Orfeo e Euridice
C.W.
GLUCK
Performances
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5
August 1959 - Salzburg Festival - Sciutti, Jurinac; Karajan
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15
December 1959 - Vienna State Opera - Lipp, Rothenberger; Karajan
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1
November 1960 - N.Y. Town Hall (American Opera Society) - I. Gonzales, Allen; De
Almeida
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7
May 1961 - La Fenice - Panni, Fusco; Caracciolo
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14
May 1962 - La Scala - Lipp/Panni, Adani; Sonzogno
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25
July 1964 - San Carlo - Pani, Meneguzzer; Maag
Recordings
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5
August 1959 - Salzburg Festival - Sciutti, Jurinac; Karajan
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(Day Unknown) August 1959 - Salzburg Festival - Sciutti, Jurinac; Karajan
Reviews
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August 1959
"The glory of the performance was Giulietta
Simionato, a perfect Orfeo from the point of view of the voice, art of singing,
stagecraft and emotion. this singer's voice has exceptional power, flexibility
and warmth. She guides it with absolute science, uniting the three registers
without a shadow of a seam and crowing her art with communicative emotion." Paul
Scapus, Metropole, August 12, 1959
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August 1959
"True, she doesn't have the amplitude, the full contralto colour of hieratic
dignity of her great colleague Kathleen Ferrier, who was born to play Orfeo, but
by the same token she was able to resolve quite decorously all the difficult
problems that were put to her, betting on the nobility of her accent and the
purity of her legato, without sacrificing the vocal and expressive essence of
the character." Giorgio Gualerzi, Replica
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May 1962
" As expected, Giulietta Simionato
dominated the stage by means of her wealth of vocal resources and the authority
of her moving dramatic attitudes. She dominated with singing that was miraculous
for its polished splendour and its expressive ardour, and otherwise made an
impression with the lordly dignity of her interpretation, pleasing us with the
seductive naturalness of her stage personality and also with the precise way she
has stylised her mythical character." Franco Abbiati, Il Corriere della
Serra, May 15, 1962
Anecdotes
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The
1959 Salzburg Festival Orfeo was one of
the great milestones of Simionato's career and was reported internationally in
the press as such, in countries including Belgium, Switzerland, France, England
and of course Italy and Germany. Many commentators found it hard to believe that
this was Simionato's debut in the role due to the polished nature of her
performance.
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Karajan originally wanted to do the Orfeo's
in German as a bonus for the Austrian public
who had seen their language banned from the stage, but try as she might
Simionato could not find time to accommodate this wish (see below) so von Karajan
agreed to the Italian language version.
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While singing in the Orfeo's at
Salzburg, Simionato was also darting back and forth to Verona to sing Azucena in
Il Trovatore.
-
La
Simionato was engaged to sing Orfeo in
the 1954-55 MET season but was suffering forma serious form of exhaustion was
unable to sing (Rise Stevens replaced her). Bing was not convinced by her
explanation and punished her by leaving her off the MET roster until 1959.