I had the great honour of performing in two concerts with this great singer my fellow countrywoman . She was very complimentary to me then. Thankyou Gwyneth for the memories.
I've always thought the best Turandots are singers who sing Brunnhilde, Isolde, Salome etc.. They have the steely voices to potray her as the cold imperial princess.
I heard her do this at the Met in NY in 1995. I was stunned by the power and cutting edge of the highest notes. They were remarkable. Although the voice did wobble just a bit on the lower notes, as she ascended the scale, it became like a laser beam: powerful, secure, penetrating. It was a remarkable performance. The climax of "in questa reggia" is something I still vividly remember. Jones was in her 60s then and had sung the heaviest repertoire for decades at that point.
I have never heard Nilsson live, but Jones only, so I can't compare their LIVE quality, but Jones created of course electricity, and much more important for me, ART, and not only some kind of demonstration of strength. She was (is) a beauty, a great personality, an actress too. And for numerous years her voice had nearly an unbearable power. I think she sang these heavy repertoire like Isolde, Elektra and Turandot longer than anyone else, in itself also a tour de force.
Poor Turandot! All she needs is some real warm, hot, sincere and experienced loving. That would sort her out! Great singing here! Wonderful. Great post.
Thank you for this. I am a great Gwyneth Jones fan and have been trying to buy this recording, but alas. She is so musical this lady-it makes up for the slight vocal deficiensies. Who's perfect?
there's a beauty in her tone here that i don't hear in her german roles (which are fabulous, but very different). it's really striking. and she certainly doesn't have to push like some sopranos do through an aria like this. i was surprised to like this as much as i do. and what a high c! too bad she couldn't hold the pitch down on the following a-flats.....
i think the production is tacky, but to each her own...
impresionante el concepto de la puesta, ella parece un fantasma tradicional chino con su mascara que le da ese toque de impavida indiferencia sin embargo sus ojos son rayos que lo atraviezan de odio y miedo,y su lenguaje coproal y gestual es excelente para comunicar su estado animico,vocalmente muy bueno tambien, pero la reggie es de lo mejor que he visto en mucho tiempo, ese kimono rojo!, ella es una bola de fuego furioso en medio del palacio tan tranquilo! quedè alucinado!!!
Everyone is talking about Gwyneth Jones so I figured I should hear her. But I don't like it. I don't understand all the fuzz about her Turandot. I don't think it sounds nice. Dimitrova and Nilsson is the best Turandot's ever, no doubt...
I agree too. There is something about this woman's voice that has always been very difficult for me to appreciate. When she does not scream she has a very prominent wobble and always seems unsure of what she is singing. But I have not heard everything she's sung.
It seems to me, you using the usernamee of your obvious heroine, that you are just protecting her at every opportunity, and that smacks of insecurity. I think Nilsson was a fantastic singer, but her voice just had no beauty unfortunately. Jones, early in her career had such beauty .
@tenor220 I agrre. Also, I have often read that if there is a voice recordings do not do justice to, that is Nilsson's. Live she was something unbelievable.
On the contrary, her control is quite remarkable for a woman in her 70s, as evidenced in the recently released dvd of the Munich production of Alice in Wonderland. And she's had a triumph.
Nilsson had such control because her voice was slender and more instrumental, but her voice was NOT the biggest around. Rysanek had voice with bigger girth, as did Jones. Nilsson relied on intensity and placement.
Nilsson was undeniably great, but "best ever" is only your opinion. Many would disagree with you. What about Flagstad? Fremstad? Melchior? In Opera, as in all art, there are NO absolutes, so for you to bash an artist like Jones just to further another one is stupid. No one is watching Jones to see you talk about Nilsson. We're here to appricate another singer who is EVERY BIT as great as your preferred idol, and in some respects, better.
I´m not being serious. I would never attack Dame G.Jones. SHe is fantastic( and shse haves a lovely daughter too).I likke adding some salt and pepper to these comments and see what happens.
