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ALDO MAGGIOROTT!
OPERA STARS ON THE SCREEN
Part 4
The political picture of the late thirties and its eventual development brought a curtailment to the activities of the operatic film star. Appallingly, music and politics have always been incongruous yet inseparable bedfellows.
During the latter part of 1937, the noted singing-actor Tito Gobbi made his film debut in an Italian production entitled "I Condottieri” (Mountain Guides), a story of the Alps and its people. This film starred the noted Swiss mountaineer and sometime actor Luis Trenker. Mr. Trenker was responsible for the memorable Alpine spectacle "The White Hell of Pitz Palu® released in 1930. As baritone Gobbi pointed out, his career began as a film player and not in the Opera House. Signor Gobbi was, of course, to achieve world-wide fame and acclaim for his postwar operatic films.
The year 1938 brought out an interesting msical menu. From Hollywood came "The Goldwyn Follies", It starred Edgar Bergen and the inevitable Charlie, plus Vera Zorina, Kenny Baker and marked the film debut of soprano Helen Jepson. She was partnered with Charles Kullman in the Drinking Song from "la Traviata" and sang Violetta‘’s first act aria. The pleasure of seeing and hearing such opulent singing and staging in a Technicolor Hollywood musical was worth the price of admission.
That same year also saw the screen debut of another "Met" artist the indestructible Kirsten Flagstad. Unfortunately, her appearance in Paramount’s "The Big Broadcast" was confined to Brunnhilde’s Battle Cry from the second act of Wagner’s "Die Walkure”, Neither Miss Jepson nor Madame Flagstad wade any more Hollywood films.
PF Claudia Cardinale