Verdi (Giuseppe), Mirella Freni, soprano Jon Vickers, tenor Freni is sometimes unfairly overlooked in discussions of post-war sopranos, overshadowed by Callas & Co. and by the lack of a really big role that she, and she alone, “owned”–although her Mimi might qualify. This astute, homespun character was instantly congenial to a singer who herself came from a relatively humble family and had had to learn how to cope good-humouredly with household chores and other responsibilities from an early age. Freni knew how to husband her voice and never strayed into the heavier repertory. “You can see which one of us got the more milk”, Freni joked. He also presided over her one failure: a new Scala production of La traviata in 1964 from which she withdrew after reacting provocatively to the audience’s whistles on the first night. But my father, who was a ‘barbiere,’ like Figaro, thought it was unnatural. Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get them delivered straight to your inbox. She was 84. Conductor, pianist, vocalist talent scout, Leone Magiera has accompanied the musical career of stars like Mirella Freni, Ruggero Raimondi, Luciano Pavarotti, Carmela Remigio. ... Continue Reading, You will want at least six minutes of quiet, uninterrupted listening time and space in order to full... Continue Reading, The Bottom Line: This new Beethoven concerto cycle on Alpha looks like it's going to be one of the major events of the Beethoven year. Particularly famed for her roles in a wide ranging Italian, French and Russian repertoire, her supremely controlled technique supported an instrument of evocative beauty, which she used with great flexibility and impeccable intonation. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. When (as a substitution for Joan Carlyle) she appeared as Nannetta in Falstaff (conducted by Giulini and directed by Zeffirelli) at Covent Garden in 1961, Andrew Porter described her as ‘the soprano we have been waiting for’ with a ‘sweet flexible voice under perfect control, and an innate musicality to irradiate and make eloquent everything she sings’; J.B. Steane recalled that ‘never had Nannetta’s response, “Anzi rinnova come fa la luna”, risen more blissfully to its high note, which holds out on a moonlit thread the promise of eternal love’. Freni was the more cautious of the two, prolonging her career much longer and avoiding any conspicuous signs of vocal decline. In 2002, while she was still performing, she recorded an interview about her life and career in which, after recalling her early days, she discussed some of her most acclaimed roles and also spoke about the particularly close artistic relationship she enjoyed with Herbert von Karajan. “Some singers think they are gods who can do everything,” she added. A critical - and a critic’s - success: Alexander Serov’s Rogneda was premiered in St Petersburg @mariinskyen 155 years ago today. Asked whether she thought of herself as the “last prima donna,” as she was sometimes called, Ms. Freni demurred. Her entire operatic repertoire—even the roles she sang in only one production, such as Handel’s Romilda (Serse), Scarlatti’s Griselda, Bellini’s Beatrice, Offenbach’s Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) and Boito’s Margherita (Mefistofele)—is preserved on audio recordings. Mastroianni, her longtime manager. “They set up a little ostello” — a cozy hostel — “for the students,” Ms. Freni said in a 2005 interview with The Times. Many opera lovers acknowledged Ms. Freni’s special claim on this tradition, which valued bel canto principles of producing rich, unforced sound; of shaping even, lyrical lines across the range of a voice; and of sensitively matching sound to words. She recorded Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” twice, including a film version conducted by Karajan, but never performed the role complete in a staged production in an opera house. [5/29/2003], Opera arias by Donizetti, Puccini, Mascagni, Cilea, Bizet, Massenet, Gounod, Mozart, Bellini, & Verdi -, Didn’t Glenn Gould tell us that a child’s fiddling with the knobs of the home stereo was already... Continue Reading, The Bottom Line: This is atrocious. This film is surely Freni’s most fascinating legacy as an actress: never have her face and body seemed so mobile and varied in expression, reflecting her insinuating delivery of Da Ponte’s libretto. Mirella Freni, an Italian soprano whose uncommon elegance and intensity combined with a sumptuous voice and intelligence to enthrall audiences for a half-century, has died at age 84. From a few years earlier comes Traviata’s big first-act scene, and unless you insist on Callas’ fire, Freni satisfies–the voice is fresh, beautiful throughout its range, “Sempre libera” is thrilling, and Traviata’s dilemma is sharply characterized. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Freni’s international breakthrough had come in 1961 when she sang an enchanting Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and, later that season, Adina in Franco Zeffirelli’s L’Elisir D’Amore. It was he who chose her for the career-changing Scala production of La Bohème, and for the heavier Verdi roles (Desdemona, Elisabetta, Aida) that she took on at the Salzburg Festival in the 1970s. The performance was her unannounced farewell to the stage. “But I have always been honest with myself and my possibilities.”