some ways, a latter-day
counterpart of Papi. He sometimes stresses lyricism over tautness and has been
damned as a "singers" conductor," but the mixture of fire,
authority, sensitivity and just pacing exhibited in his performances-notably of
Aida and Otello has stamped him as a very good man to have around.
There were, incidentally, three Aidas at home this
year. Two were taken by Leontyne Price, who had been planning to sing her first
Nile Scene at a later date in Vienna. Her 1957 Aida was not quite her 1959
Aida, but already much more than just promising. Turandot was given in the
Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley to initiate a custom of one open-air
performance per year.
Ariadne auf Naxos joined the repertoire October 8 in a
charming production with scenery by Jenkins of Cosi fan Tutte fame, stage
direction by Hager and musical direction by Steinberg. The prologue, with its
long stretches of marvellously unctuous spoken pronouncement from the Major
Domo, was wisely given in English; the more lyrical opera itself was sung in
German. The silvery, light vocalism of Rita Streich, a German lyric-coloratura
making her first American appearances, was capital in the role of Zerbinetta.
On the other hand, her Sophie in Rosenkavalier was not as romantic-looking or
spontaneously acted as it should be. The 1955 combination of Schwarzkopf-
Bible-Edelmann-Leinsdorf was back in this opera, as was that of
Schwarzkopf-Lewis-Alvary in the 1956 Cosi Revisited. Nan Merriman, the noted
mezzo, was a good-looking, vocally superb Dorabella, and Heinz
Blankenburg-moving up in the operatic world-a thoroughly first-rate Guglielmo.
Streich was Despina. Leinsdorf conducted.
Leyla Gencer's Lucia was not of the pretty-pretty pyrotechnical variety. She is
basically a warm lyric-dramatic soprano who simply happens to have the
coloratura equipment as well. The richness of her voice, which, like Callas',
seemed to have a certain sonic sex appeal, helped make hers an adult Lucia. Also,
the vivid acting: she conveyed a real sense of derangement in the Mad Scene.
All in all, this was the most memorable portrayal offered in San Francisco by
this sometimes-remarkable artist. Her success in the part indicated that
another reengagement was in order, and she returned in 1958. Her other 1957
assignments were Violetta and Liu, the latter only in Los Angeles.
The impressive Italian dramatic baritone Giuseppe
Taddei made his American debut this season, taking the title role in Macbeth
and also appearing as Scarpia. In Los Angeles he added two Lord Henrys. He was
a fine addition to the roster, but why an obscure and rough-sounding fellow
Italian named Umberto Borghi should be imported made little sense. Robert
Merrill was also among the baritones, contributing a beautiful voice if not
much dramatic excitement.
The tenor register went through a crisis in the late
fifties. Tucker did not return after 1955, and Del Monaco was absent from 1952
to 1959. When Bjoerling did come in 1956 and 1958-it was only for a few
performances. Good tenors appeared, for instance Martell and Lewis, but there
was a need during the seasons of 1956-58 for at least one big league Italian
dramatic tenor who combined suavity, fire and magnetism in equal proportions.
Eugene Tobin, an American in Stuttgart, was the Calaf and Rhadames in 1957, and
while he had many merits and was well worth engaging-Adler's idea of bringing
back experienced American singers from Europe deserves commendation-he was not
quite the ultra-powerful and polished singer to take all the performances of
Turandot and Aida. The following year Piero Miranda Ferraro was considerably
less good. Jon Crain, who also sang in 1957, did not have the vocal size for
Cavaradossi in the Opera House. Gianni Raimondi, a highly competent La Scala
lyric tenor, appeared often in 1957 and 1958, but he was rarely a success with
the press.
The Achilles heel aspect of the somewhat lacklustre
tenor rosters was this: some of the guarantors are especially conscious of
"name" singers. It must be stressed that a number of singers who have
appeared in San Francisco have shown themselves to be great artists despite
their lack of fame. But Adler did need a little more glamor than he brought
into this department, and he left himself open to possible sniping. Sniping
there was, when the situation piled up in 1958, and whereas much of it was not
justified, a little of it was.
1958
After the war the San Francisco seasons were usually
five weeks long, give or take a day or two. In 1957 the length rose to
thirty-eight days and in 1958 the duration of home activities was levelled off
at a record six weeks. The regular series grew from ten to eleven performances,
and each of the "popular" series from five to six. The schedule
remained highly concentrated, but by no means as squeezed as some of the early
five-week ones in the late forties, when non-subscription performances were
piled high within the confines of thirty-four days. The increase in the
proportion of Thursday and Saturday evening series performances-slightly
cheaper and less dressy than those of the regular series-was a distinct boon to
the public.
Not since the Ring year of 1935 had there been so many
additions to the repertoire in a single season. Verdi's Don Carlo, Cherubini's
Medea and a Carl Orff double bill, consisting of Die Kluge (1942) and Carmina
Burana (1937), were all new. Medea and Carmina received their first staged
performances in America-the concert version American premiere of Carmina had
taken place in San Francisco in 1954-and Die Kluge, presented in English as The
Wise Maiden, was given its absolute American premiere. There were also two
revivals of long withdrawn operas, The Bartered Bride, last heard from in 1942
and offered in a new production, and Tannhäuser, silent since 1941. In line
with the theory that the standard repertory should be visually freshened, Boheme
was given in a new production financed by the Guild. Singers in American debuts
included soprano Eugenia Ratti, tenor Sebastian Feiersinger, baritone Rolando
Panerai and basses Arnold Van Mill and Giuseppe Modesti. Conductors new to the
United States were Leopold Ludwig and Jean Fournet. Such San Francisco favourites
as Rysanek, Schwarzkopf, Price and Farrell were on hand, ⁹ and sopranos Lisa Della Casa and Christel Goltz
and mezzos Grace Hoffman and Irene Dalis-the latter from nearby San Jose-joined
the roster.
Dalis first appeared in what may well be her best
role: Eboli in Don Carlo. She swung into it with a fiery regality and sang it
warmly. She shared top honours in the first two performances of Verdi's
masterpiece with Tozzi, whose limping, swaggering Philip was a stage portrait
drawn with great imagination and style. Frank Guarrera did the best singing of
his San Francisco career as Rodrigo, and though Piero Miranda Ferraro was a
choppy-sounding Don Carlo, there seemed reason to believe he might at some time
project his dark, dramatic tenor more successfully. No soprano knows better
than Leyla Gencer how to stand around looking noble, but her vocal
projection was spotty in the role of Elisabetta. As Molinari-Pradelli was
unable to return this year-there was illness in his family-George Sebastian was
brought back for the Italian wing. ⁱ⁰ In
general this was a mistake.
⁹ Price and Farrell did not join the Met until 1960-61. Rysanek went on
the New York roster in 1958-59; Schwarzkopf has remained unattached as this
book is written. Farrell first sang at the Chicago Opera in 1957, Rysanek in
1958 and Price and Schwarzkopf in 1959.
ⁱ⁰ He had been conducting a great deal at the Paris Opera since his earlier
San Francisco days.
FINALE
The San Francisco Opera went into 1961 with a long
record of achievement.
One could list, for instance, the American premieres
of Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Poulenc's The Dialogues of the Carmelites,
Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortileges, Walton's Troilus and Cressida, Orff's Die
Kluge and Cherubini's The Portuguese Inn, all works of value. And the American
stage premieres of Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake, Orff's Carmina Burana
and Cherubini's Medea, such notable rare revivals as those of Boito's
Mefistofele, the complete Puccini Trittico and Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole.
One could also list the American debuts of Ingrid
Bjoner, Inge Borkh, Rosanna Carteri, Floriana Cavalli, Boris Christoff, Anselmo
Colzani, Mario Del Monaco, Geraint Evans, Leyla Gencer, Tito Gobbi, Sena
Jurinac, Sandor Konya, Richard Lewis, Max Lichtegg, Janine Micheau, Giuseppe
Modesti, Birgit Uilsson, Rolando Panerai, Gotthelf Pistor, Leonie Rysanek,
Giulietta Simionato, Ebe Stignani, Rita Streich, Giuseppe Taddei, Renata
Tebaldi, Hertha Toepper, Rosina Torri, Cesare Valletti, Arnold Van Mill,
Gaetano Viviani, and Giuseppe Zantieri. And there have been other new singers.
Not to mention conductors Leopold Ludwig, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Georg
Solti and Silvio Varviso.
