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Italian diva and soprano Magda Olivero dies at 104 | Italian diva and soprano Magda Olivero dies at 104 |
(35 minutes later) | |
One of the great Italian divas, the soprano Magda Olivero, has died at the age of 104 in Milan after a career spanning more than 70 years. | One of the great Italian divas, the soprano Magda Olivero, has died at the age of 104 in Milan after a career spanning more than 70 years. |
She died on Monday in hospital after suffering a stroke last month, Italian news agency Ansa reported. | She died on Monday in hospital after suffering a stroke last month, Italian news agency Ansa reported. |
Magda Olivero made her debut in the 1930s but stopped performing after getting married in 1941. | Magda Olivero made her debut in the 1930s but stopped performing after getting married in 1941. |
She was coaxed back on to the stage 10 years later and enjoyed renewed stardom in Europe and the US. | She was coaxed back on to the stage 10 years later and enjoyed renewed stardom in Europe and the US. |
She was still performing in public at the age of 99. | She was still performing in public at the age of 99. |
La Scala opera house in Milan - where she made her earliest performances - asked the public to hold a moment of silence before a performance on Monday. | La Scala opera house in Milan - where she made her earliest performances - asked the public to hold a moment of silence before a performance on Monday. |
The opera house described her voice as charismatic, her acting as formidable and her intelligence as "ready and cutting until the end". | The opera house described her voice as charismatic, her acting as formidable and her intelligence as "ready and cutting until the end". |
Italian daily La Repubblica said even in March 2010 when she performed at the Palazzo Cusani in Milan her voice was still "grandiose". | |
The New York Times described Olivero as a soprano who "for decades whipped audiences around the world into a frenzy of adulation that was operatic even by operatic standards - despite the fact that by her own ready admission she did not possess an especially lovely voice". | The New York Times described Olivero as a soprano who "for decades whipped audiences around the world into a frenzy of adulation that was operatic even by operatic standards - despite the fact that by her own ready admission she did not possess an especially lovely voice". |
It said that over the years bootleg recordings of her voice "passed from hand to covert hand among her legions of acolytes". | It said that over the years bootleg recordings of her voice "passed from hand to covert hand among her legions of acolytes". |
"At live performances, she took the stage to screams of ecstasy and left it to thundering ovations," the paper said. | "At live performances, she took the stage to screams of ecstasy and left it to thundering ovations," the paper said. |
Her signature roles included title parts in Puccini's Tosca, Umberto Giordano's Fedora and Luigi Cherubini's Medea. | Her signature roles included title parts in Puccini's Tosca, Umberto Giordano's Fedora and Luigi Cherubini's Medea. |
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