Kiri te Kanawa - Handel - Let the Bright Seraphim

[TheTarakihi]

LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEEEEEE..........at 2:57 .......uuuuuuh.....just greeeeeeeaaaaaaat !!!!!

[veeerooniicaaa]

Hermoso

[theblueangel28]

oh my goodness

[kangadillo]

This is true sublimity, the grace beyond the reach of art. I wept as I listened.

[picklebear]

this is a treat, she cant normallly siing in tune, but this is swesome!

[Tenortalker]

No wonder people love her- this singing comes straight from the heart. Great simplicity- a natural talent,but finely polished. She has the ability to move me and a few sharp notes( which could be the result of the broadcast sound) don't matter at all. This is live musicmaking after all. Kiri might well have clapped at your comments because at the London Opera Studio where she studied she was sometimes accused of singing a little flat i believe!

[raigekimaru]

too dark. personally I prefer Battle, Sutherland, or Dessay

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

She goes sharp a bit doesn't she.  Just goes to show that great performers are not perfect on every occasion.

[handelfan610]

such a festive song for this season i think (must be the trumpet)...and i absolutely love her high note in the b section.

[handelfan610]

who is that directing?

[Operaman41]

@handelfan610 If you mean who is conducting it's James Levine from the MET.

[handelfan610]

@Operaman41 thank you

[bariverdi]

This a great Kiri performance. :-) Thanks for posting.

[allislove1]

I have sung this aria and it IS hard work, particularly the "hop up and get 'em" notes. Also, when you know you are tired or overworked, you might have a tendency to "overcompensate" for fear of being flat. This may be the reason for the sharps, but obviously it varies from person to person.

[ToccataInF]

If they used a natual instead of a valved trumpet/coronet then I don't think you would hear her as "sharp."

[ImpossiblyLost]

How is it that this georgous vid is presented by a guy (?) called hotazzoperastud. You must be a funny guy. Thanks for loving Kiri. Is that your operastud bod in the picture? That's good.

[gibraltarrr]

fuh-law-less

[ImpossiblyLost]

So many misguided fools. Kiri is a Lyric soprano, not a coloratura. She looks like heaven, give her a break on what the jaw looks like. It does not move with the vibrato, therefore no tension, i.e.,perfection. Not sharp but on the top of the pitch of the note. Clear, facile for a smooth lyric. Not muddy, not heavy. Battle is great if you like light weight coloratura. Kiri is at the top of her game here. Clearly you guys have ears but you do not hear. Eyes but you do not see.

[gibraltarrr]

yes, you are right. this is perfection and so many here are fools.

[ImpossiblyLost]

Yes, lots of great singers out there, with wonderful renditions of this piece, but the shear beauty of this voice is untouchable.

[saxamaphoneguy1]

Her voice is one of the most spectacular things in the world. It's true there are also many also great singers, but her voice is so untouchable. Her breath support is also incredibly notable. ex: the line at 2:37...how under control was this section? Just those 4 or so measures alone can show just how superior a singer she is.

[ImpossiblyLost]

She's got it, yeah baby she's got IT! 7th wonder of the world!

[LadyofMetal16]

If you listen carefully you will hear some of the notes are indeed slightly sharp.

[ToccataInF]

Our ears are accustomed to the tempered scale. Her intonation is georgeous and she sings perfect and "natural" intervals whenever possible. She is a doll.

[theno1singstar]

She is singing so sharp in this! must be an off day, because she is a star.

[LadyofMetal16]

I agree with you. She is sharp. Still she has a gorgeous voice.

[ImpossiblyLost]

Sharp!, Technically, on the pitch meter, you might be able to support this comment ----however----I think edgy, or on the edge of the tip of the note. It's not a sharpness that spoils the song or throws it all off. She doesn't go off into the stratosphere with her sharps. In her case I think her sharp makes it better. She nails the key. Always lands correctly. So the sharps are an edgy uplift and not a complete veering of course. It gives her lovely voice a personality.