One could note the promoting of such California
singers as Josephine Tumminia, George Stinson, Dorothy Warenskjold, Claramae
Turner, Katherine Hilgenberg and Heinz Blankenburg, and the opportunities given
Americans from Europe like Richard Martell, Eugene Tobin and Robert Anderson.
One could mention the important place given by the San
Francisco to star singers such as Leontyne Price, Eileen Farrell, Mary Costa
and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who had not sung at the Met.
One could recall Jeritza's first Salome in America,
the first Siegfried Brünnhilde of Flagstad's career, Martinelli's first Otello,
Tibbett's first →
The San Francisco Opera
Casts – 1956 Season
Regular Series
September 13: MANON LESCAUT (Puccini)
MANON LESCAUT: Kirsten, CHEVALIER DES GRIEUX:
Bjoerling, LESCAUT: Quilico, GERONTE: Alvary, EDMONDO: Curzi, DANCING MASTER:
DePaolis, LAMPLIGHTER: Assandri, CAPTAIN: Palangi, MUSICIAN: Roggero, SERGEANT:
Andersen, CONDUCTOR: De Fabritiis.
September 18: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (Wagner)
DUTCHMAN: Hotter, SENTA: Rysanek, ERIC: Suthaus,
DALAND: Alvary, STEERSMAN: Curzi, MARY: Hilgenberg, CONDUCTOR: Steinberg.
September 21: FALSTAFF (Verdi)
SIR JOHN FALSTAFF: Warren, MISTRESS FORD: Schwarzkopf,
MISTRESS PAGE: Roggero, DAME QUICKLY: Dominguez, ANNE: Schuh, FENTON: Campora,
FORD: Guarrera, DR. CAIUS: Assandri, BARDOLPH: DePaolis, PISTOL: Moscona,
CONDUCTOR: Steinberg.
September 25: BORIS GODOUNOFF (Moussorgsky)
BORIS: Christoff, DIMITRI: R. Lewis, MARINA:
Dominguez, PIMEN: Moscona, SHOUISKY: Curzi, RANGONI: Hotter, VARLAAM: Alvary,
MISSAIL: Lachona, TCHELKALOFF: Cehanovsky, FEODOR: Nadell, XENIA: Crader,
NURSE: Wilkins, INNKEEPER: Hilgenberg, SIMPLETON: Manton, POLICE OFFICER:
Palangi, FRONTIER GUARD SERGEANT: Ligeti, LOVITZKY: Kenig, TCHERNIAKOVSKY:
Quilico, BOYAR: Assandri, PEASANTS: Covington, Eloise Farrell, Lovasich,
CONDUCTOR: Steinberg.
September 28: FRANCESCA DA RIMINI (Zandonai)
FRANCESCA: Leyla Gencer PAOLO: Martell, GIOVANNI:
Colzani, MALATESTINO: Curzi, SAMARITANA: Crader, BIANCOFIORE: Gray, GARSENDA:
McArt, ALTICHIARA: Roggero, DONELLA: Nadell, OSTASIO: Palangi, SER TOLDO
BERARDENGO: DePaolis, JESTER: Blankenburg, Bowman: Lachona, TOWER WARDEN:
Kenig, SMARAGDI: Hilgenberg, VOICE OF A PRISONER: Assandri, CONDUCTOR: De
Fabritiis.
September 23, matinee: TOSCA (Puccini)
Same cast except: CAVARADOSSI: Bjoerling, SCARPIA:
Colzani, SCIARRONE: Blankenburg.
October 7, matinee: MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Puccini)
CIO-CIO-SAN: Albanese, PINKERTON: Campora, SHARPLESS:
Quilico, SUZUKI: Roggero, CORO: DePaolis, BONZE: Ligeti, YAMADORI: Cehanovsky,
COMMISSIONER: Palangi, KATE PINKERTON: Covington, REGISTRAR: Harvey, CONDUCTOR:
Kritz. October 14, matinee: COSI FAN TUTTE (Mozart)
Same cast.
October 17: AIDA (Verdi)
AIDA: Rysanek, AMNERIS: Rankin, RHADAMES: Martell,
AMONASRO: Colzani, RAMFIS: Moscona, KING: Ligeti, MESSENGER: Assandri,
PRIESTESS: Hilgenberg, CONDUCTOR: De Fabritiis.
Children’s Performances
October 10, matinee: MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Puccini)
Same
cast except: PINKERTON: R. Lewis, SHARPLESS: Colzani.
October 11, matinee: MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Puccini)
Same cast as October 7 except:
CIO-CIO-SAN: Kirsten, PINKERTON: Curzi, SHARPLESS:
Guarrera, SUZUKI: Nadell.
October 16, matinee: MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Puccini)
Same cast as October 7 except: CIO-CIO-SAN: Kirsten,
PINKERTON: R. Lewis, SHARPLESS: Guarrera, GORO: Assandri.
Casts – 1957 Season
Regular Series
September 17: TURANDOT (Puccini)
TURANDOT: Rysanek, LIU: Albanese, CALAF: Tobin, TIMUR:
Moscona, PING: Blankenburg, PANG: Assandri, PONG: Curzi, EMPEROR ALTOUM: Fried,
PRINCE OF PERSIA: Malone, MAIDS: Cadwallader, D. Petersen, CONDUCTOR: Molinari-
Pradelli.
September 20: DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES (Poulenc)
BLANCHE: Kirsten, PRIORESS: C. Turner, NEW PRIORESS:
Price, MOTHER MARIE: Thebom, SISTER CONSTANCE: Stahlman, MARQUIS DE LA FORCE:
R. Herbert, CHEVALIER: Crain, MOTHER JEANNE: Hilgenberg, SISTER MATHILDE: D.
Petersen, FATHER CONFESSOR: Curzi, COMMISSIONERS: Fried, Palangi, JAILOR:
Presnell, GOVERNESS: West, THIERRY: Kenig, M. JAVELINOT: Enns, FIRST OFFICER:
Reitan, FANATIC WOMAN: S. L. Knapp, WOMEN: Berrar, B. Johnson, OLD MAN: Wagner,
CONDUCTOR: Leinsdorf.
September 24: A MASKED BALL (Verdi)
AMELIA: Rysanek, ULRICA: C. Turner, OSCAR: Stahlman,
RICCARDO: Peerce, RENATO: R. Merrill, SAM: Alvary, TOM: Moscona, SILVANO:
Blankenburg, JUDGE: Fried, SERVANT: Kenig, CONDUCTOR: Steinberg.
September 27: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Donizetti)
LUCIA: Leyla Gencer LORD HENRY: Borghi, EDGARDO:
Raimondi, LORD ARTHUR: Curzi, RAYMOND: Alvary, ALICE: Burlingham, NORMAN:
Assandri, CONDUCTOR: Molinari-Pradelli.
October 1: DER ROSENKAVALIER (Strauss)
MARSCHALLIN: Schwarzkopf, BARON OCHS: Edelmann,
OCTAVIAN: Bible, SOPHIE: Streich, FANINAL: R. Herbert, TENOR: Crain, MARIANNE:
Andrew, VALZACCHI: Fried, ANNINA: Hilgenberg, POLICE COMMISSIONER: Presnell,
NOTARY: Harvey, LANDLORD: Curzi, MILLINER: McArt, ANIMAL VENDOR: Assandri,
MARSCHALLIN'S MAJOR-DOMO: Kenig, FANINAL'S MAJOR-DOMO: J. Thomas, ORPHANS: M.
L. Hoffman, San Miguel, D. Petersen, FOOTMEN: Hubbard, Booth, Guenter,
Woellhaf, CONDUCTOR: Leinsdorf.
October 8: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (Strauss)
ARIADNE, PRIMA DONNA: Rysanek, BACCHUS, TENOR: R. Lewis,
COMPOSER: H. George, ZERBINETTA: Streich, MUSIC TEACHER: R. Herbert,
MAJOR-DOMO: Louw, ARLECCHINO: Blankenburg, SCARAMUCCIO: Manton, TRUFFALDINO:
Alvary, BRIGHELLA: Curzi, NALAD: Stahlman, DRYAD: C. Turner, ECHO: M. Gibson,
DANCING MASTER: Fried, wIGMAKER: Kenig, LACKEY: Palangi, OFFICER: Presnell,
CONDUCTOR: Steinberg.