. Also taking part are other distinguished musicians and music experts, identified during the feature, who cast light on her very special performing attributes. In later years, she found satisfaction in teaching. From this miniatures master one might expect each variation to be ... Continue Reading, No New York City resident has been immune to the physical and emotional stress resulting from the pandemic and various states of lockdown, and that unquestionably includes working musicians. In Scotland, Freni is remembered for the famous Carmen at the Edinburgh Festival in 1977. Mirella Freni (originally Fregni) was born in Modena on 27 February 1935 and died in the same city on 9 February 2020. Even in the mid ’70s, when she made Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s film of Le nozze di Figaro (interacting with Hermann Prey, Kiri Te Kanawa and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau), her Susanna had a three-dimensional humanity that no other soprano has quite equalled. She made her professional debut in 1955 in her hometown as Micaëla in “Carmen.” Following a season with the Netherlands Opera, she began appearing in major houses and festivals, including La Scala, Glyndebourne in England and Covent Garden in London. It was advice that she followed. In Bellini, Donizetti and Gounod she found a congenial partner in Alfredo Kraus. She was 84. Spontaneity was a basic tenet of Freni’s artistic creed. MIRELLA Freni, who has died aged 84, was one of the great lyric sopranos of her era. Reviewing her performance in “Manon Lescaut” at the Met in 1990, The Times’s Donal Henahan marveled at her longevity and excellence. Her most frequently performed role is "Queen of the Night" which she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space and other prestigious venues across the United States and Europe. This is not a fancy, high-gloss “e-zine,” but rather a simple, straightforward newsletter-style section of our website designed for ease of reading and packing the maximum amount of useful information into each issue. In May of that year the Met presented her in a gala celebrating the 40th anniversary of her company debut and her 50th year in opera. Commenting on the state of … Too many images selected. In short, it was hard to pin a label on her. Freni received a solid technical training from Luigi Bertazzoni in Modena and Ettore Campogalliani in Mantua. A proper technique requires time, discipline, knowledge and good guidance. Nor was Freni ever one of those operatic stars who prefer to shine alone. When Ms. Freni was 5, her uncle was playing a new recording of the Italian coloratura soprano Toti Dal Monte singing a melodically ornate aria from “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Young Mirella started singing along. To everyone’s surprise the normally autocratic Herbert von Karajan changed the date of a performance which allowed Freni to perform at the general rehearsal and then only at the first night. The new Scottish Opera chorus and Edinburgh schoolboy choristers excelled. Herbert von Karajan, conductor Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. The middle register was less well-oiled than it had been, but her acting was totally spontaneous and compelling in detail. Select from premium Mirella Freni of the highest quality. The study of singing involves subjects such as breathing, support, sound emission, resonance and more elements that I will describe and explain here. ©1999 - 2015 Classics Today All Rights Reserved - Website by FirstTracks Marketing, Opera arias by Donizetti, Puccini, Mascagni, Cilea, Bizet, Massenet, Gounod, Mozart, Bellini, & Verdi. This set depicts one of “the very best” sopranos of her time, and it’s a worthy introduction to her art. She could say no, even to the imposing Karajan, if she though a particular role was not right for her. Singing Puccini’s aria “Un bel dì,” Ms. Freni won. Each month we make a copy of the magazine open to read online. Steane, in fact, reminds us that, right from the beginning, ‘this was a voice with unusual fullness of tone: she was to the typical soubrette as Sutherland was to the average coloratura’. Yet Ms. Freni never lost the warmth and richness of her lyric soprano origins. It was rightly hailed as the “Carmen of the century”. She won international acclaim in the role in a landmark 1963 production at La Scala in Milan, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and conducted by Herbert von Karajan, who became one of her major champions. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . Click here to request Getty Images Premium Access through IBM Creative Design Services. Sign-up for our newsletter and stay up to date on upcoming 'Song of America' events and new online resources. Radio Program, Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Mirella Freni, an Italian soprano whose uncommon elegance and intensity combined with a sumptuous voice and intelligence to enthrall audiences for a half-century, has died at age 84. After winning the prestigious Viotti competition in Vercelli in 1957, her career soon took her abroad: first to Holland and Germany and then to Glyndebourne, where she made her British debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni in 1960, returning in the same role the following year and for both Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Adina in L’elisir d’amore the year after (she later sang Zerlina and Susanna at Covent Garden). “I have done my job honestly. Although those heavier Verdi heroines require bigger voices with more tonal depth and greater variety of shadings than Freni could supply, she’s an interesting Leonora in La Forza (the “Miserere” and “Pace, pace mio Dio” with Muti), while less impressive as an Aida whose voice is stretched in “O patria mia”. “They can’t give expression to the phrase. They don’t give the right accent to the words.” She said that she told her students over and over, “Pazienza! She’s a ravishing Mimi in two arias from the complete 1964 performance led by Thomas Schippers, and arias from La rondine, Gianni Schicchi, and Turandot are almost as wonderful. After she enjoyed success with master classes at the University of Bologna, the mayor of Vignola, a town near Modena, invited her to establish a center for the study of singing there. Freni’s not associated with bel canto roles, but her “Qui la voce” from Bellini’s I puritani is well done, if without the spectacular fireworks of a Callas or a Sutherland (but with a firmer line than the latter), and her “So anch’io” from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale is delectably perky. But she did have a voice of uncommon purity, her interpretations were elegant and stylish, she expressed emotions through voice color (not by fussing with the words or sobbing), and she always honored the musical line.