Magda Olivero (born March 25, 1910), a great Italian dramatic soprano, is considered by many to be the last of the great verismo sopranos. She was coached by composer Francesco Cilea, and she even returned after ten years of retirement to sing his opera Adriana Lecouvreur at his request. She made her debut in 1932 for Turin Radio, singing in Nino Cattozzo's I misteri dolorosi, and her last appearance on the stage was at the Teatro Filarmonico of Verona in 1981, singing Francis Poulenc's La voix humaine. Olivero was a master at conveying the tension and relaxation in the music through her use of rubato, and she often spurred her co-stars on to new dramatic and vocal heights they had never achieved before.
