Here are the items that we found.
Adriana Lecouvreur
It is fair to say that Magda Olivero was perhaps the greatest interpreter of Adriana Lecouvreur in its history — a distinction reinforced by the fact that Francesco Cilea himself urged her to come out of retirement in the early 1950s specifically to sing it. No one could manage the breathtaking crescendo from fil di voce to forte at the close of "Ecco, respiro appenna" quite like she could.
As for Giulietta Simionato, she proves a perfect foil for Olivero, bursting onto the stage for "Acerba voluttà" with a cascade of raw chest tones unlike anything heard since. And as if that weren’t enough, the cast also boasts a tenor by the name of Franco Corelli and a baritone by the name of Ettore Bastianini.
Track List
Act I
1. Michoneet, della biacca
2. Del sultano amuratte
3. Io son l'umile ancella
4. Eccoci soli alfin!
5. La dolcissima effigie
6. Or dunque Abate
7. Ecco il monologo
2. Del sultano amuratte
3. Io son l'umile ancella
4. Eccoci soli alfin!
5. La dolcissima effigie
6. Or dunque Abate
7. Ecco il monologo
Act II
8. Acerba voluttà
9. Principessa... Finalmente
10. L'anima ho stanca
11. Vi cogliam, Conte, sul fatto
12. Signor Abate
13. Sia!...Non risponde
9. Principessa... Finalmente
10. L'anima ho stanca
11. Vi cogliam, Conte, sul fatto
12. Signor Abate
13. Sia!...Non risponde
Act III
14. Eh, via! Così non va
15. Io son confusa
16. Il russo Mentikof
17. Baletto
18. E quella dama al centro
19. Giusto Cielo! Che feci
15. Io son confusa
16. Il russo Mentikof
17. Baletto
18. E quella dama al centro
19. Giusto Cielo! Che feci
Act IV
20. ACT IV - So ch'ella dorme
21. Amico mio!
22. Lieta sorpresa
23. Poveri fiori
24. Adriana...
25. La vostra signora soffre
26. Ecco la luce
21. Amico mio!
22. Lieta sorpresa
23. Poveri fiori
24. Adriana...
25. La vostra signora soffre
26. Ecco la luce
Customer Reviews
Share your experience with fellow collectors
Share Your Experience
A star rating alone is welcome, and reviews may be written in any language.
4.9
Based on 15 reviews
✓ Top Reviewer
United States
Superb Performance in Excellent Sound!
Sometimes the Pirate Gods are with us and preserve magnificent performances in excellent sound. This Adriana Lecouvreur is one of those classics. Many commenters have already extolled the virtues of this recording and why it is so good; I agree with all of them. The four principals are at their finest and Maestro Rossi is with them all the way. It should be pointed out that everyone is great, including the supporting cast. Antonio Cassinelli has one of those rolling, steady Italian basses that used to be so plentiful, but now seem scarce. Mariano Caruso is a terrific Abate too..The sound is excellent from beginning to end. Any lover of Italian opera should have this and Opera Depot's copy is superb.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
United States
HOW could it miss with a line-up like this
Some of the best pipes of the last century and every one of them in excellent voice. I read Olivero's thoughts on working with the fledgling Corelli in the book "Franco Corelli, Prince of Tenors" by Rene Segheres. She said he was very very nervous and she made sure she was a soft place for him to land when he was freaking out.... Sweet lady. She also said it was 'perhaps the greatest success of my entire career'. (page 174-5). Highly recommended!!
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
United Kingdom
Andrea Chenier
Excellent. I'm particularly saddened that I never heard Magda Olivero in my early opera going days. I always bracket this opera with Andrea Chenier - to which it is much superior - and perhaps that opera was really Corelli's forté. Bastianini is, as ever, a delight to hear.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
If only it were easier to pronounce......
If only for the fact that it is much harder to pronounce, Terence McNally could easily have written "The Naples Adriana Lecouvreur" rather than "The Lisbon Traviata." Both are landmark recordings to the gay male opera fanatic experience, but for this GMOF I give the nod to the "Adriana" recording as having a lasting impact. I was able to see Magda Olivero during the 1979 Metropolitan Opera tour in Dallas, Texas. I knew the voice well from the 1938 Turandot, a couple of compilation albums of individual aria recordings done for Cetra, and the Decca recordings of Fedora and Francesca da Rimini excerpts, but nothing could have prepared me for that visceral experience of Olivero live, on stage. That led me to look for "pirate' live recording of Olivero which, of course, led me to this performance. That the rest of the cast is as top notch as she in sheer vocal splendor and in communicating the drama through the voice is what elevates this recording from merely an Olivero fanatic must-have to perhaps one of the top five greatest live recordings of an opera, in my opinion. If you do not have this recording, you are missing out on a singular opera experience.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
United States
✓ Verified Buyer
But why was the mp3 encoded in stereo?
