I've heard many Normas and only Callas was the greatest by far. She understood every nuance of the character & the music for the role. I don't get why so many rav about Sutherland when she was always so lifeless. Caballe, too, a mere vocal technician but with no fire, passion and real life like Callas put into her singing and acting. Viva La Divina per sempre...per sempre!!
There is no doubt that Ms. Callas was BORN to sing the role of Norma.
I can feel what she (The Priest ) is felling at this time. Callas´s technique is out of this world. Gorgeous voice. Great talent and also Original and Unique.
There is so much to learn from Maria. Manifique duetto.
@cuoredeinidi I think that the High D must be done by an specific kind of Norma, the fierce, static and super powerful norma of Callas and probably Sutherland. The human and sometimes weak (neither bad nor stupid, but human) of Caballe, like the one in the orange shouldn't have that high D, I think. Anyway, most of the times is made for showing off or as a money note, but Callas and only Callas ads it for the emotion and the necessity of drama.
Callas grew up bilingual in Greek and English and learned arias in Italian and songs in Spanish all by the age of 13. She then studied French formally for four years in Athens, Greece. She learned Italian from students at the 2 music schools she attended from the age of 13 to 17. Italian couldn't be taught at the academies; then at the age of 25, her husband taught her a regional Italian, Veronese, which she used for informal chatting or as she called it "kitchen Italian".
Esta dama es incomparable. Tengo casi de todas sus grabaciones y he pasado muchas horas escuchándolas. Siempre hay algo nuevo y primoroso que encuentro y me asombra cada vez. La divina vivirá para siempre. Su leyenda se le ha puesto a ella inmortal. La voz del siglo.
No critic ever said the following about Callas: "I didn't know if she was singing the libretto or the weather report." Those words were written about a famous "singer" of opera, whose name I won't mention; she just died recently. I think we all know the name, and this page isn't about her. If you like the worst diction ever in Italian or French, if you want to hear a language butchered with mushy vowels and terrible pronunciation, you can find it elsewhere.
Regarding Callas' Italian, I read some moronic commentary earlier about her diction, and I would like to say as a speaker of a romance language, a fluent speaker of Spanish, and as someone who has studied opera and music for many years, her gift for language was incredible and when she spoke Italian, she sounded Italian. She spoke a formal Italian to discuss art and opera, and a regional Italian, Veronese, to chat. She also spoke French perfectly; she studied French formally.
This is nothing short of Hall of Fame singing! I don't have this live Norma, but I have her debut at Covent Garden from the year before as well as the December 7, 1955 La Scala Norma with del Monaco. In both, she includes the high D at the end; both examples are sung differently, the latter with a descending scale passage, and they both bring down the house. I also have both studio versions. I think my favorite is the 55 at La Scala; the Italian audience is incredible!
@malicata25 Sería maravilloso, un 'biopic' bien hecho, con buenos actores, como sólo los americanos saben hacerlo, sobre la vida de Maria, no lo que vimos años atrás sobre sus últimos años.
@malicata25 Most people have never heard of Maria Callas these days. As much as we love her, she is a relic of the past now. Thank God for her wonderful legacy of recordings.
The flawless timing on the drumroll of Callas-Corelli is something that should not be overlooked, for it is what catapults the perfect rhythm in both of these titans and renders that final high D a dramatic "lampo fulmine"!
For those who always take a great pleasure to critizes everything : If (today) you are able to find on the same stage : Callas+Corelli+Nicolai+Chrsitoff in NORMA , please let me know the Adress of the Performance ! The very end of that Trio is just INCREDIBILE
Well, I have the London recording so I was very happy to discover this performance posted here. Thank you. As far as the recording quality, they are both live performances, and personally regardless of the differences between the 2, they are both incredible! Man, she rocks! The one and only, never to be challenged in anyway by anyone. I don't care what anyone says. There is only one soprano who had it all, technique, voice, interpretations that are unsurpassed, and that is La Divina!
Really I find wonderfull all the job you are doing here on posting those treasures for all of us ! I find all those silly critics discusting ! To compare callas and Tebaldi in ????? NORMA !!! Pfffffff ! It is the greatest stupidity I never have seen in my life !! As Callas said : can we compare Champagne and Coca-cola !!!
To whom it may concern: Put those high D's down your throat and think about them while you're digesting. Your arguments about a silly top note are a sad testimony to the general decay of musical culture in an age that has forgotten the great traditions of the past. This site is an excellent channel for learning something about a time when artistry rather than raw (quantified) technique meant something. Go listen, get a musical / cultural education and stop ranting about some high D's!
Aún no sé si estás criticando nuestro deleite por el final de esta actuación o qué. Precisamente, y dado que te refieres a la capacidad de actuar, coinciden en esta mujer, coincidieron, unas cualidades vocales casi únicas con una capacidad interpretativa tremenda. Qué nos regodeemos en un fabuloso Re sobreagudo no significa que "no tengamos cultura musical" si es que con ello estabas criticando.
Well, Tebaldi never had a D to begin with. And as for artistry, I prefer Callas' colorful phrasing to Tebaldi's use of fishwife sobs and verismo gimmicks. But to each his own.
@VivaRenata High D's Dear Renata strained for High b flat.s.. and was often flat on them. Not a soprano. Great voice, mezzo.. Cant sing soprano without a reliable upper register.. that is a reliabe bflat, B natural and C ... and she did not have them.. But she had a huge chest voice and bottom, and middle. That is the very definition of a mezzo. Was she ever mistyped as a vocalist. Someone used a pitchfork and goosed her up to a High c one day and they called her a soprano.
Callas actually had a high f. She was able to sing into the upper register in full voice, that is why her voice is so remarkable. She is an untouchable Norma. Some say she should've sung mezzo, but the point is moot; we wouldn't have one of the most wonderful Norma's, Tosca's and etc ever recorded had she not sung soprano roles.
yes she did. the armida recording is off pitch and that high eflat was an f. ALSO in the bolero from vespri, at the end she has trouble to stay on the eflat and goes to f.... SORRY!
caro distefano, you are definitely a bit confused with "pitch"...
In Armida at the end of the quartet what it sounds in some recordings as an F (for wrong pitch of the LPs and CDs) in real lefe was an E natural.
In Vespri when she was supposed to sing an E natural (not flat...) at the end of the Bolero in Florence, at opening night unfortunatey she cracked the note and "splat" the note for a second in a higher note, but that wasn't intentional or a bravade...
@johnb340 Callas never had a high F - or at least it was never documented in studio or live recordings/performances.. She did have the E natural, as witnessed in Vespri and in Lakme. Already a nice feat for a dramatic soprano. Her teacher , Elvira de Hodlago reminisced saying "elle avait un mi naturel"; not fa, but mi.
@TheRealAngelHeart Thanks for your comment, TRAH. Una vez estudié canto lírico y mi profesora me enseñó que si tienes una nota, "más o menos" tienes la siguiente. Es obvio por sentido común que si Callas podía emitir el Mi sobreagudo con ese estruendo (véase, por ejemplo en Lakmé), sería capaz de emitir, repito " más o menos" el Fa. Este Fa sabemos por declaraciones de Callas que lo ha cantado en privado. Ahora puedes creer esto o no, es cosa tuya.
@ubedajils There definitely is truth in what you are saying. Gencer sang only up to E flat on stage, but she did have an F . What is more important is not so much the notes you hit, but their actual musical quality. I am a baritone and have a C sharp which I only used once on stage, joning the soprano on the final note. Otherwise I sing up to A, staying in my comfort zone, where I am sure of my musicality. So for all we know, Callas might have been able to "belt " even higher than F!
@ubedajils claro que asi es. Para poder emitir (pocas veces, la verdad!) un MI natural debe de haber tenido que vocalizar rapido hasta un FA, porlomenos en su epoca "gorda".
de Hidalgo, a quien conocì en 1978 en Milan, me ha dicho que ella podia llegar a un MI, y asi dice ella en la entrevista en frances en 1969
This is excellent ensemble, and the top D is vintage Callas, but the trio from the Covent Garden 1952 takes that note and puts it into a golden chalice marked "Callas". No one (and I am old, have heard and seen everyone since her) has ever sung a D in alt as the London performance. It's ridiculous to compare Callas to Sutherland, as the latter's Norma with Tatiano Troyanos in 1980 was fabulous in every way. Try to think of singers as different colors. Now, is red better than yellow? Skip it.
The maestro in London was a genius and went to allegro con fuoco right at the drumroll, so the note sounded even more clarion than the Trieste, whose tempo was slower. Naturally Callas, trained thoroughbred she was, stepped right up to the coda and blasted it to the back of the top loggia. Sine qua non, and somewhere she must have known she was doing things in a breathtakingly daring pace, for posterity but also for the sheer delight she took in being a stage performer!
I listened again and again the recording of Trieste and London, and at the time of High D drum is heard louder in Trieste with a resounding Corelli's A (La)i, in the case of Picchi in London is no more a G (Sol). Similarly, the more I listen the most powerful I think the High D in Trieste is, clearly audible above the roll of the drum which so hard listening and the powerful voice of Corelli....
In the case of London, the orchestra and Picchi appear to favor a good hearing of Callas high D on a lower sound volume, comparing the two recordings. I mean, in Trieste you can hear the strong drum, the powerful voice of Corelli and, above them, the High D of Callas. In London, all you can hear strongly is the voice of Callas. And the rithm in booth case, in my opinion, are similar. In any case, the sound recording in London is better than that of Trieste.
and When Joan S, does the role all you hear is the High D, because she takes a 20 measure rest before she belts it out, unlike callas who actually sings the music, that Beliini wrote.. Oh well, I am not that fond of the high D either.