October 11: MACBETH (Verdi)
LADY MACBETH: Rysanek, MACBETH: Taddei, BANQUO: Alvary,
MACDUFF: Crain, MALCOLM: J. Thomas, LADY-IN-WAITING: Burlingham, MEDIC: Enns,
SERVANT: Andersen, ASSASSIN: Kenig, HERALD: Lovasich, APPARITIONS: P. Murphy,
Coving- ton, Fernandez, CONDUCTOR: Molinari-Pradelli.
October 15: TOSCA (Puccini)
TOSCA: Kirsten, CAVARADOSSI: Peerce, SCARPIA: Taddei,
ANGELOTTI: Palangi, SPOLETTA: Assandri, SACRISTAN: R. Herbert, SCIARRONE:
Presnell, JAILOR: Enns, SHEPHERD: Fernandez, CONDUCTOR: Leinsdorf.
October 18: AIDA (Verdi)
AIDA: Price, AMNERIS: Thebom, RHADAMES: Tobin, AMONASRO:
R. Merrill, RAMFIS: Moscona, KING: Palangi, MESSENGER: Fried, PRIESTESS:
Andrew, CONDUCTOR: Molinari-Pradelli.
October 22: COSI FAN TUTTE (Mozart)
FIORDILIGI: Schwarzkopf, DORABELLA: Merriman, DESPINA:
Streich, FERRANDO: R. Lewis, GUGLIELMO: Blankenburg, DON ALFONSO: Alvary,
CONDUCTOR: Leinsdorf.
Saturday Evening Series
September 21: TURANDOT (Puccini)
Same cast.
September 28: A MASKED BALL (Verdi)
Same cast except: AMELIA: Nelli.
October 5: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Donizetti)
LUCIA: Leyla Gencer LORD HENRY: Borghi, EDGARDO:
Peerce, LORD ARTHUR: Curzi, RAYMOND: Moscona , ALICE: Burlingham, NORMAN:
Assandri, CONDUCTOR: Molinari-Pradelli.
October 12: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (Strauss)
Same cast.
October 19: TOSCA (Puccini)
Same cast except: CAVARADOSSI: Crain.
Thursday Evening Series
September 19: LA TRAVIATA (Verdi)
VIOLETTA: Leyla Gencer ALFREDO: Raimondi,
GERMONT: R. Merrill, GASTON: Assandri, BARON DOUPHOL: Kenig, MARQUIS D'OBIGNY:
Presnell, DR. GRENVIL: Palangi, FLORA: McArt, ANNINA: Hilgenberg, CONDUCTOR:
Curiel.
September 26: DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES (Poulenc)
Same cast.
October 3: DER ROSENKAVALIER (Strauss)
Same cast except: TENOR: Tobin.
October 10: MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Puccini)
CIO-CIO-SAN: Albanese, PINKERTON: Raimondi, SHARPLESS:
Borghi, SUZUKI: Hilgenberg, GORO: Assandri, NONZE: Palangi, YAMADORI:
Blankenburg, COMMISSIONER: Enns, KATE PINKERTON: Howe, REGISTRAR: Harvey,
CONDUCTOR: Kritz.
October 17: MACBETH (Verdi)
Same cast.
Extra Performances
October 13, Matinee: DER ROSENKAVLIER (Strauss)
Same cast as October 1 except: SOPHIE: Stahlman,
TENOR: Manton.
October 16: DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES (Poulenc)
(special performance for International Industrial
Development Conference under Time-Life auspices)
Same cast.
October 20, matinee: LA TRAVIATA (Verdi)
Same cast except: VIOLETTA: Albanese.
October 21: AIDA (Verdi)
Same cast except: AIDA: Rysanek, AMNERIS: C. Turner.
October 23: AIDA (Verdi)
Same cast as October 18 except: AMNERIS: C. Turner
October 24: COSI FAN TUTTE (Mozart)
Same cast.
Children’s Performances
October 4, matinee: LA TRAVIATA (Verdi)
Same cast as September 19 except: VIOLETTA: Albanese,
ALFREDO: Crain, GERMONT: Borghi.
October 10, matinee: LA TRAVIATA (Verdi)
VIOLETTA: Leyla Gencer ALFREDO: Curzi, GERMONT: R.
Merrill, GASTON: Assandri, BARON DOUPHOL: Kenig, MARQUIS D'OBIGNY: Presnell,
DR. GRENVIL: Palangi, FLORA: McArt, ANNINA: Hilgenberg, CONDUCTOR: Curiel.
October 17, matinee: LA TRAVIATA (Verdi)
VIOLETTA: Leyla Gencer ALFREDO: Curzi, GERMONT:
Borghi, GASTON: Assandri, BARON DOUPHOL: Kenig, MARQUIS D'OBIGNY: Presnell, DR.
GRENVIL: Palangi, FLORA: McArt, ANNINA: Hilgenberg,
CONDUCTOR: Curiel.
Casts – 1958 Season
Regular Series
September 12: MEDEA (Cherubini)
MEDEA: Farrell, JASON: R. Lewis, CREON: Modesti,
GLAUCE: Stahlman, NERIS: C. Turner, CAPTAIN: Enns, HANDMAIDENS: Moynagh, Blum,
CONDUCTOR: Fournet.
September 16: DON CARLO (Verdi)
ELISABETH: Leyla Gencer, EBOLI: Dalis, DON
CARLO: Ferraro, RODRIGO: Guarrera, PHILIP II: Tozzi, GRAND INQUISITOR: Modesti,
FRIAR: Elyn, COUNTESS OF MONDECAR: Moynagh, COUNT LERMA: Assandri, ROYAL
HERALD: R. Thomas, COUNTESS OF AREMBERG: Broughton, CELESTIAL VOICE: Daniel,
CONDUCTOR: Sebastian.
September 19: LA BOHEME (Puccini)
MIMI: Della Casa, RODOLFO: Raimondi, MARCELLO:
Panerai, COLLINE: Alvary, SCHAUNARD: Gillaspy, MUSETTA: Ratti, BENOIT:
Wentworth, ALCINDORO: Assandri, PARPIGNOL: R. Thomas, SERGEANT: Lorenzini,
OFFICER: Harvey, CONDUC TOR: Fournet.
September 26: IL TROVATORE (Verdi)
LEONORA: Price, AZUCENA: C. Turner, MANRICO:
Bjoerling, COUNT DI LUNA: Quilico, FERRANDO: Elyn, RUIZ: Assandri, OLD GYPSY:
Enns, INEZ: Blum, conDUCTOR: Sebastian.
September 30: THE BARTERED BRIDE (Smetana)
MARIE: Schwarzkopf, JENIK: R. Lewis, KEZAL: Tozzi,
VASHEK: Fried, KRUSCHINA: Eugene Green, LUDMILA: C. Ward, MICHA: Wentworth,
HATA: Hilgenberg, SPRINGER: Hager, ESMERALDA: Moynagh, MUFF: Harvey, CONDUCTOR:
Ludwig.
October 3: THE WISE MAIDEN (Orff)
KING: Winters, PEASANT'S DAUGHTER: Price, PEASANT: Alvary, JAILOR: Wagner, MAN WITH DONKEY: Manton, MAN WITH MULE: Eugene Green, TRAMPS: R.Thomas, Gillaspy, Wentworth, CONDUCTOR: Ludwig. followed by: CARMINA BURANA (Orff) BURGUNDIAN TROUBADOUR: Guarrera, OLD POET: Guarrera, DRINKERS: Guarrera, Manton, BURGUNDIAN LADY: Malbin, YOUNG COUPLE IN LOVE: Blum, Eugene Green, COQUETTES: Oldt, C. Ward, Moynagh, FRIENDS OF TROUBADOUR: R. Thomas, Fried, Gillaspy, Eugene Green, Elyn, Enns, PAGES OF THE LADY: Carilli, Cherney, Dong, Fromer, Kattge, Wong, CONDUCTOR: Ludwig.
October 7: LA FORZA DEL DESTINO (Verdi)
LEONORA: Rysanek, DON ALVARO: Ferraro, DON CARLO: Weede,
PADRE GUARDIANO: Modesti, FRA MELITONE: Wentworth, PREZIOSILLA: C. Ward,
MARQUIS OF CALATRAVA: Elyn, ALCADE: Enns, TRABUCCO: Assandri, CURRA:
Hilgenberg, SURGEON: Harvey, CONDUCTOR: Sebastian.
