11 Soprano's in "Ah! sento, o mio bel angelo" - I Puritani

[MrLupo23]

Aliberti High F.

[hamb4]

Mariella Devia would be amoung the Top singers for this aria. Sutherland, Sills, Devia, Swenson

[DiomedesDioscuro]

IMO, Sutherland, Devia, Swenson and Anderson are the ones that can afford the part with virtuosity. Netrebko is the one that, not abel to do so, does it her own way. The rest of them just try to do something they can't, and, in particular, Gruberova, Sills and Jo just destroy the aria.

[ilNuovoArchaeOpteryx]

1) Sills

2) Swenson

3) Jo

The others are also fine, but the three really impressed me... Sills for her unbelieveable tempo, but nevertheless managing to sound easy, leggiero and absolutely happy... Swenson for being so absolutely fine and appropriate at all, and Jo for her intelligent handling of the text, paired with an attractive timbre. Netrebko is for me the weakest part included here, she falls back quite a lot behind the other ladies, but is still quite good here.

[kakurangers1993]

I liked the way Dame Sutherland's singing this song.

[ViardotVSGrisi]

Martile Rowland's fairy tale debut at the MET...easily one of the most exciting nights in that house in the early 90s

[coryisawake]

Yikes- Sills interpretation is almost unrecognizably Bellini or anything but a vocalise given the flaccid diction and Netrebko's Cliff's Note version is hilarious! thanks for sharing.

[ChrisStockslager]

Does anyone know what year / performance Sutherland began singing this piece?

[lginpdx]

I am very surprised to not be including Sills here. I Just didn't like the arrangement. It didn't suit her performance. Would like to hear Swenson speed up the tempo just a smidge.

Sutherland

Swenson

Anderson

[jocmuc1]

also, man hört einfach den unterschied zwischen den mogelpackungen -

ich meine anna und lucia und den wahrhaften, aber wo bitte bleibt

cristina deutekom!

[magicmonkichi]

Gruberova's was quite interesting, Sills as always amazing, Netrebko, well, we all have rough days...I also always enjoy Swenson

[lipera]

1.Swenson

2.Sutherland

3.Anderson

4.Gruberova

[fullbuck50]

1. Sutherland.

2. Swenson.

Is that really Netrebko? I've never seen her live and I don't have any recordings so I'm no judge. But that doesn't even sound like a professional singer. Am I missing a joke?

[izzyt63]

Netrebko is the only one who shouldn't be singing this repertoire. Everyone else has some wonderful things to offer. My own favorite is Edita Gruberova.

[arturo8402]

1)Sutherland, 2)Jo, 3)Gruberova, it's kind of intriguing that Netrebko has made a successful career as a coloratura who can't handle coloratura passages....

[CaptFitzbattleaxe]

1. Joan Sutherland (all the way)

2. June Anderson

3. Gruberova (if faster) or Sills (if slower)

[NannerlSullAria]

Of course you'veposted this! Thank you so much! I love you coloraturafan!!!! Evviva!

[leprincebeaumont]

Come sempre, Dame Joan le sotterra tutte, per voce, tecnica, stile e musicalità! Come sempre è la più fluida e la più elettrizzante!

[WloScielaneve]

1) Anderson, Sutherland

[Eiswirth1]

1. Sutherland

2. Swenson

3. Jo

[Gianluca000000]

Devia forever !

[faffyssimo]

prima assoluta Lucia Aliberti

seconda Mariella Devia

terza  Joan Sutherland

pessimo il finale di Gruberova

[faffyssimo]

per me la migliore in assoluto è la Aliberti per timbro,intensità e acuto finale,poi la Devia e terza la Sutherland,ma chi può capire quello che dice?

[Eiswirth1]

1) The Incomparable Joan Sutherland  2) Swenson 3) Devia 4) Jo 5) Sills

[kalex94]

Sumi jo and Sutherland were my favs. :)

[motardbear15]

I think we cannot forget the Elvira of Aliberti,she is just "astonishing here"...What an end....Devia is still "great"...She is singing with William Mateuzzi (listen to the end) , an very beautifull ending also..To finish again with dear Miss Sills , she is like always : a great soprano at her best (what a tempo)...

[raigekimaru]

1) Sutherland (but not this recording)

2) Sills

3) Elena Mosuc (she's wonderful, I can't believe I've never heard of her before)

4) Ruth Ann Swenson

PS: Ms. Netrebko, you are a great lyric soprano, but please stop trying to take on all these dramatic coloratura roles, you're just not dramatic enough.

