Several opera stars, including Grace Moore and Lily Pons, made hits in movies in the mid 1930's, and given the appealing musical dimensions of Irene Dunne and Ginger Rogers' careers it is fully understandable that Joan Crawford's love of music would compel her to see where it could lead her professionally. Determined to develop a classically trained voice, Joan convinced Rosa Ponselle's vocal couch, Romano Romani, to spend extended time in sunny Southern California. By 1937 a 40 year old, recently retired Rosa Ponselle brought her new husband to live with her in Hollywood while she encouraged MGM to star her in a motion picture of Bizet's Carmen. Still considered even today the greatest female singer in operatic history, Ponselle's age and lack of sleekness were not automatic disqualifiers. Even though Gloria Swanson was treated like an ancient Hollywood has been at age 39, Irene Dunne was at the peak of her stardom though secretly as old as Swanson. Furthermore, Grace Moore! was incalculably heavier than Rosa Ponselle. Rosa Ponselle's authority never faded but the freshness and miraculous quality of her voice are not apparent in the MGM screentests of 1937. She seems nervous and relying on tricks that must have worked better in past performances, ultimately beating her fan faster and faster as if racing to the finish could compensate for her overfamiliarity with the material. Given what the screentests show, it is certain that her friend Joan Crawford could not have ...
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