This was always a thrilling timbre. She was dignified and cool on stage but that big, bright sound of hers with those bang-on top notes and a warm lower register made her a singer to admire. That she held her own on the world stages with the likes of Sutherland and Sills as her chief rivals, says a great deal about her abilities and worth. She sang Verdi really well, especially VESPRI and her recording "Tu che la vanita," from DON CARLO shows an artist of deep conviction.
Discovering a singer like this is one of the great things about Youtube. I was only mildly familiar with this voice but hearing this I was amazed. At the time of this performance she was 54. One commenter mentioned that's not so old if technique is solid. Yet what older singer can sing like this today? Even our great Renee is in her 50's, sang this years ago yet I wonder if she could today esp those top notes (tho she might surprise us...her Armida still was OK in 2010).
@dt195k2 And this was after Cristina came back from a major illness! Same her career did cut short due to health issues. The older I get the more I start liking her more and more. I remember seeing her in I Puritani in like 1984. It was very good indeed
A true singing lesson! She is just amazing: splendid vocal color, perfect control of the projection and intonation, pathos and clarity of the instrument. Singing Mozart, the way it should be sung, is the greatest test for any singer. Achieving such a stunning result at her age, after such an prestigious career, illustrates how her choices were after all, fully balanced and well managed. Thumbs up.
She had a heart attack in the around 2001. Then a stroke in 2004 and has completely retired from singing and teaching and, of course, is living in the Netherlands.
To me she incarnates the essence of a Mozartian voice, even when she aspirates the coloratura passages and scales - it doesn't bother me and personally her O zittre Nicht is the most beautiful to me.
Anyways, her voice is like a laser beam.. cuts right through, pure, even and precise.
I know I feel the same ..most voices which have odd bits of tone usually just annoy...but with this soprano 'the sum of all parts' just completely works. Very enjoyable performer.
What is so absolutely incredible about this recording that Deutekom is here at the end of her career (1987 she had to stop because of heart problems), still sounding fresh. But most amazingly having sung heavy dramatic repertoire in the meantime being able to switch back to Constanze. Just jaw dropping amazing. Also the timbre of her voice as a true natural dramatic coluratura is so unique.
I have just checked the date I bought my first Deutekom opera and it was in 1973! What an exciting voice she had then and still has in this clip! Thank you for the happy memories eelco67!!!
I wonder if trills are handled differently these days - maybe out of style. We certainly hear that by the way soprano coloratura passages from the 40s and earlier we sung fast and trills were everywhere.
That's sad. In the times surrounding the castrato heyday, singers were judged primarily by their trills. If you didn't have one, you didn't have the right to take the stage.
Really? I did not know that. I know very few people who can no trill. But of course, if the instrument is not very good, who cares if they can trill or not.
Esta mujer es un portento. Prefiero Deutekom cuando emplea su técnica tan espectacular de stacatto-legato o de acróbata musical. Deja claro que es una maestra. Mandad más videos por favor.
Deutekom es uno de los muy contados casos de poder oír a una Dramática COloratura en todo su esplendor, cuidando su instrumento durante tanto tiempo. En mi país hubo, porque falleció, una maravillosa cantante, Rosita Del Castillo, cuyas grabaciones subiré más adelante.
She sure had aboud the best technique in the world in her days, but her voice hurts my ears in a Castafiore sort of way on the high f's and such like some other soprano's don't.
Beautiful, impeccable, unearthly. Even if you think she warbles enough to kill a man at ten paces (which may or may not be true), you will never find anybody with better technique.
If her "Der Hölle Rache" is the first you've heard it's almost impossible to listen to anyone else do it, except for maybe Lucia Popp.
A real singer, as those 200 years ago. Kind of Malibran or Lilli Lehmann, and not because of their voices (different classifications) but because of simple... greatness, grandeur, grandeza.
At times i either love or hate this singer. Just listen to her voice in this aria and remember she sang Norma, Abibaille in Nabucco and by this time she had been singing for some twenty odd years. An amazingly preserved voice.