[tneprescintr]

Sills kicks some ass here... impressive.

[Plowrightclips]

All great, except the out of breath Mezzo Anna Netrebko !

[bellatrix013]

Did Callas ever sing this aria? I'm just curious. :)

[ChrisStockslager]

I don't think so. It was discovered by Sutherland's husband, supposedly, so that would be after Callas' Puritani days.

[MrLupo23]

aliberti!!!

[leprincebeaumont]

1 Joan Sutherland

2 Joan Sutherland

3 Joan Sutherland.....

:-)

[SiEtIn1]

1) Sutherland

2) Sills

3) Swenson

.

.

987) FFJ

988) poor Anna Netrebko

[tneprescintr]

i'm stupid: what's FFJ?

[bellatrix013]

Florence Foster Jenkins? :)

[tneprescintr]

OF COURSE!!! thank you! :)

[SiEtIn1]

La Foster Jenkins who else? sorry about stoopidness :-P

[tneprescintr]

thank you! i hope my medicine starts working soon though... :P

[DiomedesDioscuro]

I like Netrebko's version, simple, adapted to her possibilities (not a coloratura singer) and respecting the text and the character. I don't think this last aspect can be appreciated in Sills at all, whos interpretation I didn't like at all.

[moghedien13]

@SiEtIn1 986) gruberova, the woman rocks but the pace is soooooooooooo slow.

[LingaChakra]

La Stupenda reignes!

[33blueberries]

Btw, interesting idea with the tempo change in the Gruberova? Effective or just mannered, your thoughts?

[33blueberries]

Sutherland, then Gruberova, then equal third between Swenson and Anderson. I don't know about those last two..Swenson's not bad, but it's a boring voice, and Anderson's always seemed to me like an essentially lyric soprano with a reliable upper extension and enough balls to push her voice around for the coloratura i.e. not actually a coloratura soprano. Yes, I've heard her Queen of Night. But definitely a fan of the Sutherland, and the Gruberova..a few squeezed/flat notes aside ;)

[thomastmwc]

Lucia Aliberti, Sumi Jo: wts goin on??

Sutherland: u should hv posted the TV clip. That's THE BEST EVER, SERIOUSLY.

Martile Rowland: WT?!?!??!?!?

[semiramide1945]

who the hell was that tenor singing along with Devia- She doesn't need ANY help

[thomastmwc]

hahaha I luv yr comment

[signorinaermione]

William Matteuzzi.

[tamerlano]

I just love Swenson's trill.

[repetiteur]

The orchestral ending for the Gruberova is taken from the end of the Elvira/Giorgio "A qual nome" duet in act I. Daring, but exciting!

Bellini wrote this as an Elvira/Arturo duo-cabaletta in B-flat major for the Malibran version (in which the opera ends in B-flat). When added into the traditional version of the opera, it's performed as an Elvira solo in D major (the opera ends in D).

Aliberti sings the cabaletta as a solo in B-flat, and then dashes up to a high F in the final cadence!

[Auxxsr1]

Not one comment on the Gruberova alternate orchestral ending? This was also conducted by Domingo

Sutherland #1 for all eternity

Edita G. Runner up

Then all the rest

Then poor Anna:(

[hisimperialmajesty]

Sutherland

Anderson

Sills

Swenson.

As a matter of fact, I liked almost all of them, certainly they're all talented in their own rights.

[asisecanta]

Devia

Gruberova

Swenson

Anderson

all the rest much more after...

[robertdonkers]

And o not forget June Anderson what a fantastic singer

[AgataAsa]

wow. Devia

[kngiht84]

Does anyone know who that dude with Sumi Jo is ? he kinda reminds me of Dracula for some reasons...

[tamerlano]

Daniel Mobbs...the pic is from Caramoor.

[fecheverriam]

Sutherland,Jo, yes Sumi Jo, Devia. I like Sills but this is not her best.

[operaeater]

sutherland, devia, gruberova

[KathrynBoussemart]

I loved the way several of them used the same ornaments Bonynge wrote for Sutherland to use! My favorites: Sutherland/Devia/Anderson/Swen­son

Thank you Coloratura Fan!

[Arbus2]

1º) Mariella Devia.-

2º) June Anderson - Ruth Ann Sweson.-

3º) Edita Gruberova.-

[barleggero]

Devia... definitely

[actor001]

Obviously SUTHERLAND IS THE MASTER of this aria just notice the speed and the purity of her voice and the way she sing with ease!!!