@ChrisStockslager And.. at no time, did you or anyone in the audience, ever believe that she, Joan Sutherland was Norma... Not once. What a waste . Great voice, No drama. of any kind..
@kgarmaker123 Well, actually, from all the people who actually saw Sutherland and Callas live (there aren't many left) said that Sutherland was actually a pretty good actress - especially at comedy. I remember reading here on Youtube that someone who saw Callas in the late '50s said she was overly melodramatic, and just grabbed her shoulders and would sway from side to side. But, since neither of us, I'm assuming, has seen either one perform live, it's not really our place to say who could and
@ChrisStockslager Es algo generalmente extendido y aceptado que las dotes interpretativas de Sutherland dejaban "mucho que desear", máxime si las comparábamos con las de Callas, pues el hecho de sus dotes dramático-interpretativas era junto con sus cualidades vocales, una de las columnas de lo que ha representado su arte para el mundo de la lírica. Su vis cómica, por las óperas que ha interpretado, es poco conocida, tal vez L'Italiana y poco más. No obstante, Sutherland en La fille es graciosa.
@leonardovittori1 Woops. And, in the San Francisco recording, Joan does pause between the B and D, but only to take in one giant breath - and that's maybe, I dunno, less than a second. And, here, at 2:32, it sounds like Callas takes a breath between the B and D, and since it's a slower tempo than Sutherland's version, it's technically more time to get air in, which makes Sutherland's D all the more impressive, considering how much more beautiful it sounds. Size-wise, I'd assume they would be = .
Ludicrous. Sutherland herself disagrees. The last century only had two true Normas: Ponselle and Callas. As for Sutherland's Norma, her lack of drama, inept diction...no thanks.
@Elisabetta611 When I read someone talk about Ponselle as the best Norma, or any other role, make me laugh.
There are only arias from Ponselle (not an entire role only her unhappy Traviataand her good Carmen) and in those arias all Ponselle high notes are white and vibrato less and flat like in Norma duet "mira o Norma" recorded in 1929 may be the exact date ?
The recorded Mira O Norma with Telva is flawless. Nothing "flat" there. Maybe your ears aren't trained enough to listen to historical recordings? Sure seems like it!
@Elisabetta611 Yes VVERY FLAT, the final note of the duet Ponselle is VERY FLAT.Notice ! or learn about music
In all Ponselle arias her tops are not good. The final Bflat in Pace mio Dio , the note is white and doesn't vibrate. In the final A in "Ave Maria" the same Ponselle A natural does not vibrate well, etc , etc, etc
Do you know ANYTHING about Ponselle? She was known for her great top notes. How can "diction" be "dark"? Callas was known for her exquisite diction and phrasing. You really have NO clue. You don't know how to listen to historical recordings. As for Miss Sills, she is in EVERY WAY your superior. She was a great artist. You are an ignorant Youtube troll.
@Elisabetta611 Am I a troll ? Don't you see you are a miserable creature? You are a mythomaniac. What great top notes Ponselle ? All her recorded arias are there in the record stores, her Bflat in Pace mio Dio is white and thin and "fisso", her C in O patria mia is an horrible note, "fissa" and white again , her A natural in Ave Maria is uncertain and does not vibrate, her final notes in Norma duet is very flat , there are no good high notes in all Ponselle discography I am so sorry
Just get an education, fool. Everyone who heard Ponselle (And Callas) disagrees with you, dearie. What kind of trash are you spouting in your comment? Calling me "frigid"? Huh? Callas was the exact opposite of a falsetto tweeter, dearie. Want falsetto? Listen to Erna Sack or Mado Robin. Callas' high notes where full of squillo, dramatic power and strength. And yep, you are a troll. Just look up the definition. All you do here is bash. Your account is empty. You are a TROLL. *Blocks*
@Elisabetta611 Inept Elisabetta611 cannot stop writing, you have to have the last word because you are so silly.
Everyone who heard Ponselle ??? Only in books inept or in theory Elisabetta or only the legend tells....etc , but in the recorded arias she left ALL her high notes are NOT good.
Not some of them and the others ok, ALL are white and "fisso" doesn't vibrate.
You still don't get it, do you? You obviously have no experience listening to historical recordings. Ponselle stopped singing for different reasons. Like I said, get an education, foolish child.
@Elisabetta611 Try to find an opening top squillo high note in all Ponselle arias set she left , may be in next life Elisabetta, but in the complete Ponselle arias set she left us it is IMPOSIBLE.
Ponselle stopped singing in her 40th birthday, because of she was unable to sing her bad "fisso" and white high notes anymore.
In the '20s and early '30s those notes were bad but she managed to produce tham but in 1936/37 she couldn't sing a note above an Aflat
@Elisabetta611 : Learn italian first and only after that speak, I am a troll ? You are a wicked frigid .
Maria Callas does not cling the accent to sing, she does not know. She was an american woman, brought up in New York.Maria Callas italian diction is weak and dark and she has no character of dramatic soprano and her voice is light and everything from head voice, Maria Cllas was unable to sing above A flat without using the "falseto" that it is trash in singing
I have studied Italian for years. Maybe she isn't using your village's accent, but her diction is crystal clear. Unlike Sutherland, whose diction sucks. (Yet you love her? LOL) I can understand every word she is singing. Every word is carefully and thoughtfully phrased. It's one of her greatest talents. Like it or not, but whoever bashes Ponselle AND Callas has lost whatever respect I may have had for him. Get an education. Or keep listening to wool weaver Joanie. I don't care.
@Elisabetta611 First of all Maria Callas italian diction is not good , it is dark and speaking of character, Dame Joan has a strong temperament and Dame Joan voice is much heavier than Callas lighter and too flawed voice and Callas didn't last anything, her voice was in decline when she was only 32 and the voice was shot when she was only 36 !
@Elisabetta611 I do have a filmed interview with maestro Richard Bonynge and he says he attended 11 Callas Norma performances at Covent Garden between 1952 and 1957 and he continues "Callas Norma first act was from mediocre to bad, she improved a bit after and she ended fine, if not exceptional and not always " and he ended "and her voice was too ugly"
Perhaps Elisabetta611 knowledge about singing and technique is superior to maestro Bonynge or Dame Joan's husband gran maestro
If that interview exists, post it. I only know of Joan Sutherland in the wings, listening to Callas, completely enraptured. Bonygne praised Callas as well. In the end, he is nothing compared to the likes of Serafin, Gui, de Sabata, Legge etc.
As for ugly...I find beyond her prime Sutherland's cloudy, woolen and mushy sound uglier than anything Callas ever recorded. Just my opinion, of course.
@bonanplu Dame Joan was always a bore, and disappointment, with her murky diction her entire life and her manufactured middle.. and.. everything, everything set up for a run to a high note or a high note.. There is much more to this music than interpolated( not even written) notes. I prefer the Callas recorded version to any version past or present. And frankly what the hell would YOU know about vocal flaws. Joan had plenty. But you do not talk about them.
Sutherland's flaws include her ludicrous diction, woolen low register, murky middle... after the early seventies her prime was over. I love Dame Joan. But her vocal flaws are as numerous as those of Callas.
@Elisabetta611 Yes she did, and when she was right, she was spectacular, wooden diction included, but that was not for that long, and frankly, 40 years of not understanding words, was very annoying, as for her, the text did not matter, as it does for many on you tube.. all they are interested is in the voice.. Well for me, she might as well vocalize then. La la la la .. wait, Luh luh luh luh luh.. As thats what it sounded like to me, and was about that committed too.
Like Zeffirelli said/says: "after Maria we spoke of opera in two era's BC and AC (Before Callas and After Callas) because that is just how it was/IIS!!Before her sopranos had gotten into the lazy habit of just 'marking the score' without actually SINGING the written...ALL of them...notes (see Anna Moffo in 'La Traviata')!!Maria brought BACK the Camerata's intention that opera should be a perfect marriage between libretto/score and acting!!Every soprano gives her the due credit that she EARNED!!
she quit singing certain parts when she did not feel she could go any further...she gave up anna bolena, lucia, violetta. but she kept medea and tosca! and norma...
oh my gaaaawd... y'all quit bitching! it's one thing to have a friendly debate, but invective is so silly.
The fact is all singers have their shortcomings: sutherand's mush mouth, callas' wobble (later), caballe's glottal attack and gruberova's slide. They all have something to offer.
You may dislike one singer, but you cannot ignore her... that is why SHE is here and YOU are at a computer bitching away half a century on =)
Voice comparisons in these live recordings is idiotic -- sometimes the mic is closer to one singer or the other, and magnifies his/her voice more than the others. It's incontrovertible, though, that that high D was clear above Corelli's trumpet, and the only person who got shafted was the poor Adalgisa.
A singer with an atrophical chest voice and an overcovered blurry middle voice ,who can't sing Anna Bolena without transposing lower passages up could never sing Wagner.Sutherland couldn't lighten her voice.Could she ever sing a pianissimo?Besides,after 1962 she start overcovering her middle register which led to the artificially heavy,matronly sound.