WONDERFUL!!! Finally a video of this wonderful singer... I don't care if they say she souds like a turkey. To me, she's just amazing, just listen to her Der Holle Rache.
This was always a thrilling timbre. She was dignified and cool on stage but that big, bright sound of hers with those bang-on top notes and a warm lower register made her a singer to admire. That she held her own on the world stages with the likes of Sutherland and Sills as her chief rivals, says a great deal about her abilities and worth. She sang Verdi really well, especially VESPRI and her recording "Tu che la vanita," from DON CARLO shows an artist of deep conviction.
BryceNYC 2 weeks ago
elegantissima :)
longlifeluke 3 months ago
Lovely, she always had a brilliant bright tone. Amazing technique, and never a look of strain. She looks stunning here as well.
magicmonkichi 9 months ago
Brilliant! On of the great coloraturas of our time!
Paddy818 9 months ago
Discovering a singer like this is one of the great things about Youtube. I was only mildly familiar with this voice but hearing this I was amazed. At the time of this performance she was 54. One commenter mentioned that's not so old if technique is solid. Yet what older singer can sing like this today? Even our great Renee is in her 50's, sang this years ago yet I wonder if she could today esp those top notes (tho she might surprise us...her Armida still was OK in 2010).
dt195k2 1 year ago 5
@dt195k2 And this was after Cristina came back from a major illness! Same her career did cut short due to health issues. The older I get the more I start liking her more and more. I remember seeing her in I Puritani in like 1984. It was very good indeed
robertdonkers 7 months ago
bravaaaaaa ! thanks
tetrazzini 1 year ago
cristina, je bent de beste. Ik heb alles gekocht wat ik heb kunnen vinden.
petervanbrock 2 years ago
A true singing lesson! She is just amazing: splendid vocal color, perfect control of the projection and intonation, pathos and clarity of the instrument. Singing Mozart, the way it should be sung, is the greatest test for any singer. Achieving such a stunning result at her age, after such an prestigious career, illustrates how her choices were after all, fully balanced and well managed. Thumbs up.
GoldenAgeSunshine 2 years ago 8
Amazing! Deutekom is sorely missed.
organdude44 2 years ago
@organdude44 Isn't she still living?
ilmiotesorointanto 2 years ago
She had a heart attack in the around 2001. Then a stroke in 2004 and has completely retired from singing and teaching and, of course, is living in the Netherlands.
organdude44 2 years ago
To me she incarnates the essence of a Mozartian voice, even when she aspirates the coloratura passages and scales - it doesn't bother me and personally her O zittre Nicht is the most beautiful to me.
Anyways, her voice is like a laser beam.. cuts right through, pure, even and precise.
eradesso 2 years ago
I know I feel the same ..most voices which have odd bits of tone usually just annoy...but with this soprano 'the sum of all parts' just completely works. Very enjoyable performer.
Tristiano 2 years ago
What is so absolutely incredible about this recording that Deutekom is here at the end of her career (1987 she had to stop because of heart problems), still sounding fresh. But most amazingly having sung heavy dramatic repertoire in the meantime being able to switch back to Constanze. Just jaw dropping amazing. Also the timbre of her voice as a true natural dramatic coluratura is so unique.
edgarbiervliet 2 years ago 5
I have just checked the date I bought my first Deutekom opera and it was in 1973! What an exciting voice she had then and still has in this clip! Thank you for the happy memories eelco67!!!
petelovesbevsills 2 years ago 3
Écoutez la version studio de cet air. Elle est spectaculaire. Quelle supercantatrice.
deutekomefran 3 years ago
nice, thank you!
INTERNETVID 3 years ago
I wonder why so many modern singers these days forego their trills. In fact, I haven't met a modern singer with a trill. Anyone?