October 10: GIANNI SCHICCHI (Puccini)
GIANNI SCHICCHI: Taddei, RINUCCIO: R. Miller, LAURETTA:
Stahlman, SIMONE: Alvary, BETTO: Wentworth, GHERARDO: Assandri, MARCO:
Gillaspy, SPINELLOCCIO: Eugene Green, NOTARY: Elyn, PINELLINO: Harvey, GUCCIO:
Enns, ZITA: Hilgenberg, NELLA: Moynagh, LA CIESCA: C. Ward, GHERARDINO: Fromer,
CONDUCTOR: Curiel. followed by: ELEKTRA (Strauss) ELEKTRA: Goltz, CHRYSOTHEMIS: Della Casa, KLYTEMNESTRA: C.
Turner, AEGISTHUS: Feiersinger, ORESTES: Van Mill, ORESTES' TUTOR: Elyn,
CONFIDANTE: Blum, TRAINBEARER: Oldt, YOUNG SERVANT: R. Thomas, OLD SERVANT:
Enns, OVERSEER: C. Ward, MAIDSERVANTS: A. Taylor, Groves, Hilgenberg, Moynagh,
Daniel, CONDUCTOR: Ludwig.
October 14: TANNHÄUSER (Wagner)
ELISABETH: Rysanek, VENUS: G. Hoffman, TANNHÄUSER:
Feiersinger, WOLFRAM: Winters, LANDGRAVE: Van Mill, WALTHER: R. Miller,
BITEROLF: Elyn, HEINRICH: Fried, REINMAR: Enns, SHEPHERD: Stahlman, CONDUCTOR:
Ludwig.
October 17: MANON (Massenet)
MANON: Leyla Gencer CHEVALIER DES GRIEUX: R.
Lewis, LESCAUT: Quilico, GUILLOT: Fried, DE BRETIGNY: Gillaspy, COUNT DES
GRIEUX: Alvary, POUSETTE: Stahlman, JAVOTTE: Moynagh, ROSETTE: Blum, INNKEEPER:
Eugene Green, SERVANT: Pappas, GUARDS: R. Thomas, Enns, SERGEANT: Andersen,
ATTENDANT: Lorenzini, CONDUCTOR: Fournet.
October 21: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (Mozart)
SUSANNA: Ratti, COUNTESS: Schwarzkopf, CHERUBINO: C.
Ward, FIGARO: Panerai, COUNT: Modesti, BARTOLO: Wentworth, BASILIO: Fried,
MARCELLINA: Hilgenberg, BARBARINA: Moynagh, ANTONIO: Eugene Green, DON CURZIO:
Manton, PEASANT GIRLS: Oldt, Blum, CONDUCTOR: Adler.
Saturday Evening Series
September 13: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Rossini)
ROSINA: Ratti, COUNT ALMAVIVA: R. Miller, FIGARO:
Panerai, BARTOLO: Baccaloni, BASILIO: Tozzi, FIORELLO: Gillaspy, OFFICER:
Assandri, BERTHA: Hilgenberg, CONDUCTOR: Curiel.
September 20: DON CARLO (Verdi)
ELISABETH: Leyla Gencer, EBOLI: Dalis, DON
CARLO: Ferraro, RODRIGO: Guarrera, PHILIP II: Tozzi, GRAND INQUISITOR: Modesti,
FRIAR: Elyn, COUNTESS OF MONDECAR: Moynagh, COUNT LERMA: Assandri, ROYAL
HERALD: R. Thomas, COUNTESS OF AREMBERG: Broughton, CELESTIAL VOICE: Daniel,
CONDUCTOR: Sebastian.
September 27: LA BOHEME (Puccini)
Same cast.
October 4: THE BARTERED BRIDE (Smetana)
Same cast.
October 11: IL TROVATORE (Verdi)
Same cast except: AZUCENA: Dalis, INEZ: Groves.
October 18: TANNHÄUSER (Wagner)
Same cast.
Thursday Evening Series
September 18: MEDEA (Cherubini)
Same cast.
September 25: RIGOLETTO (Verdi)
GILDA: Leyla Gencer DUKE: Raimondi, RIGOLETTO:
Weede, MADDALENA: C. Ward, SPARAFUCILE: Alvary, MONTERONE: Elyn, BORSA:
Assandri, MARULLO: Enns, CEPRANO: Gillaspy, COUNTESS CEPRANO: Blum, GIOVANNA:
Hilgenberg, PAGE: Moynagh, CONDUCTOR: Fournet.
October 2: LA BOHEME (Puccini)
Same cast as September 19 except: RODOLFO: Bjoerling,
COLLINE: Tozzi.
October 9: THE WISE MAIDEN (Orff)
Same cast. followed by: CARMINA BURANA (Orff)
October 16: GIANNI SCHICCHI (Puccini)
Same cast. Same cast. followed
by: ELEKTRA (Strauss) Same
cast except: ELYTEMNESTRA: Dalis.
October 23: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (Mozart)
Same cast.
Extra Performances
October 12, matinee: THE BARTERED BRIDE (Smetana)
Same cast.
October 19, matinee: DON CARLO (Verdi)
Same cast except: ELISABETH: Goltz, EBOLI: Hoffman,
PHILIP: Van Mill, GRAND INQUISITOR: Alvary, FRIAR: Enns.
October 20: RIGOLETTO (Verdi) (East Bay Night)
GILDA: Leyla Gencer DUKE: Raimondi, RIGOLETTO:
Weede, MADDALENA: C. Turner, SPARAFUCILE: Alvary, MONTERONE: Elyn, BORSA:
Assandri, MARULLO: Enns, CEPRANO: Gillaspy, COUNTESS CEPRANO: Blum, GIOVANNA:
Hilgenberg, PAGE: Moynagh, CONDUCTOR: Fournet.
October 22: TANNHÄUSER (Wagner)
Same cast.
Children’s Performances
October 2, matinee: LA BOHEME (Puccini)
Same cast as September 19 except: MIMI: Moynagh,
MARCELLO: Quilico, MUSETTA: Stahlman, CONDUCTOR: Kritz.
October 16, matinee: LA BOHEME (Puccini)
Same cast as September 19 except: MIMI: Malbin,
RODOLFO: Ferraro, MARCELLO: Guarrera, COLLINE: Elyn, ALCINDORO: Eugene Green.
October 22, matinee: LA BOHEME (Puccini)
Same cast as September 19 except: MARCELLO: Quilico,
MUSETTA: Stahlman, ALCINDORO: Eugene Green.
THEATRE ARTS
1961 January
CORRIERE DELLA SERA
1961.01.05
OPERA NEWS
1961.09.30
1 9 6 2
OPERA MAGAZINE
1962 February
Bologna. The season at the Teatro Comunale opened on November 25 with Un Ballo in Maschera conducted by Oliviero De Fabritiis. with Leyla Gencer as Amelia, Dora Gatta as Oscar, Adriana Lazzarini as Ulrica. Carlo Bergonzi as Riccardo and Mario Zanasi as Renato.
1 9 6 3
OPERA MAGAZINE
1963 January
Florence, Teatro Comunale, Der Freischütz. Leyla Gencer, Orietta Moscucci, Mirto Picchi, Nicola Zaccaria; c. Vittorio Gui; p. Frank De Quell; d. Cajo Kiihlny. December 16, 19, 22, 29
Bologna, Teatro Comunale, November 30 to January 20 Don Carlos. November 30, December 2, 5 Don Giovanni. December 12, 16 Lucrezia Romana (Respighi). II Segreto di Susanna (Wolf-Ferrari). November 20, 23 II Maestro di Cappella (Cimarosa). Isabeau, Mascagni. December 26, 30, January 3 La Boheme. December 29, January 1, 6 Tannhiiuser. January 12, 15, 20 The Love of Three Oranges. January 17 (by the Ljubljana Opera) Artists engaged include: Maria van Doehgen, Carla Ferrario, Gigliola Frazzoni, Mirella Freni, Licia Galvano, Rena Garazioti, Leyla Gencer, Gianna Maritati, Giuliana Matteini, Sofia Mezzetti,
Barcelona. The 1962-63 season at the Grand Teatro Liceu opened on November 3 with Norma with Leyla Gencer singing the title-role for the first time. Fiorenza Cossotto was heard as Adalgisa, Bruno Prevedi as Pollione and Ivo Vince as Oroveso. Mario Parenti was the conductor.