I would have to agree with you birgitnilsson, gwyneth Jones is a very good soprano,however most people would enjoy hearing Birgit Nilsson or Joan Sutherland before they want to hear Gwyeneth. Gweneth's voice is great but can;t stay in tune with the orchestra like sutherland or Nilsson. I must ask everyone, do you think that gwyenth can sing Sempre Libra, Lucia, or any of the famous roles that Joan Sutherland sang better than Joan.
Jones isn't a coloratura, and she obviously is unsuited to those parts, which she doesn't undertake. But similarly, can you imagine Sutherland doing Brunnhilde, Elektra, the Dyer's Wife, Octavian, Salome or even Tosca, Minnie, Aida, Fidelio, Lady Macbeth, let alone Klytemnestra, Begbick and other parts which Jones has excelled in? They're just different sopranos who excel in their respective chosen repertoires. Why do you have to step on other people and distort the facts to praise your idol?
That same question can also be put to Nilsson, Flagstad and Varnay. Does it make them lesser singers if the answer is in the negative, and that they couldn't do Traviata and Lucia? Mind you, Sutherland's repertoire isn't all that wide too, as revealed in her biographies. From the one-sided question you've posed, I presume you must admire Caballe and Studer even more, given that they command a much wider repertoire than Dame Joan. What an moronic way to argue things.
.....yes "birgitnilsson", lovely daughter, allthough wobbling for my taste too much in her young age ;-) But I think it´s really great that Susannah doesn´t build her career on the name of her mother!
Don't forget Rita Hunter, Leonie Rysanek, Kirsten Flagstad, Eileen Farrel and Gertrude Grob Prandl when talking about huge voices. And I've heard that Margaret Jane Wray are one huge voice of today, although I haven't heard anything with her yet.
I saw Gwyneth Jones live at the Met in Turandot and in Walkure. The voice was so huge it was hard to believe. And like the best voices it blooms on top getting bigger as she goes up the staff
Jones sings with clarity and excellent diction esp in the upper register. Nilson's voice couldn't match Jones in size. Nilson had a huge instrument but her cutting and shrill timbre carried the voice. Gwen has here, a good voce di masca for the italian and high notes that just won't quit.
Hehe...I don't think you ever saqw Jones live, because if you did you would never say that. Jones was one of very few singers who could literally make your ears sore. She was louder than ANYONE I ever saw. Bar none.
Oh? You saw her more than 3 times and one night she was off? Seems to me she's entitled to a few off nights...ALL singers have then (even Nilsson and Sutherland had them). Do you REALLY base your opinion of a singer on ONE performance? Wow...seems pretty shallow to me. The value of this art form is NOT based on perfect, boring, cold singing. Jones is unique because of the sheer SIZE of the voice, and because she's an amazing artist on top of that. She's the complete package, even at 71.
This is a pretty good essay of the Ice Princess' aria. I still think that most sopranos who do it lack a firm sense of rhythm, which leaves me wanting every time. I'm specifically talking about the "quel grido e quella morte" phrase. I mean, this is one of the several climaxes, and most sopranos just plow right through them. Great unison High-Cs!
There's a disc (not sure if still in print or not, but you could prob find it on Amazon) of a youg Alessandra Marc called "American Diva". She sings that phrase PERFECTLY, imho
I've heard that Covent Garden is considering to release some DVDs on their own Heritage series. Hopefully, this will be one of them, as Jones is in splendid voice here.
Jones gets a bad rap- esp when she oversings and presses her tone too much. But here- yes, she is magnificent, singing with wonderful shadings in the opening and as you would expect, huge, metallic high notes at the end. Brava!
Jones is truly magnificent. When I look at her performances of the great dramatic roles of the German repertoire, I look at today's singers and wonder why so few of them lack the committment and magnificence that this singer had. She is perhaps the largest voice around, much bigger than Nilsson, and her dramatic flair makes her so appealing in the theater.
I agree. Singers like this just don't exist anymore, and it's truly sad and a huge loss whenever someone so grand retires. There ARE no voices like this around today. It's truly just monstrously HUGE. Nilsson was more like surgical steel; she could cut through because of her timbre, but her voice wasn't this big (not that Nilsson's voice was small, because it wasn't).
