Jennifer Larmore : Rondo from "La Cenerentola"

[steve61436]

Cecilia who????

[captsub]

Beautiful performance. Thanks for posting. She her twice in Cenerentola here at the Met in NY in a very silly production. The only caveat? Lucia Valentini-Terrani was better is all these Rossini roles - God rest her soul!

Liked von Stade in this too.

[kgarmaker123]

screaming UH.. anyone? 

[Mariasonatta]

Well she is so good as always. But today Elina Garanca sing this aria with the same darkness, but more clear and better control.

[Tenorbravo]

This One Of The BEST INTERPRETATIONS of " Nacqui all affano...Non piu mesta that I have ever seen. A very talented mezzo-soprano, also very Original and Unique. Thank you for sharing it.

[oznoddy]

Oh - what a find. This is a delicious rendition. I loved it. Bartoli is still my favourite Cenerentola but Larmore's performance here is outstanding - I shall have to research her work.....beautiful silky voice.

[OutsideEdgeJr]

she's my cousin. im very proud.

[willthebest1]

@OutsideEdgeJr i luv her--she is very pretty seem to have a pleasant personality an a passion for this era of art. :)

[idaspe]

¡¡¡La mejor versión!!!

[victor16ify]

@idaspe

vedi anche la versione cantata da Sonia Ganassi e anche Cecilia Bartoli

Saluti

[konigdernacht]

I do appreciate this singer dispite of some things (the voice sounds sometimes "dry", and she reinforce certain bass notes) but anyway, great tecnique and coloratura, musicality and expression :D very nice indeed :)

[drawkward86]

She fakes a lot of the coloratura.

[kplmeister]

@drawkward86

Oh, if there is something she does exceptionally well, it's coloratura. Your sound system must be defective - either that or you're trying to be inflammatory? (The sound and picture are out of "sync"; maybe that's the problem?)

[traxelable]

Simply EXRAORDINAIRE!!!

[Zombiemuffins13]

ahh, what a voice! Such a great range! I love the little trinkets she puts on the melody to make it her own too

[Micola555]

Неужели так бывает!!! Это просто великолепно. Какая красавица!

[caribolas]

this woman ROCKS. Beefy dark chest voice, huge extension, great glottal articulation and she seems very relaxed.

[Ruffiello]

Wow! She's the real deal.

[razdoburdina]

Tout simplement BRAVA! Génial! Merci et bravo AV

[italomelomane]

Difficile Rossini, forse troppo per la Larmore !

Rossini è agile, scattante con finali esplosivi talvolta lei invece è lenta e pesante; inadeguata. Brava cantante ma per ruoli diversi.

[lamsalgado]

The lovely Jennifer Larmore !!!!!

[ciociosan]

she is so unique!  i love her singing and acting.

[Shahrdad]

She's pretty darned great, but she's also another example of the hammered, machine-gunned, aspirated coloratura technique so prevalent now. Where are the effortless, legato, expressive colortura techniques of Callas and Sutherland nowadays, where the voice played and danced joyfully on the notes?

[OprBuff]

Well, try to figure out the real definition of "aspiration" first, then. That's Bartoli's sin, but not (gee, definitely not) Larmore's. What Larmore produces is good fioriture singing with a fine legato line with real finesse.

[skitzo429]

sutherland has phenomenal coloratura, callas' voice was big, sloppy and wobbly. her vibrato was often slower than the coloratura passages in the arias shes sang

[sillyboydeux]

@skitzo429 Big, sloppy and wobbly. Such as the Cologne Sonnambula where she received 30 curtain calls, or the Berlin Lucia, where the stage was covered with flowers. Or the 60 million records she has sold (since her death alone). But what does von Karajan and Serafin and Visconti and Zeffirelli know, compared to skitzo429 in America?

[CountertenorJ]

@sillyboydeux Luckily, we now don't have to just trust what we are told! We have the technology to go and watch these videos and find out for ourselves. Trying to judge someone's skill on a popularity contest (such as curtain calls) is probably not the wisest thing to do in music...otherwise Britney Spears wins.

[CatalinaDM56]

@skitzo429 Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about. You have no absolutely idea what you are talking about do you? CALLAS COLORATURA AND OVERALL TECHNIQUE RIVALLED IF NOT MET SUTHERLAND'S! Sutherland highly admired Callas and considered her as an equal (not just because of Callas's dramatic skills, with Sutherland definitely lacked).