Corelli and Sutherland would've sung together much more if he hadn't been taken ill a few times.You could call it fate I suppose.For example,they were due to record I Puritani and sing it on the stage later as well.He was replaced by fine tenor P.Duval.But frankly quis178 you're beeing ridiculous about Sutherland's voice now.You're obsessed with it!It's well known she had a big wagnerian voice that she could lighten at will.That's why she was so amazing:she could sing both Galatea and Turandot!
Now you contradict yourself ;I though you said she sang with him many times.Sutherland's Turandot was a travesty- apart from some good high C's-it was a mushy wobbling blah-blah.For obvious reasons Bonynge opposed to her choice to record Turandot .
Sutherland and Corelli and Simionato and Cossotto all sang together in the italian version of Les Huguenots at La Scala in May 62 and it was a triumph. Some of it has been posted on youtube.
You said she sang with Corelli on stage many times they only sang in one performance of Les huguenots practically she didn't sing with Corelli in this performance since she sang their only duet solo.Would you please tell me one of the many performances she sang with Corelli?I've read the history of his performances he sang with Sutherland only in 1962.
It's the other way around.He sang many times with sopani who had bigger voices than Sutherland such as Farrell and Nilsson in operas with much heavier orchestration than Les huguenots and he was never blown away.
I know several recordings with them and never had the impression that Nilsson would have blown him away. Nilsson herself did not write or say anything like this, on the contrary. That's why I asked you to name the recording that can back up your statement.
Corelli himself said that he had to be careful singing with Nilsson in the Riddle Scene in Turandot, because no matter how loud he sang, Nilsson ALWAYS had reserves.
In 1963 she sang a concert with Corelli,she sang the mad scene of he Lucia,he sang Recordina Armonia and Un di all'azzurro spazio but they didn't sing together.
In fact, he sang the half of the second performance. Vickers never sang The Mastersingers of Nuremburg on the stage,he recorded some extracts in the studio.
Sutherland sang with Jon Vickers in 1957(not 53,my mistake)in The Mastersingers of Nuremburg AND in The Magic Flute,both conducted by Rafael Kubelik. I have the recording (label is Pearl),it was released last year,it comes from a private tape in the collection of Lord Harewood and it's available in all good classical music shops.
And I maintain(I have the documents to prove it)that Sutherland and Corelli sang together in a triumphant Lucia in Philadelphia,1964, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.
Vickers had never sang on stage The Mastersingers of Nuremberg,in 1953 his voice was quite small voice hence at that time he was singing lyric roles.He debuted in Wagner in 1958.Corelly sang with Sutherland on stage only in Les Huguenots in 1962(she sang their duet solo),there was no Lucia.Corelli sang Edgardo only in 1971.
I thought you said Corelli and Sutherland never sang together on the stage at all! And now you say they did... I call that bad faith... or just lies. It's simple: she sang with everybody, at one point or another. And what's with the obsession with the size of singers' voices all the time... what does that say about you, I wonder...
She sang with Corelli on stage many times,one of them being a triumphant Lucia in Philadelphia,in 1964,conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Stokowski was so enchanted by the cadenza that he forgot to bring in the orchestra at the end and left Joan high but not dry on the Eb for quite some time!
She also did The Mastersingers by Wagner with Vickers in 1953! Another fact.
1. But let's not forget Maria Callas mistakes. A critical one is how she destroyed her voice. In 1949 Callas had a beautiful,large E flat. But by 1959 her E-flats were gone. And her voice sounded bad.
2. Joan sutherland had a horrible reputation to destroy florid music by adding horrible embellishments . And had a terrible diction.
BASCIALLY THEY BOTH HAD THERE UPS AND DOWNS.
BUT NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO INSULT NEITHER OF THEM. THEY WERE GREAT OPERA SINGERS.
1. Maria Callas did NOT scream her high notes. Her high notes are very large, not SCREAMED. Also, I don't seem to understand why people go crazy for Sutherland's D. Here Callas sings a very strong high D.
2. Joan Sutherland had a great voice. But her early Recordings show a magnificent singer that gives Callas competition.
My favorite Sutherland story comes via a friend who put on a Sutherland album while he was doing house cleaning. An aria came on while he was scrubbing the floor. Something he didn't recognize at all in Italian he thought. He went to look at the slip cover and found she was singing in English!!!
Amazing natural gifts but not to everyone's taste. And she was indifferent at best to words, phrasing, dynamics. She was not particularly musical. But it was an amazing instrument.
Her phrasing or rather her indifference to words in general,is ridiculous and unemphatic.One phrase is like another to her. She never does anything with any phrase.Her enunciation is only comparable to Mari Lynn's 'SSSShoudici ad hhhhAnou'(Guidici ad Anna).
Sutherland said in an interview that she aimed to pureness of sound.She ended sounding like a toothless grandma and looking like an old trans.Her flaccid beat, her style of gliding from note to note,the constlantly forte level and the total lack of colors and shades of her singing turns music into somnolence.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Never heard of something so silly...how would sleeping in the theatre (in a small bed,how cute.Did she still do that when she was with Onassis?) help with her art!? Certainly didn't help with the voice,she still ended up sounding like a goose(even in mezzo roles)until even that went... No really, you are funny!
As for the Y.Menuhin letter to Sutherland, he does go on to say how moved he was also by her singing, not just technique... And he, like other great and true musicians, should know!
She selpt in the theater to save time so that she could work more,you fool.Her vocal decline doesn't affect her enourmous contribution to art.Besides,her voice declined due to serious health problems,she had dermatomyositis.
Here is an excerpt of a famous letter adressed to Joan Sutherland:
"You transported me last night: I have never heard such beautiful singing - your voice would be the dream of any string player, as in addition to the most wonderful articulation each note seemed to carry a warm weight as it were, as if your bow arm was drawing the sound out of the vocal chords in a way which makes me feel both inspired and discouraged at the same time..."
As for Sutherland singing only coloratura roles, you clearly know nothing about her career. What about all the Massenet roles (Esclarmonde or Le Roi de Lahore require big voices by the way, some of the orchestration in French operas like these being bigger than in Wagnerian works) and Adriana Lecouvreur or Dialogue of the Carmelites or Suor Angelica or L'Oracolo etc. And listen to her Verdi Requiem, conducted by Solti. Or her Turandot... No small voice there... And Callas's voice went quickly...
Have ever heard her D'ne longue torpeur?Her voice was only comfortable in the high passages .Adriana Lecouvreur and Suor Angelica were bad choices due to the tessitura her middle voice was cloudy/overcovered,a total mess!She also sang Leonora,another unsuited role for her.The legato was so good because she didn't pronunce properly.
Serafin himself called Sutherland a genius! And he was the first of a long line of conductors and partners who said exactly the same about her. But I'm sure that if you'd met him, you would have put him right too, quis178...
And you know what is sad... the last tour Callas did, when her voice had reached bottom. THAT was truly embarassing... poor thing.
I accept Callas was the better actress, but Joan was the better singer. You want to have it both ways. And,Callas servant to the music!Oh yeah that's why she went to live the jet set life, partying and all, thus ruining further a voice that was going anyway, mind you. And for your information, Joan did sing with Vickers,Corelli and other big voices.I have some of the pirate recordings. And did you know Gobbi asked her to do Tosca with him. He knew a thing or two about what makes a good Tosca 0:)
Yes,Callas was a servant of the music.She gave meaning to every note she sang.She was so committed that she even attended the rehearsals of the orchestra.During her Epidauro rehearsals she was working 18 hours a day.She and even slept there, among the seeting on a small bed that was brought in for her.Sutherland doesn't speak Italian.A singer who respects the work of the composer would never sing in a language he/she doesn't master.
oh please. Let's not oversentimentalize Callas. She was what she was, and she had MANY faults and MANY strengths. So many Callas fans gloss over the parts they don't like and act like Callas was some saintly servant of her art with no other calling. You'd all have us think she walked around every day of her life analyzing Norma's character.
Oh sure. As if there were NO other ARTISTS besides Callas, and NO other singer who's strengths could make fans overlook glaring faults. Come on. Sills was every bit as good an actress, and there were FAR better singers technically. Callas was unique, and special, but hardly perfect, and hardly the best ever.
Sorry, but it is unquestionable and undisputed in the world of opera, I mean, in the world of specialists and connoisseurs of the vocal techniques of the masters of song and stage directors and conductors, that "nobody has passed the Callas' technique. I will not underestimate Sills or any other, but that's the truth.
"Undisputed and unquestionable" is INCORRECT. It's disputed by MANY. In any artistic field you can't speak of absolutes, because there's no such thing. Callas (and every other singer too) has as many detractors as she has admirers, and they are both correct. I am a fan, but not so blind and deaf that I don't recognize faults. Callas is certainly not for everyone, but to say no one has surpassed her in terms of technique is wrong. Sutherland and Horne, to name two, had UNIMPEACHABLE technique.
Sutherland's technique was so UNIMPEACHABLE that she could'nt shape a decent phrase and she couldn't sing even the 10 percent of the written piani.Her singing is double dutch.Words are not just sounds words contain meanings.
Couldn't shape a decent phrase? Who the hell have YOU been listening to? It sure ain't Sutherland. She had GREAT legato (Pavarotti even credited her with teaching him how to support the sound to sustain a legato line). Her technique was AMAZING. As for words containing meaning...what does the STUPID double dutch comment have to do with anything? That sounds like a crock of made up crap to me. Funny how you make a big deal out of meaning and then write nonsense to prove your point.
