1 9 7 5
LA SCALA
1975
LORENZO ARRUGA
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← Two world premières: Pulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites (after Bernanos, director Wallmans, scenery by Wakhevitch, 1957); and Pizzetti's Assassinio nella Cattedrale (after T. S. Eliot, director Wallmann); and here the famous scene designed by Zuffi in the form of a cross, with Nicola Rossi Lemeni.
….. The main problem was that of the nature of the
audience at La Scala, which was a public theatre and therefore was intended to
furnish a service to the entire city. Until the end of Ghiringhelli's
management, La Scala's choice was to make a gradual attempt to enlarge its
middle-class audience, while the middle class itself was being transformed and
its level of education and power was climbing and slowly changing. The truth is
that La Scala at its resplendent "first nights" remained a fief of the
rich bourgeoisie and aristocracy; but it no longer had the same dependence on
them as in the past. It pursued its own artistic and cultural goals, sought out
a dialogue that went far beyond the interests of the inner circle. But musical
and theatrical education in Italy was at a desperately low point, and so the
available education and cultivation that a musical theatre demands did not
permit a broadly sympathetic base; and this was all the more true since
present-day custom channels the majority to other spectacles, such as the
movies, sports and television. La Scala's public, even in its progressive
growth (of course, not proportional to the growth of the city's population,
which reached more than a million and a half in the 50's, and now, twenty years
later, stands at about two million) remained a curious mixture of interest and
blindness, of fanaticism and laziness, of furious hopes and the serene love of
music. Certainly the struggles between interpreters, the rival factions, did
not help to change habits; and so what prospered was what might be called the
"balcony birds," those balconies in which are nested, as is customary
in Italy, the true experts of opera, who have no suspect desire to hobnob with
the stylish and elegant society folk in the boxes and orchestra, and from their
high, dominating positions can be heard by everyone and, if necessary, can even
intimidate-which can happen above all at first nights and can make itself felt
chiefly at those times when a period of interpretive transition combines with
the spread of nonchalant, sloppy behaviour. But leaving aside these rather
colourful and at times genuinely impassioned manifestations, which might be
generally considered inevitable, if not to say providential, it was precisely
the common taste which had its shortcomings, the stable reference points which
were crumbling. La Scala's entire audience, whether brazen, timid, or haughty,
had little faith in the innovations in the sphere of opera and, in general, in
the new musical languages. Alongside the apostles of the new music and those
interested enough to understand its reasons for being, there still can be found
at La Scala the immovably pious and utterly respectable, mixed up with the
radical…..
←A great interpretative tradition was also
born in acting. After Maria Callas's version, here is Norma in sets by
Salvatore Fiume, is Leyla Gencer brandishing a sword in a fury and rapt in her
destiny of love and expiation (immediately below, with her, Giulietta
Simionato).
….. These last twenty years have been our own
history-from one point of view unrecoverable, and certainly not to be
misrepresented by partial lists. Our discussion becomes fragmentary, the
historian is transformed into a frightened witness, and nothing is clarified
save for a few fixed points of orientation; and we can trust only these points.
As for singing, there is one orientation and a blatantly obvious one; this is
the revival of the old singing styles, rather than a mere adherence to the
taste of our own time, the obvious attempt to carry the public back to the
language of the epoch in which the opera was composed. And the crucial name
here is evident: Maria Callas. For the technicians of singing, the whole
experience with Callas (at La Scala from 1950) was revolutionary. She
transfused the technique of the coloratura into the art of the dramatic
soprano, and in her dark, emotional voice, so far from the warm, full-bodied
tones of the Italian tradition, she revived wonders and suggestive powers which
had been forgotten for decades, qualities which, in her pre-Verdian repertoire,
earned her a comparison to Maria Malibran, and which led her to solve all the
problems of the score, whatever its period, by colourfulness, eloquence and
virtuosity. But the effectiveness of her mode of singing, the example she
proposed, became an established style because of its overwhelming, enormous,
incredible popular success, which even overcame, despite her impatient,
violently prima donnaish personality (which had its tender, slyly ironic side,
too) the image of the "tigress" which fashionable opinion in the
gossip columns and the press tried to impose on her. A phenomenon of this sort
is not easily explained, and certainly not in terms of a predestined
personality: she was Callas, and that was explanation enough. Her model was the
exemplary singer Rosa Ponselle, who in some respects was her precursor. With
innate acting ability, she was a true Greek tragedian, which gave her a
powerful control over gestures, spaces, words and phrases; and what is more,
she was guided by wise conductors and intelligent stage directors. In short,
this aggressive, fragile, nervous, egocentric woman for the first time in many
years magnetized the interest of the entire world, which was not accustomed to
listening to or attending opera; but she was not (as Beniamino Gigli was)
someone about whom it was interesting for everyone to know what she did in life
since she sang so well. For Callas, it was interesting for everyone to know
what she did in life in order to discover why she sang in so revolutionary a
manner, what her secrets were, why the traditionalists were opposed to her, why
her premières at La Scala became long-drawn-out battles, why the conviction
grew stronger and stronger that after Maria Callas singers would no longer be
able to sing as they had done before her advent. The battles, caused by human
emotions and by many other matters connected with good and bad operatic
customs, sprang in truth from a really new creative event: Maria Callas sought
expressiveness not in abandonment to immediate eloquence…..
← Images of an already consolidated taste,
and intelligent beauty: the last scene of Lucia di Lammermoor, with Pier Luigi
Piggi's costumes and De Lullo's stage direction in 1967, starring Gianni
Raimondi and La Scotto. Leyla Gencer sorrowfully immersed in two great
characters of the music theater: Alceste and Elizabeth of Spain. Her
characterization was not only psychological and dramatic but responsive to a
whole general logic in the ambiance and stye.