Vienna. Performances at the State Opera during November have included Don Carlos with Leonie Rysanek and Leyla Gencer alternating as Elisabeth de Valois, Biserka Cvejia as Eboli, and Giuseppe Zampieri in the title-role, Aldo Protti as Posa, Nicola Zaccaria as Philip and Hans Hotter as the Grand Inquisitor, c. Nino Verchi;
Glyndebourne. We hear that . . . Leyla Gencer will return to Glyndebourne next summer.
Monte-Carlo. We hear that . . . Leyla Gencer will be heard as Donna Anna in Monte Carlo in February
Trieste. We hear that . . . Leyla Gencer will be heard as Lida in La Battaglia di Legnano at Trieste in March.
Barcelona. The 1962-63 season at the Grand Teatro Liceu opened on November 3 with Norma with Leyla Gencer singing the title-role for the first time. Fiorenza Cossotto was heard as Adalgisa, Bruno Prevedi as Pollione and Ivo Vince as Oroveso. Mario Parenti was the conductor.
Vienna. Performances at the State Opera during November have included Don Carlos with Leonie Rysanek and Leyla Gencer alternating as Elisabeth de Valois, Biserka Cvejia as Eboli, and Giuseppe Zampieri in the title-role, Aldo Protti as Posa, Nicola Zaccaria as Philip and Hans Hotter as the Grand Inquisitor, c. Nino Verchi;
Glyndebourne. We hear that . . . Leyla Gencer will return to Glyndebourne next summer.
Monte-Carlo. We hear that . . . Leyla Gencer will be heard as Donna Anna in Monte Carlo in February
Trieste. We hear that . . . Leyla Gencer will be heard as Lida in La Battaglia di Legnano at Trieste in March.
OPERA MAGAZINE
1963 July
Trieste. Events during the latter part of the season at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi included La Battaglia di Legnano with Leyla Gencer, Joao Gibin, Ugo Savarese, Marco Stefanoni, Silvio Maionica, c. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Monte Carlo. The season ended with performances of Don Giovanni (Leyla Gencer, Ilva Ligabue, MarieIla Adani, Renato Capecchi, Richard Holm, Erich Kunz, Renato Cesari, Giovanni Foiani, c. Manno Wolf-Ferrari).
Monte Carlo. The season ended with performances of Don Giovanni (Leyla Gencer, Ilva Ligabue, MarieIla Adani, Renato Capecchi, Richard Holm, Erich Kunz, Renato Cesari, Giovanni Foiani, c. Manno Wolf-Ferrari).
OPERA MAGAZINE
1963 October
New York. The Friends of French Opera will give a concert version of Halevy's La Juive at Carnegie Hall on March 12 next, with a repeat performance at the Brooklyn Academy on March 17. Richard Tucker will be heard as Eleazar, Leyla Gencer as Rachel, Micheline Tessier as Eudoxie, Jean Deis as Leopold and Norman Treigle as Cardinal Brogni (Chester Watson at Brooklyn). Robert Lawrence will be the conductor.
CORRIERE INTERNAZIONALE DEL TEATRO
1963.10.01
OPERA MAGAZINE
1963 November
Venice. Verdi's Gerusalemme, the Italian translation of Jerusalem which was the French version (with several additions) of I Lombardi, returned to the Italian stage after almost a century, when it was revived at the Teatro La Fenice on September 24. The leading roles were sung by Leyla Gencer, Giacomo Aragali and Giangiacomo Guelfi. Gianandrea Gavazzeni was the conductor and Jean Vilar the producer.
L'UNITA
1963.11.15
OPERA MAGAZINE
1963 December
Venice. We hear that...Leyla Gencer will sing the title-role in Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice
Naples. We hear that... Leyla Gencer will sing Elisabeth in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples
Buenos Aires. We hear that... Leyla Gencer will sing Norma and Amelia in Simone Boccanegra at the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, during the 1963-4 season.
Napoli. Roberto Devereux, Donizetti. Leyla Gencer, Anna Maria Rota, Renato Cioni; c. Mario Rossi; p. Margherita Wallmann (May 2, 6, 10)
Buenos Aires. We hear that... Leyla Gencer will sing Norma and Amelia in Simone Boccanegra at the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, during the 1963-4 season.
Napoli. Roberto Devereux, Donizetti. Leyla Gencer, Anna Maria Rota, Renato Cioni; c. Mario Rossi; p. Margherita Wallmann (May 2, 6, 10)
1 9 6 4
DICTIONARY OF OPERA
1964
OPERA MAGAZINE
1964 January
Milan, Teatro alla Scala. Don Carlos. With Leyla Gencer, Fiorenza Cossotto, Bruno Prevedi, Ettore Bastianini, Nicolai Giaurov. c. Gabriela Santini; p. Margherita Wallmann; d. Georges Wakhevitch (December 11)
Venice, Teatro La Fenice. Beatrice di Terida, Bellini. With Leyla Gencer (January 9, 12, 15)
Venice, Teatro La Fenice. Beatrice di Terida, Bellini. With Leyla Gencer (January 9, 12, 15)
JORNAL DO BRASIL
1964.05.04
JORNAL DO BRASIL
1964.05.26
UNIVERSIDAD DEL SALVADOR / MUSICA
1964 June or July
← Bocanegra" de temporadas anteriores. Este año se repuso nuevamente la mencionada en último término en una
versión que haría el orgullo de cualquier teatro. Y es verdaderamente un placer
no sólo poder decirlo sino también escribir estas líneas. La calidad de los
espectáculos ofrecidos en nuestro primer coliseo -a través de las últimas
temporadas- han devuelto la gloria y el perdido brillo al Colón, teatro que no
sólo ha recobrado el nombre internacional que gozaba en otros tiempos sino que
nuevamente ha vuelto a significar calidad y seriedad luego de los tropiezos
sufridos a través de diferentes manos. Mención aparte merece la homogeneidad de
los repartos elegidos para cada obra, que dieron a nuestro público ocasión de
apreciar al máximo interpretaciones perfectas que es, por otra parte, la única
manera de ofrecer las obras.
Cornell Mac Neill fue un estupendo Simón desde el punto de vista vocal y dramático. La soprano Leyla Gencer asombró por la pureza de su timbre y la belleza de sus notas agudas en pianissimo, al igual que sus trémolos de perfección absoluta. Carlos Cossuta, tenor argentino poseedor de una voz a la que no cabe otro adjetivo más que bella (pero que debería cuidar más en el futuro, para conseguir un rendimiento total de la misma y largos años de duración). William Wildermann, bajo norteamericano, sobrio e imponente, y Gian Pietro Mastromei, cuya lograda intervención en el papel del torturado Paolo, completaron las partes importantes de este reparto que, como se ve, fue algo verdaderamente para recordar. El público, evidentemente, supo reconccer esto como era dable esperar, y en una función hubieron diecinueve salidas de los artistas para saludar. Vaya también nuestro aplauso a este espectáculo.
Leyla Gencer: opiniones de una artista
Victor Jose Jugo / Buenos Aires
En ocasión de la segunda visita de Leyla Gencer, hemos creído oportuno hacerle algunas preguntas sobre su carrera y sobre el arte lírico en general; vamos a repetir algunas de sus opiniones.
P.: Sra Gencer, ¿cuál es su repertorio preferido?
R.: Actualmente me he dedicado casi exclusivamente a las obras de Verdi, Bellini y Donizetti, no sólo a aquellas que integran regularmente las temporadas operáticas sino también y muy especialmente a las que han permanecido en el olvido muy injusto, por otra parte durante muchos años. Recientemente he cantado "Roberto Devereux", de Donizetti, en el San Carlo de Nápoles, teatro que la comisionó originalmente. Es ésta una ópera que ha justificado ampliamente su exhumación desde el punto de vista musical y también por su dramáticamente bien desarrollado personaje central, Isabel I de Inglaterra, Poco antes en La Fenice de Venecia intervine en la reposición de la "Gerusalemme", de Verdi, versión italiana del arreglo para Paris de una de sus primeras óperas: "I Lombardi alla prima Crociata", siendo ésta la primera eposición en el siglo XX de esta obra de gran valor musical y que obtuvo notable éxito a pesar de su libreto un tanto complicado. Me da gran satisfacción cantar estas óperas olvidadas no sólo por devolverlas al público que indudablemente las merece, sino que no existiendo interpretaciones que se puedan recordar, su estudio constituye algo verdaderamente estimulante y hay que conseguir una auténtica creación, en fin, equivale a estrenarlas.
P.: —¿No encuentra Ud. los personajes de esas óperas un poco desdibujados desde el punto de vista dramático?