Those high notes are so perfect and consistent

Very interesting interpretation of Lucia Aliberti (beautifull) and Devia is one of the last goddes of the Bel Canto of course!

[stingabe]

that damn Sumi can sing just about anything beautifully. Bravo!

[stingabe]

tempo is too slow...Sutherland's version is superior by far!

[Iareto]

I love that what everyone has decided here is that they are all good...except for Netrebko. Poor Trebs. Lol. I loved them all, but liked Sutherland, Anderson and Swenson the most. I think Devia's brilliant, but I've never fully warmed up to her tone (and the tenor is HORRIBLE sounding up at the end. Yikes. I think the tenor with Anderson tried it too, but thank goodness she has a big voice and he was nearly inaudible. Tenors. Ugh.) Another great post coloraturafan!

[Iareto]

I also love Gruberova here. I forgot to mention that.

[FarfalloneAmoroso]

My favorites: 1 Gruberova 2 Devia 3 Swenson. I'm also asking myself what Netrebko is doing here. A great aria, though.

[cmorgan22]

What I learned from another Sutherland video of this here on youtube is that Bonying discovered this "missing ending" to Puritani somewhere in Sicily. So for the first half of the 20th century, the music didn't exist. Maybe that is why it seems to often be cut. If you do it the way it was "always sung" then this aria would be cut. My favorites are 1. Sutherland (queen of bel canto) and 2. Anderson (in her prime and I love the variations). If Sills was slow enough to really hear, I'd include her.

[petelovesbevsills]

SILLS without a shadow of doubt! Brava Diva!!!!

[erik760]

love this cabaletta........Gruberova does this quite amazing with the madness over her dead loved one...but Aliberti really surpises again......Great singing.......from nearly all her.;-)

[meltzerboy]

I must be getting "soft" but I liked all of them. A word about tempo: Sills' version sounds too fast (as if on "speed"), while Gruberova's seems too slow at the beginning (on "qualudes" perhaps). Aliberti's top note is quite startling as are Anderson's variations. I was surprised by Mosuc, who I had thought was losing her voice, but turns in a strong performance. Swenson never ceases to amaze me by her vocal beauty and security and Sutherland's coloratura agility is perfect for the aria.

[cmorgan22]

Starting out with Gruberova that slow I wondered if something was wrong. :) I think I could appreciate Sills if my ear could take in everything at that tempo. Unfortunately, it can't. Loved Anderson, Swenson and Devia. But for me Sutherland rules on this one.

[wolkowy1]

I agree with Elisabetta611. This is a fine aria and a fine performance! Brava!

[ludovicomoro]

fantastic video Devia is the best!!!

[sevoflurane]

Thanks for this interesting clip. This aria drove my attention to Devia. Her perfect pitch, the tasteful phrasing, the precise coloratura without glissandi and the beautiful diction are peerless. I love Anderson's variations, unusual and very effective. Swenson gives us a sophisticated and vocally accurate rendition, as she always does. But chapeau to all these wonderful singers that make the world a better place to live.

[limpandlinkin]

sumi jo also great,,,

[albertogrilo]

Sutherland is the best, of course. I like the high F os Aliberti. Don't ask me why...

[midas45]

Sutherland will ALWAYS be Supreme in this material for me, but 1. the Aliberti is very interesting .. Very exciting top note there !. 2 Who is the tenor successfully competing with Devia? All of the ladies deserve applause ... Bravi

[sevoflurane]

It was Matteuzzi, who also easily included the High F in Credeasi misera in this production.

[midas45]

Ahhh .. I should have guessed ... thanks ... I will look for this recording.

[Jabe88]

Well I don't like him! He should have kept his mouth shut when Devia was taking that marvellous ending!

[sevoflurane]

Well he did not last long lol! A few good high notes for a few years and that was it...

[Elisabetta611]

Heh, I actually like Gruberova here!^^

[myrtillocactus]

thanks for this wonderful aria... :)

[operabuff1]

thanks very much for this interesting contest, but what is Netrebko doing in it?She is certainly Number 11 of 11 singers!

My favourites are Sutherland/Devia/Swenson.

[tntn58]

passionnant enchainement...

[rjw0886]

Sills' embellishments always amaze me!

[operamagnus]

But what is Sills doing here? She completely breaks all there is of musical line here. I love you, Bev, but you could certainly do better?