….. and Ninetta could dance a few steps, that
expressing their inner jubilation. Don Pertusio could take advantage of this
incident to pick up his prayer book again and recite the office.... All the
records seem to agree that at the end of the 19th century, save for a few
productions prepared by Verdi with furious attention and inspired concern for
detail, and some other instances, the stage spectacle fell far short of being
dramatically convincing and moving. So it can be understood that the most
urgent problem in respect to the spectacle, when the sensitivity to it was
undergoing a vivid rebirth in a society that was trying to reorganize itself,
having left behind the emergencies and tumultuous life of the Risorgimento, was
that of finding a firm relationship between the music and the action, the music
and the actor's gestures, the music and space in the opera; and that this
relationship should remain stable in an immediate sense. Musical Verismo, whose
ideas insisted that the score must not theoretically give rise to actions but
instead reproduce them, not only resulted in fixing a definite choice of
milieux, movements and gestures, but also led to conceiving of the score itself
in terms of preordained movements and spaces. For example, when Puccini
composed Madame Butterfly for La Scala, he musically characterized the
protagonist when she asks her maid Suzuki for the white garment in preparation
for the wedding night, so that the thematic repetition has significance when
tied to these particular gestures and no others; and again when she receives it
and changes, as she looks coquettishly in her mirror, primping her hair; and
again when the night's purifying tenderness descends and bewitches Pinkerton
("Notte completa: cielo purissimo stellato," "Deep night: pure
and starry sky"), and the orchestra's andante sostenute is accompanied by
Butterfly's movement (slowly approaching Pinkerton, seated on the garden
bench), even to the extent that she will wait until she is close to him before she
sings (she kneels at Pinkerton's feet and gazes at him tenderly, almost
imploringly), and only then will she say in a low voice: "Vogliatemi bene,
un bene piccolino, un bene da bambino quale a me si conviene" ("Ah,
love me a little, oh just a little, as you would love a baby").
To present another example, the entire action of the second act of Giordano's Madame SansGene is rigidly controlled by this relationship; if the movements on the stage are not performed, the music becomes descriptive and sounds like the accompaniment to something that is not actually happening. In other words, it no longer has any meaning. The same order in the established relationship between action and score existed between space and score, scenery and score. The scene in Puccini's Tabarro is described minutely, and contains not only the precise epidermic sensation which accompanies listening to the opera but also the ingredients that will propel the action, and explain why the distances, the conversations and the empty, solitary spaces have their precise arrangement and composition: "A bend in the Seine on the outskirts of Paris, where Michele's barge is moored. The barge occupies almost the entire front of the stage and is connected to the quay by a gangplank.
"The Seine stretches away as far as the eye can reach. In the distance one can see the outline of old Paris and, chiefly, the majestic bulk of Notre Dame stands out against the sky, which has a marvellous red hue. Also in the background, to the right, are tenement houses which border the right bank and, much closer, lushly luxuriant plane trees stand tall.
"The barge looks like but another of those many barges which navigate the Seine. The helm can be seen above the tiny cabin; and the cabin itself is neat and gaily painted, with green windows, a small chimney and a low roof, which is somewhat like an altar, on which stand some pots of geraniums. On a clothes line, stretched across the deck, wash has been hung out to dry. A bird cage is set above the cabin door. It is sunset."
In the postwar period at La Scala it seemed that the important problem was to give all opera the same scenic credibility that opera had actually had in the period of the Verisme and in a certain sense to ennoble the action by calling in directorial experts to guide the singers. Ennoblement had already been tried successfully at the Florence Maggio Musicale in the years immediately after the war, when the artistic director Francesco Sicialini commissioned great Italian painters of the period, from De Chirico to Sironi and Casorati, to paint the backdrops. And already before 1943 La Scala had profited from the contribution of such noted painters as Casorati, De Chirico, Vellani, Marchi, Cascella, Carpi, Marussig, Prampolini, Neher and Kautsky, with varying results as to beauty and suggestiveness.
In short it seemed above all a fact of style and custom; and with the arrival of Giorgio Strehler (at La Scala from 1947) and his direction of La Traviata (settings by Gianni Ratto), together with other operas including Prokofiev's Flaming Angel, and later, Luchino Visconti (at La Scala from 1954), with his production of Spontini's La Vestale (scenery and costumes by Piero Zuffi, Maria Callas in the leading role, Franco Corelli's debut and, among the many singers, Ebe Stignani and Nicola Rossi Lemeni, the conductor Antonio Votto and, for the first time, Norberto Mola the chorus master, taking the place of Vittorio Veneziani), the question did not seem to go far beyond these terms. Indeed, for many years, if one read the reviews, it would seem that the substance of the problem remained abstract and limited: Can stage direction upset the sacred traditions of lyric opera? Can it make us believe that until now we have been mistaken? Can it disturb the singer, forcing him to think of acting movements and gestures when his task is principally singing? Can it "distract us from the music"? (And the traditionalists, out of resentment, would praise as tradition that which did not "disturb" the parades of banners and standards, the processions of extras and choristers, the precipitous exit of people carrying halberds, the absence of a logic which can distinguish between the gestures of singers in some antiquated mise en scène, or, even, elegantly disposed in a graceful, harmonious choreography by Margherita Wallmann.) But the reality of the innovation was something quite different. It could be seen by those who wanted to seein the most sensational event, the staging of La Traviata by Luchino Visconti, where, assisted by the astounding pictorial elegance of Lila De Nobili's scenery and costumes, the stage action was shifted from its original period to the late 19th century so as to present it in a decadent image and setting. With that brilliant move, which also put at the centre of the critical polemics Maria Callas's performance, …..
To present another example, the entire action of the second act of Giordano's Madame SansGene is rigidly controlled by this relationship; if the movements on the stage are not performed, the music becomes descriptive and sounds like the accompaniment to something that is not actually happening. In other words, it no longer has any meaning. The same order in the established relationship between action and score existed between space and score, scenery and score. The scene in Puccini's Tabarro is described minutely, and contains not only the precise epidermic sensation which accompanies listening to the opera but also the ingredients that will propel the action, and explain why the distances, the conversations and the empty, solitary spaces have their precise arrangement and composition: "A bend in the Seine on the outskirts of Paris, where Michele's barge is moored. The barge occupies almost the entire front of the stage and is connected to the quay by a gangplank.
