100Singers's video: 100 Singers - EVA TURNER

Eva Turner, Soprano (1892-1990) Giacomo Puccini: TURANDOT "In questa reggia, or son mill’anni e mille" With Giovanni Martinelli, Tenor (1885-1969) Conducted by Sir John Barbirolli (live 1937) My personal opinion: When speaking of huge soprano voices, we think of Rosa Raisa, Kirsten Flagstad, Gina Cigna, Gertrude Grob-Prandl or Birgit Nilsson. With the exception of Flagstad, all ladies were associated with Puccini's TURANDOT, but none became legendary only because of this role - not even Raisa, who premiered the icy princess in 1926 at La Scala with Arturo Toscanini conducting. It was the dramatic English soprano Eva Turner, who founded her reputation with her 1928 recording of "In questa reggia". Turandot's narration demands compelling brilliance: Great energy, tonal concentration and a powerful piercing top. We know, Verdi wished for his Lady MacBeth a harsh voice. Puccini for his part did not want a pleasant voice for his murderous heroine. Much more he thought of a fiery and sharp sound (as biographer Howard Greenfeld revealed). "Quel grido e quella morte", this shout is the outbreak of hate against all men (in a certain sense also against herself), and a reflection of her self-destructive frigidity. This can't be sung nicely, this is to yell out with glowing intensity - as, for example, the Italian soprano Bianca Scacciati (1894-1948) did it. Turandot's confession is both psychogram and analysis: "Mai nessun m'avra ...", "Gli enigmi sono tre, la morte una ...", words that grant a deep insight into a tormented soul ... Mastered by a great soprano, the scene gives listeners goose bumps. But Eva Turner leaves you speechless and makes you tremble all over. Like the fanfare of a trumpet, her voice echoes through space, as cutting as a surgeon's scalpel. It's a larger than life singing that seems to ignore the physical limitations of the human voice. For his book "The Last Prima Donnas" (1982), author Lanfranco Rasponi interviewed Eva Turner, who said about her most famous role: "You're quite right, when you say that today mainly Wagner and Strauss sopranos sing Turandot, but it wasn't always like this. Just think of Rosa Raisa, Gina Cigna, Maria Nemeth, Anna Roselle or Maria Pedrini ... They all belonged to the Italian repertoire. Today, Caballé sings the role, but with all my admiration, Turandot is certainly not the right thing for her. For the Chinese princess you need a voice with a bite. And if you don't have the right vocal chords, the role will knock you out. I've sung more than 200 performances and I know what I'm talking about ..." Enthusiasts prefer Eva Turner's live recordings, made at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden during the Coronation Gala season in May 1937 (preserved only in excerpts). Here, Turner is even more magnificent than in the 1928 version (recorded in the Westminster Hall to unfold her enormous voice in free space). Nine years later, her singing shines with even more luminous power - and yet her tone remains slender. There is no thickening as with Birgit Nilsson or Eva Marton. However, my listening pleasure is clouded by the Calaf of Giovanni Martinelli, a tenor whose insensitive singing never met my taste. In 1937, my first choice would have been Francesco Merli or Giacomo Lauri-Volpi. Other Eva Turner recordings (thirty survived the war, many were destroyed) are of less importance. The Austrian label "Preiser" released a selection of arias and songs in various versions, made between 1926 and 1928. Albeit superb sung, they do not really appeal to me. What was so perfect for Turandot seems to me misplaced here: Her voice is too steely, not to say too cold for Leonora's "D'amor sull' ali rosee" or Tosca's "Vissi d'arte". For both arias from AIDA, her hard timbre is somewhat inappropriate. Unfortunately, Turner never recorded Wagner scenes, otherwise, she could have been an interesting alternative to Flagstad, Helen Traubel or the young Astrid Varnay as Brünnhilde in DIE WALKÜRE, a role that Turner performed in the 1920's at the Royal Opera House. In his book "Grosse Stimmen", German author Jens M. Fischer put forward the interesting thesis, that Turner wasn't a dramatic soprano but rather a lirico spinto with penetrating power in the upper register and endurance. Seemingly, she is hard to classify. Turandot, a role that calls for Wagner-strenght and Puccini-lyric as well, was quite obviously for Eva Turner a heaven-sent stroke of luck. Seen from the purely vocal standpoint, there probably was never a more memorable singer of "In questa reggia" ...