Yevgeny Onegin - Letter Scene - Renee Fleming - I

[CharlotteinWeimar]

Renee Fleming has a beautiful voice, but Oda Slobodskaya is definitive as Tatiana. Hers is possibly the earliest version of the Letter Scene available, yet it is astonishingly vivid and passionate, endlessly subtle and has crystal clear diction.

I don't usually like to see one singer played off against another, but few people remember Oda Slobodskaya and that has to be remedied. Fortunately her recordings have at last been reissued on CD. Unmissable.

[operafan0anegnd]

@paulostroff99.

Thank you so much for pointing out the version of Oda Slobodskaya.

Unquestionably one of the best performers of Tatiana ever.

Do not ever remember experiencing such a convincing, emotionally moving version.



[operafan0anegnd]

For a non-Russian singer, this is not bad at all, but it is difficult to properly express the emotional content well. Great effort, but it is much better to find a Russian singer for this role. :)

Russian has too many sounds, which have no correspondence in most European languages,

hence very difficult for a non-native speaker to sing correctly and with the right feeling.

[capitanzach]

She's left handed!

[contravoice]

I absolutely agree with Schwertleiter. Besides, it is so difficult to understand her Russian, terrible diction especially in words with soft consonances. This is not Tatiana, but rather HOW NOT TO SING Tatiana.

[panethiere123]

when did she suddenly become left-handed? she's right-handed in the other youtube clips

[kngiht84]

Well, she was left-handed when she signed an autograph for me :)

[tlz16]

Очень трогательный русский у Рене, и сама Татьяна тоже трогательная и милая. :)

[juliezarukin]

can I sing in Russian? yes.

[Schwertleiter]

If this woman could ever learn to sing in the resonance rather than stridently on top of her vocal chords, then maybe we might know what her voice sounds like. Until then, we will have to hear her manipulate and mangle every sound that comes out of her mouth, throwing in some inappropriate chest voice for effect every now and then. She needs to learn how to sing without squeezing. She needs to learn what legato means.

[LingaChakra]

bravo for the courage as well, as russian is a quite unique (and very different from english) language for singing, as the grammer itself encodes emotional colors and intonations within the words, which challenges every foreign learner.

[violinist1990]

That's creepy!

[juliezarukin]

This is my signature aria, and I'm Russian, so I won't comment about the pronunciation. It's actually not too bad for an American. But I gotta say, Tatiana is supposed to be really young, and the use of such deep chest voice on the low notes makes Renee sound much older than she needs to. I'm talking about 1:12-1:15. I definitely curb my chest voice for that phrase.

[loveallmusic100]

do you seriously think this is good singing? She "barks" all the words out as if she is cursing. I've heard her live quite a few times and tried to convince myself to like her (like everyone else) and after her Traviata and Otello I realised that there is nothing that can make me like her unless she changes her way of singing (stops all the mannerism, stops going "throaty" on all vowels and starts taking notes where they are supposed to start and not lead up to them).

[Reinaldo146]

Did anybody in this audience see on TV the St. Petersburgh 300th Anniversary Gala where Fleming sang this aria in front of many world heads of state, at the Mariinsky (ex-Kirov)?

It's like the earth swallowed it. No recordings to be found, no comments anywhere, yet, it was such a memorable evening for posterity. Go figure.

[paulostroff99]

Beautiful voice.Sings much of this as fast as a jet plane.Finest version ever of this is by Oda Slobotskaya.Like a poem and not a speedway car race.Waste of a superb voice and aria.

[juliezarukin]

I agree, it's way too fast. Like she's trying to get through the Russian, if you ask me. :)

[violinist1990]

Can either of you sing in Russian?

[Masquerade2010]

I ADORE ms. Fleming. If you love her voice, or don't come to think of it, read her book "The Inner Voice." It's wonderful.

[idigvivaldi]

That was the dopest interpretation.

Renee Fleming rocks my socks!

[bosancherosi]

This woman is my hero

[dinacarina88]

NO!

[littlefish822]

Amazing. Can't wait to see her in ONEGIN tomorrow night!

[KenViewer]

She sings left-handed, too.

[meriomeri]

HAHA

[taillia]

Whow! Miss Fleming is left-handed!