You know there ARE voices like that (or at least close to that, because Gwyn is ExtraTerrestrial!!). Agents and conductors don't want them! It's a long complicated discussion why... But I've heard a couple! One was (is) Nina Warren -a soprano singing in Germany a lot. Audiences were going mad, but agents stayed cool. I know more who wouldnt even be given a chance to start out!!
This isn't true. In terms of amplitude, Jones's voice is larger than Nilsson's, a fact that has been observed by many eminent vocal critics, including John Steane. Yet, Nilsson's tone is so concentrated and the emission so steady that it can cut through the thickest of orchestral textures with ease.
I have heard them both onstage together(Frau ohne Sxhaatten),and I can assure you that this "fact" is not true, in spite of your eminent critics.I believe what I hear, and my ears are in excellent shape.
Well, I believe my ears, and care very little about eminent critics.I´ve seen and heard them both onstage together.Not taking into consideration other aspects of such different voices,I can assure that NIlsson´s was much larger than Joneses.
I respectfully disagree. Nilsson's voice is more concentrated, like a shaft of laser. Jones's excels in terms of tonal mass. If by "large", one is referring to vocal weight, then the laurels must be awarded to Jones.
Then any decent person would go for Birgit´s voice and technique In my opinion every singer should search for the most focus and resonance instead of raw power, to me every other thought is looniness!
Every singer has his or her unique vocal constitution, technical means and interpretative skills, and every listener is entitled to his or her own preferences, which, after all, are rather subjective matters. Decency is of no relevance here. And to resort to name-calling just because one doesn't agree to other people's views merely exposes one's own parochial mentality in music and arts appreciation.
I heard them both as well, many times. It's like comparing apples and oranges, really. Nilsson blew you out of the house,and the STRENGTH she had in the throat was totally unique. Jones made me uneasy because she had a Callas- like warble and pitch issues. Often breaking in critical spots. The audience showered Nilsson ith flowers and ovations unlike any other singer I ever heard. The energy she created was electrifying. Jones never generated that kind of excitement.
I envy you for listening to the superb Nilsson live, but I have listened to Jones and to say she did not generate excitement is a far fetched mis-statement.
I got her on evenings that the theatre was going wild and I experienced the longest applause in my opera going life (which is not modest I assure you) after a Tristan and Isolde with a bit more than half an hour of applause!
Long overdue for DVD release!! Could have the interview with Dame Eva Turner as a bonus.
mezzomanUK 3 weeks ago
I had the great honour of performing in two concerts with this great singer my fellow countrywoman . She was very complimentary to me then. Thankyou Gwyneth for the memories.
RosemaryThomas1 1 month ago
Such vocal strengh and tonal beauty! But what's with the mask???
trschaefer 7 months ago
I've always thought the best Turandots are singers who sing Brunnhilde, Isolde, Salome etc.. They have the steely voices to potray her as the cold imperial princess.
sirmercutio99 7 months ago
YOU GO GWYNETH! LOL she s so great!
miuzefreak 9 months ago
There is not only one---thank god!
edro3638 10 months ago
Absolutely moving, I'm in tears, it's so chilling and gorgeous.
plugginmuffin 1 year ago
Does anyone know who conducted? Is this available on DVD?
borjon23 1 year ago
Gwyneth is stunning here-- imperfections and all .Simply great!
Tenortalker 1 year ago
cool
FilmowiecRoza 1 year ago
I like the upper face mask!
belcunto 1 year ago 3
Meravigliosi entrambi !!! L'acuto finale di Bonisolli è SPETTACOLARE.
31122051 1 year ago
I heard her do this at the Met in NY in 1995. I was stunned by the power and cutting edge of the highest notes. They were remarkable. Although the voice did wobble just a bit on the lower notes, as she ascended the scale, it became like a laser beam: powerful, secure, penetrating. It was a remarkable performance. The climax of "in questa reggia" is something I still vividly remember. Jones was in her 60s then and had sung the heaviest repertoire for decades at that point.
bjmiceli 1 year ago 2
dying...so good THANK YOU for posting xx
TheEmmaDarling 1 year ago
She's 51 here... and WHAT a Turandot!
belcunto 2 years ago
I have never heard Nilsson live, but Jones only, so I can't compare their LIVE quality, but Jones created of course electricity, and much more important for me, ART, and not only some kind of demonstration of strength. She was (is) a beauty, a great personality, an actress too. And for numerous years her voice had nearly an unbearable power. I think she sang these heavy repertoire like Isolde, Elektra and Turandot longer than anyone else, in itself also a tour de force.
foropera 2 years ago
......she has one enormous voice, last I head she was singing at 76
j72050 2 years ago
She's 72....born in 1937.
