Word: azucena
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Trovatore will be remembered for the debut of Giulietta Simionato, the great Italian mezzo-soprano who sang Azucene. Simionato is known to record collectors for her superb Rossini performances. Yet, her extraordinary range enables her to perform parts as diverse as Azucena and Santuzza with equal ease and brilliance. Her Trovatore could not have been bettered. In these days when dramatic singers with reliable techniques are rare, a good Azucena, so difficult a part, is harder to find than the "great American opera...
...first-night audience was on Page's side almost as soon as the curtain went up. She had engaged top Spanish Designer Antoni Clave to do the sets, and he had turned out some breathtaking ones in melodramatic black, blue and crimson. Then the Gypsy Azucena (Sonia Arova) lashed into a dance to Verdi's crackling Stride lavampa music, and Page and the dancers were in full command. In the Anvil Chorus, the dancers whirled with so much gusto that the crowd could hardly keep from stomping out the rhythm with them. Standout scene: Azucena's duet...
Said glowing Ruth Page: "I wrote the part [of Azucena] for myself. Now I'm dying to dance...
...part of the gypsy minstrel, Manrico, Gino Sinimberghi has a warm and clear tenor. Azucena, Manrico's mother, is sung with intensity and dramatic power by Gianna Pederzini. Supporting singers Enzo Mascherni and Vittorina Colonnello also have fine, well-controlled voices. The orchestra and chorus of the Rome Opera House completes the first-rate group of artists which makes "II Trovatore" at least a musical success...