MILKA STOJANOVIĆ – GOLDEN VOICE

 

 

Here is an ultra rare CD with studio recordings made by a soprano with a voice of extraordinary beauty, one of the recipients of the award “Golden Voice.” According to a survey conducted by the magazine Opera News in the late 1960s, American critics and audiences considered a young Yugoslav soprano by the name of Milka Stojanovic one of four most beautiful operatic voices of the 20th century – alongside those of Renata Tebaldi, Beniamino Gigli, and Mario del Monaco.

 

Born in Belgrade in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1937, Milka Stojanovic (pronounced Stoh-YAH-novich) debuted in 1960 as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera – interestingly, she was never cast in a small part, singing leading soprano roles right from her stage debut – and was first heard at the Metropolitan Opera in 1967 as Leonora in La forza del destino. She continued singing with the company until January 1969, appearing in Turandot, Simon Boccanegra, La bohème, Aida and La Gioconda and partnered by such stars as Corelli, Pavarotti, Nilsson, Bergonzi, Cossotto, Tucker, Merrill, Milnes, MacNeil, Siepi, Ghiaurov, Giaiotti, and Corena.

At its best (1960s and early to mid 1970s), Stojanovic’s voice was an instrument of richly velvety, luxuriant, rounded tone without edginess or shrillness, clean at the top, smoky and sensuous in the lower register. With an inborn nobility of phrasing, beautiful sense of legato, and magical use of portamenti that frequently recalled her most famous mentor – Zinka Milanov – Milka Stojanovic finely balanced lyrical subtleties with dramatic moments. Her darkish timbre, strikingly similar to Milanov’s, but possibly even more luscious and mellifluous, could be considered an aural equivalent of liquid gold.

 

With a career based in a small country completely ruled by communists, mostly during Tito's era (though her own political views have been different), Stojanovic regrettably made no studio recordings of complete operas. On the other hand, live recordings of her performances made privately on relatively primitive, non professional recording devices frequently do not do justice to her voice or artistry. The soprano’s very best can be heard in these studio recordings of operatic arias and scenes from her roles made in Belgrade (otherwise unavailable on CD) and the arias taken from a 1966 performance of The Queen of Spades at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, recorded in stereo by the venue itself (out of print on CD).

 

Here it is, then, an opportunity to hear the relatively few and rare studio recordings made by an authentic “Golden Voice,” a patrician singer with an utterly beautiful timbre. Not only can that timbre unflinchingly stand comparison to Milanov’s, Tebaldi’s, or Cerquetti's, but it can also emerge as a clear winner.

 

 

      PROGRAM: 

 

 

  1. Giuseppe Verdi: AIDA – Ritorna vincitor!  (Aida, Act I)

 

  2. Giuseppe Verdi: LA FORZA DEL DESTINO – Pace, pace, mio Dio!  (Leonora, Act IV)

 

  3. Vincenzo Bellini: NORMA – Casta diva che inargenti  (Norma, Act I)

 

  4. Umberto Giordano: ANDREA CHENIER – La mamma morta  (Maddalena, Act III)  

 

      Giuseppe Verdi: OTELLO  (Desdemona's scene, Act IV) –

 

  5. Orchestral  Introduction

  6. Mi parea... Mia madre aveva una povera ancella

  7. Piangea cantando nell'erma landa, piangea la mesta

  8. Ave Maria, piena di grazia

  

  9. Francesco Cilea: ADRIANA LECOUVREUR – Ecco, respiro appena... Io son l'umile ancella  (Adriana, Act I)  

 

10. Giacomo Puccini: TURANDOT – Signore, ascolta  (Liù, Act I)  

 

11. Giacomo Puccini: TURANDOT – Tu che di gel sei cinta  (Liù, Act III)  

 

12. Amilcare Ponchielli: LA GIOCONDA – Suicidio! In questi fieri momenti  (Gioconda, Act IV)   

 

13. Giuseppe Verdi: UN BALLO IN MASCHERA – Morrò, ma prima in grazia  (Amelia, Act III)  

 

      Giuseppe Verdi: IL TROVATORE – 

 

14. Vanne, lasciami; nè timor di me ti prenda  (Leonora, Act IV)

15. D'amor sull'ali rosee vanne, sospir dolente  (Leonora, Act IV)

 

16. Giacomo Puccini: TOSCA – Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore  (Tosca, Act II)

 

      Peter I. Tchaikovsky: THE QUEEN OF SPADES (sung in Serbian) –

 

17. Ne zatvaraj još sad, još ne!  (Liza/Masha, Act II)

18. Al' otkud ove suze i tuga ta?  (Liza, Act II)

19. Već ponoć bliži se, a Hermana još nema!  (Liza, Act IV)

20. Ah, kako stradam u bolu  (Liza, Act IV)

 

 

Milka Stojanović, soprano

   

With Orchestra of the Belgrade Opera and Symphonic Orchestra of Belgrade Radio and Television  

         

Conductors: Bogdan Babić, Davorin Županić, and Dušan Miladinović

 

Tracks 4-13 first published in 1975; tracks 17-20 recorded on December 15, 1966, at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice

STUDIO (1-16) AND LIVE (17-20) RECORDINGS; STEREO

 

ARIODANTE CD RTB213325 / 79 minutes  /  STEREO  /  AAD  (1-16)  /  ADD  (17-20)  /  Standard jewel case with inserts, including notes in English and photographs

 

Please note: the item is brand new, not played, and with no wear to any of the parts, but does not come factory sealed or shrink-wrapped.