Sutherland had dreadfull diction and she couldn't master dynamics hence her phrasing was poor.According to Bonynge her legato was GREAT due to the mushy diction .Sills was a tin pot coloratura her voice in middle register was small and thin.Armida requires 5 tenors;in the early 50's there were no Rossini tenors that's why the opera was performed only few times.
There are indeed other artists besides Callas, but they are very, very rare. You mention Sills. I've neither seen Sills nor Callas live, but in comparing their renditions of "Una voce poco fa," Sills is a caricature and Callas becomes a character. You also mention "FAR better singers technically" -- that's completely untrue. She could sing extremely difficult passages and roles with ease and, more importantly, musicality. What is technique for? It's not meaningless showcase of roulades, etc.
I'm not sure I would call Sills a Caricature.....especially not in dramatic roles like Devereaux where she was incredible. However, would you not agree that we all find meaning in different singers' interpretations, for different reasons, and that certain singers just resonate with us as individuals?
reply part 2: technique is a servant of musicality and expression. Callas understood this far better than the slew of recent bel canto specialists who have ostensibly better technique -- Sutherland, Sills, etc. What's the point of being able to sing a quick arpeggio when you can't make the music have significance and meaning? Callas was not perfect, but she most successfully embodies the most important qualities associated with the operatic arts.
I would disagree. Technique is the FOUNDATION on which musicality and expression should be based. Technique should be so SOLID that you don't even think about it, giving you the freedom to really delve into the characterization. Otherwise you think about too many thigns at once, and you become a sloppy singer (netrebko comes to mind). You should learn to trill or sing fioritura WELL before you try to make it mean ANYTHING.
Sills could not touch roles like Armida and Lady Macbeth.She was a tin pot coloratura there are many lyric coloraturas who can sing staccati and trills but there is no one who can rival Callas in roles such as Norma and Armida.
blah blah blah. Just more of the same old schtick. Callas and Norma, Callas and Armida. Funny considering she sang Armida so briefly and then gave it up. Callas has rivals, period, and there are those who think she has equals, even as Norma. I'm one of them. Sills was no tin pot coloratura, either. She was an amazing singer with amazing technique. Bashing her doesn't make it less so. Callas had strengths, no doubt. But, she was FAR from perfect...even as Norma.
She did not "give up" Armida, there weren't that many houses who'd produce such an unknown opera back then. Ever thought of that. Sills was a lyric coloratura, a lovely one. Sills also said "I'd rather have 5 years of Callas than 30 years of me."
Actually, yes, I am aware that there weren't many houses taking chances on relatively unknown roles in the 1950s. The point was not to speculate as to WHY she stopped singing the role, but simply that she DID drop the role from her active repertoire. Sills was a smart woman, and she, like Callas, took great chances with her voice. We're better off for having had both of them. BUT, the point was that there are other singers whose work is JUST as valid and important as Callas.
I love them both. Sills did not sing Norma long either.. As to Callas and Armide.... Callas was about as close as it comes to perfectly fitting Norma, but she still had flaws.. when someone reaches perfection they really need to think about quitting. Why bother? The only thing they have to look forward to is failure.
Callas sang Armida only 3 times, yes, but hers is the best performance ever on record. And if you believe that Sutherland or Caballe are the best Normas - well, that is your lawful right.
Callas was a servant of the music and the composer,she didn't add a tone of ridiculous embellisments just in a pursuit of showing off her coloratura like Sutherland.But what else could any one expect from a singer who could hardly speak Italian and was coatched by Bonynge?
She only sang lyric coloratura roles partenered most of the time by small-voiced singers like Pavarotti and Horne.Callas' dramatic skills emanates for her phrasing,musicallity,rythmic accuracy and incredible use of rubato,timbral shading,total control over the dynamics,physical acting.Skills that Sutherland never mastered.
You seem to forget the huge wobble Sutherland developted in the middle voice in the mid-70's and the terrible performances she gave in the 80's,rather embarasing for a singer who only sang coloratura roles always compromising.
Get yours facts right. Of course she sang with Corelli, and Simionato and Del Monaco etc. And Pavarotti had a huge voice. And please let's not get technical about the voice, it's well known that Callas did everything wrong in terms of singing, she used to scream and get louder and louder. Let's not confuse drama and screaming! But thanks for your analysis of Joan's singing, I just don't know how she had a career at the top for more than 40years without your advice... but guess what, she did!
Sutherland was never covered by any orchestra because apart from Norma she never sang any heavy role and usually her partners had lyric-small voices (neither Bergonzi nor Horne have big voices).She never sang with Del Monaco,Corelli,Vickers,Simionato,Bechi,Stignani and other big-voiced singers.
Corelli was so gorgeous
rodlarocque 2 weeks ago
@rodlarocque A él le llamaban "piernas doradas", por lo estupendas que eran.
ubedajils 2 weeks ago
Adalgisa fue interpretada por Nicolai.
ubedajils 3 weeks ago
Who was the Adalgisa?
DCFunBud 3 weeks ago
@DCFunBud La interpretó Elena Nicolai. Feliz Año 2012.
ubedajils 3 weeks ago
@ubedajils Grasias muchisimas y usted!
DCFunBud 3 weeks ago
norma murió con María : Las he escuchado a todas , y ninguna puede , como ella , ser vocalmente la mismisima Norma que Bellini debe haber soñado
alvenerio 5 months ago 2
I've heard many Normas and only Callas was the greatest by far. She understood every nuance of the character & the music for the role. I don't get why so many rav about Sutherland when she was always so lifeless. Caballe, too, a mere vocal technician but with no fire, passion and real life like Callas put into her singing and acting. Viva La Divina per sempre...per sempre!!
OperaMystery80 8 months ago 10
There is no doubt that Ms. Callas was BORN to sing the role of Norma.
I can feel what she (The Priest ) is felling at this time. Callas´s technique is out of this world. Gorgeous voice. Great talent and also Original and Unique.
There is so much to learn from Maria. Manifique duetto.
Tenorbravo 9 months ago 2
@cuoredeinidi I think that the High D must be done by an specific kind of Norma, the fierce, static and super powerful norma of Callas and probably Sutherland. The human and sometimes weak (neither bad nor stupid, but human) of Caballe, like the one in the orange shouldn't have that high D, I think. Anyway, most of the times is made for showing off or as a money note, but Callas and only Callas ads it for the emotion and the necessity of drama.
RoOodOoOloOmeg 9 months ago
hey Uderzo! pourquoi il n'y a pas de druidesses dans les aventures d'Astérix si c'est elles qui coupaient le gui?
wattever333 1 year ago
@wattever333 bonne réflexion :P
ubedajils 1 year ago
LA DIVINA IMPRESSIONANTE!!!!!!
emilytransex 1 year ago
Pim, pam, poum:Envoyé!
abracadabranque 1 year ago
Callas grew up bilingual in Greek and English and learned arias in Italian and songs in Spanish all by the age of 13. She then studied French formally for four years in Athens, Greece. She learned Italian from students at the 2 music schools she attended from the age of 13 to 17. Italian couldn't be taught at the academies; then at the age of 25, her husband taught her a regional Italian, Veronese, which she used for informal chatting or as she called it "kitchen Italian".
MrJuan541 1 year ago
Esta dama es incomparable. Tengo casi de todas sus grabaciones y he pasado muchas horas escuchándolas. Siempre hay algo nuevo y primoroso que encuentro y me asombra cada vez. La divina vivirá para siempre. Su leyenda se le ha puesto a ella inmortal. La voz del siglo.
MrJuan541 1 year ago
No critic ever said the following about Callas: "I didn't know if she was singing the libretto or the weather report." Those words were written about a famous "singer" of opera, whose name I won't mention; she just died recently. I think we all know the name, and this page isn't about her. If you like the worst diction ever in Italian or French, if you want to hear a language butchered with mushy vowels and terrible pronunciation, you can find it elsewhere.
MrJuan541 1 year ago
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MrJuan541 1 year ago
Regarding Callas' Italian, I read some moronic commentary earlier about her diction, and I would like to say as a speaker of a romance language, a fluent speaker of Spanish, and as someone who has studied opera and music for many years, her gift for language was incredible and when she spoke Italian, she sounded Italian. She spoke a formal Italian to discuss art and opera, and a regional Italian, Veronese, to chat. She also spoke French perfectly; she studied French formally.
MrJuan541 1 year ago 2
This is nothing short of Hall of Fame singing! I don't have this live Norma, but I have her debut at Covent Garden from the year before as well as the December 7, 1955 La Scala Norma with del Monaco. In both, she includes the high D at the end; both examples are sung differently, the latter with a descending scale passage, and they both bring down the house. I also have both studio versions. I think my favorite is the 55 at La Scala; the Italian audience is incredible!
MrJuan541 1 year ago
Would love Hollywood to make a film of her life story!
malicata25 1 year ago 3
@malicata25 Sería maravilloso, un 'biopic' bien hecho, con buenos actores, como sólo los americanos saben hacerlo, sobre la vida de Maria, no lo que vimos años atrás sobre sus últimos años.
ubedajils 1 year ago
@malicata25 yes but who is going to play her who would u suggest?
Nacidodelmar 4 months ago
@malicata25 Most people have never heard of Maria Callas these days. As much as we love her, she is a relic of the past now. Thank God for her wonderful legacy of recordings.
Operanobility 1 month ago
UGH. i don't know the technical terms..but i do know when i hear a God singing.
