The "Una voce poco fa" Contest - Anna Moffo

[sttar1982]

perfetta.)

[sttar1982]

@sttar1982 che tocco di Italianità

[pbarroso001]

Bravo Anna!! Toutes ses interpretations sont merveilleuses. Mon Dieu quel voix et quelle belle femme

[TheSophiaBaba]

Anna is another wonderful personification of Rosina, together with Teresa Berganza. Perhaps, Anna is more sophisticated, in terms of style & somehow, my ears recognise her more of Lucia.... (Also, some small miss pitch & near shout?) I feel Rossini intended a childish joy of a girl in her first love, than a sophisticated lady deeply in love. So, I rate carefree, equally effortless, Teresa as the top Rosina. It's just a matter of taste. They two are both superb Rosinas!

[kasha1932]

The word is Coloratura....I missed that! Need a proof-reader! Thanks.

[kasha1932]

THANKS SO MUCH FOR REPAIRING THIS LOVELY ARIA....ANNA MOFFO IS MY FAVORITE COLATURA SOPRANO. SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE IS SINGING....AND SINGS LIKE A DELICATE BIRD....AND WITH SEEMINGLY NO EFFORT, BUT WE KNOW HOW MUCH OF A PERFECTIONIST SHE IS...OH MY WHAT RICHNESS FOLOWED BY DELICATE ,LITTLE STEPS LEADING UP TO THE STRATOSPHERE! BRAVA-BRAVA-ANNA!!!

[kasha1932]

Sorry,but this lovely aria is being broken up...I cannot listen to this anymore.

[amillia007]

the best

[thenextmezzosoprano]

She was Sharp on 5:09, but better than Flat. I like the Coloratura! :)

[andreea94a]

Her technique is perfect and her voice is lovely.

[rrcaniglia]

5/5. Love the characterization, the staccato notes, the delicacy in some of the high portions, clarity, attack and release of notes, dynamics... and that last note. Pretty darn good.

[raigekimaru]

bel canto purests would look down on interpolating a high note at the end of a piece like this, but I'm not a bel canto purest hahaha. 5 stars

[BlueStarCadet08]

Never forget the first time I heard this performance back in the '70s. It's still electrifying.

(the soprano's solfege: "do, re, mi, me, me, not you, me")

[diradour]

Wow .Nothing else to say

[andreea94a]

one of the greatest coloraturas ever

[dngrbunny]

Coloratura heaven!

[0ri0n77]

Amazing! Glad I found this rendition so may years later. Because it is one of the reasons I love Opera!

[quietdepths]

first time Ive heard this - magnificent!

[thnurd]

cruel comments come from people who have secrets of which they are embarrassed, they are fearful people who will always choose a negative first, and often times never get past their own problems to see the greatness in others. Jealousy, petty behavior, and cruel commentary are the hobgoblins of such small minded people. They have no power over any of us who know in our hearts and minds that God is in all of us, and his essence is humanized in Ms. Moffo's voice.

[DAVIDA1944]

Just sensational

[NoticiasInteresante1]

ah!!! ahh!! ahh a!!  aa!1!!!! Ah!!!!!!!AH!!!!!!!

[giyka88]

BEST version of this aria I've heard online!

[noncondition]

Really amazing... perhaps one of the best renditions of this aria.

[noncondition]

By the way 4.5/4.5 out of 5

[Tancredi1976]

Trovo che Anna Moffo sia una delle più straordinarie interpreti del melodramma italiano. In questa performance è semplicemente unica: voce morbida, nessuna caduta d'intonazione e agilità perfettamente eseguite. Poi ci tengo a sottileneare che era anche una donna di particolare bellezza!!!

[TheForsaken82]

Magnificent

[jmsmth14]

I really like this a lot. I don't know much about her but this quite good along with Callas. I must say though my heart and favorite belongs to Diana Damrau. Something about her just makes me melt and I love the energy she has throughout her take on it.