BeauTenor 2 years ago
She's actually born in 1936.
Keikobadspeaks 2 years ago
Can't get over how much she looks like Michael Jackson!
DanRobSo 2 years ago 5
LMAO!!!!!
Hervinbalfour 2 years ago
Poor Turandot! All she needs is some real warm, hot, sincere and experienced loving. That would sort her out! Great singing here! Wonderful. Great post.
Lanark8 2 years ago 5
I think Eva Marton sings this quite well also!
operaman20 2 years ago
Super Leistung!!! Sehr durchdringende Stimme.
vocede 2 years ago
Thank you for this. I am a great Gwyneth Jones fan and have been trying to buy this recording, but alas. She is so musical this lady-it makes up for the slight vocal deficiensies. Who's perfect?
Love you Gwyneth!!!! xxxx
shaun20483 2 years ago
i luvit, nice!
but what's with the japanish motif, LOL :P
symyu 3 years ago
The best rendition of In questa reggia that I've seen so far here on youtube!
Klassizismus 3 years ago 14
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Teh best rendition is In questa reggia by Birgit Nilsson and Joan Sutherland.
Royalorgans 2 years ago
Beg to differ. Eva Marton @ MET. For me that is the best one.
pepebuho 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
you probably would becuase you might have not heard from them as much
Royalorgans 2 years ago
there's a beauty in her tone here that i don't hear in her german roles (which are fabulous, but very different). it's really striking. and she certainly doesn't have to push like some sopranos do through an aria like this. i was surprised to like this as much as i do. and what a high c! too bad she couldn't hold the pitch down on the following a-flats.....
i think the production is tacky, but to each her own...
minirausch 3 years ago
One of the great productions for this exotic opera. I hope the Royal Opera House can release this video commercially in due course.
Keikobadspeaks 3 years ago
One of the top 5 greatest interpretations ever, in my opinions. I think Jones and Bonisolli sound great together as well.
latraviata1853 3 years ago
She has difficulties, but it is really hard...
benzylalk 3 years ago
How beautiful. But the tenor is constipated.
beacoloratura 3 years ago
Wow, she's so sharp at the end and the tenor sounds louder than her, so I don't know if her voice is that large.
operamusicfan 3 years ago
Una cantante davvero brava! il suo impegno è notevole
iubanne 3 years ago
impresionante el concepto de la puesta, ella parece un fantasma tradicional chino con su mascara que le da ese toque de impavida indiferencia sin embargo sus ojos son rayos que lo atraviezan de odio y miedo,y su lenguaje coproal y gestual es excelente para comunicar su estado animico,vocalmente muy bueno tambien, pero la reggie es de lo mejor que he visto en mucho tiempo, ese kimono rojo!, ella es una bola de fuego furioso en medio del palacio tan tranquilo! quedè alucinado!!!
aircat29 3 years ago
Definitely one of the best Turandots ever, whether in terms of vocal heft or dramatic conviction.
raywong 3 years ago
This is how Puccini meant Turandot to be played.
Matthewcoakley08 4 years ago 2
Much better that the broadcast version but still not amazing but her acting was great in this and she did nail her High Cs , No C flats in this.
Jamessemaj12 4 years ago
Outstanding!
SinoSene 4 years ago
Her middle register is round and robust, but the top is bright and screamy, piercing and not pleasant. He of course is great.
spgtenor 4 years ago
Everyone is talking about Gwyneth Jones so I figured I should hear her. But I don't like it. I don't understand all the fuzz about her Turandot. I don't think it sounds nice. Dimitrova and Nilsson is the best Turandot's ever, no doubt...