Maria Callas Foreverrrrr!
pointemeout 1 year ago
Hermoso, increible. Te felicito
mcallaspersempre 1 year ago
Callas is magnificent her. But she was not the only and first singer with dramatic instincts eg Ponselle/Muzio etc.
When Callas had trouble simply executing the music the emotion I often got was
Pain. Some perspective please
65attila 1 year ago
That's incredible !!! Thanks a lot for posting this ..... amazing
faberx1 1 year ago
Corelli really stood up to Callas, What a powerful team!! This is GREAT!!
arturo8402 1 year ago
Brava Callas! I also love the 1952 London recording. As for Corelli, great voice aside, that guy was hot.
danawinsor 1 year ago
The flawless timing on the drumroll of Callas-Corelli is something that should not be overlooked, for it is what catapults the perfect rhythm in both of these titans and renders that final high D a dramatic "lampo fulmine"!
sillyboydeux 1 year ago
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phantom8472 2 years ago
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phantom8472 2 years ago
For those who always take a great pleasure to critizes everything : If (today) you are able to find on the same stage : Callas+Corelli+Nicolai+Chrsitoff in NORMA , please let me know the Adress of the Performance ! The very end of that Trio is just INCREDIBILE
motardbear15 2 years ago 2
And so on , and so on about this silly High D ! BASTA ! BASTA ! Just listen to the INTERPRETATION PLEASE ! CALLAS is CALLAS ! BASTA ! BASTA !
motardbear15 2 years ago 2
Well, I have the London recording so I was very happy to discover this performance posted here. Thank you. As far as the recording quality, they are both live performances, and personally regardless of the differences between the 2, they are both incredible! Man, she rocks! The one and only, never to be challenged in anyway by anyone. I don't care what anyone says. There is only one soprano who had it all, technique, voice, interpretations that are unsurpassed, and that is La Divina!
jazzychazzy007 2 years ago 19
As I use to say: AMEN ;)
ubedajils 2 years ago
@ubedajils
Really I find wonderfull all the job you are doing here on posting those treasures for all of us ! I find all those silly critics discusting ! To compare callas and Tebaldi in ????? NORMA !!! Pfffffff ! It is the greatest stupidity I never have seen in my life !! As Callas said : can we compare Champagne and Coca-cola !!!
motardbear15 2 years ago 4
she actually said cognac instead coca cola... acording to her, the journalist changed the word to create controversy...
werther11998877 1 year ago
AAAAAAMEN ;)
pointemeout 1 year ago
To whom it may concern: Put those high D's down your throat and think about them while you're digesting. Your arguments about a silly top note are a sad testimony to the general decay of musical culture in an age that has forgotten the great traditions of the past. This site is an excellent channel for learning something about a time when artistry rather than raw (quantified) technique meant something. Go listen, get a musical / cultural education and stop ranting about some high D's!
VivaRenata 2 years ago
Aún no sé si estás criticando nuestro deleite por el final de esta actuación o qué. Precisamente, y dado que te refieres a la capacidad de actuar, coinciden en esta mujer, coincidieron, unas cualidades vocales casi únicas con una capacidad interpretativa tremenda. Qué nos regodeemos en un fabuloso Re sobreagudo no significa que "no tengamos cultura musical" si es que con ello estabas criticando.
ubedajils 2 years ago
Well, Tebaldi never had a D to begin with. And as for artistry, I prefer Callas' colorful phrasing to Tebaldi's use of fishwife sobs and verismo gimmicks. But to each his own.
Elisabetta611 2 years ago 4
@VivaRenata High D's Dear Renata strained for High b flat.s.. and was often flat on them. Not a soprano. Great voice, mezzo.. Cant sing soprano without a reliable upper register.. that is a reliabe bflat, B natural and C ... and she did not have them.. But she had a huge chest voice and bottom, and middle. That is the very definition of a mezzo. Was she ever mistyped as a vocalist. Someone used a pitchfork and goosed her up to a High c one day and they called her a soprano.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Callas actually had a high f. She was able to sing into the upper register in full voice, that is why her voice is so remarkable. She is an untouchable Norma. Some say she should've sung mezzo, but the point is moot; we wouldn't have one of the most wonderful Norma's, Tosca's and etc ever recorded had she not sung soprano roles.
johnb340 2 years ago
Callas never sang a high F on stage, but that doesn't touch her greatness.
peraltri 1 year ago
Point is she is far from a mezzo. Read the comment below mine, thats my point. kgarmaker123. I won't argue about the high f.
johnb340 1 year ago
yes she did. the armida recording is off pitch and that high eflat was an f. ALSO in the bolero from vespri, at the end she has trouble to stay on the eflat and goes to f.... SORRY!
distefano13069609 1 year ago
caro distefano, you are definitely a bit confused with "pitch"...
In Armida at the end of the quartet what it sounds in some recordings as an F (for wrong pitch of the LPs and CDs) in real lefe was an E natural.
In Vespri when she was supposed to sing an E natural (not flat...) at the end of the Bolero in Florence, at opening night unfortunatey she cracked the note and "splat" the note for a second in a higher note, but that wasn't intentional or a bravade...
xafnndapp 1 year ago
@johnb340 Callas never had a high F - or at least it was never documented in studio or live recordings/performances.. She did have the E natural, as witnessed in Vespri and in Lakme. Already a nice feat for a dramatic soprano. Her teacher , Elvira de Hodlago reminisced saying "elle avait un mi naturel"; not fa, but mi.
TheRealAngelHeart 1 year ago
@TheRealAngelHeart Thanks for your comment, TRAH. Una vez estudié canto lírico y mi profesora me enseñó que si tienes una nota, "más o menos" tienes la siguiente. Es obvio por sentido común que si Callas podía emitir el Mi sobreagudo con ese estruendo (véase, por ejemplo en Lakmé), sería capaz de emitir, repito " más o menos" el Fa. Este Fa sabemos por declaraciones de Callas que lo ha cantado en privado. Ahora puedes creer esto o no, es cosa tuya.
Un saludo.
ubedajils 1 year ago
@ubedajils There definitely is truth in what you are saying. Gencer sang only up to E flat on stage, but she did have an F . What is more important is not so much the notes you hit, but their actual musical quality. I am a baritone and have a C sharp which I only used once on stage, joning the soprano on the final note. Otherwise I sing up to A, staying in my comfort zone, where I am sure of my musicality. So for all we know, Callas might have been able to "belt " even higher than F!
TheRealAngelHeart 1 year ago
@ubedajils claro que asi es. Para poder emitir (pocas veces, la verdad!) un MI natural debe de haber tenido que vocalizar rapido hasta un FA, porlomenos en su epoca "gorda".
de Hidalgo, a quien conocì en 1978 en Milan, me ha dicho que ella podia llegar a un MI, y asi dice ella en la entrevista en frances en 1969
xafnndapp 1 year ago
@TheRealAngelHeart Totally agree. And de Hidalgo, whom i met in Milan in 1978, confirmed me that.
xafnndapp 1 year ago
This is excellent ensemble, and the top D is vintage Callas, but the trio from the Covent Garden 1952 takes that note and puts it into a golden chalice marked "Callas". No one (and I am old, have heard and seen everyone since her) has ever sung a D in alt as the London performance. It's ridiculous to compare Callas to Sutherland, as the latter's Norma with Tatiano Troyanos in 1980 was fabulous in every way. Try to think of singers as different colors. Now, is red better than yellow? Skip it.
sillyboydeux 2 years ago
Oops. Typo in Tatiana. Mabad.
sillyboydeux 2 years ago
I have that recorded from 1952. In the next days I will upload it. It's wonderful, but, I still prefer this High D, and the performance of Corelli.
ubedajils 2 years ago
The maestro in London was a genius and went to allegro con fuoco right at the drumroll, so the note sounded even more clarion than the Trieste, whose tempo was slower. Naturally Callas, trained thoroughbred she was, stepped right up to the coda and blasted it to the back of the top loggia. Sine qua non, and somewhere she must have known she was doing things in a breathtakingly daring pace, for posterity but also for the sheer delight she took in being a stage performer!
sillyboydeux 2 years ago
I listened again and again the recording of Trieste and London, and at the time of High D drum is heard louder in Trieste with a resounding Corelli's A (La)i, in the case of Picchi in London is no more a G (Sol). Similarly, the more I listen the most powerful I think the High D in Trieste is, clearly audible above the roll of the drum which so hard listening and the powerful voice of Corelli....
ubedajils 2 years ago
In the case of London, the orchestra and Picchi appear to favor a good hearing of Callas high D on a lower sound volume, comparing the two recordings. I mean, in Trieste you can hear the strong drum, the powerful voice of Corelli and, above them, the High D of Callas. In London, all you can hear strongly is the voice of Callas. And the rithm in booth case, in my opinion, are similar. In any case, the sound recording in London is better than that of Trieste.
ubedajils 2 years ago
and When Joan S, does the role all you hear is the High D, because she takes a 20 measure rest before she belts it out, unlike callas who actually sings the music, that Beliini wrote.. Oh well, I am not that fond of the high D either.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
@kgarmaker123 Actually, in her 1972 San Francisco recording, Joan Sutherland sings the Bb, and the D -- and it's incredible!