Thanks. to OperaDepot, I finally got the opportunity to hear this famous pirate and can now happily recommend it to everyone who loves Italian opera theater as it was practiced before the days of HiFi recording technology, when the only way to hear the music as anything more than a tinny facsimile was to be there at curtain time. The digital file offered here sounds just fine, better in fact than some of my Maria Callas' treasures. I'm wondering however why OperaDepot encoded this file in stereo instead of mono. Doesn't that just sacrifice half the bitrate?
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
Australia
Fantastic listen!
I have just discovered Oliver's ... what a wonderful performer and this recording is of great quality. Thank you Andy!
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
United Kingdom
Magda in her signature role
This is a wonderful performance of this opera. Not in the first rank of masterpieces but Olivero transforms it into a great vehicle for a singing actress. You also have Franco Corelli giving passionate support. The sound quality is a bit boxy but acceptable, and the audience goes wild for minutes on end. There is another performance from Amsterdam with Magda, but a slightly less distinguished cast. Better sound quality and the Dutch audience enthusiastic but less vociferous than the Neopolitans.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
United States
A wonderful, historic performance
Magda is amazing, Corelli terrific. I only vaguely knew the opera but it it has quickly become something I listen to frequently. This is probably due to the performances and the incredible, infectious reaction of the live audience.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
Canada
✓ Verified Buyer
United States
✓ Verified Buyer
United States
Jeffrey Kurnit
This is a great performance by a great cast. Adriana was Olivero's most famous role, the role that brought her out of retirement, and in this performance, we can tell why. Add to that Simonato (my all time favorite mezzo), Corelli, and Bastianini, and you get near perfection.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
United States
Brian Morgan
Magda Olivero's most celebrated portrayal is, of course, that of the title rôle of Cilèa's "Adriana Lecouvreur," and it is known that she was the composer's preferred interpreter of the heroine.In 1959, Renata Tebaldi was scheduled for this production, but withdrew, whereupon the management of the Teatro San Carlo of Naples prevailed upon Mme Olivero to save the day, even though she was recuperating from surgery. In the end, in the soprano's own words, "It was perhaps the greatest success of my career."In fact, La Olivero is transcendent in this performance; she is the essence and absolute mistress of the verismo style. Despite the lack of a "beautiful" voice (hence Sir Rudolf Bing's complete neglect of her), the sheer scale of her range of dynamics, the blazing intensity, the parlando effects, the life-or-death trajectory of her commitment, are revealed here in their totality.The recitation from Racine's "Phèdre" is volcanic, and one will not find its like outside of the ancient recordings of Sarah Bernhardt herself. And Adriana's Death Scene is wrenching.While the diva sang this opera opposite many of the stars of her day, the cast assembled here is rightfully legendary: Giulietta Simionato, Franco Corelli, and Ettore Bastianini.Simionato is ideal, and Corelli's singing at this time was almost incredible. Even via recordings, his vibrant singing is thrilling. And, as Mme Olivero recalled, "It was impossible for Adriana not to love him. He was so handsome!" To have Bastianini in the cast is an unspeakable asset, his glorious instrument and sympathetic portrayal an incomparable luxury.This reviewer has heard various published editions of this performance, and Opera Depot's is certainly the finest. Contemporary reviews (including that of Opera News) mentioned that this production was televised, but no kinescope has yet surfaced. Would to Heaven we will be vouchsafed such a gift one day!
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
michal
Renata Tebaldi was previously scheduled to sing this performance of Adriana but because of illness she had to give up after dress rehearsal.So Magda Olivero replaced her in the last moment.
Report
✓ Verified Buyer
FrankItaly
Well i actually am sure that a vhs of the performance DOES exist!!!! And i was close to buying it but it was already out of print it is very very rare and unbelievably no one is going to publish it on dvd don’t ask me why..i think this is part of the mystery and dark things about the incredible Magda…
Report
