Word: leonoras
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Vitelloni, directed with tenderness and humor by Federico Fellini, is technically superb in every respect. The actors, led by Franco Fabrizi, manage to separate themselves from the crowd and yet show how each contributes to the crowd. Each seems to develop a point of view. Leonora Ruffo matures from a squealing dumb Italian to a sympathetic character of real stature. And Nina Rota's music is excellent...
Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), the biggest of the slobs, is a charming young chump who spends most of his life salting the local quail. When a beauty contest winner gets pregnant, he tries to leave town, but his father catches him on the wing, makes him marry the girl (Leonora Ruffo). His father-in-law then forces him to take a job in a shop that sells religious objects. Fausto tries to relieve his misery by flirting with the boss's wife, gets fired for his pains. Not long after, he spends the night with a showgirl (Maja Nipora), comes...
...dramatic tenor of our day, too much forcing has taken its toll on his voice and he can no longer sustain the line as well as he should. He is still effective in declamatory passages, but the many lyric moments are sung roughly. Tebaldi tends to be shrill as Leonora, although parts of her performance are controlled and lovely. The opera itself is uneven, so the singers must sometimes surpass their material. They have only partial success: contralto Giulia Simionato is fine, but basso Cesare Siepi is a disappointment. The best performance comes from baritone Bastianini, making his debut...
...Died. Leonora Speyer, 83, winner of the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, onetime (1934-36) president of the Poetry Society of America; in Manhattan...
...Solar Plexus. Soprano Callas had just sung Leonora in Verdi's // Trovatore and once more affirmed her position as the world's most exciting opera singer. With the exception of one high note in her last big aria that degenerated into a sickly wobble, the whole performance gave off an incomparable glow. Perhaps the glow was brighter than ever, for Soprano Callas had just signed a contract as leading soprano next fall with Manhattan's Metropolitan Opera. Il Trovatore's first notes, when she stood in slender profile in her crimson robe and sang...