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Sunday, October 11, 2009

Zinka Milanov: The Velvet Voice

Croatian by birth (1906), Zinka Milanov made her initial debut in Solvenia in 1927, at the tender age of 21. She sang in local opera houses, slowly and carefully learning her craft (one of the benefits of the European system) over the course of the next several years, finally reaching the upper echelon of European houses and being catapulted, via Berlin, to her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1937 as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore.

Once having burst onto the international opera scene, there was no looking back. Hailed from the very beginning for her extraordinary voice, she soon claimed many roles in the dramatic soprano category for herself. Like Caruso, she had that rarest combination of qualities in her voice: beauty and power. She was from the beginning possessed of a voice that was velvety-dark in color, with a brilliant upper register and—especially—capable of the most ravishing pianissimi, extolled by virtually all critics. In some ways, she makes a very interesting contrast with Maria Callas. Where Callas was extraordinary in her acting, her musicality and her style, Milanov was not so strong. Her musicality was certainly acceptable, but her style was grandiose (she was a diva, make no mistake!) in a more conventional and melodramatic way. She is once reported to have said, in response to questions being raised about her acting, that it didn't matter much if one were a great actor if they couldn't sing. Fair enough, in a general way. Certainly, if one could sing like Milanov, that may have tended to be the case—Callas always being excepted.
Whatever one's feeling on that subject, the fact remains that Milanov's was one of the greatest soprano voices ever. First, Leonora, the role which served her so well as a debut piece in her early years. I call your attention especially to the piano high notes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga_GsJOnY6g&NR=1&feature=fvwp\


Isn't that just absolutely beautiful! The color of her voice is hard to describe in anything resembling dry or objective language. Adjectives like "ravishing," "velvety," "luscious," "dark" and so forth give a fairly good idea, but it is almost impossible not to slip into hyperbole. Such sounds elicit an entirely affective response from the listener, and that always leads to a struggle with mere words. Her control is incredible, and most praiseworthy. This is where those 10 years or so of singing in small European houses and working endlessly on her technique really pays off. The different registers of her voice blend seamlessly together in a glorious golden thread of sound. It sometimes happens today that young singers, especially the high voices, are rushed into premature appearances in major houses, doing big roles, as soon as they show extraordinary promise. That can become a problem for them. As the great comedian George Burns once observed, lamenting the disappearance of the vaudeville theaters, young entertainers "need some place where they can fail."

Here is the great soprano in another signature role, Tosca, where she also displayed her voice to great advantage. It also affords another chance to see where and how she differed from Callas. Milanov was very much of the "stand there and sing it" school, which is fine. For the truly great voices, it is enough:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGEJ221owjM


This is great singing...there is no other way to describe it. Nothing else matters when Milanov sings. She was 50 years old when this film was made, and her voice is still in fine form. Her technique is rock-solid, and never lets her down. For those who might like to hear her talk about her career, there is a video on the sidebar entitled "Zinka Milanov on Tosca."

She remained at the Met until she was sixty, and was greatly missed when she retired. She was one of the most popular sopranos in Met history, and her audience simply adored her. People often talk about the "Golden Age of Opera," usually referring to an approximate period centered somewhere toward the end of the 19th century. There probably was a golden age of great operatic singing, but in my judgment, it would be more nearly mid-20th century, perhaps from the end of WWII to about 1975. If one runs down the Met roster for those years, the great voices just leap off the page. And certainly one of them was Zinka Milanov, one of the most outstanding dramatic soprano voices ever.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the article, I knew her name , but didn’t listen to her recordings . She was born in the right time , because after the WW2 the Soviets came to Western Europe , and she would have been a Croatian or Slovenian People’s artist, unknown in the West.
I imagine that it was especially great to hear her live in the theater – such a big , velvety voice and perfect technique. There is nothing unpleasant in her voice, and it has some “tragic” tone too. Maybe this is called “dramatic soprano”?