R.: De ninguna manera. Interpretando a los personajes en la forma que realmente fueron escritos, sin el agregado de acrobacias vocales tales como coloraturas y fioriturasse pueden lograr resultados muy satisfactorios bajo el aspecto teatral. Sin ir más lejos, Donizetti escribió "Lucia" para una voz de timbre dramático y no para soprano ligera, hecho que quedó claramente comprobado en la forma magnífica en que Maria Callas interpretaba esta parte, justamente y sin excesos superfluos. Otro tanto se podría decir de muchos personajes que han sido verdaderamente desvirtuados a través de los años.
P. ¿Qué opina Ud. de la tendencia actual de que directores teatrales se presten a intervenir en la "Regie" operática?
R.: Dentro de mi experiencia personal he tenido ocasión de trabajar con Jean Vilar, por ejemplo, cuya primera incursión en ese campo fue la "Gerusalemme". A pesar de la crítica adversa que obtuvo entonces, me pareció una realización sumamente lograda, fuera de pequeños detalles atribuíbles a su falta de experiencia. Muy interesante me pareció también la puesta en escena de "Macbeth" que hizo más tarde en "La Scala", y considero que un talento tan grande como el suyo es, sin duda alguna, un gran aporte a la ópera. Es también importante para los cantantes colaborar con gente capaz de profundizar en un estudios psicológico de los personajes tal como el que logró Vilar con "Lady Масbeth". A mí me resultó muy provechoso y pude compenetrarme perfectamente con él. También he cantado con "regies" de Visconti y Zeffirelli, el "Don Giovanni" de este último, obtuvo un enorme éxito en Londres, pero a mi me pareció demasiado recargado; considero que dentro de la misma tendencia Visconti es, indudablemente, más dotado. De los directores de escena europeos, creo que se destaca Franco Enríquez.
P.: Ud. ha hablado de óperas antiguas, ¿nunca canta nada moderno?
R.: Sí, he cantado varias óperas modernas, tales como "El Angel de Fuego" de Prokofiev, en el segundo "Festival de due Mondi" en Spoletto, obra maravillosa, que dirigió Istvan Kertesz a quien creo uno de los directores jóvenes de mayor talento. Fue una experiencia extraordinaria, si bien es cierto que la música moderna no es lo mejor para la voz. Pero lo que nunca olvidaré fue el estreno mundial de "Diálogos de Carmelitas" de Poulenc en "La Scala", tanto el encuentro con el autor a quien no conocía como cantar la parte de la nueva Priora, son momentos de mi carrera que recuerdo con verdadera emoción. Siendo esta la única ópera moderna que haya obtenido un franco éxito en "La Scala" es una verdadera lástima que desde aquella temporada no se haya vuelto a cantar. La "Regie" estuvo a cargo de Margarita Wallmann, y es quizás el montaje más perfecto que haya visto de una ópera, en fin, todo se aunó para hacer de éste un espectáculo verdaderamente emocionante, hasta el punto de que los cantantes estábamos realmente sobrecogidos y se nos escapó más de una lágrima. Siendo yo musulmana me senti profundamente ccmpenetrada con esta monja católica y conservo todavía un evangelio de los que fue enviado a todas las cantantes por las monjas de un Carmelo milanés. Mis contactos con la religión católica han sido pocos pero imborrables, ya que el primero fue cantar el "Requiem" de Verdi en la catedral de Milán en ocasión del funeral de Toscanini y espero con interés la representación de la "Gerusalemme" de Verdi, que por pedido especial de S. S. Pablo VI se hará próximamente en el Vaticano.
P.: Ya que menciona su religión, hábleme también de su país.
R.: En Turquía tenemos una vida musical bastante intensa, en el campo lírico, por ejemplo, hay dos temporadas de ocho meses, una en Ankara y otra en Estambul, que cuentan con teatros de ópera; los elencos suelen ser locales, pero, a veces, se importan algunas figuras extranjeras. A pesar de que la tradición era cantar las obras en turco, se tiende en la actualidad a adoptar el idioma original.
Hay varios compositores de valor, pero quizás el más conocido internacionalmente sea Saigun, autor de un oratoriomuy interesante que ha sido cantado en Nueva York y Londres, con mucho éxito; entre les compositores operáticos se destaca Kodali, discípulo de Honneger y autor de una ópera scbre la vida de Van Gogh, que va a representarse en Alemania.
P.: ¿Estudió Ud. en Turquía o en Italia?
R.: Estudié en Turquía, pero mi estilo de canto es italiano. Le explicaré: sin intención de dedicarme a la ópera, estudié canto en el conservatorio de Estambul. Poco después de casarme, unos amigos me hicieron cantar frente a Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, que por esa época enseñaba en el conservatorio de Ankara. Ella me propuso irse a vivir a mi casa por un par de semanas, me pareció una idea divertida y accedí inmediatamente. Transcurrido ese tiempo me predijo una carrera brillante e insistió en todo forma en que siguiera estudiando. Segui su consejo y continué con ella hasta mi debut poco tiempo después. Cantando solamente dos óperas -"Cavallería Rusticana" y "Tosca"- me fui a Italia y desde entonces todo ha sido estudiar y cantar hasta llegar al repertorio de 52 óperas que tengo actualmente.
Terminamos así esta corta conversación, con Leyla Gencer, quien nos deja el recuerdo de su simpatía y sencillez.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Leyla Gencer: An Artist's Perspective
Victor Jose Jugo / Buenos Aires
On the occasion of Leyla Gencer's second visit, we thought it appropriate to ask her some questions about her career and about opera in general; we will repeat some of her opinions.
Q: Ms. Gencer, what is your preferred repertoire?
A: Currently, I have dedicated myself almost exclusively to the works of Verdi, Bellini, and Donizetti, not only those that are regularly featured in opera seasons but also, and especially, those that have been unjustly forgotten for many years. I recently sang Donizetti's "Roberto Devereux" at the San Carlo in Naples, the theater that originally commissioned it. This opera has more than justified its revival, both musically and for its dramatically well-developed central character, Elizabeth I of England. Shortly before that, at La Fenice in Venice, I participated in the revival of Verdi's "Gerusalemme," the Italian version of the Paris arrangement of one of his early operas, "I Lombardi alla prima Crociata." This was the first 20th-century performance of this musically valuable work, which achieved considerable success despite its somewhat complex libretto. It gives me great satisfaction to sing these forgotten operas, not only to return them to the public that undoubtedly deserves them, but also because, since there are no performances that can be remembered, studying them is truly stimulating and one must achieve an authentic creation; in short, it is equivalent to premiering them.
Q: Don't you find the characters in those operas somewhat blurred from a dramatic point of view?
A: Not at all. By interpreting the characters as they were actually written, without the addition of vocal acrobatics such as coloratura and fiorituras, very satisfactory results can be achieved from a theatrical standpoint. For example, Donizetti wrote "Lucia" for a dramatic voice, not a light soprano, a fact clearly demonstrated by the magnificent way Maria Callas interpreted this role, precisely and without superfluous excesses. The same could be said of many characters that have been truly distorted over the years.
Q: What is your opinion of the current trend of theater directors taking on operatic stage direction?
A: In my personal experience, I've had the opportunity to work with Jean Vilar, for example, whose first foray into that field was "Gerusalemme." Despite the adverse reviews it received at the time, I found it to be a highly accomplished production, apart from minor details attributable to his lack of experience. I also found his later staging of "Macbeth" at La Scala very interesting, and I believe that a talent as great as his is undoubtedly a significant contribution to opera. It's also important for singers to collaborate with people capable of delving into the psychological study of characters, as Vilar did with "Lady Macbeth." I found it very beneficial and was able to connect with him perfectly. I've also sung with directors from Visconti and Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli's "Don Giovanni" was a huge success in London, but I found it too ornate; I believe that within the same style, Visconti is undoubtedly more gifted. Of the European stage directors, I think Franco Enríquez stands out.
Q: You've spoken about older operas; do you never sing anything modern?
