This week's Opera Daily features the iconic aria "La mamma morta" and its unforgettable role in the 1993 movie Philadelphia
"La mamma morta" from Act III of Umberto Giordano's "Andrea Chénier" is, indeed, an achingly beautiful aria. I was driven, however, to explore why the Maria Callas rendition is thought of as pure perfection and as setting the standard for other sopranos.
I listened intently to performances by Renata Tebaldi (https://youtu.be/Yxk6iO3K9hQ), Sondra Radvanovsky (https://youtu.be/5ZZeioXswQU), Anna Netrebko (https://youtu.be/-s7Ep5bbz64), Montserrat Caballé (https://youtu.be/v9NRtt5KyyM) and Mirella Freni (https://youtu.be/xkXAp14I-Sk). Of these artists, Mirella Freni came closest to "La Divina" in conveying the sorrow, desolation, longing and lamentation of Maddalena di Coigny. I thought their vocals were elegant, spare, melodious and not overwrought. Then again, you are familiar with my biases.🥂
"Andrea Chénier" - Complete Opera
https://youtu.be/MAZH8ncfQXg
Umberto Giordano - Biographies
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Umberto-Giordano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Giordano
"La mamma morta" from Act III of Umberto Giordano's "Andrea Chénier" is, indeed, an achingly beautiful aria. I was driven, however, to explore why the Maria Callas rendition is thought of as pure perfection and as setting the standard for other sopranos.
I listened intently to performances by Renata Tebaldi (https://youtu.be/Yxk6iO3K9hQ), Sondra Radvanovsky (https://youtu.be/5ZZeioXswQU), Anna Netrebko (https://youtu.be/-s7Ep5bbz64), Montserrat Caballé (https://youtu.be/v9NRtt5KyyM) and Mirella Freni (https://youtu.be/xkXAp14I-Sk). Of these artists, Mirella Freni came closest to "La Divina" in conveying the sorrow, desolation, longing and lamentation of Maddalena di Coigny. I thought their vocals were elegant, spare, melodious and not overwrought. Then again, you are familiar with my biases.🥂
"Andrea Chénier" - Complete Opera
https://youtu.be/MAZH8ncfQXg
Umberto Giordano - Biographies
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Umberto-Giordano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Giordano