San Francisco and Other Jeanette MacDonald Favorites

Jeanette MacDonald - San Francisco

As usual, I love it! She was one of a kind, and I always enjoy listening to her. July 29, 2008

Queen of Songs

I received this CD 'San Fracisco and other Jeanette MacDonald Favorites' a few days ago and have listened to it carefully several times. She is about a generation before my time; so far I have seen only two pictures of her: 'San Francisco' and 'The Merry Widow'. In San Francisco, I discovered she can also sing opera successfully to some degree As for The Merry Widow, I much prefer the later version performed by Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas although Turner didn't sing by herself in the film and Lamas is a lot more convincing than Maurice Chevalier as a Casanova type beau; to be truthful, I can't stand grandpa Chevalier. I beleive I also saw another of her movie which she played quite late in her career because she played mother to Jane Powell, this one I saw in the theater in my teenage days, for your information, I saw almost every MGM musicals in those heyday years. Unfortunately though, I don't quite remember the story of it, but I do remember vaguely that MacDonald sang Un bel di from Puccini's Madama Butterfly and when she sang she formed her mouth so beautifully that one could forget it if she didn't sing well.

One thing I can assert with confidence is that MacDonald is a very beautiful lady exudes with glamour, and is very classy. Classiness was a very prominent and widespread quality of female stars in that era, Lana Turner who played the wealthy merry widow was just one case. If I were to make a list it would occupy a full page, nowadays, it would be impossible to name just three or four female stars with class, no offense, please. Now let me come back to the main subject that is MacDonald's art of singing. Well, she certainly has good vocal technigue, her high note is firm to the very top and she is able to sustain it for a considerable duration as she has displayed quite often in this disc. The voice itself is delicate and sweet, just like her person. However, she tends to sing with monotone which make her singing sounds bland, like no. 4, Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life, may be if she move a notch down the scale it would sound more pleasant. Songs My Mother Taught Me is just about the only song she successfully sings with feelings. Here, I would like to point out that a few songs are worth repeated listenings: Ciribiribin, The Donkey Serenade, Italian Street Song, and of course, Songs My Mother Taught Me.
Songs no. 16 to 22, I'm sorry to say that they are not up to my standard, I have been listening to opera singing for over thirty years you know. I must mention here that MacDonald's French seems very good, I don't know French though, nevertheless, I can tell just by listening

Queen of Songs is a title crowned her by the Chinese people in that time, she was indeed highly esteemed.


July 29, 2007

Jeanette MacDonald Favorites

This CD is an incredible testimony and celebration of an American Master Singer.
A must have for all. An introduction to quality and good taste for a new generation of music lovers. May 12, 2007

A MUST for any Jeanette fan!

This CD is a gem! The songs included on it are beautiful and show off MacDonald's incredible voice. The best part of this CD, however, is the sound quality. Unlike many of her other recordings, and those featuring her with frequent costar Nelson Eddy, the sound on this CD is pristine, and you can barely tell the recordings are 50+ years old! April 24, 2006

Jeanette MacDonald Was Unique

It really doesn't matter whether or not she could sing; Jeanette MacDonald was unique. On these old recordings, her voice sounds thin and watery, and contemporary tastes do not respond so readily to the sentimentality and predictability of her movies. But she was a gracious lady and glittering presence on the silver screen. These film songs do suggest the excitement she generated when her movies first appeared. And how many truly major singers she inspired! Joan Sutherland recalled meeting MacDonald a few years before her death. Said Sutherland: "I still had stars in my eyes." March 12, 2001

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