[gcafeche]

I wish I could sing like this. What a beautiful and talented lady! I wish people stopped comparing singers. Thank Goodness those people existed, in their uniqueness and exceptional talent! This is an amazing performance and incredible mastering of the technique.

[tmcons]

I agree. Regarding smart-ass comments of some folks: ...let's have some heart for assholes, shall we?

[madziua90]

OMG... for me maybe the best performance of this aria ever!!

[mariasarda]

Cet air de mezzo-soprano réussit à Moffo, car elle a été capable de chanter Carmen également. J'admire sa versatilité, son charisme, la splendeur de son timbre. Très bon choix, original. Pour les mécontents patentés, il n'ont qu'à chanter mieux qu'elle.

[silvr94]

j'ai cet CD et c'est super!!! hélas, sa voix était déjà déclinée mais était très grande. Elle avait un registre passable bas...

[patukott]

Exactement. mariasarda

[brunotaddeo]

loves genet, what it must be like to have the expertise to grade ? only thing that your main choice is shit, bartoli, who must always put on the i'm great, i am, act for us, so false, and the circus-act tricks with the voice... anyone but bartoli, please !

did gencer ever do this or oliviera ? or even hans hotter ? why don't men ever try out the soprano repetoire.. imagine.. recitals by basses.. of lucia's mad scene... could be fun, no genet-lovers... ya old pano dame ! cunt !

[Jogab37]

Brava DIVA!!!!!!

[lovesGenet]

Bartoli has characterization besti know of but my memory is recent. Did Ponselle rec this that would be something in perfect legato runs.Bartoli has tv personality and gorgeous voice and perfect technique.Did Crespin rec this it is her style too. Sills 2nd,tech,char doesn't get better! Moffo is 3rd. but i'd like to c the competition.i have not heardCallas n thisit better be earlier.

[cek1111]

hahahahahahha

[pearlmuth3]

NICE BUT NOT THE BEST AS FAR AS CHARACTER, VOICE IS BEAUTIFUL , HER TRAV REC. IN 1960 IS HER GREATEST imo

[coloratursopran0154]

This is one marvelous soprano voice. What I'd like to know is where did you get the recording. I've been nosing around online, and the pickings are pretty limited on Amazon and some of the others. I'd sure like to have this recording.

[gahgeer]

Sì, lindoro mio sarà; Lo giurai, la vincerò. Io sono docile, Son rispettosa, Sono obbediente, Dolce, amorosa; Mi lascio reggere, Mi fo guidar. Ma se mi toccano Dov'è il mio debole Sarò una vipera E cento trappole Prima di cedere Farò giocar.

[gahgeer]

Una voce poco fa

Qui nel cor mi risuonò;

Il mio cor ferito è già,

E lindor fu che il piagò.

Sì, lindoro mio sarà;

Lo giurai, la vincerò.

Il tutor ricuserà,

Io l'ingegno aguzzerò.

Alla fin s'accheterà

E contenta io resterò.

[mikathelittle]

Really nice, the ornaments are really lovely, and this voice!!!

it's just become my second favorite performance on "una voce poco fa", after Maria Callas La Divina of course!!!

[vladyhorowitz]

Yes, she is awesome, but Callas rules!!!! :D

[silvr1507]

I love Anna Moffo. I am really sad that is dead. This is the best 'Una voce poco fa' version ever. But 1 question: Why tune it one whole semitone higher. It just makes it ever harder to sing?????

[wedidntknow]

so the soprano can sing high e's of course... you know it all about the soprano.lol if she is gonna sing the role she of course souldnt sing it in the same key as the mezzo!!!!lol

[marysmules]

Always amazing and perfect.

[artdanks]

VERY nice! I have always really liked Moffo, but never heard her Una Voce. I don't compare singers on this aria, as it is one aria that really needs to be individulaized by every singer. I like them all (mostly).