[operamagnus]

Sutherland and Devia, secure all through! Sutherland is probably the best in this aria, though, and she was all to the end of her career.

[AmorediPazzia]

Joan Sutherland is the best!

But..I think that is not Met performance..??

[Sesto73]

Dear Coloraturafan thnx so much for this clip!!!

(My favourite Elviras are La Mosuc und Bubbles-Sills!)

:-)))

[Sesto73]

PS.: I didn´t know that Ruth Ann Swenson sang such a very good Elvira - she is a pleasant surprise in THAT role! :-)))

[LindoroRossini]

If I'm not mistaken, this passage was actually meant to be sung by both the lovers; I would love to hear at least one rendition which follows this tradition. Anyway, I love in purely vocal terms Sutherland and Gruberova seem to me to be the most all-around best renditions. Sills is certainly brilliant, but the tempo is just too fast. Swenson and Anderson all offer some nice singing, but nothing in particular strikes me. Aliberti and Jo almost refuse to sing anything beyond the notes.

[LindoroRossini]

Cross out "I love" and "most" in the previous comment (damn typos) :)! Rowland is a new singer for me but I wouldn't really want to return to her. Netrebro... well, she just isn't a revelation here (the lack of any real ornamentation doesn't help).

[coloraturafan]

You hadn't heard of Rowland? Oh, well she was a wonderful "demented" singer. In this recording she was the cover for Marina Bolgan. Rowland had to step in for act II and III. Anyway, I would suggest finding more Rowland, like her Roberto Devereux or Poliuto.

[belcantotenor]

While I love Rowland, please don't say her OONY Poliuto was very good - she had a lot of off moments in that performance if memory serves me correctly...

[kngiht84]

Sutherland with such ease and supreme coloratura, Jo with such youth (no comments on the others). Thanks for sharing

[songbirdwatcher]

Who knew Aliberti had a high F? That takes some guts at the end of a very very long night! In my view the three best renditions here are Devia, Gruberova, and Swenson. Sills is just too fast to be effective. (And hers can't be 1970, her role debut was Philadelphia in January 1972 with Pavaroti.

[actionsrlouder]

Anna Netrebko was the only bad one here.... Sloppy even without the coloratura... She is totally overrated musically and even aesthetically.... It seems that she is not working hard at all because she is too "beautiful" to worry. At the pace she's going, she is going to crash and burn soon if she doesn't take it seriously.

[burns63]

Delicious! As she so often does, Mariella Devia takes the palm, in my opinion. So sheerly beautiful up and down the scale, so effortlessly phrased and impeccably tuned. Sung with real elegance and without self-indulgence. Sills's velocity is hilarious!

[SsteinwayS]

Yay!  How exciting.

[lumosmaxima]

you gotta be joking with netrebko.

[spsp2sp3sp3dsp3d2]

Sills is probably the best in terms of vocal expressivness. She conveys happiness the best.

[coloraturafan]

It is funny that you say that, have you seen the production where this is a mini mad scene and Elvira kills Arturo? I have a video of it with O'flynn, and it is freaky! So I guess "happiness" depends on the production.

[Drelnis]

@coloraturafan Elvira KILLED Arturo? I'd love to see that xD

[Drelnis]

@coloraturafan Elvira KILLED Arturo? I'd love to see that xD Arturo really deserved it, at least he could have left a note, a letter, a FB message :P

[moghedien13]

@spsp2sp3sp3dsp3d2 sills is my favourite. i love her break neck speed.

[ktpj]

The Puritani score is high on my list of favorite operatic scores. The rarity of this aria being included in live performances makes this video a diamond. The Elviras dazzle, and coloratura fan presents them admirably. Many thanks for postng this. I own and enjoy a large collection of studio recordings, but the electricity generated by live performances adds another thrilling dimension. The energy that streams back and forth across the footlights is palpable.

[highbaritone]

I don't think this could be the Met 1963, because she did not do it at the Met until 1975 or 76. It was going to be Sill's debut, until they realized that Sutherland had been promised, that if there was to be production, that she would do it. And do it she did. By the way thanks for all you are giving us dear fellow.

[coloraturafan]

You're right, it wasn't the MET, it was Carnegie Hall. Sorry, it was 1963 though.

[highbaritone]

1963, wish I had been there, but that was before I knew anything about opera, except that a friend of my parents would go to the Met and we all found that very strange.

Again thank you for all you do.