Opera Fanatic 2/2

Music Documentary / 93 min / 1998
A journey into the underbelly of Italian opera of the Fifties. Stefan Zucker, an eccentric opera fanatic from New York, visits the opera divas of his childhood: megalomaniacs, beauties, vain, fascinating - forgotten by many but worshipped by countless opera lovers around the world. The journey from apartment to apartment, from diva to diva, from Rome via Florence, Bologna, Padua, and Bergamo to the Scala in Milan, turns into an unprecedented opera road movie.
Directed by Jan Schmidt-Garre
Produced by PARS MEDIA
Co-Produced by ZDF/3sat, YLE, NRK, and SF
Supported by MfG and Media II
Prizes at the Munich International Documentary Festival and at Golden Prague (Czech Crystal)
WWW.PARSMEDIA.COM

[@hodgrix]

People talk a lot about Stefan and with good reason I suppose BUT with retrospect I really really appreciate this film. Despite his pettiness at times, he really gives the viewer the sense of the IMPORTANCE of these ladies and the world of opera they came from. They performed at a time where the opera was as important to the Italian public as it was to the singers. There was an expectation of excellence, real drama and genuine excitement and this documentary really captures the reality of old world which is now forgotten.

[@EndoftheTownProductions]

These older Italian singers are great. They are direct, professional, serious, intellectual about singing, and gracious. Too bad they had to answer such ridiculous questions.

[@ER1CwC]

I really agree with the comment by Tobias. Zucker is eccentric. But he is passionate, and no one else bothered to track all of them down. For that, we should be grateful. Having watched the entire film, I really like Carla Gavazzi. She still had the passion for singing and opera, and it's more than evident in this clip. I was very saddened however to hear Simionato speak. The joy of singing completely left her. As for Pobbe, I do think that she gives off Norma Desmond energy. In a way, Gencer did too. Except Gencer had enough sway to do the interview in a box at La Scala, whereas Pobbe had to do it in her living room.

[@desperatehell]

Giulietta Simionato, Leyla Gencer, Carla Gavazzi, Magda Olivero...semplicemente meravigliose e indimenticabili!

[@eugeniogentili1048]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZfShX1rec9njNU

[@laprimmadonna2341]

Cierto ❤❤❤❤

[@DamarisRivieccio]

Unica la simionato...voce di petto nn esiste.ha ragione questo era il bel canto

[@acacia-bloom]

I am sure he was sending himself and all those prima donnas up. Here is a guy who speaks in head voice (is that an act or a sickness?) asking Barbieri and Simionata if they ever used chest voice. They both had distinctive breaks between chest and head and yet, deny ever using chest voice. Lovely comment by Leyla Gencer cut in there!

[@sallpario]

zucker desided to find the voce di petto

[@uhoh007]

Priceless

[@iubanne]

Leyla sei grande...una spina ma grande.

[@manolis.799]

I don’t blame Marcella Pobbe one bit

[@flaze3]

chest voice is just a label for thicker cord mass. It's pretty much irrelevant whether you use the label or not, so long as you can explain the physiology to a student.

[@St.Garoosh]

It’s technically far more than just "employing a thicker cord mass”

[@flaze3]

@@St.Garoosh in what way?

[@PapagenoHannover]

Es una cierta contradicción, escuchar al sr. Zucker preguntando sobre la voce di petto hablando él en completo falsetto!

[@SiEtIn1]

"the higher the voice the lower the mentality" lol i bet stefan thinks he is very witty lol, but he has a very low mentality so he might be right

[@Grandtenore]

Yea the way i was taught is that, especially for high voices, the true voice is "head voice" and the voce di petto is a means by which to describe the sensation of allowing those tones access to a larger space in the throat and upper chest cavity for a fuller sound.

[@espinaca79]

I agree with you and that makes sense to me. The singers in this interview also admit that the use of chest voice made them reach larger audiences because most people do not know how to distinguish among them. Still, they were all amizing.

[@espinaca79]

Shame, Shame on Stefano. What a marvaleous opportunity he had but totally screwed it.

[@gtenore88]

A me la Marcella Pobbe fa una pena tremenda, oltretutto ci sta che ad una certa età si vada un po’ via di testa, fermo restando che per fare i cantanti bisogna essere fuori di testa :P era bravissima e bellissima, ricordiamola per il bello che ci ha lasciato!