[ron63026]

this is the tops,,, she is the best !!! capt jacques strap

[abcThais]

Grandiosa Eccezzionale Fantastica

Questo è cantare!!!

Questo è stile...

Carissimi questa è una delle più grandi voci del passato, ascoltare per imparare!!!!!

[ElliePearl]

Forget 5/5! Raise the standards! 10/10!

Who cares if she scoops? It sounds fine when she does it! All the greats, my favorites, are dead.

[LyricoSpinto]

Nice interpretation - But you must look beyond scoops, poor intonation and really bad technique. I guess I am jaded because I heard her over the length of her career, the rapid decline and the wide variance in quality in live performances. - But, nice to here - Thanks

[gj2855]

it can't get much better than this performance for warmth. Moffo has always been great at melting in. 4

[simonboccanegra35]

beautiful perfomance... but no one seems to rememeber the great teresa berganza (I know... a mezzo... but who cares? ... at least ... not me...)

her performance is sparkling

[GalambBorong]

This is brilliant in every respect. I'd almost take off a tiny, tiny percentage of a mark for the very last note, but the rest of the singing is so perfect it more than compensates. She also captured the <i>mood</i> of this aria very well, perhaps better than any other I've heard. 5/5.

[cadaques1978]

yes yes the mood is ottimo!!!! the best i swear

[ExcellentTaste]

She's just lovely; and that E flat at the end is flawless.

Additionally, if you want to hear the best mezzo version of "una Voce" , listen to Marilyn Horne.

[silvr94]

it was an F!!! (the aria is written in E major, so it would have been an E, but it is transposed)

[borias12]

Wonderful!!!

[Winn89]

5/5

[evaeke]

What to say...5/5

[patjan1992]

Pure and simple. 5/5.

[meltzerboy]

Accomplished, stylish singing, warm tone, and playful characterization! 4.5/5

[gvjps123]

I love her full,round,smoky timbre. The intepretation is adorable and charming.

4/5

[beefnotfish]

I remember Roberta Peters singing the crap out of this aria...little voice, but AMAZING coloratura!!!!

[willthebest1]

abosolutely the best of the best.

[lxr0913]

high F?haha i checked it out on the score

this is on E major

she put this one the F major?

[guendolinoskr]

actually, a high F. just gone to the piano to check it. I thought moffo never did a high F...how thrilling!

[forallyouknow]

She also did one in a version of Ah non giunge here on YouTube

[lxr0913]

oh god , it is a high E..

[renic17]

This rendition of Anna Moffo has introduced me to the world of opera. It's absolutely awesome. What a beautiful, great, performer!!!

[patjan1992]

Wow! What a way to start. Moffo was my introduction to opera also.

[sonnet43]

Nobody "copies ornaments from Callas." These ornaments are traditional and have been passed down for centuries. Callas didn't make them up. Probably from Tettrazini or somebody.

[Louisacat]

4/4 Her voice is lovely, but a lot of the ornamentation is copied directly from Maria Callas.. and the top F at the end is tastelessly over the top, and sounds thin

[Kbritt7]

it's a freakin' high F. I've been told that unless you can do the exact same thing and bring the house down even more than the performer you have no right to criticise and the only thing you are allowed to do is applaud. I mean, unless you can sing that entire aria better than she can...be my guest. and copying the ornaments from Callas? Are you really that ignorant?

[Louisacat]

I'm learning - I was misled by some reading I was doing on Maria Callas that suggested that what she had done was somehow groundbreaking or original and I see now that it wasn't particularly. As sonnet43 said - they are traditional. But I absolutely stand by what I said about the final note - it would have been so much better if she had just gone down to the lower F.

[Liwah]

So if my singing ability is even less than Florence Foster Jenkin's, I'm NOT allowed to say ANYTHING and should just aplaud?

