If you missed Wednesday’s post featuring Così fan tutte, you can find it here. Like I mentioned with Great Operatic duets, we will be revisiting Mozart soon.
Moffo had a brief but notable career at The Met. A colleague of mine saw her in 1970 at The Met and said her career was finished. Then she married record executive Robert Sarno and she made a batch of disastrous recordings that were all wobbles and hoots on display,
I was intrigued by the notion that Anna Moffo's voice, so beautiful and full of pathos in “L'amerò, sarò costante”, declined later into "wobbles and hoots" as duly noted. What a terrible fate for any singer, let alone a great diva. Since I am unfamiliar with her work, I decided to take a quick look at her biography. The Wikipedia account describes a storied, international career cut short by vocal problems. She was an Italian American, a Pennsylvanian, who was renowned for her beauty, as well as her voice. She was beloved in Italy, and hosted "The Anna Moffo Show" on Italian television for 13 years. She starred in movie versions of operas she had famously performed at The Met ("La Traviata" and "Lucia di Lammermoor"), which were directed by her husband, Mario Lanfranchini. She left a huge number of recordings covering a wide range of musical genres. She was a board member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, who hosted galas and gave master classes. Anna Moffo battled breast cancer for ten years, before she died of a stroke in 2006 at age 73. Armed with this information, I will explore Anna Moffo’s musical legacy with greater appreciation, compassion and interest.
I enjoyed Renée Fleming's version. the August 10 article on Moffo (which I had forgotten) and "The Anna Moffo Show". A nice deep dive on a Sunday afternoon! Thank you!
Moffo had a brief but notable career at The Met. A colleague of mine saw her in 1970 at The Met and said her career was finished. Then she married record executive Robert Sarno and she made a batch of disastrous recordings that were all wobbles and hoots on display,
We featured her in August here. Personally I like to focus on the positives with Anna. Some of her early roles were incredible and overall she was such a talent. https://operadaily.substack.com/p/opera-daily-august-10-2020
Sure you have too
Beautifully sung. Lovely.
I was intrigued by the notion that Anna Moffo's voice, so beautiful and full of pathos in “L'amerò, sarò costante”, declined later into "wobbles and hoots" as duly noted. What a terrible fate for any singer, let alone a great diva. Since I am unfamiliar with her work, I decided to take a quick look at her biography. The Wikipedia account describes a storied, international career cut short by vocal problems. She was an Italian American, a Pennsylvanian, who was renowned for her beauty, as well as her voice. She was beloved in Italy, and hosted "The Anna Moffo Show" on Italian television for 13 years. She starred in movie versions of operas she had famously performed at The Met ("La Traviata" and "Lucia di Lammermoor"), which were directed by her husband, Mario Lanfranchini. She left a huge number of recordings covering a wide range of musical genres. She was a board member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, who hosted galas and gave master classes. Anna Moffo battled breast cancer for ten years, before she died of a stroke in 2006 at age 73. Armed with this information, I will explore Anna Moffo’s musical legacy with greater appreciation, compassion and interest.
Amen! Beautifully said!
I enjoyed Renée Fleming's version. the August 10 article on Moffo (which I had forgotten) and "The Anna Moffo Show". A nice deep dive on a Sunday afternoon! Thank you!
🙏🏼 I love Renee’s version too