Marian Anderson "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" Samson et Dalila

[intelegentable]

Anderson did have a truly remarkable instrument for it's beauty, power, range and then there was her extraordinary musicianship. We won't hear the likes of her again.

[ChocolateTenor]

Holy! Holy! Holy!

[aussiechickdiana]

This is the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. What a gift!

diana

[giloubreizh]

Inaudible!!! ???

[intelegentable]

How wonderful to hear Dalila sang by a real Contralto as intended. Mezzo's like Simionato, Rise Stevens, Verrett, Bumbry, etc do a great job with this but hearing it sung by a true Contralto and Anderson was one of the best to ever float a note, is thrilling. Where are the Contralto voices today? Why have they become extinct as the dodo bird? Is it the loud large orchestras or environmental? Maureen Forrester was the last legit Contralto on the scene. Anyone know of any others active today?

[DemisLian]

@intelegentable Ewa Podles from Poland, superbe artist. No other....

[oceanodefuego1]

@intelegentable Of course. Listen to Mrs. Ewa Podles singing Tancredi "Di tanti palpiti" in 2000 and you will hear how huge her voice is.

[oceanodefuego1]

@intelegentable I mean, she's a real contralto, her low notes are indeed breathtaking as well as her high notes!

[ClassicalFreak74]

Such beautiful color and timbre. One of the greats!

[JSBach5000]

i rarely enjoy English translations of arias, but this is quite lovely. Thank you so much for posting.

[gwirgalon]

She was one of the greatest American voices ever, period.

[paulostroff99]

10 months ago I responded to this here on you tube. It is indeed my favourite version.

[Gary2837]

Thanks for posting this great recording!!!

[musicalopera93]

@ponsellelover google click on the first link then once you get on the page and click on puccini library an search the opera you'll find the aria an the translation!

[gwirgalon]

@musicalopera93 Why would it be in the Puccini library if it was written by Camille Saaint Saens???

[PonselleLover]

Would someone please give me the lyrics of this very translation of the aria in English : I can't find it anywhere ? Thanks in advance. And, oh, Anderson is sublime, need I say ? lol

[mircavalcante]

Elle etait la plus belle voix! She had the most beautiful voice! Thank you for posting. By the way, they changed the tonality, so she could sing this piece, which is made for mezzo and her highest pitch in this song is F#

[mjmacmtenor]

@mircavalcante Actually, they did NOT change the key. This is performed in the written key of Db. The role of Dalilah is technically a contralto role but is most often sung by mezzos (as there are few true contraltos). Some mezzos add a high Bb at the end, but that is not from the original version. They are actually "stealing" one of Samson's lines.

[mircavalcante]

@mjmacmtenor Thank you for the info. I am going to check it out. I just followed my hear, but never checked the music. I am going to do it as soon as I can. I loved to hear Marian Anderson singing it. I also love the version sang by Jessye Norman too. :-)

[opera888able]

I listened to Anderson from an early age.My Dad said she was the greatest contralto of her day. Although she was classified contralto she had an amazing range sometimes getting towards soprano. Yes, she was victimised but for me she rose well above the bigots. Thank God she left us some beautiful recordings. Yes your'e right, this aria is a bit rushed, and it's the one aria that shouldn't be hurried. Nevertheless it is well worth comparing it to the efforts of todays singers.

[iriisblue]

Rushed and in English. Too bad for one of the greatest voices of all time.

[Gary2837]

@iriisblue She performed in English, I suppose, to appeal to the audience. Many people who are not fans of opera have problems with not knowing what the singer is singing. Especially when a libretto is not available.

[sward001]

Thanks again to Onegin65....every time I come across vocal gems....I find that he has been ahead sprinkling them over the web.......!!!!!!!

[sairamnagarajan]

What lyrics is she singing? I can't seem to make them out!

[khamikins]

@sairamnagarajan she is singing English translation

[bodikins]

Who were the two assholes who disliked this? Are you tone deaf?



[punknn08]

I think i have probably listened to this song a thousand times, an i never get tired of Hearing this great Lady sing !!!!!!!!!! You can feel her soul in every note she produces!!!!

[CanadaPisces]

Thank you Paul for the sharing and Onegin65 for posting this video of one of my favourite singers. It brings back memories of when I heard her sing in concert.

[paulostroff99]

Lovely! TY.Onegin65

[princessedejade]

Marian Anderson could have had one of the great careers in opera if it hadn't been for institutional racism; the final high note here in "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" is better than anyone's.

[mongemark]

splendida

[Chutson353]

I think she was one of the top five greatest classical singers on record - her technique, the purity of tone, the beautiful timbre and her tremendous range are unsurpassed.

[scargo1013]

Toscannini called her "the voice of the century". He was not wrong.

[Mavicaman]

Try to get the old RCA LP "The Lady From Philadelphia." On it, Ms. Anderson sings Mon Coeur with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Like this one, truly amazing.

[godsmuzic]

Because of her talent and perseverance, I am able to perform opera today. Its so humbling and exciting at the same time!

[musicminded64]

Wow... I am so impressed and touched. Only today was my introduction with Marian Anderson... (4th of January 2010) and ever since i had been hearing her sing song after song: both spirituals and opera... Such lovely heroic Voice.

[sarattiv]

I agree, this woman has heart, she feels the song rather than worrying about the impressiveness of her voice; there are others with bigger voices, but none to touch this version

[FloreoShortia]

Marian Anderson is immortal. Miss Flemming has a good instrument and she is boring like many others of our time. They sound good and all alike. You can't tell who they are. Schwartzkopf, Callas, Moffo, Sutherland or Bumbry you could reconize them by their timbe.

[sillyboydeux]

In addition to this, which really for a 78 is a miracle, even the English version of "Mon coeur" is astonishing. This is a lesson to all young singers: unless your motives are purely artistic, it shows, as in Renee Fleming, who has, like so many late 20th Century artists, classical and non classical alike, begun to believe she is immortal. Her singing is perfect and mechanical, with no passion or truth, while listening to this I would be honored to escort Miss Anderson to the throne!

[halavey]

Great singer and they treated her poorly because she was a Black woman but she finally was allowed to sing at the met in Ballo, shameful actions in my country. She was a GREAT lady with a great voice!

[moosopal]

@halavey thats how every country suffers from the past - born 44 in Berlin.

Wonderful voice, thank you for posting.

Love from Germany

[spitfire9b]

My heart opens itself to your voice, Marian Anderson.

Although written for the mezzo-soprano voice, Marian's contralto version is just beautiful. What a talent!

Thank you so much for sharing this.

[mariasarda]

Superbe voix de contralto que j'aime profondément. Que de douleur et de nostalgie dans ce timbre...

[coquito44]

Thank you, I really wished to hear it complete in her beautiful voice.

[tHEnOOSEsWING]

An incredibly passionate opera singer(contralto) who exudes every type of emotion when singing. These are very engaging performances. Thank you.

[olgamarga]

¡Qué hermoso,Onegin,gracias!

[oegaziz43]

Thank you again for another fine post. post. I am a Callas fan on this, but this is also captivating.

[loveyoutodeathbut]

That just took my breath away; thank you so much for posting this!

[paulostroff99]

IMHO-The best recorded performance of them all! Brava!