"The Seine stretches away as far as the eye can reach. In the distance one can see the outline of old Paris and, chiefly, the majestic bulk of Notre Dame stands out against the sky, which has a marvellous red hue. Also in the background, to the right, are tenement houses which border the right bank and, much closer, lushly luxuriant plane trees stand tall.
"The barge looks like but another of those many barges which navigate the Seine. The helm can be seen above the tiny cabin; and the cabin itself is neat and gaily painted, with green windows, a small chimney and a low roof, which is somewhat like an altar, on which stand some pots of geraniums. On a clothes line, stretched across the deck, wash has been hung out to dry. A bird cage is set above the cabin door. It is sunset."
In the postwar period at La Scala it seemed that the important problem was to give all opera the same scenic credibility that opera had actually had in the period of the Verisme and in a certain sense to ennoble the action by calling in directorial experts to guide the singers. Ennoblement had already been tried successfully at the Florence Maggio Musicale in the years immediately after the war, when the artistic director Francesco Sicialini commissioned great Italian painters of the period, from De Chirico to Sironi and Casorati, to paint the backdrops. And already before 1943 La Scala had profited from the contribution of such noted painters as Casorati, De Chirico, Vellani, Marchi, Cascella, Carpi, Marussig, Prampolini, Neher and Kautsky, with varying results as to beauty and suggestiveness.
In short it seemed above all a fact of style and custom; and with the arrival of Giorgio Strehler (at La Scala from 1947) and his direction of La Traviata (settings by Gianni Ratto), together with other operas including Prokofiev's Flaming Angel, and later, Luchino Visconti (at La Scala from 1954), with his production of Spontini's La Vestale (scenery and costumes by Piero Zuffi, Maria Callas in the leading role, Franco Corelli's debut and, among the many singers, Ebe Stignani and Nicola Rossi Lemeni, the conductor Antonio Votto and, for the first time, Norberto Mola the chorus master, taking the place of Vittorio Veneziani), the question did not seem to go far beyond these terms. Indeed, for many years, if one read the reviews, it would seem that the substance of the problem remained abstract and limited: Can stage direction upset the sacred traditions of lyric opera? Can it make us believe that until now we have been mistaken? Can it disturb the singer, forcing him to think of acting movements and gestures when his task is principally singing? Can it "distract us from the music"? (And the traditionalists, out of resentment, would praise as tradition that which did not "disturb" the parades of banners and standards, the processions of extras and choristers, the precipitous exit of people carrying halberds, the absence of a logic which can distinguish between the gestures of singers in some antiquated mise en scène, or, even, elegantly disposed in a graceful, harmonious choreography by Margherita Wallmann.) But the reality of the innovation was something quite different. It could be seen by those who wanted to seein the most sensational event, the staging of La Traviata by Luchino Visconti, where, assisted by the astounding pictorial elegance of Lila De Nobili's scenery and costumes, the stage action was shifted from its original period to the late 19th century so as to present it in a decadent image and setting. With that brilliant move, which also put at the centre of the critical polemics Maria Callas's performance, …..
THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
1975.03.23
FINANCIAL TIMES
1975.05.01
OPERA MAGAZINE
1975 August
OPERA MAGAZINE
1975 September
OPERA MAGAZINE
1975.09.30
1 9 7 6
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1976.02.22
OPERA MAGAZINE
1976 September
Naples. We hear that... Leyla Gencer will sing the title-role in Mayr's Medea in Corinto at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, in February
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1976.10.10
OPERA MAGAZINE
1976 December
Milan. At the Piccola Scala Petleas et Melisande. With Maria Ewing, Anna Reynolds, Nesterenko and others to be announced, c. Pretre, p. and d. Ponnelle. April 30 Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny. With Olivia Stapp, Sergio Tedesco, Dino Dondi, Giulio Fioravanti, Tadeo, c. Gary Bertini, p. Giorgio Strehler, d. Luciano Damiani. June 3 at the Teatro Lirico Other artists engaged whose names are not mentioned above include: Maria Grazia Allegri, Margherita Benetti, Laura Bocca, Lelia Cuberli, Anna Di Stasio, Franca Fabbri, Mirella Fiorentini, Jone Joni, Stefania Malaga, Jeda Valtriani, Laura Zannini; Carlo Bini, Otello Borgonovo, Federico Davia, Carlo Del Bosco, Giovanni Foiani, Alfredo Giacomotti, Walter Guilin°, Carlo Meliciani, Regolo Romani, Lorenzo Saccomani During the season there will be a series of recitals by Hermann Prey (December 20), Montserrat Caballe (January 10), Alfredo Kraus (February 7), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (February 28), Eugeni Nesterneko (March 7), Gwyneth Jones (March 21), Marilyn Horne (March 28), Nicolai Gedda (April 26), Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart (May 2), Leyla Gencer (May 23)
1 9 7 7
OPERA MAGAZINE
1977 March
Naples. San Carlo. Leyla Gencer sings title-role in revival of Mayr's Medea in Corinto 12 Munich, National Theatre.
BILLBOARD
1977.03.05
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1977.12.07
1 9 7 8
BAY AREA REPORTER
1978.01.05
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1978.05.07
LOS ANGELES TIMES
1978.08.13
1 9 7 9
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1979.01.21
OPERA MAGAZINE
1979 March
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1979.04.20
GB OPERA
2021.10.10
Leyla Gencer (1928 – 2008): “Maga, Zingara o Regina”
Leyla Gencer (Istanbul, 10 ottobre 1928 – Milano, 10 maggio 2008)
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Maga, zingara, regina. Leyla Gencer si è impadronita con prepotenza di queste figure che affollano il melodramma dell’Ottocento. Regine, soprattutto: Maria Stuarda, Elisabetta, Anna Bolena, Lady Macbeth. ” Non sei contenta se non hai una corona in testa”, le disse Paolo Grassi ai tempi della Scala. Ed è vero: le basta cingere l’insegna regale e il personaggio, per una sorta di misterioso “ritorno”, si incarna. Allora ecco Leyla-Elisabetta camminare a passo lento, disillusa sovrana d’Inghilterra: eccola scendere barcollante, sonnambula consorte di Macbeth. Apparentata con la Callas per quei “pianissimi”, per le “smorzature” che danno ali alla sua voce, per la singolare capacità di pesare la parola nei recitativi, di scoprire nei personaggi i semi nascosti delle passioni, gli orrori morali, Leyla Gencer quando entra in scena annuncia sempre un evento memorabile. Le devono molto i personaggi del giovane Verdi, del Donizetti raro a cui ha dato una nuova vita.