ChrisStockslager 1 year ago
@ChrisStockslager And.. at no time, did you or anyone in the audience, ever believe that she, Joan Sutherland was Norma... Not once. What a waste . Great voice, No drama. of any kind..
kgarmaker123 1 year ago
@kgarmaker123 Well, actually, from all the people who actually saw Sutherland and Callas live (there aren't many left) said that Sutherland was actually a pretty good actress - especially at comedy. I remember reading here on Youtube that someone who saw Callas in the late '50s said she was overly melodramatic, and just grabbed her shoulders and would sway from side to side. But, since neither of us, I'm assuming, has seen either one perform live, it's not really our place to say who could and
ChrisStockslager 1 year ago
@kgarmaker123 ... couldn't act.
ChrisStockslager 1 year ago
@ChrisStockslager Es algo generalmente extendido y aceptado que las dotes interpretativas de Sutherland dejaban "mucho que desear", máxime si las comparábamos con las de Callas, pues el hecho de sus dotes dramático-interpretativas era junto con sus cualidades vocales, una de las columnas de lo que ha representado su arte para el mundo de la lírica. Su vis cómica, por las óperas que ha interpretado, es poco conocida, tal vez L'Italiana y poco más. No obstante, Sutherland en La fille es graciosa.
ubedajils 1 year ago
@ChrisStockslager its not a B flat, its a b natural if you check the score.. and she gets off the B natural, and rests so she can hit the D natural..
leonardovittori1 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 Woops. And, in the San Francisco recording, Joan does pause between the B and D, but only to take in one giant breath - and that's maybe, I dunno, less than a second. And, here, at 2:32, it sounds like Callas takes a breath between the B and D, and since it's a slower tempo than Sutherland's version, it's technically more time to get air in, which makes Sutherland's D all the more impressive, considering how much more beautiful it sounds. Size-wise, I'd assume they would be = .
ChrisStockslager 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 yes but the note is not well placed and it is a scream.The only one Norma is Dame Joan.
It is very dissapointing to listen Callas recordings, even in her very short prime, too many flaws to forgive her.
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
Ludicrous. Sutherland herself disagrees. The last century only had two true Normas: Ponselle and Callas. As for Sutherland's Norma, her lack of drama, inept diction...no thanks.
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 When I read someone talk about Ponselle as the best Norma, or any other role, make me laugh.
There are only arias from Ponselle (not an entire role only her unhappy Traviataand her good Carmen) and in those arias all Ponselle high notes are white and vibrato less and flat like in Norma duet "mira o Norma" recorded in 1929 may be the exact date ?
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
The recorded Mira O Norma with Telva is flawless. Nothing "flat" there. Maybe your ears aren't trained enough to listen to historical recordings? Sure seems like it!
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 Yes VVERY FLAT, the final note of the duet Ponselle is VERY FLAT.Notice ! or learn about music
In all Ponselle arias her tops are not good. The final Bflat in Pace mio Dio , the note is white and doesn't vibrate. In the final A in "Ave Maria" the same Ponselle A natural does not vibrate well, etc , etc, etc
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
Do you know ANYTHING about Ponselle? She was known for her great top notes. How can "diction" be "dark"? Callas was known for her exquisite diction and phrasing. You really have NO clue. You don't know how to listen to historical recordings. As for Miss Sills, she is in EVERY WAY your superior. She was a great artist. You are an ignorant Youtube troll.
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 Am I a troll ? Don't you see you are a miserable creature? You are a mythomaniac. What great top notes Ponselle ? All her recorded arias are there in the record stores, her Bflat in Pace mio Dio is white and thin and "fisso", her C in O patria mia is an horrible note, "fissa" and white again , her A natural in Ave Maria is uncertain and does not vibrate, her final notes in Norma duet is very flat , there are no good high notes in all Ponselle discography I am so sorry
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
Just get an education, fool. Everyone who heard Ponselle (And Callas) disagrees with you, dearie. What kind of trash are you spouting in your comment? Calling me "frigid"? Huh? Callas was the exact opposite of a falsetto tweeter, dearie. Want falsetto? Listen to Erna Sack or Mado Robin. Callas' high notes where full of squillo, dramatic power and strength. And yep, you are a troll. Just look up the definition. All you do here is bash. Your account is empty. You are a TROLL. *Blocks*
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 Inept Elisabetta611 cannot stop writing, you have to have the last word because you are so silly.
Everyone who heard Ponselle ??? Only in books inept or in theory Elisabetta or only the legend tells....etc , but in the recorded arias she left ALL her high notes are NOT good.
Not some of them and the others ok, ALL are white and "fisso" doesn't vibrate.
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
You still don't get it, do you? You obviously have no experience listening to historical recordings. Ponselle stopped singing for different reasons. Like I said, get an education, foolish child.
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@bonanplu
:-)
rosaponselleart 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 Try to find an opening top squillo high note in all Ponselle arias set she left , may be in next life Elisabetta, but in the complete Ponselle arias set she left us it is IMPOSIBLE.
Ponselle stopped singing in her 40th birthday, because of she was unable to sing her bad "fisso" and white high notes anymore.
In the '20s and early '30s those notes were bad but she managed to produce tham but in 1936/37 she couldn't sing a note above an Aflat
bonanplu 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 : Learn italian first and only after that speak, I am a troll ? You are a wicked frigid .
Maria Callas does not cling the accent to sing, she does not know. She was an american woman, brought up in New York.Maria Callas italian diction is weak and dark and she has no character of dramatic soprano and her voice is light and everything from head voice, Maria Cllas was unable to sing above A flat without using the "falseto" that it is trash in singing
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
I have studied Italian for years. Maybe she isn't using your village's accent, but her diction is crystal clear. Unlike Sutherland, whose diction sucks. (Yet you love her? LOL) I can understand every word she is singing. Every word is carefully and thoughtfully phrased. It's one of her greatest talents. Like it or not, but whoever bashes Ponselle AND Callas has lost whatever respect I may have had for him. Get an education. Or keep listening to wool weaver Joanie. I don't care.
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 First of all Maria Callas italian diction is not good , it is dark and speaking of character, Dame Joan has a strong temperament and Dame Joan voice is much heavier than Callas lighter and too flawed voice and Callas didn't last anything, her voice was in decline when she was only 32 and the voice was shot when she was only 36 !
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
LOL, her Italian diction was FLAWLESS and her voice was HUGE in her prime. "Better five years of Callas than thirty years of me." (Bevery Sills)
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 No darling, Callas italian diction is dark, in the other hand Callas english in any of her interviews it is flawless, yes.
And the commentary of Miss Sills makes me feel embarrasment for that lady (Miss Sills), to say something so unprofessional and so gross
bonanplu 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 I do have a filmed interview with maestro Richard Bonynge and he says he attended 11 Callas Norma performances at Covent Garden between 1952 and 1957 and he continues "Callas Norma first act was from mediocre to bad, she improved a bit after and she ended fine, if not exceptional and not always " and he ended "and her voice was too ugly"
Perhaps Elisabetta611 knowledge about singing and technique is superior to maestro Bonynge or Dame Joan's husband gran maestro
bonanplu 1 year ago
@bonanplu
If that interview exists, post it. I only know of Joan Sutherland in the wings, listening to Callas, completely enraptured. Bonygne praised Callas as well. In the end, he is nothing compared to the likes of Serafin, Gui, de Sabata, Legge etc.
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@bonanplu
As for ugly...I find beyond her prime Sutherland's cloudy, woolen and mushy sound uglier than anything Callas ever recorded. Just my opinion, of course.
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@bonanplu Dame Joan was always a bore, and disappointment, with her murky diction her entire life and her manufactured middle.. and.. everything, everything set up for a run to a high note or a high note.. There is much more to this music than interpolated( not even written) notes. I prefer the Callas recorded version to any version past or present. And frankly what the hell would YOU know about vocal flaws. Joan had plenty. But you do not talk about them.
kgarmaker123 1 year ago
@kgarmaker123
Sutherland's flaws include her ludicrous diction, woolen low register, murky middle... after the early seventies her prime was over. I love Dame Joan. But her vocal flaws are as numerous as those of Callas.
Elisabetta611 1 year ago
@Elisabetta611 Yes she did, and when she was right, she was spectacular, wooden diction included, but that was not for that long, and frankly, 40 years of not understanding words, was very annoying, as for her, the text did not matter, as it does for many on you tube.. all they are interested is in the voice.. Well for me, she might as well vocalize then. La la la la .. wait, Luh luh luh luh luh.. As thats what it sounded like to me, and was about that committed too.
kgarmaker123 1 year ago
Like Zeffirelli said/says: "after Maria we spoke of opera in two era's BC and AC (Before Callas and After Callas) because that is just how it was/IIS!!Before her sopranos had gotten into the lazy habit of just 'marking the score' without actually SINGING the written...ALL of them...notes (see Anna Moffo in 'La Traviata')!!Maria brought BACK the Camerata's intention that opera should be a perfect marriage between libretto/score and acting!!Every soprano gives her the due credit that she EARNED!!
TheMrMaz 2 years ago 2
Absolutely White Hot! Callas was and is Norma! A stupendous performance! You folks are right, Callas gave it her ALL...unlike others...
CarloQuinto 2 years ago 4
Callas, What a great RE! Only you! Daring, brave, audacious!
Alce2008 2 years ago 6
She was the greatest Norma. She still is. We are eternally indepted to her.