Judging by the photos, she was a pretty woman and this quality helped her to be so grand. She also had noble manners.

n.a.

corax said...

you have succeeded in re-ordering my thinking about milanov. this leonora recording is astounding. now i understand what all the fuss was about. thank you.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Yes, she was very popular in the theater. She had a grand manner about her--what you refer to as noble manners, and the power and beauty of her voice always impressed people. Curiously, even with that big voice, her ability to sing very soft high notes was one of her greatest assets. The power was there when she needed it for dramatic effect, but music lovers often respond even more enthusaistically to beautiful soft singing, something the great tenor Beniamini Gigli also knew very well, and used to great effect.

Edmund St. Austell said...

corax: yes, she had quite a passionate group of fans. Unlike La Divina, Milanov's talent was a purely vocal one. She is the "un-Callas" in many ways. Where Callas began as a heavy, not very good looking woman, and transformed her appearance in later life, Milanov began as a very beautiful young woman, and became heavy and plain with age. Where Callas developed extraordinary acting ability coupled with exquisite musicality and style, Milanov stayed within the fach of the golden-voiced diva of days past, who stood and sang. Both are legitimate, both excite passionate response...they are just very different creatures. Milanov was 17 years older than Callas. She began singing in 1927, when Callas was only a toddler, and this is just enough to align her with another generation. Often, Callas enthusiasts think of Milanov as very unsophisticated, but in fact she simply belongs to the previous generation. Even those who find things to object to in Milanov, however, do not deny the magnificent voice. It was really something very special.

Les said...

I'm a Callas fanatic, and I think that she had the most expressive voice ever given to a soprano. However, that by no means relegates the great Zinka to an also-ran.....quite the contrary! Zinka Milanov had a voice that at it's best was rivaled by none. While her RCA studio recordings are fine as far as they go, one needs to hear how this gorgeous voice sounded in live performances. I am fortunate. I have her live Met "Forza" performances, both her "Norma" broadcasts, two Aidas in the 1950s', Trovatore in the 1950's, Simon Boccanegra in 1960, Andrea Chenier in 1954 and 1958, her famous 1940 "Ballo" with Bjoerling, and three "Gioconda" broadcasts from 1946, 1953, and 1957. Few great divas at the Met have left such a fabulous sound legacy. The voice was something from another world.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you very much for your excellent comment. My, you do have an impressive collection! I agree absolutely with you. Thanks for coming by. You are always welcome. Edmund

Carsten Snedsted said...

Milanov made some of the best psykograms of both heroines and tragidiennes in a very wide repetoire, including Verdi as well as verismoworks.
Her Leonora in Il Trovatore (1952) is the best portrait ever given in that opera. Also her Aïda (1955) is outstanding, just as fine as that of Callas and Tebaldi.
My favourite recording with Milanov remains the live-performance os Un Ballo in Maschera with Jussi Björling (1940), but her solo i Verdis Requiem under Toscanini the same year is outstanding too.
Her last triumph in recording-studios is the Toscarecording in Vienna in the summer of 1957, where she is heard together with two great colleges, Jussi Björling and Leonard Warren.
Tosca was one of Callas best parts, but Milanovs interpretation adds to the profil the very romantic and matured caracter, dominated by Milanovs velvet-timbre and her fine acting with her voice.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you very much for an interesting and exceptionally well-informed comment! Welcome to the blog, and please feel free to drop by anytime and join the discussions! Edmund

Avvocato Orsini said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Edmund St. Austell said...

I absolutely agree with you!

Jan - Cincinnati said...

Zinka Milanov is my favorite soprano. Listening to her recordings (all I have to know her by), just thrills me. I remember my mother playing her RCA record of Milanov in Aida. Today, I'm listening to the CD of the same recording. Timeless. I also attend the Met HD performances at the local movie theatre, and so I have a comment on the dispute between the actress versus the stand and sing style. It depends on the venue. Certainly, watching the opera up close & personal, as in the Met's HD performance, acting is an intrinsic part of the experience. But when listening to a CD, then it's the beauty of the voice and the vocal presentation which moves me. It is in some ways a purer experience than watching a live opera. (It also happens that I enjoyed the concert version of Les Mis much more than the full play.) Ah, Zinka Milnov's rich, sultry voice is perfect to my ears.