Nata in Turchia, a Istanbul. da molti anni in Italia, la Gencer dice di avere non due ma tre radici: quella slava della madre polacca, quella turca del padre e, innestata, l’italiana. Dall’unione di tali radici è nato un albero di rigoglioso è strano. Una donna che non ama più di tanto la bontà, che si scatena in breve tempestose collere. Ha un vizio moderno, Leyla: il telefono. Lunghissime conversazioni e vittime designate.
Canti e parli diverse lingue , Leyla. Quale preferisci, come cantante?
“L’italiano, anche se la prima lingua che ho parlato il francese. Era francese la mia prima governante, una contessa in esilio. Viveva con noi. Nelle nostre case, in Turchia, si usava avere ospiti a vita, onoratissimi, rispettatissimi. Così eravamo noi, allora. Fu un personaggio determinante per me: con lei ho imparato tante cose.”
Chi capisci di più gli uomini o le donne?
“Mi trovo molto meglio con gli uomini punto sono più diretti, più immediati, più leale. Nelle donne c’è sempre un “arriere-pensée” e io se n’è sempre sul chi va là con loro”.
Come reagisci a un’offesa, a un tradimento?
“In due modi: o facendo delle grandi scenate, tempesti, uragani, o ignorando chi mi ferisce. Quando esplodo dico cose che non dovrei dire”.
L’amore, fino a oggi, ti ha dato più felicità o dolore?
“L’amore dà sempre molta felicità, ma anche tanta infelicità”.
Appartieni al tipo di donna che tormenta la persona amata?
“Sì, sono una donna che tormenta: ma per amore”.
Ti dà fastidio la gelosia?
“Non voglio limiti alla mia libertà. Abito sola, anche se sono sposata. Mio marito, banchiere, sta in Germania. È una persona straordinaria, mi capisce, mi lascia vivere. Mi adora come artista e allora mi perdona molte cose, anche il mio carattere”.
Come hai superato i dolori, le disillusioni nella tua vita?
“Dipende. Il primo impatto col dolore è di disperazione. Non voglio vedere nessuno. Poi scatta in me qualcosa, ricomincio a vivere. Ma certi momenti sono di morte: di morte totale.”
Credi nelle forze occulte?
“Sono portata a crederci. Sono una orientale, cresciuta nella magia, ma certamente in un modo molto diverso dal vostro. Credo nelle potenze magiche”.
Che cosa intendi per “potenze magiche”?
“Il maleficio, il malocchio. Durante una recita voglio vedere persone simpatiche in prima fila o nei palchi più vicini, voglio sentire fluidi benefici…”
Qual è, secondo te, la tua dote dominante?
“La forza magnetica. Cantare è un’arte magica. Ecco perché, prima di un’opera o di un concerto, ho una cura maniacale di ogni particolare. Non solo il canto, la dizione, ma tutto è importante: il vestito, la pettinatura, la parrucca, ecc. Devi conquistare il pubblico non solo come con la musica. Una volta, in un recital, interpretavo tre personaggi: una maga, una zingara, una regina. La regina era la decapitata Maria Stuarda. Per quell’occasione ho voluto un abito rosso, un grande peplo rosso sangue.”
Ti commuovi mentre canti?
“Sì, piango veramente. Però mentre piango se mi capita di vedere che nel primo parco c’è una persona che sbadiglia. o se vedo la corista che chiacchiera fra le quinte, allora mi arrabbio e penso: “Come osano chiacchierare o annoiarsi mentre si sta cantando?”.
È vero che nel passato si cantava meglio?
“Non voglio dire che oggi si canti meglio ma sicuramente si ha una maggiore preparazione musicale, pur pur avendo forse meno voce…”
A che cosa tieni di più, all’amore o alla carriera?
“Il mio più grande amore è la musica. Ma la musica è sempre legata ai miei amori. Tutta la vita sono stata innamorata.”
Di musicisti?
“No, non precisamente”
C’è, nella tua vita, una persona che non dimenticherai mai?
“Sì, ho avuto la fortuna di trovare un sovrintendente come Di Costanzo, che non era un uomo colto, ma che intuiva subito le qualità di un artista. È stato lui a darmi la forza di fare teatro. Poi è venuto il maestro Serafin e poi ho avuto la fortuna di conoscere Gui e Gavazzeni… Questo “trio” mi ha aperto tanti orizzonti….
Che cosa provi prima di entrare in scena?
“Paura, angoscia. Mi sembra ogni volta di non avere più voce, mi sento malatissima: asma, bronchite, mal d’orecchio…”
Temi di più l’incidente vocale o l’angoscia?
“La memoria è stata sempre un incubo per me. Non canto mai senza suggeritore. Imparo prestissimo, ma dimentico con altrettanta facilità”.
E se ti capita un vuoto di memoria…
“Inventò le parole. una volta alla Scala, nell’Aida ho incominciato la romanza con le parole “O fresche Valli”, convinta di dire “cieli azzurri”. Poi il maestro Gavazzeni mi fa. “Ma allora questi “cieli azzurri” non li sentiremo mai…”
Hai mai fumato?
“Si, qualche sigaretta. Adesso è molto che non fumo più”.
Sogni?
“Sì moltissimo. Un sogno ricorrente: volo su un mare azzurro, limpido, sui prati, in mezzo ai fiori. Ebbene dopo mi accade sempre qualcosa di bello.”
Che cosa cerchi nelle persone?
“La lealtà. Troppa bontà non mi ispira e non mi interessa. Io non sono molto buona. Ma sono generosa verso il prossimo. Generosi bisogna esserlo sempre.”
Ami la casa?
“Si, so fare tutto. Tengo moltissimo all’ordine”.
Vuoi bene a te stessa?
“Generalmente mi autodistruggo. Però forse mi amo”.
Ti piace andare all’opera come spettatrice?