[ImpossiblyLost]

Like her lovely slightly off track jaw. Kiri's beauty of voice is partly in her sharps and imperfections. Personally, I think that floating high and forever on those notes requires that sharp edge of perfection. Conversely, to be flat is death. She always knows right where she is.

[LadyofMetal16]

Yeah, I didn't say she went into the stratosphere. I agree it gives her voice personality, I'm a huge admirer of Dame Kiri. Just that if you hear this for the first time it strikes you eh?

[ImpossiblyLost]

Eh? you Canadian? I've sung this song and it's very difficult to come from the top of your uplift and settle on a note thats a fast hop up there. I'm glad you like her. Her technique on it gives it the hint of sharpness on those hop up and get em notes. but her way with it has taught me a lot. See what you think of the Rene Flemming version. She's got great pyrotechnics that a Lady of Metal might enjoy.

[LadyofMetal16]

I am not a Fleming fan. Personally I prefer Battle and Sutherland.

[ImpossiblyLost]

Don't care for Fleming either except on "Summertime"

[operaeater]

lol this is ridiculous, if u want to hear clean and fast coloratura, hear gruberova, sutherland, bartoli or devia, this is unfortunately not the right repertoire for kanawa.

[luvnthatgreen]

I'm sorry...but I'm supposed to enjoy watching her sing as much as I enjoy listening to it....the alignment of her bottom jaw gets screwed up on some of the melismas and it kind of bothers me.

But if I close my eyes? It's good.

[domi2020]

could do worse-! like Kathleen battle.

[handelfan610]

how dare you even say such a thing!

[Beethovenpastoral]

Shut up

[operaeater]

the coloratura? is she serious? she cannot sing coloratura.

[jennywren413]

I guess that this is a very good rendition, but I think that the trills in the first (allegro) part are too muddy for my tastes- it's hard to tell the actual movement of the notes from her vibrato. *please don't murder me please* I prefer Emma Kirkby's rendition, I think the clarity of her voice is better suited to the piece.

[cuddlebear51]

Ugly

and

garbage!

[Fuliginosus]

I love her with the big hair. (James Levine has big hair too, but not in a good way.)

[kellyjkeenan]

How heartwarming to read so many positive comments for a voice in full warmth, personality and artistry! I find the tempo rather swift in this aria: any comments to add?

Kiwi Kiri Whanau

[coloraturacontralto]

Nope.. that's about the right tempo. You should just look up the tempo and you'll find it right about there. She does rush a bit here and there... but other than that, it's on the faster side of the tempo marking. I suppose if you wanted to be a bit more correct to the baroque style you'll aim for the slower side of the tempo marking.

She's not a baroque singer. She scoops a bit, and adds a few other things to the piece that are better suited to something a bit more from the classical era.

[jusitke07]

OMG @ 02:37 to 02:42...amazingly smooth with no cracks or rests and her face doesn't even show any desperation for air. Tremedous voice control and breathing.

[musicyh]

How can anyone look so calm and relaxed during those long melismas? You would think she has endless breath when you look at her sing those.

[dodismom]

Dame Sutherland was tremendous in her performance of this work but Dame Kiri is , too, in her own right incomparable. I have loved her voice for many years!

[fundfreq]

I love how calm and still she looks during those melismas.

[paulotomaso]

thats what i love about her, no matter what shes singing. so poised, and no ugly faces or weird distorted neck or posture

[TheAleph74]

Beautiful!

[angelitornado]

That's very lovely. I've never seen anything from this concert before. It's fun to see some clips of Kiri when she was so young. Thanks operastud!

[owlclarke]

That is where she originally sang it, this is her singign it somewhere in concert! I don't know where?

[hotazzoperastud]

This is from a Gala Concert in New York from 1985.

[hillevifan]

was this from Charles and Diana's wedding?