AOG93 2 years ago 20
she quit singing certain parts when she did not feel she could go any further...she gave up anna bolena, lucia, violetta. but she kept medea and tosca! and norma...
mariahelleberg 2 years ago
oh my gaaaawd... y'all quit bitching! it's one thing to have a friendly debate, but invective is so silly.
The fact is all singers have their shortcomings: sutherand's mush mouth, callas' wobble (later), caballe's glottal attack and gruberova's slide. They all have something to offer.
You may dislike one singer, but you cannot ignore her... that is why SHE is here and YOU are at a computer bitching away half a century on =)
belcunto 2 years ago 7
LOL. You are the ONLY person, on this website that makes sense.
operagodess78 2 years ago 2
You are right on! Man, did I get a good laugh with your comment!
DrGarri 2 years ago
Voice comparisons in these live recordings is idiotic -- sometimes the mic is closer to one singer or the other, and magnifies his/her voice more than the others. It's incontrovertible, though, that that high D was clear above Corelli's trumpet, and the only person who got shafted was the poor Adalgisa.
diuscorvus 2 years ago
Duo de Titans...
mariasarda 2 years ago
A singer with an atrophical chest voice and an overcovered blurry middle voice ,who can't sing Anna Bolena without transposing lower passages up could never sing Wagner.Sutherland couldn't lighten her voice.Could she ever sing a pianissimo?Besides,after 1962 she start overcovering her middle register which led to the artificially heavy,matronly sound.
quis178 3 years ago
Corelli and Sutherland would've sung together much more if he hadn't been taken ill a few times.You could call it fate I suppose.For example,they were due to record I Puritani and sing it on the stage later as well.He was replaced by fine tenor P.Duval.But frankly quis178 you're beeing ridiculous about Sutherland's voice now.You're obsessed with it!It's well known she had a big wagnerian voice that she could lighten at will.That's why she was so amazing:she could sing both Galatea and Turandot!
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
Now you contradict yourself ;I though you said she sang with him many times.Sutherland's Turandot was a travesty- apart from some good high C's-it was a mushy wobbling blah-blah.For obvious reasons Bonynge opposed to her choice to record Turandot .
quis178 3 years ago
Sutherland and Corelli and Simionato and Cossotto all sang together in the italian version of Les Huguenots at La Scala in May 62 and it was a triumph. Some of it has been posted on youtube.
sutherlandfan64 2 years ago
You said she sang with Corelli on stage many times they only sang in one performance of Les huguenots practically she didn't sing with Corelli in this performance since she sang their only duet solo.Would you please tell me one of the many performances she sang with Corelli?I've read the history of his performances he sang with Sutherland only in 1962.
quis178 3 years ago
Why on earth would Corelli let Sutherland sing the duets solo. Maybe because he knew she would blow him away :)
comey717 3 years ago
It's the other way around.He sang many times with sopani who had bigger voices than Sutherland such as Farrell and Nilsson in operas with much heavier orchestration than Les huguenots and he was never blown away.
quis178 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Nilsson did
comey717 3 years ago
No, she did not.
tehen162 3 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Yes,she did:)
comey717 3 years ago
Evidence?
tehen162 3 years ago
Recordings.Find them:)
comey717 3 years ago
I know several recordings with them and never had the impression that Nilsson would have blown him away. Nilsson herself did not write or say anything like this, on the contrary. That's why I asked you to name the recording that can back up your statement.
tehen162 3 years ago 3
In questa Reggia.
mariagalvany 3 years ago
In which of the many recordings exactly?
tehen162 3 years ago
Oh, I'm sorry. I was responding to the wrong person :))
mariagalvany 3 years ago
Birgit Nilsson voice was bigger than Franco Corelli.
operagodess78 2 years ago
Corelli himself said that he had to be careful singing with Nilsson in the Riddle Scene in Turandot, because no matter how loud he sang, Nilsson ALWAYS had reserves.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
In 1963 she sang a concert with Corelli,she sang the mad scene of he Lucia,he sang Recordina Armonia and Un di all'azzurro spazio but they didn't sing together.
quis178 3 years ago
In fact, he sang the half of the second performance. Vickers never sang The Mastersingers of Nuremburg on the stage,he recorded some extracts in the studio.
quis178 3 years ago
Sutherland sang with Jon Vickers in 1957(not 53,my mistake)in The Mastersingers of Nuremburg AND in The Magic Flute,both conducted by Rafael Kubelik. I have the recording (label is Pearl),it was released last year,it comes from a private tape in the collection of Lord Harewood and it's available in all good classical music shops.
And I maintain(I have the documents to prove it)that Sutherland and Corelli sang together in a triumphant Lucia in Philadelphia,1964, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
What kind of ducument do you have?He only sang Lucia in 1971.He sang only two performances of Edgardo.
quis178 3 years ago
Sutherland sang with Corelli many times on the stage, one of them being a triumphant Lucia, in Philadelphia in 1964, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.
She sang with Vickers in The Mastersingers of Nuremberg by Wagner in 1953!
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
Vickers had never sang on stage The Mastersingers of Nuremberg,in 1953 his voice was quite small voice hence at that time he was singing lyric roles.He debuted in Wagner in 1958.Corelly sang with Sutherland on stage only in Les Huguenots in 1962(she sang their duet solo),there was no Lucia.Corelli sang Edgardo only in 1971.
quis178 3 years ago
I thought you said Corelli and Sutherland never sang together on the stage at all! And now you say they did... I call that bad faith... or just lies. It's simple: she sang with everybody, at one point or another. And what's with the obsession with the size of singers' voices all the time... what does that say about you, I wonder...
64marc64 3 years ago
There is no 1964 Lucia under Stokowski.
quis178 3 years ago
She sang with Corelli on stage many times,one of them being a triumphant Lucia in Philadelphia,in 1964,conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Stokowski was so enchanted by the cadenza that he forgot to bring in the orchestra at the end and left Joan high but not dry on the Eb for quite some time!
She also did The Mastersingers by Wagner with Vickers in 1953! Another fact.
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
1. But let's not forget Maria Callas mistakes. A critical one is how she destroyed her voice. In 1949 Callas had a beautiful,large E flat. But by 1959 her E-flats were gone. And her voice sounded bad.
2. Joan sutherland had a horrible reputation to destroy florid music by adding horrible embellishments . And had a terrible diction.
BASCIALLY THEY BOTH HAD THERE UPS AND DOWNS.
BUT NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO INSULT NEITHER OF THEM. THEY WERE GREAT OPERA SINGERS.
YOU PEOPLE NEED TO GROW UP!
operagodess78 3 years ago 2
1. Maria Callas did NOT scream her high notes. Her high notes are very large, not SCREAMED. Also, I don't seem to understand why people go crazy for Sutherland's D. Here Callas sings a very strong high D.
2. Joan Sutherland had a great voice. But her early Recordings show a magnificent singer that gives Callas competition.
operagodess78 3 years ago
My favorite Sutherland story comes via a friend who put on a Sutherland album while he was doing house cleaning. An aria came on while he was scrubbing the floor. Something he didn't recognize at all in Italian he thought. He went to look at the slip cover and found she was singing in English!!!
Amazing natural gifts but not to everyone's taste. And she was indifferent at best to words, phrasing, dynamics. She was not particularly musical. But it was an amazing instrument.
whatever456 3 years ago
Her phrasing or rather her indifference to words in general,is ridiculous and unemphatic.One phrase is like another to her. She never does anything with any phrase.Her enunciation is only comparable to Mari Lynn's 'SSSShoudici ad hhhhAnou'(Guidici ad Anna).
quis178 3 years ago
Sutherland said in an interview that she aimed to pureness of sound.She ended sounding like a toothless grandma and looking like an old trans.Her flaccid beat, her style of gliding from note to note,the constlantly forte level and the total lack of colors and shades of her singing turns music into somnolence.
quis178 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Never heard of something so silly...how would sleeping in the theatre (in a small bed,how cute.Did she still do that when she was with Onassis?) help with her art!? Certainly didn't help with the voice,she still ended up sounding like a goose(even in mezzo roles)until even that went... No really, you are funny!
As for the Y.Menuhin letter to Sutherland, he does go on to say how moved he was also by her singing, not just technique... And he, like other great and true musicians, should know!
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
She selpt in the theater to save time so that she could work more,you fool.Her vocal decline doesn't affect her enourmous contribution to art.Besides,her voice declined due to serious health problems,she had dermatomyositis.
quis178 3 years ago
Her legato was so geat due to the lack of consonants and the covered sound of her voice.
quis178 3 years ago
I also have the Semiramide recording she did with Simionato... sheer magic!
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
Here is an excerpt of a famous letter adressed to Joan Sutherland:
"You transported me last night: I have never heard such beautiful singing - your voice would be the dream of any string player, as in addition to the most wonderful articulation each note seemed to carry a warm weight as it were, as if your bow arm was drawing the sound out of the vocal chords in a way which makes me feel both inspired and discouraged at the same time..."
Yehudi Menuhin
27th June 1963
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
He only praised her technique,he wrote nothing about her interpretation.
quis178 3 years ago
As for Sutherland singing only coloratura roles, you clearly know nothing about her career. What about all the Massenet roles (Esclarmonde or Le Roi de Lahore require big voices by the way, some of the orchestration in French operas like these being bigger than in Wagnerian works) and Adriana Lecouvreur or Dialogue of the Carmelites or Suor Angelica or L'Oracolo etc. And listen to her Verdi Requiem, conducted by Solti. Or her Turandot... No small voice there... And Callas's voice went quickly...