[raigekimaru]

@CatalinaDM56

Callas was a wonderful singer and one of my favorites, but I disagree. Callas's coloratura were not natural and effortless like Sutherland's. she had a solid technique, but Sutherland's was absolutely perfect and effortless. Maria was wonderful at the rep that suited her (spinto roles, sfogato roles), but in the realm of coloratura soprano, Sutherland dominates her (this is no insult. anyone 1/4th as good as sutherland is a good coloratura in my book =)

[Tenorbravo]

Buenissisisima

[belcantoday]

She has EVERYTHING. The voice, the musicality, the beauty, great coloratura, and glamour. What else? Brava!

[corellithebest]

She is EXCELLENT! I adore her dark, chocolaty voice and her marvellous coloratura technique. And I quite like the production, too. I don't understand why some people here seem to dislike the production. The costumes are really beautiful and authentic.

[kgarmaker123]

you mean mushy color.

[Drelnis]

@corellithebest Certainly better than the Met production with the gigantic cake and the slippery coloratura of Garanca.

[MisterSoprano]

She's great, I love her!

[belcantomania]

Nequi all'affenno...ma è barese??

[oggieguy]

Brava. I heard her sing this last night at the Atlanta Opera. She has become one of my favorite singers of all time. What a voice and stage abilities. Viva la Diva!!

[mentafari]

mostra

poderosa voz

pastosa

[Orbazzano]

Ingolata.

[luigipava]

fissato come al solito con quelle cantanti antiche,ormai non ci sono piu

[atzedeno1]

interpretation great, voice great presentation great BRAVA!

[jocmuc]

she is one more great angelina

[crazymezzo09]

Before saying strange things about Jennifer Larmore and her acting, first think about how freakingly difficult this aria is and what the stage director maybe told her to do. And have a look at the content of the scene. Should Angelina be running and dancing around?! I don't think so...

And I (as an opera singer myself) think that she is doing a really great job here!

[Sturmwaffen]

Agreed!

[josejuniorbr]

Wonderful singer. But she sings as she was in a recital, not an opera production!

[pweny]

This rondo needs no distractions. All the singer has to do is sing this beautiful and virtuosic piece and make it look effortless. All the acting is done before and if you've seen Larmore do this live, you'd know what a great job she does.

[caiogutofer]

I don't agree acting should take second priority, because if's just about the singing, I can go to a concert. But it's an opera, so it must have the acting part too.

[jaymiles81]

--------gttttttttttt

[synchro101]

Haha, 5:26 I think Jennifer scared herself there :-p

[pweny]

Nothing scares Dear Jennie!  That's how she sings it. She is the Cenerentola of our time. Period.

[adhrianus534]

also at 5:44

:)))))))

[boomboomtiptap]

Sin llegar a la altura de la Bartoli,pues ni tiene su tecnica ni su fraseo ni su "coloratu-

ra";hay que reconocer que es una de las primeras mezzos del momento.Le falla el "trino" en los graves.Muy buena.Brava!

[Njamh]

No podemos comparar las peras con las manzanas... lo mismo pasa con Larmore y Bartoli. son totalmente distintas, las dos igual de buenas. La Bartoli hace más rápido las agilidades, y la Larmore tiene más graves y más color de mezzo pura. Pero para mí las dos son increíblemente magníficas ^^. Todo un modelo para mí ambas dos ;)

[armidalicorne]

De acuerdo contigo. Esta mania de comparar sistematicamente es penosa... BARTOLI ES UNA BOMBA, LARMORE tambien a su manera. Yo he escuchado al vivo las dos y me quede ENTUSIASMADA; Igual pasa con los que comaparan a JDF con BLAKE; vAMOS Qque es de un ridiculo !!

[operaboy81]

I love this aria. It's like running a marathon, but she makes it look so easy.

[sparkupthequirk]

I saw her live a few years ago and I wasn't very impressed. This video is changing my mind. She sounds great and much less covered. Like a mezzo instead of someone trying to be a mezzo.

[laomis]

Wow

[micioamilano]

cantante discreta a mio parere, voce carina, bella agilità peccato che le scale sono TUTTE sporche e sbrodolate..

