Remembering Mirella Freni WQXR Editorial Placido said, "It's wonderful to have this double career. But I have always been honest with myself and my possibilities.”. Mirella Freni, OMRI (Italian: [miˈrɛlːa ˈfreːni], born Mirella Fregni, 27 February 1935 – 9 February 2020) was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. He's one of those artists that just commands respect. Graceful, clear-voiced and expressive, the soprano Mirella Freni, who has died aged 84, began her long operatic career in lighter roles, such as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and above all as a notable Mimì, the spirited, consumptive seamstress in Puccini’s La Bohème. He was already fairly mammoth by then. I directed Pavarotti's Covent Garden debut in La Bohème in 1963, when he was a young, strapping lad. When I was finally ushered into his room he looked at me and almost spat in disgust. He is probably the greatest opera singer in history. We all thought he would be very successful, but we didn't realise he was going to be such a superstar. Forget the socks and chocs and bubble bath – our critics have chosen 40 of the best music, film and TV box sets Pop by Kitty Empire 1 The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box Set (Parlophone) At £145, the Beatles box set probably costs roughly what a small car did in the early 1960s. Somewhere along the line he lost his sense of adventure. But I had two problems with him. He was often mocked because he epitomised the stereotype of a tenor: the huge, bearded, pasta-eating, handkerchief-waving entity that he eventually became. I never felt that superstardom affected his personality. He seemed seriously put out, and began answering my questions grudgingly, without an ounce of his legendary charm. "Now, everybody will think I changed my mind because you are a beautiful woman." But if you look at his early career, when he was singing with Joan Sutherland, he was a lithe, good-looking figure. In the 90s in South Africa I saw people approach him and try to touch him as if he was a god. The young Pavarotti was never a subtle stylist, but his voice was beautiful and there was something magnetic about the way he performed. We had a tiny little car that was always breaking down in the street. He achieved both musical respect and mass impact of a kind that had not been equalled since the great Enrico. I had to wait a long time; when I was finally summoned to the hotel suite, there was a nymphet in the bedroom, quite obviously getting her clothes back on. He would plant himself centre stage, face the audience and sing, without interacting with his colleagues or paying attention to the composer's markings. She married her subsequent teacher, Leone Magiera, the same year, and adopted Freni as a more pronounceable stage name. He exposed opera to an audience that might not otherwise have been attracted to it. The world-famous tenor Luciano Pavarotti died yesterday aged 71. Mirella Freni performing the Cherry Duet from Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz with Luciano Pavarotti in 1968. What he did at his absolute best - in the late 60s and early 70s - remains the gold standard for any tenor. He hadn't wanted to talk to journalists, and it took some fast talking to persuade him to relent. He ended up completely dominating the world of classical music. He was a joy to work with; full of fun and enthusiasm. That's because it stars Mirella Freni, Barbara Bonney, Marilyn Horne – oh yes, and Paul Plishka. Both José Carreras and Plácido Domingo are great actors, whereas Pavarotti stayed carefully within his niche. One was the absence of musicianship. He made his debut in the US with us in Miami in 1965. Mirella Freni Italian soprano. He was a total singing machine; phenomenally strong - the sort of man who could have lifted the car off you after an accident. Every now and then nature puts together a package that simply dominates the field. By the end, he was surrounded by a team of flunkeys oiling his wheels in a way that went to his head. They can be heard together as soloists in a recording of Verdi’s Requiem under Karajan. Ghiaurov died in 2004, and she is survived by her daughter from her first marriage, Micaela, two grandchildren and her sister Marta. When I first interviewed him he was recovering from a hip operation. When she was only 20, in 1955, Mirella made her stage debut as Micaëla in Carmen in Modena, where she had first heard opera as a child, scoring an immediate success with public and critics alike. Rock stars take drugs, demolish hotel rooms, and hold orgies. “I am generous in many ways,” she told Opera News in 1987, “but not when I think it will destroy my voice. These roles to an extent over-taxed her more delicate resources, but she sensibly approached them from her own, lyrical standpoint. We asked those who worked with him how he would be remembered. "Oh, he doesn't really know music," they say. Born in 1935 in the northern town of Modena, Freni was a childhood friend of tenor Pavarotti and was also his partner on stage. If you looked into his eyes when he sang, you could almost touch