64marc64 3 years ago
Have ever heard her D'ne longue torpeur?Her voice was only comfortable in the high passages .Adriana Lecouvreur and Suor Angelica were bad choices due to the tessitura her middle voice was cloudy/overcovered,a total mess!She also sang Leonora,another unsuited role for her.The legato was so good because she didn't pronunce properly.
quis178 3 years ago 2
Serafin himself called Sutherland a genius! And he was the first of a long line of conductors and partners who said exactly the same about her. But I'm sure that if you'd met him, you would have put him right too, quis178...
And you know what is sad... the last tour Callas did, when her voice had reached bottom. THAT was truly embarassing... poor thing.
sutherlandfan64 3 years ago
I accept Callas was the better actress, but Joan was the better singer. You want to have it both ways. And,Callas servant to the music!Oh yeah that's why she went to live the jet set life, partying and all, thus ruining further a voice that was going anyway, mind you. And for your information, Joan did sing with Vickers,Corelli and other big voices.I have some of the pirate recordings. And did you know Gobbi asked her to do Tosca with him. He knew a thing or two about what makes a good Tosca 0:)
64marc64 3 years ago
Yes,Callas was a servant of the music.She gave meaning to every note she sang.She was so committed that she even attended the rehearsals of the orchestra.During her Epidauro rehearsals she was working 18 hours a day.She and even slept there, among the seeting on a small bed that was brought in for her.Sutherland doesn't speak Italian.A singer who respects the work of the composer would never sing in a language he/she doesn't master.
quis178 3 years ago
oh please. Let's not oversentimentalize Callas. She was what she was, and she had MANY faults and MANY strengths. So many Callas fans gloss over the parts they don't like and act like Callas was some saintly servant of her art with no other calling. You'd all have us think she walked around every day of her life analyzing Norma's character.
BeauTenor 2 years ago 2
The idea of a checklist of "faults" and "strengths" is meaningless when you're talking about an artist -- such as Callas -- instead of a mere singer.
diuscorvus 2 years ago
Oh sure. As if there were NO other ARTISTS besides Callas, and NO other singer who's strengths could make fans overlook glaring faults. Come on. Sills was every bit as good an actress, and there were FAR better singers technically. Callas was unique, and special, but hardly perfect, and hardly the best ever.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
Sorry, but it is unquestionable and undisputed in the world of opera, I mean, in the world of specialists and connoisseurs of the vocal techniques of the masters of song and stage directors and conductors, that "nobody has passed the Callas' technique. I will not underestimate Sills or any other, but that's the truth.
ubedajils 2 years ago
"Undisputed and unquestionable" is INCORRECT. It's disputed by MANY. In any artistic field you can't speak of absolutes, because there's no such thing. Callas (and every other singer too) has as many detractors as she has admirers, and they are both correct. I am a fan, but not so blind and deaf that I don't recognize faults. Callas is certainly not for everyone, but to say no one has surpassed her in terms of technique is wrong. Sutherland and Horne, to name two, had UNIMPEACHABLE technique.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
Sutherland's technique was so UNIMPEACHABLE that she could'nt shape a decent phrase and she couldn't sing even the 10 percent of the written piani.Her singing is double dutch.Words are not just sounds words contain meanings.
cer1n 2 years ago
Couldn't shape a decent phrase? Who the hell have YOU been listening to? It sure ain't Sutherland. She had GREAT legato (Pavarotti even credited her with teaching him how to support the sound to sustain a legato line). Her technique was AMAZING. As for words containing meaning...what does the STUPID double dutch comment have to do with anything? That sounds like a crock of made up crap to me. Funny how you make a big deal out of meaning and then write nonsense to prove your point.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
Sutherland had dreadfull diction and she couldn't master dynamics hence her phrasing was poor.According to Bonynge her legato was GREAT due to the mushy diction .Sills was a tin pot coloratura her voice in middle register was small and thin.Armida requires 5 tenors;in the early 50's there were no Rossini tenors that's why the opera was performed only few times.
cer1n 2 years ago
There are indeed other artists besides Callas, but they are very, very rare. You mention Sills. I've neither seen Sills nor Callas live, but in comparing their renditions of "Una voce poco fa," Sills is a caricature and Callas becomes a character. You also mention "FAR better singers technically" -- that's completely untrue. She could sing extremely difficult passages and roles with ease and, more importantly, musicality. What is technique for? It's not meaningless showcase of roulades, etc.
diuscorvus 2 years ago
I'm not sure I would call Sills a Caricature.....especially not in dramatic roles like Devereaux where she was incredible. However, would you not agree that we all find meaning in different singers' interpretations, for different reasons, and that certain singers just resonate with us as individuals?
BeauTenor 2 years ago
reply part 2: technique is a servant of musicality and expression. Callas understood this far better than the slew of recent bel canto specialists who have ostensibly better technique -- Sutherland, Sills, etc. What's the point of being able to sing a quick arpeggio when you can't make the music have significance and meaning? Callas was not perfect, but she most successfully embodies the most important qualities associated with the operatic arts.
diuscorvus 2 years ago 2
I would disagree. Technique is the FOUNDATION on which musicality and expression should be based. Technique should be so SOLID that you don't even think about it, giving you the freedom to really delve into the characterization. Otherwise you think about too many thigns at once, and you become a sloppy singer (netrebko comes to mind). You should learn to trill or sing fioritura WELL before you try to make it mean ANYTHING.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
Sills could not touch roles like Armida and Lady Macbeth.She was a tin pot coloratura there are many lyric coloraturas who can sing staccati and trills but there is no one who can rival Callas in roles such as Norma and Armida.
cer1n 2 years ago
blah blah blah. Just more of the same old schtick. Callas and Norma, Callas and Armida. Funny considering she sang Armida so briefly and then gave it up. Callas has rivals, period, and there are those who think she has equals, even as Norma. I'm one of them. Sills was no tin pot coloratura, either. She was an amazing singer with amazing technique. Bashing her doesn't make it less so. Callas had strengths, no doubt. But, she was FAR from perfect...even as Norma.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
She did not "give up" Armida, there weren't that many houses who'd produce such an unknown opera back then. Ever thought of that. Sills was a lyric coloratura, a lovely one. Sills also said "I'd rather have 5 years of Callas than 30 years of me."
Elisabetta611 2 years ago
Actually, yes, I am aware that there weren't many houses taking chances on relatively unknown roles in the 1950s. The point was not to speculate as to WHY she stopped singing the role, but simply that she DID drop the role from her active repertoire. Sills was a smart woman, and she, like Callas, took great chances with her voice. We're better off for having had both of them. BUT, the point was that there are other singers whose work is JUST as valid and important as Callas.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
I love them both. Sills did not sing Norma long either.. As to Callas and Armide.... Callas was about as close as it comes to perfectly fitting Norma, but she still had flaws.. when someone reaches perfection they really need to think about quitting. Why bother? The only thing they have to look forward to is failure.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Nobody is perfect though Callas got so close in her golden years that it became scary ;-))
(She dared dazzling vocalism, made theatre, even dieted and threw Primadonna feats, later fell in love, got sarcastic at herself
Beyond all when the curtain went up she Was the music we all love, each in his way.
Like Ikaros she flew higher and higher until she burned her wings. And yet we are soooo happy she did that!
As the superb J.Anderson said in a circle of friends: after Callas we simply exist!
CONTESTAR 2 years ago 7
Callas sang Armida only 3 times, yes, but hers is the best performance ever on record. And if you believe that Sutherland or Caballe are the best Normas - well, that is your lawful right.
But Callas gives more.
Fairpavel 2 years ago 8
you said it ... she gave more
marquefan1 2 years ago
Callas was a servant of the music and the composer,she didn't add a tone of ridiculous embellisments just in a pursuit of showing off her coloratura like Sutherland.But what else could any one expect from a singer who could hardly speak Italian and was coatched by Bonynge?
quis178 3 years ago
She only sang lyric coloratura roles partenered most of the time by small-voiced singers like Pavarotti and Horne.Callas' dramatic skills emanates for her phrasing,musicallity,rythmic accuracy and incredible use of rubato,timbral shading,total control over the dynamics,physical acting.Skills that Sutherland never mastered.
quis178 3 years ago
You seem to forget the huge wobble Sutherland developted in the middle voice in the mid-70's and the terrible performances she gave in the 80's,rather embarasing for a singer who only sang coloratura roles always compromising.
quis178 3 years ago
Get yours facts right. Of course she sang with Corelli, and Simionato and Del Monaco etc. And Pavarotti had a huge voice. And please let's not get technical about the voice, it's well known that Callas did everything wrong in terms of singing, she used to scream and get louder and louder. Let's not confuse drama and screaming! But thanks for your analysis of Joan's singing, I just don't know how she had a career at the top for more than 40years without your advice... but guess what, she did!
64marc64 3 years ago
Pavarotti had a huge voice.How funny! I bet you've never heard him in theater.
quis178 3 years ago
Sutherland was never covered by any orchestra because apart from Norma she never sang any heavy role and usually her partners had lyric-small voices (neither Bergonzi nor Horne have big voices).She never sang with Del Monaco,Corelli,Vickers,Simionato,Bechi,Stignani and other big-voiced singers.
quis178 3 years ago
I have to correct you! Sutherland sang at La Scala with Simionato in a wonderful Semiramide (recorded, and I own it).
ArcanaMundi81 3 years ago