ADRIANA LECOUVREUR – CILEA
Presented on May 22, 24, 29 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Magda Olivero – Adriana
Jon Piso – Maurizio
Alberto Rinaldi – Michonnet
Maria Luisa Nave – Princess
Loris Gambelli – Prince
Ernesto Vezzosi – Quinault / Poisson
Vittorina Magnaghi – Jouvenot
Clara Betner – Dangeville
Gabriele deJulis – Abbé
Napoleone Annovazzi – Conductor
Maria Sofia Marasca – Producer
Listen to this production here:
Maurizio (Jon Piso), Adriana (Magda Olivero), Poisson (Patrick Ring, at back) then Napoloeone Annovazzi (Conductor), Maria Sofia Marasca (Producer), Bill O’Kelly, Maria Luisa Nave (Princess), Alberto Rinaldi (Michonnet); at back Poisson (Patrick Ring), Prince (Loris Gambelli – looking very tall, but stood on step!) and Abbé (Gabriele deJulis) on stage after a performance of “Adriana Lecouvreur” at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin during May 1967
The highlight of that spring season of ’67 in Dublin was of course the first ever staging by the society of Francesco Cilea’s opera “Adriana Lecouvreur” with the ‘divine’ Magda Olivero in the title role. Both the composer and the soprano had been in the news in the previous year when the world celebrated the centenary of his birth with revivals of “Adriana Lecouvreur” with Signora Olivero singing in a number of anniversary performances. She was identified with the role of Adriana more than any other in her repertoire. ‘Some of us in the chorus knew about her but not enough about her reputation,’ recalled Paddy Brennan. ‘At that time in the sixties few people travelled abroad to attend opera and mostly depended on gramophone records and radio broadcasts, so we really weren’t aware of the true importance of “Divine Magda”, as she was affectionately called. She was in fact a living legend. Freddie Caracciolo and John MacInerney would have known her, and Annovazzi knew her personally and was instrumental in getting her to sing for the society. Generally, though, Irish opera-goers didn’t know about her and consequently there was no great rush to the box-office for tickets.’ There was in addition a resistance to little known operas and “Adriana Lecouvreur” fell into that category, despite the fact that it was being described in press releases as an opera ‘with passion to stir every heart.’ The work itself is based on the life of the famous French actress Adrienne Lecouvreur (1692- 1731) who won renown for her roles in plays by Corneille and Racine, as well as her friendship with Voltaire. Outside of Italy, however, Cilea’s operas were slow to gain popularity, only “L’ Arlesiana” and “Adriana” being staged; indeed, Cilea was cruelly dubbed the poor man’s Giordano. Both composers, it will be remembered, worked under the shadow of Puccini, depending on powerful melodies to cover up some poor musical joinery in their operatic scores. Quite apart from its 18th century setting, Adriana has much in common with Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier”, in its compelling lyrical flow of melody which is basic to its appeal, needing a soprano and tenor prepared to ‘knock the slates off the opera house roof.’ Magda Olivero had made the role of Adriana her own and one that had played a crucial part in her illustrious career. Born in Saluzzo, near Turin, on March 25 1914, she was blessed with a natural voice and went on to make a career of singing, being especially noted for her Puccini roles. In 1941 she married an American industrialist and decided to retire from the operatic stage, a decision that shocked her friends and admirers. Irish soprano Veronica Dunne tells the story that her decision was precipitated by an experience singing in an opera conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza. ‘When I was studying in Rome in the early fifties, at a time when Magda Olivero made her celebrated comeback, it was said that singing under Bellezza was partly to blame for her unexpected retirement; he was very deaf and allowed the orchestra to play too loudly, so that Magda sang herself out in no time and later had to resume her studies before contemplating a comeback. I am inclined to believe the story as it was circulated widely in Italian musical circles. I did hear that on her return she sang gloriously as Tosca and Mimi.’ Francesco Cilea was to play a major part in her comeback. In August 1950, by then in his eighties and sensing perhaps approaching death, he wanted desperately to hear Olivero sing Adriana as he remembered her in the part. He wrote to her and it was said that out of a sense of loyalty she agreed; not only that but visited his house and sang excerpts from his opera. Cilea, who accompanied her on the piano, was visibly overcome. ‘You have gone beyond notes,’ he told her. ‘You have understood what I felt in composing opera and you have entered into the soul of Adriana in the same way as I did.’ In Paddy Brennan’s view, “Adriana” was an opera that needed a legendary singer like Olivero to make it work. The tragedy was that opera-goers in Dublin found out too late of her greatness and did not attend her performances in any numbers. They missed a unique opportunity. Critic Charles Acton waxed enthusiastic about the production and was grateful to the DGOS for staging it. He emphasised that the success of the opera largely depended on the prima donna in the title role and in this respect the society was fortunate to have Olivero. She had a worthy partner in Jon Piso and it would be a shame, he added, if there were empty seats in the theatre for Olivero’s final two performances. At this time a number of London’s leading critics began to take an interest in the society’s spring seasons. John Higgins of the Financial Times attended the first night of “Adriana” and came away very impressed. He reminded his readers that Olivero had sung the role four years before in Edinburgh and that it was by now a ‘performance rather than an interpretation.’ There is no mistaking the grande dame aspect. Adriana’s red-robed entry into the Green Room of the Comedie Francaise may have a touch of one of Bea Lillie’s wilder creations, but there is also a flicker of la divine Sarah. The famous quotation from “Phedre” is delivered with enough bite to silence any rival and the death scene is carried off with superb melodrama, as Adriana collapses on a chaise longe, her hair in full flood around a chalk-white face.’ Dundalk opera buffs, meanwhile, continued to attend the glamorous spring seasons, led by Father Peter Shields of the Gramophone Society; he also helped to organise the annual concerts in the Town Hall with star DGOS guest artists. Frances O’Gorman counts the performance of “Adriana” as among her most vivid memories. It was a real experience, she said, hearing Magda Olivero singing her favourite role. ‘She was not young at the time but she was every inch a prima donna, using her voice with musical intelligence and sensitivity. On the stage she looked divine, and the magic of her voice and presence made you see a young, extremely striking woman loving and suffering for that love. I count myself very fortunate to have met one of the really outstanding talents of her generation.’ ‘Magda was unforgettable,’ recalls Maura Mooney. ‘Funny thing is that she had a kind of hypnotic effect on me.’ To Florrie Draper she was one of the very few real prima donnas to sing with the society. ‘True, we had great singers but it would be wrong to call them prima donnas. Off-stage, Olivero was a lady, simple and charming, and without pretension.’ For Maureen Lemass the diva’s portrayal of Adriana was intensely moving. ‘I just cannot convey in words her whole approach to the role and the incredible way she got inside it. It had to be seen to be believed. All I can say is that she lived the part and in the course of the performance became the embodiment of the famous French actress she was portraying.’ Maureen Lemass got to know Olivero on a personal basis and they went shopping and sight-seeing together. Later on they began to correspond and do so to this day. The diva thoroughly enjoyed her visit to Ireland, so much so that before she departed she promised Maestro Annovazzi she would return the following year to sing “Tosca”.
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
Opera in Ireland 