the concentration: he was always preparing the next phrase in advance. The Guardian - Back to home. He had one of the last voices that really connected with the Verdi and Puccini repertoire - a very sweet Italian voice that could sing late-19th-century music with lyricism and beauty. In his later life, when he got fat, he became more of a caricature of himself. Trivia: After making her debut in Modena as Micaela in "Carmen", she gained international fame when she first appeared at Milan's La Scala in "La Boheme." Her marriage to Magiera ended in divorce, and in 1978 she married the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov. In 1962 she had appeared as Elvira in I Puritani at the Wexford festival and sang at La Scala in 1963, as Mimì in a landmark Zeffirelli staging of La Bohème, originally under Herbert von Karajan, that was filmed and went on to have more than 200 performances. Her final stage role came as Joan of Arc in Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans in 2005, when she was 70, and what proved to be her farewell concert was a gala at the Met shortly afterwards. She later added Suzel in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz – a role she recorded with the young Pavarotti – Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Liù. When we did La Bohème at Covent Garden, he couldn't be persuaded to come to rehearsals, but somehow made it to the theatre just before the dress. He will be remembered as one of the best tenors in the world, but we both went into opera just because we loved to sing, not for the big career and the fame. It's true that later in his life he would not always arrive on the first day of rehearsals, but if he had been singing a role all his life there was no need for him to be there from the beginning. I first worked with him at the very beginning of my career, doing La Bohème in Philadelphia. Support The Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers ... Mirella Freni obituary. Their influence is reflected in all these "pretend tenors", the Il Divos, Russell Watsons and so on. Mirella Freni on IMDb: Movies, Tv, Celebrities, and more... Stumped for what to buy your friends and family this year? These are 4 amazing arias from Giacomo Puccini's famous opera La Boheme. Nhìn lại cả cuộc đời hiến dâng cho sân khấu opera, đặc biệt là opera truyền thống Ý, của Mirella Freni, New York Times gọi bà là một “prima donna Ý vô song”. He would tell us: "Never stop working, always try to get the best out of yourself, and remember there is always something new to learn." Later on he could be a prima donna, but he could also be very charming. It was a fun time. All done with a wink and a sigh - very charming. All maintain that high standard of performance she always set herself. The young Pavarotti was a revelation to the opera world. You've just got to listen to Pavarotti to realise what a real lyric tenor sounds like. There was nothing wrong with him being a superstar per se, but he stopped being a serious artist. Music Freni Voigt Paper Gaffe FILE - In this May 20, 2006, file photo, soprano Deborah Voigt performs during the Metropolitan Opera Gala honoring the Met's General Manager Joseph Volpe in New York. Why don't you try it, Luciano?" The Gazzetta di Parma newspaper in Italy ran an obituary of Mirella Freni, the great Italian soprano who died Sunday at age 84. He was admired for his powerful, sumptuous voice, and was particularly associated with roles of Mussorgsky and Verdi. I don't think his art suffered - by the time he was doing the stadium shows his voice was already on the slide. By this time she was taking on weightier roles. The Three Tenors collectively increased public appreciation of opera, just by doing what tenors have done since time immemorial: singing the lollipops from the repertoire. I like to remember normal things like that about him, the stupid things that make me laugh. Some singers think they are gods who can do everything. I used to sit with him on stage, my mouth agape. His range stretched from Mozart - he was an impressive Don Giovanni in his early years - and Rossini, through Verdi, Puccini and many parts in 19th … He had wonderful diction, and there was this hard-to-define Italian sound, a particular timbre. He then came as part of our company to Australia, where he sang three times a week for 14 weeks, and we went on to make countless recordings together. Both were born in the northern Italian city of Modena. She was also memorable as Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (she had sung Massenet’s Manon charmingly much earlier in her career), Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, which she recorded with Thomas Allen and the conductor James Levine, Lisa in the same composer’s Queen of Spades and in the title role in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. He was always joking; always fantastic company. He couldn't act for toffee - but it was all about the voice. Nonetheless, his was the most recognisable voice in living memory. Mirella Freni, soprano, born 27 February 1935; died 9 February 2020. Having made her first