Turand0t 4 years ago 3
I agree
tjaphrodite 4 years ago
I agree too. There is something about this woman's voice that has always been very difficult for me to appreciate. When she does not scream she has a very prominent wobble and always seems unsure of what she is singing. But I have not heard everything she's sung.
chloric1 4 years ago
Well, I have. And it is always the same:huge wobble and screming...
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
It seems to me, you using the usernamee of your obvious heroine, that you are just protecting her at every opportunity, and that smacks of insecurity. I think Nilsson was a fantastic singer, but her voice just had no beauty unfortunately. Jones, early in her career had such beauty .
timsuffolk 3 years ago
Perhaps.... but very, very early. By the way, are you a shrink?
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
I disagree with the comment of Nilsson's voice having no beauty, I think she had one of the most splendidly beautiful voices I've ever heard.
tenor220 2 years ago 17
@tenor220 I agrre. Also, I have often read that if there is a voice recordings do not do justice to, that is Nilsson's. Live she was something unbelievable.
Rory1956 1 year ago
Awesome! What a voice!
Ruxton 4 years ago
oh my god, that was was just shouting!
nosexboy 4 years ago
Hey its not shouting if the tone has a spin on it (meaning if it has vibrato it is not shouthing) so get it right!
Heldenexpresso 4 years ago
What you call vibrato, I call wobble.ANd this lady alwaays screams
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Do you know anything about anything?
Gwyneth Jones's voice was among the biggest ever recorded.
A humongous voice such as hers is extremely difficult to control, the bigger the voice, the more support is required.
I'd like to see someone try and sit up on Bb's like she can.
popertop 3 years ago
Yes, the biggest, perhaps.That´s why she had no control whatsoever over that huge voice.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
On the contrary, her control is quite remarkable for a woman in her 70s, as evidenced in the recently released dvd of the Munich production of Alice in Wonderland. And she's had a triumph.
Rastignac2008 3 years ago 2
Nilsson had such control because her voice was slender and more instrumental, but her voice was NOT the biggest around. Rysanek had voice with bigger girth, as did Jones. Nilsson relied on intensity and placement.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
Well then, welcome intensity and placement if they gave us the best wagnerian singer ever!
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Nilsson was undeniably great, but "best ever" is only your opinion. Many would disagree with you. What about Flagstad? Fremstad? Melchior? In Opera, as in all art, there are NO absolutes, so for you to bash an artist like Jones just to further another one is stupid. No one is watching Jones to see you talk about Nilsson. We're here to appricate another singer who is EVERY BIT as great as your preferred idol, and in some respects, better.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
Yes, it is my opinion, my likikng and my taste. No one else´s. Is there a problem with that?
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Geesh...no need to get your hackles all up. No one has a problem with you having an opinion, but that's all it is, not necessarily fact.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
I´m not being serious. I would never attack Dame G.Jones. SHe is fantastic( and shse haves a lovely daughter too).I likke adding some salt and pepper to these comments and see what happens.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
I would have to agree with you birgitnilsson, gwyneth Jones is a very good soprano,however most people would enjoy hearing Birgit Nilsson or Joan Sutherland before they want to hear Gwyeneth. Gweneth's voice is great but can;t stay in tune with the orchestra like sutherland or Nilsson. I must ask everyone, do you think that gwyenth can sing Sempre Libra, Lucia, or any of the famous roles that Joan Sutherland sang better than Joan.
Royalorgans 3 years ago
Jones isn't a coloratura, and she obviously is unsuited to those parts, which she doesn't undertake. But similarly, can you imagine Sutherland doing Brunnhilde, Elektra, the Dyer's Wife, Octavian, Salome or even Tosca, Minnie, Aida, Fidelio, Lady Macbeth, let alone Klytemnestra, Begbick and other parts which Jones has excelled in? They're just different sopranos who excel in their respective chosen repertoires. Why do you have to step on other people and distort the facts to praise your idol?
Rastignac2008 3 years ago 3
That same question can also be put to Nilsson, Flagstad and Varnay. Does it make them lesser singers if the answer is in the negative, and that they couldn't do Traviata and Lucia? Mind you, Sutherland's repertoire isn't all that wide too, as revealed in her biographies. From the one-sided question you've posed, I presume you must admire Caballe and Studer even more, given that they command a much wider repertoire than Dame Joan. What an moronic way to argue things.