[@vocalsvideos458]

4:05 5:01 Eb3 - (E3) (D3 at the beginning)

[@tobiasandrews3778]

You should watch the whole thing. Some go along with him, some get pissed. But no one else did it. No one else gave a shit enough about these women to track them down, run all over Italy, deal with their bad attitudes and diva bullshit. His voice is annoying, his questions are ridiculous, his hair, the wierd shit he says. All of it. What we DO have is a very funny record of some pretty monster genius in these women, regardless of the fact that the bloom has most certainly left the roses. And now they're all gone. And, as fucking ANNOYING as his shtick is (his voice is not naturally that high. He put it there and forgot to take it down. In his radio interviews you can hear it creep in every now and again), we have some sort of visual history these ladies ever existed. I mention some of these names to my students and they're all, "Magda Who?". When I was a vocal student, if I ever showed any signs I didn't know who Magda Olivero was, I don't think I would have been allowed to continue study with my teacher. But times do and indeed change. And if your memory only goes back as far as Renee Flemming and Anna Netrebko, you need to start expanding your memory cuz those girls ain't got SHIT on the old school. So in a very strange way, thank you, Mr. Zucker. It's not how I would have done it, but I'm glad someone had the cojones to do it at all. And how in the shit did he find Gina fucking Cigna, for Christ's sake? And for the record, Pobbe is pretty much the only one who is A TOTAL BITCH the entire time.

[@dabneyrossjonessoprano506]

the best comment! 👏👏👍

[@Zashorigin]

I loved Leyla when she said "precisely them that have used chest voice their whole life"... it made me laugh almost hysterically. On the other hand... what is wrong with this man's voice. He sounds terrible.Anyway, nice interview.

[@dangmills]

What was the aria GIULIETTA SIMIONATO sang from Verdi's Travatore?

[@magicmonkichi]

It is part of the end of "Condotta ell'era in ceppi" from Trovatore.

[@hasanaliozcan]

It's called Condotta ell'era in ceppi.

[@espinaca79]

That man made a fool of himself. It was isulting for those marvalous singers to be treated like that. Their art was questioned by a complete idiot. I liked the delicacy of all them.

[@ilbacioditosca]

did you hear Zucker singing? and interviewing Jerome Hines, Franco Corelli? did you see that when Pobbe get mad with him he even record his reponse to her when she is not there with him? he is not respectfull to her. He looks like he has a mental problem, how he got into this radio program and talk about opera??

[@magicmonkichi]

"high notes errod the brain" o.O

[@dangmills]

What was the aria Fedora Barbieri sang from Verdi's Falstaff?

[@axelzeltsch1668]

Reverenza

[@abcdef3433]

@@axelzeltsch1668 buongiorno buona donna!

[@florelie]

maybe he tried to sing in "chest voice" all his life and wrecked his cords haha

[@moisessalaslopez5352]

A very funny coment like your carrier. Don't get me wrong i didn't said your carrier is funny, i mean, if you had a carrier at least...

[@SiEtIn1]

did he ever have even fifteen minutes? why would he be famous for even a minute? this movie was the first time i heard of this freaky creature

[@renaissanceinblack]

5:47. There's his real voice!

[@cabalettaverdi]

este presentador eesta como una regadera.......por diossssss

[@suffisance]

"Non c'e bisogno di fare delle cose orrende" ahahah--and I love how Barbieri takes about half a minute to make the same point all the others are making :-P

[@florelie]

I can hit G natural below the below the middle C so about 1.5 octaves? below middle C .. and upper range is up to F ~ 2.5 octaves above middle C. Range helps but I'm more concerned with improving my musical creativity.. knowing which notes to sing when improvising etc

[@thesoundofmusic1991]

I'm sorry, that response to what was up with his voice was complete, incomprehensible BS.

[@abstract_geographika]

Stefan makes the silliest and weirdest explanation possible at the end of the clip; after the young lady asks "How do you cope with everyday life with a voice like yours?" Although I tried, with the best of intentions, to accept the guy's voice as it is and his manners (or mannerisms), his totally inaccurate / unnecessary questions and his never-changing, kitsch and seemingly polka dot shirt, I do admit; after that answer he gives I truly detest him.

[@federicovazzola_]

w Gavazzi

[@florelie]

*so if C4 is middle C, my lowest note is G2 ..very low for a chick apparently!

[@w.urlitzer1869]

What a horrible person that Zucker is. They should throw him out wherever he goes.

[@1988dongiovanni]

What gives with his bass laugh and the wee squeeky voice he uses elsewhere. so much bull%%^$

[@MrPren]

Il canto è proprio una brutta malattia...

[@amitasangeet2913]

Very ungracious soprano Marcella Pobbe, too full of herself with a very put down attitude. One who wants to direct the interview her way. Very unprofessional attitude. She could have been gracious to interviewer. He should have left

[@espinaca79]

You are right. Pobbe's interview was a waste of time. Any of would had done a much better work!