“Spesso mi annoio. Quasi sempre trovo belle voci, ma non la magia. Sì, la magia è finita con la Callas”.
(Estratto da “Leyla Gencer: Maga, Zingara o Regina” di Laura Padellaro – Milano, 1979)
LA STAMPA
1979.05.24
MUSICA MAGAZINE
1979 June
Dino Ciani, Poeta del Pianoforte by Umberto Masini
Testimonies by Claudio Abbado, Martha Del Vecchio, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Leyla Gencer, Carlo Maria Giulini, Paolo Grassi, Nikita Magaloff, Riccardo Muti and Salvatore Sciarrino. Discography by Umberto Masini.
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1979.06.03
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
1979.06.10
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1979.07.01
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1979.09.02
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1979.09.30
MUSICA MAGAZINE
1979.10.03
1 9 8 0
L'UNIVERS DES VOIX "LES DIVAS"
1980 January
DOMINIQUE FERNANDEZ
& CHARLES DUPECHEZ
TARRYTOWN DAILY NEWS
1980.01.27
THE DAILY ARGUS SUN
1980.01.27
OPERA MAGAZINE
1980 May
CASH BOX
1980.06.14
L'EXPRESS
1980.11.01
SYLVIE DE NUSSAC
Leyla Gencer has a unique, irreplaceable place in the opera history. The only strangeness or the mysteriousness of this situation isn’t only because she’s never come to France that’s proud and famous for discovering new talents; but the main mystery is why record labels avoided this artist who’s embraced by Italy. But however, she’s the queen of pirate recordings. More than fourty operas that were recorded with amateur equipment during Gencer’s performances, travel all around the world.
How shall we explain this paradox? Leyla Gencer answers this question with humour: “My colleagues had advisors and I didn’t.” But there’s something else: The choice of the repertoire. Right after Callas, Leyla Gencer dedicated herself more systematically to discover and revive a forgotten repertoire. She was the one who rediscovered Donizetti (Maria Stuarda, Roberto Devereux, Lucrezia Borgia) young Rossini and Verdi repertoire. These operas are very popular and trendy these days. But when Leyla Gencer had begun to sing them, nobody knew them at the time.
The dedication and the love of the pirates and their customers for Leyla Gencer doesn’t derive from their desire to seem eccentric of course. She has the ability to convince the audiences. The audience believes in the quality of whatever she sings. The same thing happened at the Athenée Theater last night. She had some difficulties in “forte”s and “fortissimo”s, but her main qualities compensated all. Her main quality is her mastery of the the Bel Canto technique. What might seem like a mechanical nightingale style within others, become a palpitation of the heart and soul with her. Her clever apprehension of the text and her personality are striking as well. Briefly, Maestro Tullio Serafin who is the person that’d discovered her once said: “All the emotions of the world can be found in her voice”.
Gencer who’s also a dedicated theater fan, gives the same amount of importance to the dramatic interpretation as much as the vocal nuances. And the theatre people pay her back what she deserves. She recently gave a duo recital with Giorgio Strehler. Strehler interpreted poems and Gencer sang songs. It’s understandable why Leyla Gencer doesn’t go to see the opera performances: Because she gets bored.
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1980.12.14
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1980.12.28
1 9 8 1
MUSICA VIVA
1981
Photo shooting with Raimondi for Musica Viva Magazine
Photos © SILVIA LELLI, Milano
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RUGGERO RAIMONDI
1981
L'UNITA
1981.03.19
MUSIK MAG (Supplemento No.22 Superstereo)
1981 May
BAY AREA REPORTER
1981.05.07
L'OPERA INTERNATIONAL
1981 October
MICHEL PAROUTY
Above all, Leyla Gencer is a true Diva. And undoubtedly, she’s one of the last ones of the century. Just one gesture of her hand, one glance is enough to make her accepted by everyone in the audience.
Her interpretation is proper: The perfection of the phrases, the right usage of the voice colours and nuances, intelligence of the singing. Gencer knows how to emphasize the perfecty dramatic effects of the Bel Canto, to interpret melodic phrases sensitively like noone else.
Gencer was absolutely enchanting in Pasini and Mayr’s music. She gave her best in Donizetti: with Sapho she offered the audience a chance to explore a rather unknown piece whilst her solicitude towards the details empowers the recitative. The final scene of Faust was very impressive with its dramatic tension and Maria Stuarda’s aria “D’un cor che muore” was innocent, introvert, pathetic and almost on the verge of becoming a confidant.
L'OPERA INTERNATIONAL
1981 October
SERGIO SEGALINI
If there are still people who doubt Leyla Gencer’s artistry, they should listen to her concerts at Athenée Theatre and her two recently released recordings.
Gencer’s voice is at its peak in the pirate recordings made between the years 1958-1965. Her interpretation and expression seem eternal. And her style is absolutely perfect. Her Mozart interpretation shall set an example in the Italian singing and her interpetations of Donizetti shall only be confronted with those of Callas. It’s an art that must be discovered continuously. And today “The Fiancée of the Pirates” takes her revenge.
LE POINT
1981.10.05
ANDRE TUBEUF
The fiancee of the pirates
She didn’t sing at Metropolitan but all the American opera enthusiasts went to Italy to listen to her. She practically didn’t record any albums. But that black eyed, half century old Turk definitely left Callas behind and became the queen of the pirate recordings.
Why and how did that happen? First of all, it happened thanks to her artistic ingenuity! Maybe she would have become estranged in recording studios. However, her “live” recordings are surprisingly intense: They are real victories…And then with her repertoire: Before anybody else, she sang operas that nobody wanted or was able to sing, which varied from Monteverdi to Piccini.
At the time, sixy operas of which thirty were completely unknown were passed on secretly, but now they are in the drawers of the international “copyright” owners. She was the one who sang at the world premiere of Poulenc’s opera at La Scala, Verdi at Salzburg, Donizetti at Glyndebourne and Mozart at La Scala.