SCN2003 3 years ago
.....yes "birgitnilsson", lovely daughter, allthough wobbling for my taste too much in her young age ;-) But I think it´s really great that Susannah doesn´t build her career on the name of her mother!
Turandot1977 3 years ago
Birgit Nilsson's awesome, my favorite soprano by far.
tenor220 2 years ago 3
Greaat Tebir 220! We have ssomething in common then...and wiwth the most reputed voice critics too.
birgitnilsson 2 years ago
How anyone could not love the beauty and power of Nilsson's voice is beyond me.
tenor220 2 years ago 4
I agree. This voice is unique,a phenomenon, perfect. And second to none
birgitnilsson 2 years ago 3
@tenor220 but. this is dame Gwyneth???
belcunto 8 months ago
Don't forget Rita Hunter, Leonie Rysanek, Kirsten Flagstad, Eileen Farrel and Gertrude Grob Prandl when talking about huge voices. And I've heard that Margaret Jane Wray are one huge voice of today, although I haven't heard anything with her yet.
dhng1982 4 years ago
@dhng1982 I'm so glad you mentioned Rita first in this list of big voiced ladies....my personal favourite too
Ahdren 1 year ago
I saw Gwyneth Jones live at the Met in Turandot and in Walkure. The voice was so huge it was hard to believe. And like the best voices it blooms on top getting bigger as she goes up the staff
viverito 4 years ago
That must have been in your dreams.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
That must have happened in some wild dream of yours, viverito.....
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
I just want to tell you that I love reading your comments. You put into words exctly what I think. Our tastes are quite similar. ;)
Turand0t 3 years ago
that was directed at Birgit Nilsson. ;)
Turand0t 3 years ago
Thanks Turandot.I´m glad then...for both of us.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Jones sings with clarity and excellent diction esp in the upper register. Nilson's voice couldn't match Jones in size. Nilson had a huge instrument but her cutting and shrill timbre carried the voice. Gwen has here, a good voce di masca for the italian and high notes that just won't quit.
operajay 5 years ago
Having hear the both onstage and togethet, I can assure you it´s exactly the other way round.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Hehe...I don't think you ever saqw Jones live, because if you did you would never say that. Jones was one of very few singers who could literally make your ears sore. She was louder than ANYONE I ever saw. Bar none.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
you can think whatever you like.I saw her more than three times, and the last one...........mamma mia!!!
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Oh? You saw her more than 3 times and one night she was off? Seems to me she's entitled to a few off nights...ALL singers have then (even Nilsson and Sutherland had them). Do you REALLY base your opinion of a singer on ONE performance? Wow...seems pretty shallow to me. The value of this art form is NOT based on perfect, boring, cold singing. Jones is unique because of the sheer SIZE of the voice, and because she's an amazing artist on top of that. She's the complete package, even at 71.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
Well, i happen to enjoy quite a lot what you call perfect, boring and cold singing. I hope that does not hurt you.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Why would that hurt me? To each his own, but give me a singer with some fire and intensity. It makes things MUCH more interesting.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
and some nice wobble too?
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
This is a pretty good essay of the Ice Princess' aria. I still think that most sopranos who do it lack a firm sense of rhythm, which leaves me wanting every time. I'm specifically talking about the "quel grido e quella morte" phrase. I mean, this is one of the several climaxes, and most sopranos just plow right through them. Great unison High-Cs!
InformedListener 5 years ago
There's a disc (not sure if still in print or not, but you could prob find it on Amazon) of a youg Alessandra Marc called "American Diva". She sings that phrase PERFECTLY, imho
BeauTenor 4 years ago
Thanks! I'll go check it out.
InformedListener 4 years ago
This is absolutely glorious. It sounds like her high notes just soar forth with no effort! Loving the Dame right now!
DIVOTENOR 5 years ago
I've heard that Covent Garden is considering to release some DVDs on their own Heritage series. Hopefully, this will be one of them, as Jones is in splendid voice here.
