Episode 450. Onelia Fineschi Sings the Undoing of Women

Onelia Fineschi (1921 – 2004) was one of the finest Italian lyric sopranos of her era. Probably most famous today for having provided the singing voice of Gina Lollobrigida in a 1948 filmed version of Pagliacci, she had a wide-ranging repertoire and an up-and-down career trajectory that lasted, however, nearly 25 years. Initially I became interested in Fineschi because one of my listeners gifted me with a visually arresting Cetra LP of her 1947 recordings of various opera arias, which, upon listening, revealed an equally arresting and technically solid voice with a characteristically Italian timbre. But the more I explored what little I could about her, several issues that emerged seemed particularly relevant to Women’s History Month. For instance, many 20th century female singers had truncated careers or complicated personal lives because of the demands that their voices made upon their lives. I uncovered some ambiguous comments regarding Fineschi’s marriage to the tenor Francesco Albanese (1912 – 2005), that seemed to imply that this may have been the case with her. Furthermore, much of the standard repertoire that she sang bears out the contention of French philosopher, scholar and author Catherine Clément that opera enacts “the undoing of women.” Nearly every excerpt I play explores this theme, from the “slutty” Nedda in Pagliacci (who, we are led to believe, as a free spirit, gets what she deserves) to Tosca, Manon, Mimì, Margherita in Mefistofele, Desdemona, Leonora de Vargas, Maddalena di Coigny, and Cio-Cio-San, all of them expiring, sometimes gently, sometimes violently to the most glorious music. So apart from simply resuscitating a fine lyric soprano, this episode at least scratches the surface on the topic of women in opera from a feminist vantage point, centering around the problems of inherent misogyny and sexual abuse of women that is practically baked into the business itself. Featured voices alongside Fineschi’s include Tito Gobbi, Mario del Monaco, Giuseppe di Stefano, and Mr. Fineschi himself, Francesco Albanese. Countermelody is the podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and author yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.