Leyla Gencer is the “Best seller” of the underground opera world and the Sarah Bernhardt of the melodramatic world at the same time. This artist who’s a culture treasure is a diva like no other. And she will always remain different from them. Her belated concerts at Paris were sacred events. Nothing can change her now. She will go on fighting against herself and her flaws. Not against others or fate. As a good Muslim, she will always remain a fatalist. And she will ignore the showbiz ambiance, multinational record labels, the obstacles and the war she faught against all.
Today’s operatic passion created a unique Goddes out of this Muslim artist. In a way; The Sacred virgin of the underground.
LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE
1981 December
Number One Since Callas
I guess it was the La Scala’s annual opening or maybe it was after Maria Callas’ death. The tv camera was filming the mythical theatre. After scanning its red velvet lodges, chairs and shadows, the camera focused on a person.
“I could never set foot on this stage without feeling an unexplicable excitement. The audience almost expects you to call out the Gods in here.” said an artist. With her proud and angular face, shining with the brightness transmitted through her big black eyes, she was speaking in a noble and literary French and the way that she was rounded the “r”s gave her a unique quality. It was the first time that I saw her. The reporter who was interviewing her bowed with a respect that is shown to world-famous people. When I saw the name that appeared on the screen, then I understood why. So that was Leyla Gencer!
I suddenly thought of various clichés and memories: The fierce Turk. The woman for whom the Italians say: “The crown suits her” since she often plays queen roles! She was the only singer to revive and uplift and the Romantic Bel canto operas since Callas quit and who actually accomplished it! In some articles, I had read that she doesn’t possess a voice as spectacular as Sutherland’s or Caballé’s, but she is so exciting that she could make you cry. I had listened to one of her pirate recordings. The record was skipping and the sound wasn’t clear. But inspite all, I’d noticed Gencer’s incredibly colourful nuances. She was surprisingly able to give a nobile quality to even an ordinary song. I searched for more elaborate recordings of her but later I found out that she’d never set foot in a recording studio.
When her fans encounter opera fanatics who have plenty of money and time to see Caballé handling difficulties of Bellini or Katia Ricciarelli battling against the acrobatic roles of the young Verdi period, they say “Ah, you should have seen Leyla Gencer sing these”. And when somebody asks: “Gencer? Who’s she?” then their mission is accomplished.
Since I’m always sceptic towards exaggerated praises and groundless adorations, I had completely forgotten how I was struck by the voice that I had heard in the broken record. Taken by the pleasure of vengeance, I paid attention to a rumour: According to that rumour since Gencer couldn’t sing the notes above G in Donizetti’nin Les Martyrs, she used her mimics instead for compensation. In order to prove this harsh rumour, the gossipers said that the pirate recording of that concert would be out soon. As far as I’ve heard, in her 25 years of career, Gencer is the one artist of whose performances have been pirately recorded and published the most in the opera history. And that’s why she’s called “The Fiancée of the Pirates”. Last year Leyla Gencer’s concert posters took great attention in France. Her fans rushed to the Athenée Theater and the people who watched them were dying to say “Gencer’s interpretation was so much better than the others’.” That evening I had to be somewhere else, so I couldn’t go to the concert. The next day, rather than speaking about her voice and talent, people were primarily talking about how wonderfully she was applauded before even opening her mouth. For me: the mystery of Leyla Gencer still wasn’t unveiled.
When I learned that she was coming back to France, I asked for an appointment. I wanted to meet her in person no matter what. I sharpened my claws to prepare myself for a creature who’s probably a copy of Callas and is yet considered sacred by the public. No matter what; I wanted to drop her mask and understand whether “La” Gencer was really an heir of the mighty shadows as she says. If she were really a genious as people say, then why didn’t she have a better career?
When I arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel, I felt like I was being followed by gangsters who made pirate recordings of an artist that refused to record albums. Come on, I would finally get rid of that Gencer virus with a boring interview, a concert and a notebook in my hand!
“Pronto! My plane had a five-hour delay. I couldn’t sleep because of the so called “Air Conditioning” ventilation. Please eat and drink something and I’ll be there.”
And there I was, waiting for the Bel Canto Queen to arrive.
Right from the moment she arrived, the plan and the order of the events got out of my control. I remember her being wrapped up in her white mink fur and her black eyes…we looked for a place which didn’t have air conditioning that would allow us to talk comfortably. She was in front and the hotel managers were behind us…
“I’m less scared this year.”
“Scared?”
“Of course! Even a thirty-year career doesn’t relieve this anxiety and fear. In the early years of my career as I was becoming famous, I could have performed in Paris. But the intendant of your opera decided that my voice didn’t match with the criteria of the French people. And so last year I was expecting a rather cold welcome at the Athenée Theater. But they welcomed me with enthusiastic applauses instead.”
Leyla Gencer smiled. And her face changed suddenly just like the voice that I’d heard in the pirate recording. Her rigid chin and dark black eyes softened and her face lines that were tightened by insomnia reflected only her tiredness. Alas! She will destroy me!
“You were enthusiasticly expected in Paris since you’ve made such little amount of recordings…”
“I’ve never made any recordings! And I’ve never actually understood the reason for it.”
“But all those pirate recordings should make you proud…”
“Ah yes, of course. It’s very nice that people made those. But they recorded so randomly. It saddens me to think that some of the performances which I’d rather forget will be out there for eternity.”
The next evening when I was at the Athenée Theater, the person who was sitting next to me asked me recklessly not to cause creaking in my chair: Because he would record the recital! During the interval, he explained to me that it was a great advantage for Leyla Gencer to not to record in a studio. Because in a studio without the audience, it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve the magnetism and the enchanting effect created by the artist. Wheras the real power of the art derives from this interaction.
“In the first years of my career, everybody was talking only about Callas. And frankly, I wasn’t uncomfortable with that. When she was singing in Milan, I used to go to the theatre every night to listen to her. I didn’t miss any of her rehearsals. It was her who showed me that the opera is also a theatrical experience. Callas also used her fame to sing operas such as Verdi’s Il Corsaro, Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Poluito etc. But the record labels wanted her to record operas like Madam Butterfly, La forza del destino which were very popular among wide audiences.”