appearance at the Salzburg festival as Micaëla in Karajan’s 1966 Carmen, she was invited by him to undertake Desdemona in 1970, Elisabeth de Valois in Don Carlos in 1975 and eventually Aida in 1979. James Jolly Editor-in-chief, Gramophone magazine. In his later years, he sucked the air out of the room. I've never seen anyone like that, except maybe the Pope. Towards the end, his performances were really bad. Directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Her debut at the Metropolitan in New York, again as Mimì, came in 1965. He has left us with wonderful memories. There's been no one to approach his quality since he stopped singing regularly. Pavarotti had a few "secretaries", and a lot of food. Watching this indestructible instrument in action was a physical, visceral experience: the music possessed his whole body, there were no barriers inside him. Singers: Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, Robert Kerns, Michel Sénéchal. He never wanted to rehearse. It was fearless singing. To say he was difficult would be an exaggeration; at times he was fine, at others he was a bit overmastering, but that's hardly unknown in tenors. Mirella Freni obituary The Guardian (Feb 14, 2021) Graceful, clear-voiced and expressive, the soprano Mirella Freni, who has died aged 84, began her long operatic career in lighter roles, such . Luciano was like a brother to me. Alan died in 2007, aged 78. To many people, Pavarotti was the archetypal Italian tenor. The celebrity element drew attention away from the fact that he was an extraordinary artist. The energy that came from that man was contagious. It's hard to tell how much influence he had on the public taste. He only really sang Italian opera, and moved cautiously into the heavy assignments. With Hermann Prey, Mirella Freni, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kiri Te Kanawa. The Guardian newspaper today published an obituary of Mirella Freni by Alan Blyth, my former neighbour up the road. "When I said you could come, I did not know what you looked like," he said. O Soave Fanciulla (with Luciano Pavarotti) 2. I interviewed him early in his career. "Mirella Freni in the title-role as the great singing actress might easily have been overparted, but her projection is strong and positive, with the tenderness of her two big arias well caught. He pleased a massive audience, but couldn't satisfy those connoisseurs who helped initially to create his image. Her distinctive art is preserved on many complete recordings that include a fine La Bohème with Pavarotti, under Karajan (1972), her eloquent Violetta in La Traviata (1973), Micaëla, her Mozart roles and many more. The other problem was that he couldn't act to save his life - he would just stand and sing. He was happy and easygoing, always encouraging, very enthusiastic, but disciplined. Born in 1935 in the northern town of Modena, Freni was a childhood friend of … He was an icon to gay people and grannies; a preteen pin-up and a mummy's fantasy. We don't make singers like him any more; they're expected to be decent musicians. He could just stand there. We grew up together in Modena - his mother and my mother worked in the same cigarette factory, like in Carmen. He was no musician - as far as I know he could never read music - but he had a natural feeling for it. It was the beauty of his voice and its power that was so extraordinary. Nicolai Ghiaurov (or Nikolai Gjaurov, Nikolay Gyaurov, Bulgarian: Николай Гяуров) (September 13, 1929 – June 2, 2004) was a Bulgarian opera singer and one of the most famous basses of the postwar period. In 1986 I won the Pavarotti International Voice Competition in Philadelphia and was given the chance to sing with him. He would go shopping and cook for us all, making wonderful pasta and sauces - and he was always very friendly with the ballet girls. Her appealing, wide-eyed looks and her easy movement on stage helped her create realistic characters. Directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. But that was not the point. The voice was unique in timbre and power, the presence was unmistakable and he had a hint of mischief that appealed to all sexes and ages. One phrase from Luciano was worth the whole ticket price. He had so much charisma, it didn't matter. They included: 1. And the moment he walked into the rehearsal room, the whole atmosphere would change. He wore his own costume, roaming all over the stage, making sandwiches in the middle of the act. Lyric Opera of Chicago's historical performance and cast archives including opera productions, musicals, and recitals performed at the Civic Opera House in 1984. The heavier he got, the more arduous the process of getting into costume and moving about on the stage became. In the same season she was Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, in a revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s production from the previous year. We went to Mantova together for three years to study singing with Ettore Campogalliani. Opera needs great singers who are also great actors. As opera productions became more complex, his options were limited. Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Australian soprano and her conductor husband. We grew up together in Modena - his mother and my mother worked in the same cigarette factory, like in Carmen. Mirella Freni and Geraint Evans in The Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 1963. He had a long list of demands when he showed up for a stadium concert, but that's standard behaviour for stadium performers. She received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festival, where she appeared as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni and as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. It wasn't a role: it was a personal appearance by an oversized tenor. The Three Tenors-era Pavarotti was a creation of the PR industry and his own ego. One of the great stars of Italian opera Mirella Freni, who as an infant shared a wet nurse with Luciano Pavarotti, died Sunday at the age of 84 following a long illness, media reports said. Mirella Freni, an Italian soprano whose uncommon elegance and intensity combined with a sumptuous voice and intelligence to enthrall opera audiences for a half-century, has died at age 84. He was a freak of nature, a one-off. He never put the interests of art ahead of personal gain. All those arena events with the "three pensioners" were unwise: I don't think it did his artistic reputation any good. I cherish the memory of the way he treated the Covent Garden toffs during the stagnant 1980s, calling in sick when he was actually cuddling some lovely on a South Sea island - and then refusing to sing there again until he saw evidence of regime change. She also became an appreciable teacher. I haven't stopped working since. I admired the first and deplored the second. Outstanding soprano in the great Italian operatic tradition. He had the physique and the personality to match the voice, and he never had to try hard to win an audience over. When babies they shared the same nurse: as Freni put it, and as Pavarotti ballooned: “You can see who got all the milk!”. Mirella Freni singing the role of Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème, Mimì, the spirited, consumptive seamstress in Puccini’s La Bohème. What a lineup for the Merry Wives of Windsor! https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/10/mirella-freni-obituary While his voice was no longer what it had been, it was still very intimidating to stand on the stage with him. Because of his size he looked unconvincing in a lot of roles, but he was such an experienced singer of the repertory that it didn't really matter. The idea that somebody else will teach you everything and spoonfeed you the required information, as Pavarotti expected, is outdated. In 1935, the Kleiber family emigrated to Buenos Aires and Karl was renamed … The two young singers went to Mantua to study with Ettore Campo- galliani. Later leading roles that extended her range even further, particularly as an actor, were Madama Butterfly, which she sang in a film with Plácido Domingo as her Pinkerton (1974), but never on the live stage. I couldn't drive, so Luciano would make me get out and push. He was lonely because he hadn't been away from home much; he was shy and didn't speak any English. Yet Sinopoli's surprising affinity with the natural flow of the bel canto line usually triumphed, even at some dangerously slow speeds; his Madame Butterfly, with Mirella Freni in … He got some stick from the snobs about the big concerts, and singing middle-of-the-road, popular stuff. It was one of the oddest compliments I've ever received. DVD: DGG 00440 073 4037; Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri – James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. But he's certainly not the only opera singer to have gone down that road. With Mirella Freni, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Alfredo Kraus. Freni often sang on stage and disc with Luciano Pavarotti. He was incredibly warm and encouraging: that impressed me from the start. Faust makes a pact with Mefistofeles. His projection was amazing and his enunciation of words was always perfect. Now we may remember him as rather a ridiculous figure who mismanaged his private life and went on extreme diets. The Three Tenors - his stadium project with José Carreras and Plácido Domingo - was an immense earner for the record industry, but once Pavarotti stopped the arias and sang duets with pop stars, he sold opera short. Outstanding soprano in the great Italian operatic tradition, Last modified on Tue 11 Feb 2020 15.49 EST. He said she was a friend of the family. He never lost touch with that Italian spontaneity. Luciano was like a brother to me. Much later, I sang with him in his final performances at the Met. Freni continued to sing with remarkable ease, giving concerts and restricting herself to a few roles, having always turned down those she considered outside her range. Peter Dvorsky is first rate as Maurizio, strong, firm and unstrained, and Fiorenza Cossotto with her rich mezzo makes a splendid foil for Freni. 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