Deutekom's trill is so effortless... she doesn't need to start it or take a breath before it or anything--just flips it on like a switch.
forallyouknow 3 years ago
I wonder if trills are handled differently these days - maybe out of style. We certainly hear that by the way soprano coloratura passages from the 40s and earlier we sung fast and trills were everywhere.
PecsMstr 2 years ago
That's sad. In the times surrounding the castrato heyday, singers were judged primarily by their trills. If you didn't have one, you didn't have the right to take the stage.
forallyouknow 2 years ago
Really? I did not know that. I know very few people who can no trill. But of course, if the instrument is not very good, who cares if they can trill or not.
PecsMstr 2 years ago
A class in her own. One of the very few mozartian singers really born to embody the genius of the "musical christ"
wironalga 3 years ago 8
Really Beautiful singing
DivaDeb1234 3 years ago 2
She's in a totally different league!
yodavidnavarro 3 years ago 3
This great singer was in a class by herself. Too bad she wasn't more commercially recorded. Thank you for the video.
organdude44 3 years ago
Esta mujer es un portento. Prefiero Deutekom cuando emplea su técnica tan espectacular de stacatto-legato o de acróbata musical. Deja claro que es una maestra. Mandad más videos por favor.
bideoakaltzabhi 3 years ago 3
meravigliosa! Stupenda! bravissima!!!!
hyppolito123 4 years ago 5
cristina is a first range soprano! the drama is in the voice! a singer is always acting with his voice!
she was great! a lot of young singers should better listen to that kind of artists! a real dramatic coloratura! brava cristina
akitango 4 years ago 2
Deutekom es uno de los muy contados casos de poder oír a una Dramática COloratura en todo su esplendor, cuidando su instrumento durante tanto tiempo. En mi país hubo, porque falleció, una maravillosa cantante, Rosita Del Castillo, cuyas grabaciones subiré más adelante.
filiodecallas 4 years ago
I love the roundness and healthiness of her singing. And by the way, 54 is not old at all for anyone with a half decent technique.
Haaxma 4 years ago 4
She sure had aboud the best technique in the world in her days, but her voice hurts my ears in a Castafiore sort of way on the high f's and such like some other soprano's don't.
serRudyll 4 years ago
Beautiful, impeccable, unearthly. Even if you think she warbles enough to kill a man at ten paces (which may or may not be true), you will never find anybody with better technique.
If her "Der Hölle Rache" is the first you've heard it's almost impossible to listen to anyone else do it, except for maybe Lucia Popp.
ipbezdomny 4 years ago
And surely Edda Moser, the greqt Queen of the night
robertdonkers 3 years ago
A real singer, as those 200 years ago. Kind of Malibran or Lilli Lehmann, and not because of their voices (different classifications) but because of simple... greatness, grandeur, grandeza.
Holderlin 5 years ago
Fabulosa!!! Muy musical!!!
colibridelapampa 5 years ago
Amazing... still great for her age. Brava!
TheAleph74 5 years ago
Thank you for posting this video of the great Deutekom.
vqro 5 years ago
Caraca!!! Essa mulher não é deste planeta. Não pode ser...
alcemirjunior 5 years ago
damn this voice is solid as a rock! great cristina
sopracuto 5 years ago
Great stuff. More Christina please
mrrk 5 years ago
A REAL TREAT to see this great artist up close!
Thanks so much for sharing.
operadude32 5 years ago
At times i either love or hate this singer. Just listen to her voice in this aria and remember she sang Norma, Abibaille in Nabucco and by this time she had been singing for some twenty odd years. An amazingly preserved voice.
angelus2002 5 years ago
She was also born in 1931, so she was 54...
Dymension 4 years ago
if she was born in 1931.. well then she is 77
rockba 3 years ago
Note that "was" is in the past tense. In 1985 when this was recorded, she "was" 54.
Dymension 3 years ago 2
WONDERFUL!!! Finally a video of this wonderful singer... I don't care if they say she souds like a turkey. To me, she's just amazing, just listen to her Der Holle Rache.
alexmacias 5 years ago