[Kbritt7]

haha, if it's Florence Foster Jenkins, you LAUGH. :)

I'm not saying that bad singing doesn't deserve criticism, and maybe the lower F would've sounded better... I just hate to see people rip apart great singers. I just can't stand it when everything turns into an "I know more about singing than you do" contest. Sorry if I sounded snotty before to you guys.

[patjan1992]

I give this a 5/5. Terrific.

[zamyrabyrd]

Moffo didn't leave anything out. In fact, she didn't have to sing it in the key of F (much harder) either, since it's really in E. Unlike Sills you can actually recognize the language as Italian. And of course, she doesn't sing meaningless roulades like the former.

[krizju]

Great, Moffo is my favourite, although I don't love the high f at the end 5/5

[wwonka2]

5/4.5 One of the most beautiful voices in the business. Considering she really is a true lyric (I like dougbalt's opinion of "chocolaty tone") and not a coloratura, she handles this rep with amazing skill (and courage).

[BSistheBEST]

And I have a question -- How come so many leave out or only partially do the repeated 4 sets of running 16th notes right before the very end?? Sills doesn't ever seem to have a problem. She only leaves out one set in the 1979 performance which was the year before she retired!

[johngarner3]

She sounds amzing but in the beginning she goes out of tune 4.3/5 I prefer callas

[Winn89]

Without a doubt 5/5, she's amazing, playing her part well and having a wonderful voice you could recognize from miles away while hitting those high notes in such a pure way:)

[dougbalt]

Chocolaty, sexy tone quality balanced with acrobatic coloratura... and what a high F at the end!!! 5/5

[georgeo]

Brava! Simply esquisite. I remember this recording and it is one of my favorites. I love both the mezzzo and the soprano versions. I give Mrs. Moffo (who I had the honor to meet in person) a 5/5!!!

[Njamh]

I sing this aria as a mezzo..., and I think that Moffo is very good singing this as a soprano... so.... 4/5 :P But I prefer this aria in a mezzo register

[gypsycafe]

4.5/5, This is really gorgeous, flirty and beautiful. She her time articulating every phrase. I love this tempo (especially in the candenza?). My only complaint is that her lower register is not very full sounding.

[operadm]

beautiful voice - beautiful woman. loved the characterization, but the mezzo voice appeals to me more 3/5

[bosbriguy]

she skips through this song, it's wonderful. who care's if the f isn't rossini, it's moffo singing and i am sure that rossini appretiates her spin. at least she sung it in the carefree spirit in which it was intended.

[rinceceol]

Actually, Rossini was not a fan of sopranos singing Rosina...nor did he care for the excessive ornamentation that so many singers are so fond of.

[eleanorgloria]

Amazing she is brilliant. The personality in this piece is perfect. 5/5

P.S Before this contest I hadn't heard more than 4 version of this aria. Thanx me and my sister will go nuts about the contest!

[joseitox]

Amazing. 4/5.

[Operaphile]

Oh, 4/5 too :)

[Operaphile]

Wonderful!!! Some stunning ornamentation. Mady Mesple does the high F too. Anna wins on voice quality though!

[petelovesbevsills]

BRAVA Anna!

4/5

[binturong]

Guau!! my God, very good!! 10 points to Anna Moffo

[taytaytoo]

Her characterization puts the "cloy" in "coy." The opening bars have actual crooning. There are several instances of scooping into a note which is fine for Puccini but not Rossini. Her voice is beautiful, of course, she has good coloratura technique, (though I detect intonation problems in one little staccato run) the high F is dazzling, but it's wrong for Rossini, too: it's just a stunt. 4/3

[drdre333]

Like the Sills clip before this, I had a feeling Moffo would be quite characterful - coy yet steadfast. Vocally, just stunning, as you state. There may be a couple things in there that aren't in the best style, but I'll accept them as pure Moffo. I love the color of her voice and the way she varies it. For me she takes the cake, even with that diva-ish high F, lol. 5/5

[mrrk]

5/5. What a stunning version by Moffo.