“But you, by taking her place…”
“It was early for me at the time. And Madam Butterfly was recorded many times. However, I was never assisted by a major impresario and it had a considerable effect on my career. In the current system, it’s often witnessed that overworking, recording too many albums and excessive travelling might harm the voices in five tears. Whereas I’m still able to perform on the stage.
In front of the red curtain of the Athenée Theater, in her splendid black silhouette and her palms reached out; as an act of asking for God’s forgiveness, she interpreted Maria Stuarda’s last moments. I can’t say that her incredibly clear and smooth voice didn’t lose focus when she tried to expand it. It’s the cruel consequence of all the years after all…But does it matter? That simple music delivered us the most striking emotions at the moment when the whole orchestra seemed like it’d turned into a giant guitar.
“About this repertoire...I can say that it was already in my blood since birth. I noticed that when I was cast to sing Lucia di Lammermoor in 1957 at San Francisco Theater replacing Callas. I only had five days to learn the role. I immediately understood that its music shan’t be sung forte. Unfortunately, the same mistake was made continuously also in Verdi and Puccini operas. The same year during the recording of Il Trovatore-although I’ve never made a record, I worked a lot at the radio- my colleagues Mario del Monaco and Ettore Bastianini told me “Why are you singing piano in these parts? It would be more effective if you sang forte instead.” When I told them that Verdi had precised that it should be sung piano and it wouldn’t be possible for me to contradict Verdi; I could imagine that they would look at me strangely and say “Oh, she’s doing what she can with the small voice that she has.” behind my back. But when that recording was released two years ago, I received so many compliments that would contradict my colleagues.”
The Parisians once again welcomed her with a delirious enthusiasm, just like they did last year. Poople who couldn’t find any tickets gathered in front of the theatre carrying boards on which wrote phrases such as: “I must find a seat. Please do something, I have to enter.” The unending applause which began the moment she set her foot on the stage was far more beyond a one-night success. They were applauding and blessing the new image that Leyla Gencer added to opera after Callas; she criticized fiercely and faught against singers who were only obsessed with their voices and didn’t know how to integrate drama with the music, who are ignorant to different styles and would confuse Bellini with Puccini, Monteverdi with Massenet. The young audience who can’t stand any strict rules was naturally interested in that new style.
In this recital: she brought all personalities who accompanied her during her career: Queens, sorceress’, lovers. She even interpreted Handel with such astonishing wisdom. And sang Verdi with all the nuances of the neo-romanticism.
One day ago, at the King Suit of the Intercontinental Hotel, I was still resisting Gencer’s impact. My only goal was to push back the charm of the face that is made of fire and ice and not to be taken by the confessions made with half closed eyes and low voice:
“In a way, I envy Callas. I would want to pass all levels rapidly just like her, give everything in a few years and then disappear. It’s so painful to see that it’s slowly decreasing and disappearing.”
And suddenly her voice arose:
“In Italy and other places, the quality of the performances are rapidly decreasing. Theaters are directed by pople who do anything to achieve their goals. Is there a trace of the time spent at La Scala to realize Poulenc’s opera now? I personally think that productions like that were the sacred fire. The behaviours of the art merchants make me furious. They trigger my eastern blood.”
“How can a Turk become an opera singer?”
“In my case, it shall be called an irrational aspiration or a passion. There wasn’t an opera tradition in Turkey. All had to be begun from zero. I left the Istanbul Conservatory before graduating, my plan was to attend Arrangi-Lombardi’s lessons in Ankara. She’s the person who made me an Italian singer.”
As soon as I left Leyla Gencer’s presence, I went and bought one of her pirate recordings. “Anna Bolena”. In the mad scene, Gencer expresses her dreams and pain in a mezza voce. And that’s when the time actually stops.
Tomorrow evening at the blood red stage of the Athenée Theater, she will cross her arms and whisper Sapho’s lament, revive the image of her desperation and the reflection of pain, yet remaining motionless. (François Lafon)
“Scared?”
“Of course! Even a thirty-year career doesn’t relieve this anxiety and fear. In the early years of my career as I was becoming famous, I could have performed in Paris. But the intendant of your opera decided that my voice didn’t match with the criteria of the French people. And so last year I was expecting a rather cold welcome at the Athenée Theater. But they welcomed me with enthusiastic applauses instead.”
Leyla Gencer smiled. And her face changed suddenly just like the voice that I’d heard in the pirate recording. Her rigid chin and dark black eyes softened and her face lines that were tightened by insomnia reflected only her tiredness. Alas! She will destroy me!
“You were enthusiasticly expected in Paris since you’ve made such little amount of recordings…”
“I’ve never made any recordings! And I’ve never actually understood the reason for it.”
“But all those pirate recordings should make you proud…”
“Ah yes, of course. It’s very nice that people made those. But they recorded so randomly. It saddens me to think that some of the performances which I’d rather forget will be out there for eternity.”
The next evening when I was at the Athenée Theater, the person who was sitting next to me asked me recklessly not to cause creaking in my chair: Because he would record the recital! During the interval, he explained to me that it was a great advantage for Leyla Gencer to not to record in a studio. Because in a studio without the audience, it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve the magnetism and the enchanting effect created by the artist. Wheras the real power of the art derives from this interaction.
“In the first years of my career, everybody was talking only about Callas. And frankly, I wasn’t uncomfortable with that. When she was singing in Milan, I used to go to the theatre every night to listen to her. I didn’t miss any of her rehearsals. It was her who showed me that the opera is also a theatrical experience. Callas also used her fame to sing operas such as Verdi’s Il Corsaro, Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Poluito etc. But the record labels wanted her to record operas like Madam Butterfly, La forza del destino which were very popular among wide audiences.”
“But you, by taking her place…”
“It was early for me at the time. And Madam Butterfly was recorded many times. However, I was never assisted by a major impresario and it had a considerable effect on my career. In the current system, it’s often witnessed that overworking, recording too many albums and excessive travelling might harm the voices in five tears. Whereas I’m still able to perform on the stage.
In front of the red curtain of the Athenée Theater, in her splendid black silhouette and her palms reached out; as an act of asking for God’s forgiveness, she interpreted Maria Stuarda’s last moments. I can’t say that her incredibly clear and smooth voice didn’t lose focus when she tried to expand it. It’s the cruel consequence of all the years after all…But does it matter? That simple music delivered us the most striking emotions at the moment when the whole orchestra seemed like it’d turned into a giant guitar.