A: Yes, I've sung several modern operas, such as Prokofiev's "The Fiery Angel" at the second "Festival de due Mondi" in Spoleto, a marvelous work conducted by István Kertész, whom I consider one of the most talented young conductors. It was an extraordinary experience, although it's true that modern music isn't the best for the voice. But what I'll never forget was the world premiere of Poulenc's "Dialogues of the Carmelites" at La Scala. Both meeting the composer, whom I didn't know, and singing the part of the new Prioress are moments in my career that I remember with true emotion. Since this is the only modern opera that has achieved genuine success at La Scala, it's a real shame that it hasn't been performed since that season. The staging was by Margarita Wallmann, and it is perhaps the most perfect production I have ever seen of an opera. In short, everything came together to make it a truly moving spectacle, to the point that the singers were genuinely overwhelmed and more than a few tears escaped us. As a Muslim, I felt deeply connected to this Catholic nun, and I still have a copy of the Gospel that was sent to all the singers by the nuns of a Carmelite convent in Milan. My contacts with the Catholic religion have been few but indelible, since the first was singing Verdi's "Requiem" in Milan Cathedral on the occasion of Toscanini's funeral, and I eagerly await the performance of Verdi's "Gerusalemme," which, at the special request of His Holiness Paul VI, will soon take place in the Vatican.
Q: Since you mention your religion, tell me about your country as well.
A: In Turkey, we have a very vibrant musical life. In the field of opera, for example, there are two eight-month seasons, one in Ankara and the other in Istanbul, both of which have opera houses. The casts are usually local, but sometimes foreign artists are brought in. Although the tradition was to sing the works in Turkish, nowadays there is a tendency to adopt the original language.
There are several talented composers, but perhaps the most internationally renowned is Saygun, author of a very interesting oratorio that has been performed in New York and London with great success. Among operatic composers, Kodali stands out. A student of Honegger, he is the author of an opera about the life of Van Gogh, which is going to be performed in Germany.
Q: Did you study in Turkey or Italy?
A: I studied in Turkey, but my singing style is Italian. Let me explain without intending to pursue opera, I studied singing at the Istanbul Conservatory. Shortly after I got married, some friends arranged for me to sing for Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, who was teaching at the Ankara Conservatory at the time. She suggested I come to live at her house for a couple of weeks, which I thought was a fun idea and immediately agreed to. After that time, she predicted a brilliant career for me and insisted in every way that I continue studying. I followed her advice and continued with her until my debut shortly afterward. Singing only two operas—"Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Tosca"—I went to Italy, and since then it's been all about studying and singing, leading to the repertoire of 52 operas I currently have.
We thus conclude this short conversation with Leyla Gencer, who leaves us with the memory of her friendliness and simplicity.
Cornell Mac Neill fue un estupendo Simón desde el punto de vista vocal y dramático. La soprano Leyla Gencer asombró por la pureza de su timbre y la belleza de sus notas agudas en pianissimo, al igual que sus trémolos de perfección absoluta. Carlos Cossuta, tenor argentino poseedor de una voz a la que no cabe otro adjetivo más que bella (pero que debería cuidar más en el futuro, para conseguir un rendimiento total de la misma y largos años de duración). William Wildermann, bajo norteamericano, sobrio e imponente, y Gian Pietro Mastromei, cuya lograda intervención en el papel del torturado Paolo, completaron las partes importantes de este reparto que, como se ve, fue algo verdaderamente para recordar. El público, evidentemente, supo reconccer esto como era dable esperar, y en una función hubieron diecinueve salidas de los artistas para saludar. Vaya también nuestro aplauso a este espectáculo.
Leyla Gencer: opiniones de una artista
Victor Jose Jugo / Buenos Aires
En ocasión de la segunda visita de Leyla Gencer, hemos creído oportuno hacerle algunas preguntas sobre su carrera y sobre el arte lírico en general; vamos a repetir algunas de sus opiniones.
P.: Sra Gencer, ¿cuál es su repertorio preferido?
R.: Actualmente me he dedicado casi exclusivamente a las obras de Verdi, Bellini y Donizetti, no sólo a aquellas que integran regularmente las temporadas operáticas sino también y muy especialmente a las que han permanecido en el olvido muy injusto, por otra parte durante muchos años. Recientemente he cantado "Roberto Devereux", de Donizetti, en el San Carlo de Nápoles, teatro que la comisionó originalmente. Es ésta una ópera que ha justificado ampliamente su exhumación desde el punto de vista musical y también por su dramáticamente bien desarrollado personaje central, Isabel I de Inglaterra, Poco antes en La Fenice de Venecia intervine en la reposición de la "Gerusalemme", de Verdi, versión italiana del arreglo para Paris de una de sus primeras óperas: "I Lombardi alla prima Crociata", siendo ésta la primera eposición en el siglo XX de esta obra de gran valor musical y que obtuvo notable éxito a pesar de su libreto un tanto complicado. Me da gran satisfacción cantar estas óperas olvidadas no sólo por devolverlas al público que indudablemente las merece, sino que no existiendo interpretaciones que se puedan recordar, su estudio constituye algo verdaderamente estimulante y hay que conseguir una auténtica creación, en fin, equivale a estrenarlas.
P.: —¿No encuentra Ud. los personajes de esas óperas un poco desdibujados desde el punto de vista dramático?
R.: De ninguna manera. Interpretando a los personajes en la forma que realmente fueron escritos, sin el agregado de acrobacias vocales tales como coloraturas y fioriturasse pueden lograr resultados muy satisfactorios bajo el aspecto teatral. Sin ir más lejos, Donizetti escribió "Lucia" para una voz de timbre dramático y no para soprano ligera, hecho que quedó claramente comprobado en la forma magnífica en que Maria Callas interpretaba esta parte, justamente y sin excesos superfluos. Otro tanto se podría decir de muchos personajes que han sido verdaderamente desvirtuados a través de los años.
P. ¿Qué opina Ud. de la tendencia actual de que directores teatrales se presten a intervenir en la "Regie" operática?
R.: Dentro de mi experiencia personal he tenido ocasión de trabajar con Jean Vilar, por ejemplo, cuya primera incursión en ese campo fue la "Gerusalemme". A pesar de la crítica adversa que obtuvo entonces, me pareció una realización sumamente lograda, fuera de pequeños detalles atribuíbles a su falta de experiencia. Muy interesante me pareció también la puesta en escena de "Macbeth" que hizo más tarde en "La Scala", y considero que un talento tan grande como el suyo es, sin duda alguna, un gran aporte a la ópera. Es también importante para los cantantes colaborar con gente capaz de profundizar en un estudios psicológico de los personajes tal como el que logró Vilar con "Lady Масbeth". A mí me resultó muy provechoso y pude compenetrarme perfectamente con él. También he cantado con "regies" de Visconti y Zeffirelli, el "Don Giovanni" de este último, obtuvo un enorme éxito en Londres, pero a mi me pareció demasiado recargado; considero que dentro de la misma tendencia Visconti es, indudablemente, más dotado. De los directores de escena europeos, creo que se destaca Franco Enríquez.
P.: Ud. ha hablado de óperas antiguas, ¿nunca canta nada moderno?
R.: Sí, he cantado varias óperas modernas, tales como "El Angel de Fuego" de Prokofiev, en el segundo "Festival de due Mondi" en Spoletto, obra maravillosa, que dirigió Istvan Kertesz a quien creo uno de los directores jóvenes de mayor talento. Fue una experiencia extraordinaria, si bien es cierto que la música moderna no es lo mejor para la voz. Pero lo que nunca olvidaré fue el estreno mundial de "Diálogos de Carmelitas" de Poulenc en "La Scala", tanto el encuentro con el autor a quien no conocía como cantar la parte de la nueva Priora, son momentos de mi carrera que recuerdo con verdadera emoción. Siendo esta la única ópera moderna que haya obtenido un franco éxito en "La Scala" es una verdadera lástima que desde aquella temporada no se haya vuelto a cantar. La "Regie" estuvo a cargo de Margarita Wallmann, y es quizás el montaje más perfecto que haya visto de una ópera, en fin, todo se aunó para hacer de éste un espectáculo verdaderamente emocionante, hasta el punto de que los cantantes estábamos realmente sobrecogidos y se nos escapó más de una lágrima. Siendo yo musulmana me senti profundamente ccmpenetrada con esta monja católica y conservo todavía un evangelio de los que fue enviado a todas las cantantes por las monjas de un Carmelo milanés. Mis contactos con la religión católica han sido pocos pero imborrables, ya que el primero fue cantar el "Requiem" de Verdi en la catedral de Milán en ocasión del funeral de Toscanini y espero con interés la representación de la "Gerusalemme" de Verdi, que por pedido especial de S. S. Pablo VI se hará próximamente en el Vaticano.
P.: Ya que menciona su religión, hábleme también de su país.