SCN2003 5 years ago
Jones gets a bad rap- esp when she oversings and presses her tone too much. But here- yes, she is magnificent, singing with wonderful shadings in the opening and as you would expect, huge, metallic high notes at the end. Brava!
pawdaw 5 years ago
Jones is truly magnificent. When I look at her performances of the great dramatic roles of the German repertoire, I look at today's singers and wonder why so few of them lack the committment and magnificence that this singer had. She is perhaps the largest voice around, much bigger than Nilsson, and her dramatic flair makes her so appealing in the theater.
tristanidyll 5 years ago
I agree. Singers like this just don't exist anymore, and it's truly sad and a huge loss whenever someone so grand retires. There ARE no voices like this around today. It's truly just monstrously HUGE. Nilsson was more like surgical steel; she could cut through because of her timbre, but her voice wasn't this big (not that Nilsson's voice was small, because it wasn't).
BeauTenor 5 years ago
i agree about Nilsson's timbre.
operajay 5 years ago
You know there ARE voices like that (or at least close to that, because Gwyn is ExtraTerrestrial!!). Agents and conductors don't want them! It's a long complicated discussion why... But I've heard a couple! One was (is) Nina Warren -a soprano singing in Germany a lot. Audiences were going mad, but agents stayed cool. I know more who wouldnt even be given a chance to start out!!
CONTESTAR 4 years ago
Listen to Birgit Nilssons version. Nilsson has a stronger more powerful voice with absolute clarity. This is good, but not at Nilssons level.
Most opera experts of course rank Nilsson higher than Jones and with good reason.
maxhansendk 5 years ago
I totally agree with you! Absolutly every syllable!
DIVOTENOR 5 years ago
This isn't true. In terms of amplitude, Jones's voice is larger than Nilsson's, a fact that has been observed by many eminent vocal critics, including John Steane. Yet, Nilsson's tone is so concentrated and the emission so steady that it can cut through the thickest of orchestral textures with ease.
SCN2003 5 years ago
I have heard them both onstage together(Frau ohne Sxhaatten),and I can assure you that this "fact" is not true, in spite of your eminent critics.I believe what I hear, and my ears are in excellent shape.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
Well, I believe my ears, and care very little about eminent critics.I´ve seen and heard them both onstage together.Not taking into consideration other aspects of such different voices,I can assure that NIlsson´s was much larger than Joneses.
birgitnilsson 3 years ago
I respectfully disagree. Nilsson's voice is more concentrated, like a shaft of laser. Jones's excels in terms of tonal mass. If by "large", one is referring to vocal weight, then the laurels must be awarded to Jones.
Rastignac2008 3 years ago
Then any decent person would go for Birgit´s voice and technique In my opinion every singer should search for the most focus and resonance instead of raw power, to me every other thought is looniness!
Bjoerrelli 3 years ago
Every singer has his or her unique vocal constitution, technical means and interpretative skills, and every listener is entitled to his or her own preferences, which, after all, are rather subjective matters. Decency is of no relevance here. And to resort to name-calling just because one doesn't agree to other people's views merely exposes one's own parochial mentality in music and arts appreciation.
Rastignac2008 3 years ago
birgit nilson,
I heard them both as well, many times. It's like comparing apples and oranges, really. Nilsson blew you out of the house,and the STRENGTH she had in the throat was totally unique. Jones made me uneasy because she had a Callas- like warble and pitch issues. Often breaking in critical spots. The audience showered Nilsson ith flowers and ovations unlike any other singer I ever heard. The energy she created was electrifying. Jones never generated that kind of excitement.
Operanut9 2 years ago
I envy you for listening to the superb Nilsson live, but I have listened to Jones and to say she did not generate excitement is a far fetched mis-statement.
I got her on evenings that the theatre was going wild and I experienced the longest applause in my opera going life (which is not modest I assure you) after a Tristan and Isolde with a bit more than half an hour of applause!
CONTESTAR 2 years ago
Seriously? You were at ever performance that Jones ever gave-to know that she never 'generated that kind of excitement'. Really?
mshellnj 1 year ago
@mshellnj yes, he was. And so was I.
belcunto 1 year ago