“About this repertoire...I can say that it was already in my blood since birth. I noticed that when I was cast to sing Lucia di Lammermoor in 1957 at San Francisco Theater replacing Callas. I only had five days to learn the role. I immediately understood that its music shan’t be sung forte. Unfortunately, the same mistake was made continuously also in Verdi and Puccini operas. The same year during the recording of Il Trovatore-although I’ve never made a record, I worked a lot at the radio- my colleagues Mario del Monaco and Ettore Bastianini told me “Why are you singing piano in these parts? It would be more effective if you sang forte instead.” When I told them that Verdi had precised that it should be sung piano and it wouldn’t be possible for me to contradict Verdi; I could imagine that they would look at me strangely and say “Oh, she’s doing what she can with the small voice that she has.” behind my back. But when that recording was released two years ago, I received so many compliments that would contradict my colleagues.”
The Parisians once again welcomed her with a delirious enthusiasm, just like they did last year. Poople who couldn’t find any tickets gathered in front of the theatre carrying boards on which wrote phrases such as: “I must find a seat. Please do something, I have to enter.” The unending applause which began the moment she set her foot on the stage was far more beyond a one-night success. They were applauding and blessing the new image that Leyla Gencer added to opera after Callas; she criticized fiercely and faught against singers who were only obsessed with their voices and didn’t know how to integrate drama with the music, who are ignorant to different styles and would confuse Bellini with Puccini, Monteverdi with Massenet. The young audience who can’t stand any strict rules was naturally interested in that new style.
In this recital: she brought all personalities who accompanied her during her career: Queens, sorceress’, lovers. She even interpreted Handel with such astonishing wisdom. And sang Verdi with all the nuances of the neo-romanticism.
One day ago, at the King Suit of the Intercontinental Hotel, I was still resisting Gencer’s impact. My only goal was to push back the charm of the face that is made of fire and ice and not to be taken by the confessions made with half closed eyes and low voice:
“In a way, I envy Callas. I would want to pass all levels rapidly just like her, give everything in a few years and then disappear. It’s so painful to see that it’s slowly decreasing and disappearing.”
And suddenly her voice arose:
“In Italy and other places, the quality of the performances are rapidly decreasing. Theaters are directed by pople who do anything to achieve their goals. Is there a trace of the time spent at La Scala to realize Poulenc’s opera now? I personally think that productions like that were the sacred fire. The behaviours of the art merchants make me furious. They trigger my eastern blood.”
“How can a Turk become an opera singer?”
“In my case, it shall be called an irrational aspiration or a passion. There wasn’t an opera tradition in Turkey. All had to be begun from zero. I left the Istanbul Conservatory before graduating, my plan was to attend Arrangi-Lombardi’s lessons in Ankara. She’s the person who made me an Italian singer.”
As soon as I left Leyla Gencer’s presence, I went and bought one of her pirate recordings. “Anna Bolena”. In the mad scene, Gencer expresses her dreams and pain in a mezza voce. And that’s when the time actually stops.
Tomorrow evening at the blood red stage of the Athenée Theater, she will cross her arms and whisper Sapho’s lament, revive the image of her desperation and the reflection of pain, yet remaining motionless. (François Lafon)
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1981.12.12
1 9 8 2
A HISTORY OF THE FESTIVAL (Opera
Glyndebourne)
1982 January
RADIOCORRIERE.TV
1982.08.01
IL PICCOLO
1982.09.10
IL PICCOLO
1982.10.07
1 9 8 3
LAS VOCES TEATRO COLON, BUENOS AIRES
1983
OPERA MAGAZINE
1983 February
Venice. The 1983 season at the Teatro La Fenice: La prova di un'opera seria (np) (Gnecco). With Leyla Gencer, Patrizia Dordi, Luigi Alva, Giancarlo Luccardi, Francesco Signor, Mario Bolognesi, c. John Fisher, p. and d. Pizzi.
THE NEW GROVE (The Master of Italian Opera)
1983 February
CLARION MAGAZINE
1983 May
1 9 8 4
DONIZETTI SOCIETY JOURNAL No.5
1984
A hard-to-find volume published by The Donizetti Society. This is number 24 from a limited-edition of 1000 copies. "Notes on the Interpretation of Donizetti's Queens" by the great Leyla Gencer is only one of numerous articles, which concern Maria Padilla; Gemma di Vergy; the cantata "in Morte di M.F. Malibran de Beriot"; Giorgio Ronconi; Il Campanello di Notte; Le Duc d'Albe; and more. Authors include William Ashbrook, John Black, and Jeremy Commons. Illustrated with musical examples.
The Donizetti Society
Journal No.5, 1984
Editor: Alexander Weatherson
The Donizetti Society
Journal No.5, 1984
Editor: Alexander Weatherson
Alexander Weatherson Editorial
Alexander Weatherson Donizetti and Romantic sensibility in Milan at the
time of Maria Padilla
Roger Parker Maria Padilla; some historical and analytical remarks
Thomas G. Kaufman Lucrezia Borgia - various versions and performance history
John Black The revival of Gemma di Vergy at the S.Carlo of Naples
Gene J. Cho Donizetti's Laudate Pueri
John Black Élisabeth d'Angleterre, il conte d'Essex and Roberto Devereux
John Black Code of instructions for the censorship of theatrical works
Alexander Weatherson Lament for a dead nightingale: the cantata 'in morte di
Malibran
Thomas G. Kaufman Giorgio Ronconi
Leyla Gencer Notes on the interpretation of Donizetti's queens
Fulvio Lo Presti Maria Stuarda regna felicemente sulla renaissance
Donizettiana
J.Commons & J.Black Il campanello di notte: further evidence, further questions
Fulvio Lo Presti Le Duc d'Albe: The livret of Scribe and Duveyrier
Thomas G. Kaufman A bibliography of opera house annals
BAY AREA REPORTER
1984.02.16
LA STAMPA
1984.05.19