R.: En Turquía tenemos una vida musical bastante intensa, en el campo lírico, por ejemplo, hay dos temporadas de ocho meses, una en Ankara y otra en Estambul, que cuentan con teatros de ópera; los elencos suelen ser locales, pero, a veces, se importan algunas figuras extranjeras. A pesar de que la tradición era cantar las obras en turco, se tiende en la actualidad a adoptar el idioma original.
Hay varios compositores de valor, pero quizás el más conocido internacionalmente sea Saigun, autor de un oratoriomuy interesante que ha sido cantado en Nueva York y Londres, con mucho éxito; entre les compositores operáticos se destaca Kodali, discípulo de Honneger y autor de una ópera scbre la vida de Van Gogh, que va a representarse en Alemania.
P.: ¿Estudió Ud. en Turquía o en Italia?
R.: Estudié en Turquía, pero mi estilo de canto es italiano. Le explicaré: sin intención de dedicarme a la ópera, estudié canto en el conservatorio de Estambul. Poco después de casarme, unos amigos me hicieron cantar frente a Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, que por esa época enseñaba en el conservatorio de Ankara. Ella me propuso irse a vivir a mi casa por un par de semanas, me pareció una idea divertida y accedí inmediatamente. Transcurrido ese tiempo me predijo una carrera brillante e insistió en todo forma en que siguiera estudiando. Segui su consejo y continué con ella hasta mi debut poco tiempo después. Cantando solamente dos óperas -"Cavallería Rusticana" y "Tosca"- me fui a Italia y desde entonces todo ha sido estudiar y cantar hasta llegar al repertorio de 52 óperas que tengo actualmente.
Terminamos así esta corta conversación, con Leyla Gencer, quien nos deja el recuerdo de su simpatía y sencillez.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Leyla Gencer: An Artist's Perspective
Victor Jose Jugo / Buenos Aires
On the occasion of Leyla Gencer's second visit, we thought it appropriate to ask her some questions about her career and about opera in general; we will repeat some of her opinions.
Q: Ms. Gencer, what is your preferred repertoire?
A: Currently, I have dedicated myself almost exclusively to the works of Verdi, Bellini, and Donizetti, not only those that are regularly featured in opera seasons but also, and especially, those that have been unjustly forgotten for many years. I recently sang Donizetti's "Roberto Devereux" at the San Carlo in Naples, the theater that originally commissioned it. This opera has more than justified its revival, both musically and for its dramatically well-developed central character, Elizabeth I of England. Shortly before that, at La Fenice in Venice, I participated in the revival of Verdi's "Gerusalemme," the Italian version of the Paris arrangement of one of his early operas, "I Lombardi alla prima Crociata." This was the first 20th-century performance of this musically valuable work, which achieved considerable success despite its somewhat complex libretto. It gives me great satisfaction to sing these forgotten operas, not only to return them to the public that undoubtedly deserves them, but also because, since there are no performances that can be remembered, studying them is truly stimulating and one must achieve an authentic creation; in short, it is equivalent to premiering them.
Q: Don't you find the characters in those operas somewhat blurred from a dramatic point of view?
A: Not at all. By interpreting the characters as they were actually written, without the addition of vocal acrobatics such as coloratura and fiorituras, very satisfactory results can be achieved from a theatrical standpoint. For example, Donizetti wrote "Lucia" for a dramatic voice, not a light soprano, a fact clearly demonstrated by the magnificent way Maria Callas interpreted this role, precisely and without superfluous excesses. The same could be said of many characters that have been truly distorted over the years.
Q: What is your opinion of the current trend of theater directors taking on operatic stage direction?
A: In my personal experience, I've had the opportunity to work with Jean Vilar, for example, whose first foray into that field was "Gerusalemme." Despite the adverse reviews it received at the time, I found it to be a highly accomplished production, apart from minor details attributable to his lack of experience. I also found his later staging of "Macbeth" at La Scala very interesting, and I believe that a talent as great as his is undoubtedly a significant contribution to opera. It's also important for singers to collaborate with people capable of delving into the psychological study of characters, as Vilar did with "Lady Macbeth." I found it very beneficial and was able to connect with him perfectly. I've also sung with directors from Visconti and Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli's "Don Giovanni" was a huge success in London, but I found it too ornate; I believe that within the same style, Visconti is undoubtedly more gifted. Of the European stage directors, I think Franco Enríquez stands out.
Q: You've spoken about older operas; do you never sing anything modern?
A: Yes, I've sung several modern operas, such as Prokofiev's "The Fiery Angel" at the second "Festival de due Mondi" in Spoleto, a marvelous work conducted by István Kertész, whom I consider one of the most talented young conductors. It was an extraordinary experience, although it's true that modern music isn't the best for the voice. But what I'll never forget was the world premiere of Poulenc's "Dialogues of the Carmelites" at La Scala. Both meeting the composer, whom I didn't know, and singing the part of the new Prioress are moments in my career that I remember with true emotion. Since this is the only modern opera that has achieved genuine success at La Scala, it's a real shame that it hasn't been performed since that season. The staging was by Margarita Wallmann, and it is perhaps the most perfect production I have ever seen of an opera. In short, everything came together to make it a truly moving spectacle, to the point that the singers were genuinely overwhelmed and more than a few tears escaped us. As a Muslim, I felt deeply connected to this Catholic nun, and I still have a copy of the Gospel that was sent to all the singers by the nuns of a Carmelite convent in Milan. My contacts with the Catholic religion have been few but indelible, since the first was singing Verdi's "Requiem" in Milan Cathedral on the occasion of Toscanini's funeral, and I eagerly await the performance of Verdi's "Gerusalemme," which, at the special request of His Holiness Paul VI, will soon take place in the Vatican.
Q: Since you mention your religion, tell me about your country as well.
A: In Turkey, we have a very vibrant musical life. In the field of opera, for example, there are two eight-month seasons, one in Ankara and the other in Istanbul, both of which have opera houses. The casts are usually local, but sometimes foreign artists are brought in. Although the tradition was to sing the works in Turkish, nowadays there is a tendency to adopt the original language.
There are several talented composers, but perhaps the most internationally renowned is Saygun, author of a very interesting oratorio that has been performed in New York and London with great success. Among operatic composers, Kodali stands out. A student of Honegger, he is the author of an opera about the life of Van Gogh, which is going to be performed in Germany.
Q: Did you study in Turkey or Italy?
A: I studied in Turkey, but my singing style is Italian. Let me explain without intending to pursue opera, I studied singing at the Istanbul Conservatory. Shortly after I got married, some friends arranged for me to sing for Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, who was teaching at the Ankara Conservatory at the time. She suggested I come to live at her house for a couple of weeks, which I thought was a fun idea and immediately agreed to. After that time, she predicted a brilliant career for me and insisted in every way that I continue studying. I followed her advice and continued with her until my debut shortly afterward. Singing only two operas—"Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Tosca"—I went to Italy, and since then it's been all about studying and singing, leading to the repertoire of 52 operas I currently have.
We thus conclude this short conversation with Leyla Gencer, who leaves us with the memory of her friendliness and simplicity.
OPERA MAGAZINE
1964 June
Rio de Janeiro. The 1964 season at the Municipal Theatre Otello with Leyla Gencer, Del Monaco, Cappuccilli, Zaccaria, c. Molinari-Pradelli.
OPERA MAGAZINE
1964 July
Chicago. Bumbry will also share the role of Eboli with Fiorenza Cossotto in Don Carlos, with Leyla Gencer, Richard Tucker, Tito Gobbi, Nicolai Giaurov and Bruno Marangoni, c. Bruno Bartoletti, p. Christopher West.
New Orleans. Leyla Gencer will be heard as Leonora in ll Trovatore on November 12 and 14 with Richard Torigi as Luna.
Milano. There were further performances of Don Carlos, 11 Barbiere di Siviglia and Macbeth (in which Leyla Gencer replaced Birgit Nilsson)
JORNAL DO BRASIL
1964.10.28
OPERA MAGAZINE
1964 November
Naples, Teatro San Carlo. Norma. With Leyla Gencer, Fiorenza Cossotto, Cecchele, Ivo Vinci); c. Hermann Scherchen, p. Carlo Maestrini, d. Camillo Parravacini
Rome, Teatro dell'Opera New productions: / Vespri Siciliani, with Leyla Gencer, Gastone Limarilli, Giangiacomo Guelfi, Boris Christoff, c. Gianandrea Gavazzeni, p. Franco Enriquez, d. Polidori;
LA STAMPA
1964.11.07