Edmund StAustell said...

I share your enthusiasm, my friend, I really do. She was absolutely wonderful. I've seldom if ever heard a more beautiful soprano voice.

Les said...

I have all of Zinka's RCA studio recordings, and as I mentioned in an earlier post, many, MANY of her broadcasts. I've recently acquired her 1954 Norma broadcast. No - despite her still magnificent voice, this opera does not seem to "mesh" with her voice as well as it did in the December, 1944 broadcast. I've also acquired her 1943 Aida with Martinelli, as well as her 1944 Ballo with Peerce under the baton of Bruno Walter. For some reason, I find this 1944 Ballo preferable to the 1940 performance with Bjoerling. Is it possible that Bruno Walter made the difference???
I'm happy to say that I have every Milanov broadcast of the 1950's as well. Do I really need all those Milanov "Forza" broadcasts??? Probably not. One important thing: it's been often said that Zinka sounds "past her prime" on the 1958 RCA "Forza" recording. Perhaps this may be true, but I cannot think of any soprano TODAY who could sing this role as well as Zinka still could in 1958.
I've also read some wonderful stories about Zinka, and I can only assume that she was a very grand, yet brutally frank, and still remained a woman loved by all. She had a blunt sense of humor and from what i've read, could hurl a "zinger" with the best of them. I genuinely love the woman as well as the voice. I hope she's singing in the great beyond and being the real "handful" that I hear she was during her lifetime.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you very much, my friend, for an excellent and interesting comment!

Luis said...

I was born in 1975 , 9 years after Milanov's farewell. in 1992 I heard Milanov's Voice for my very first time at the age of 18 casually in her roll of Leonora (Il Trovadore) with Bjoerling and Warren ...on the radio. I was so impacted that I thought something just went through my soul leaving it totally changed. She was responsible to create my first contradiction in my sh ort experience in opera at that time: Callas vs Milanov vs Tebaldi.

Now ,almost 20 years later, Milanov is still my favorite soprano's voice and Callas the most influential woman in Opera's History. I think Milanov has not received all the recognition her voice deserves but we are here showing that her impact has jumped world wide, because in Cuba (where I was born and lived for 25 years) Milanov has a legion of followers, so that makes me think she must have a lot of people all over the world supporting her art, collecting her recordings, and establishing forums and discussions around her name. glad to find this. bravo MILANOV!!

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you very much, Luis. Yes, I share your enthusiasm! I heard Milanov when I was fairly young (although I'm much older than you)and I had the same impression. It was also on the radio--La Gioconda-- and even as a 19 year old (this would be back in '58)I knew I was hearing something really extraordinary. It set me to thinking of terms like "gold," and "velvet," which stuck with me to this day. There have been very, very few voices like hers. She was a very great soprano indeed!

Anonymous said...

I heard Milanov sing Verdi's Requiem in New York about 1954-1955I'm not sure if the concert was in Carnegie Hall or the Met? Sometime before the concert was over Milanov suddenly fainted. Carlo Bergonzi and Giorgio Tozzi caught the diva and dragged her off stage. After a brief intermission her cover took over and the concert was finished without a glitch. If anyone saw this concert please add your comments! Who was the mezzo-soprano? Who was Milanov's cover?

Marlene said...

Thank you for this blog on Zinka. I agree. She was the greatest soprano in her repertoire. Her Trovatore, Forza, Gioconda, Ballo will never be surpassed. I was fortunate to hear her at the old Met many times and the voice was amazing. So effortless and the loveliness of her sound would float through that large house. And singing with Bjoreling and Warren!! How spoiled we were. Now when I listen to those recordings, I am amazed at how wonderful they were. It was indeed a golden age.
Marlene