[sschimel]

Altanotte, I agree wholeheartedly. I can't stand Bartoli. Not only is her colorature breathy and aspirated, but to me, she always looks insane. Larmore is such a natural actress.

[alecs1976]

lamore is no actress at all!

[pweny]

well, that's a stupid thing to say!

[pweny]

that simply makes no sense at all!

[Sturmwaffen]

On the operatic stage acting should take second priority. Goddamnit, if I wanted to see drama I'd have gone to see a Shakespeare play or something. It's all about the singing, and Larmore captures that ethic perfectly. Beautiful non piu mesta!!

[armidalicorne]

I AGREE !!

[viviananderson]

Beautiful! I love to listen to her!

[Leporello18]

Bad Vibrato!

[fierysensual]

Have you ever read Rossini's score?

[HappyHounde]

She looks like she lost weight. She looks great. Sings well too.

[Jrnen2darkness]

Jenny est tres belle chanter

[fiesco7]

Great singing!

[fiesco7]

Wow! I love her voice.

[Njamh]

The best one! she makes me shiver

[larishiny]

BRAVAAAAAA SPECTACULAR!

[InformedListener]

Sing, Jenny! Sing!!! This is such happy, joyful, inspiring, clean and unaffected singing. No demon-posessed faces, no chock-full-of-ha-ha-ha-has, none of that! The best Cenerentola of today!

[jr1844]

InformedListener: Oh, well said! And the best Isabella, and Charlotte, and all! Thank you!

[altanotte]

Fabulous! To compare this to Bartoli's over-aspirated, breathy rendition is an insult to the artistry of Ms. Larmore. Larmore is a true lyric mezzo with a smooth transition through all her registers. Bartoli is a "short" soprano with manufactured chest tones.

[HappyHounde]

I am not an expert on Mezzo's but in the late maestro Pavarotti's book. He said he would sing with Bartoli anytime. He thought she was truely great. I just thought I would post his opinion.

[aragall77]

He could blow out Bartoli with his voice. The same with Larmore would be harmful for him. Just an opinion.

[dtao12]

Really nice and joyful. Larmore's articulation is not as precise and awe-inspiring as Bartoli's, but she makes up for it in beauty of tone and much less distracting facial expressions.

[bgabry2007]

Larmore è brava ma è un peccato che manchi la versione cantata dalla Valentini Terrani, è semplicemente stellare!!

[aragall77]

Just look at her singing! Isn`t it a pure pleasure? Well, she`s singing it with such a terrifying easiness and beauty of tone. I`m sorry for her competitors.

[Njamh]

Ella es estupenda. Una de mis divas preferidas..jaja

[kingjordana]

She is great, I hate the production.

[pweny]

I sure hope TDK releases this great performance as well!!!!

[globalmuse]

LOVE IT!!!!

[iTubeVlc]

Who the f. cares if she is mezzo, soprano, contraltino, whatsover! She is just a great singer singing beautifully a quite hard aria.

Why there are always people who have to say something bad about a fabulous rendition? Relax and enjoy, that's what opera are made for.

[tenormcgee]

honestly, i agree. a great voice is a great voice. and for all those people fighting over her "fach"...check the descriptions of each, then you must know how to classify a fach...not just by range or stuff.

larmore is one of my favorite lyric mezzos...if you don't agree, it's ok ;)

[ciociosan]

i agree with you!

i hate to compare her to ms. bartoli. but one thing is sure: ms. larmore's coloratura is NOT aspirated. also, she does not look ugly when she sings!

[aragall77]

Well said!

[colibri1953]

This is simply extraordinary and flawless. Brava!

[rosetheatre]

You people are making me laugh. Up until I made my first comment, no-one mentioned her being a mezzo or a soprano. All that was said, is that she is good. Why all the anger arabellak1? Enjoy life a litte more.... We were just commenting on a job well done.

[arabellak1]

You people who like her obviously don't understand what you're listening to. She should be a soprano, but she's singing so dark in the middle and bottom that she sounds like a mezzo. The range is not what makes you one or the other. It's the timbre of the voice, and she has the timbre of a soprano. Her voice, like most singers today with a large range, was wrongly trained as a mezzo. I'd give her another few years of the wrong repetoire before she crashes.

[pweny]

Poor Arabella...You're so wrong it's funny! But, as I said before, prove to us you are as great as the greats...We'll all shut up and worship you...For now, humble yourself and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE...You will need it.

[rck100]

I can see what Arabella means. When the old singers sang they used brighter vowels which gave their voices more height in the timbre. If Larmore would train as they did in the past, I also have my doubts if she would still sound like a mezzo. Wow, keen ears, Arabella!

[pweny]

One might think you and Arabella are the same person!

[rck100]

Hardly! I'm not a singer (I'm an intsrumentalist), but I find the subject of vocal technique very interesting and have done a lot of research on the topic. If you listen really intently to what the singer is doing to produce the tone and compare the old singers with the present, you start to understand a lot about what the books on vocal technique were talking about. It's hard to find a voice that's a true mezzo when a normal soprano range is supposed to go as low as the f below middle c.

[pweny]

Old, new...Who cares...They are the one doing the hard stuff...singing, performing, etc...and we are merely criticizing...It's all kinda lame if you think about it. I don't live in the past, nor should the singers of today. You'll never enjoy anything new...

[jr1844]

Amen! I'd say it in French but I might get the vowels wrong. Excapt in French, the word is . . . amen!

[arabellak1]

Ignorance is bliss, so enjoy it because those who know better can't!

[arabellak1]

By the way, most singers today ARE seeking the technique of the past but either don't know where to find it or think that they did find it because they stumbled upon something that gives them immediate results. The correct way takes years of diligent study and patience. Everyone, though, agrees that the old singers knew technique. I do hope to prove it to you someday, and until then believe me I'm practicing!

[arabellak1]

Thought you might understand this: I took one lesson with someone "reputable" while my teacher was on vacation. This woman had me sing with just air and no vowel and then told me I sounded like a mezzo when I'm really a lyric soprano. This is the reason I can relate so well to what Larmore is doing. I sounded like her when I did it, too. I'm just glad I had enough sense to stay away from that!

[arabellak1]

I'm sorry you find it so surprising that someone actually agrees with me. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Larmore, and I didn't mean any of this in a disrespectful way. I just happened to hear these clips, and I understood what I was hearing and that most people are so accustomed to this type of singing that they don't realize there's anything wrong with it. I'm also aware of the outcome of singing the wrong way, and I felt a sort of responsibility to say something.

[Iareto]

Interesting that you say that about her. My voice teacher says that the way she covers her voice makes her limited to one color as well, but he says he knows that she is a mezzo. What do you think of Joyce DiDonato?

[crazymezzo09]

arabellak1, are you sure you now what you're talking about? Not every mezzo with high notes (which Larmore truely has) is automatically a soprano. And if Larmore did what you say she'd do, she just couldn't sing Cenerentola, Rosina. If you darken a voice, the high register is just unreachable . Just think about how long Jennifer Larmore's career is lasting. With the in your opinion wrong repertoire. I wouldn't dare to write this about someone like JL. And by the way: I'm a mezzo myself.

[rosetheatre]

This is amazing! Since the 2 best Rossini singers are in this production, any chance we could watch and listen to Blake's aria "Si, ritrovarla, io giuro"?

[vitellia]

she is definitely one of the greatest cenerentolas ever and the only one who embellished up to high C#!!! now that's FIERCE!!! the production looks pretty awful, however. she deserves a cool new production every season!

[xema2005]

Great Artist!!

[SuperStar2999]

She's wonderful.

[bbyime]

wow she is wonderful , ok now I have 2 of the best singers of this , she is very nice and so as Cecilia BARTOLI

[ChuckNYC71]

I saw her doing this at the Met! It was absolutely flawless, the house roared and clapped forever. Then to top my night, I got to meet her - such a sweetheart! Brava Jennifer!

[pweny]

Yes! It was flawless (both seasons!), and she really makes you feel for the character.

[nessie96]

Brava diva!!!!

[tetrazzini]

thank you !!!

[Mozmike]

The Angelina of one's dreams! Brava Jennifer! Lovely and gorgeous including the candy sweet gown!

[bigpinkypig]

Thank you Muezzab, Jennie rules !

[pweny]

Puts a big smile on my face! She always gives a complete performance - heart and soul and perfect singing. Thank you, Jennie! (and to the nice person who posted these!)