Everyone has said it already - Behrens had a strange technique that didn't always serve her voice. But she is such a compelling musician and actress that all that nonsense can be forgotten. The important thing is to communicate something to the audience, and Behrens always gave 100% commitment to her portrayals.
@calaftheeast poor thing, if you can't fathom why the stacatti are important then i can't help you with that, I can't make you intelligent. I'm sure that you will also say that who cares when she breaks the line and makes it sound like it is a verismo aria. Since it is obvious you can't read the score...
She's Behrens nonetheless, and was not 35 when she was singing this. She sounded great, and neither she, or I, deserve your belittling and belligerent attitude. I think the 'poor thing' in question here is you, since you're the one who happens to act like a complete imbecile regarding a woman who was a real musician.
As Sutherland said; sometimes the audience expects way too much, and they should know their place. You should listen to that. So beat it.
@calaftheeast i had my doubts about your level of stupidity, but once you quoted La Stupida: who was know for her extreme stupidity, singing everything trasposed, queen of unwritten pauses, etc., etc., , it was done! I will not waste my time with filth like you.
Hey, she got hired, didn't she?? If it's interesting and captivating who cares what fach she is. It was dramatically brilliant and the crowd loved it. They're the ones who are paying us to do what we do, so they are the ones that count.
Hildegard Behrens makes a great Elletra * sings this with all the expressive dramatic qualities of a Mad Scene. I think she' s fabulous & she has proven many times that even with a smaller voice, and in her older age, that she could sing heavy roles like Salome (under Karajan) and Isolde (under Bernstein), and Tosca (under Sinopoli). She doesn't have a Mozart voice but she does sing one hell of an Elletra here. Stop bashing. This is a great performance.
Why do people think that as the author of this posting says " this is not the way of singing Mozart " ? Mozart MUST BE EXPRESSIVE. This , Elettra , is an evil personality. AUS SINGEN ( extroverted , frank emision ) that is A MUST. Singers like Harper, Sutherland, Stich Randall ALL OF THEM used their resources. Wunderlich, London...All mozartians. What are we aiming at ? Repression of emotion ? Is that style ? Bull......!
You are being rather unfair to MBWoland in omitting what immediately follows that passage he wrote in the clip info, I think. He obviously likes the fact that she IS expressive.
One can also be very expressive without shouting. This style worked very well for Behren (who was more at home as Elektra than as Elettra, which she sang very late into her career), but god helps the younger artists if they try to sing like this while hoping that their voice stays intact until they retire.
Anger is anger and this role is drammatic, that is all I meant. And even if she undertook this role late in her career her sound is exciting. As for intact voices until they retire, you can bet it is almost impossible, for AGE creeps in. You can avoid horrible side effects of bad singing through technique, but keep the voice intact ? You can only keep it if you are cold enough as to say NO at forty as did Farrar. Most singers cannot do it. It is human.
minerva68 es cierto que al cantar la falta el aire, pero no me parece un defecto en esta interpretacion pues lo que hace es resaltar el dramatismo. La desesperacion y el odio que refleja no puede cantarse mejor.
Cierto que es un aria complicadísima, con su recitativo acompañado anterior...Escénicamente, no digo nada, ignoro la regia, ella como actriz está muy bien.
Elettra wants to marry Idamante, but Neptune (the god) had just decreed that he is to marry his beloved Ilia instead. So Elettra's mad and is fuming of how tormented she is (just like Oreste and Ajax) while hallucinating about being harassed by poisonous snakes.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Lo malo de you tube es que uno escucha versiones...Y después de Edda Moser, Carol Vaness, incluso la pobre Leontine Price...A la escucha pierde Behrens, oidlas..Ya comparáis...Va ahogada, corriendo...Incluso se la merienda Gruberova en el bis del Liceu...
I get so sick of hearing the argument about Behrens and her non-Mozartean voice versus other singers. Of course she is not a Mozart singer in the traditional sense or perhaps even the sense most are accustomed to, but this is grand opera and theatrics at its finest! Every time I see this clip I am mesmerized from beginning to end. It is consumate madness. That she is a great Wagnerian and not a superb Mozartean hardly is the issue and certainly does not detract from a damn thing. Brava!!!
OMG: who cares if there are 8 notes that don't speak and she is stylistically over the top! She's amazing! And the staccatti were not nearly as bad as I have heard from others. Brava!
IHMO the only right 'style' is coherent musical theatre. Otherwise we should limit ourselves in performing operas on concert stage in a 'stylistically' correct context. This is opera stage, this is drama, this is living music. Brava, Hildegard!
did u see in the beginning when she had that crazy smile and went straight up to ilia? that would have scared the shit out of me, acting or no. plus her top range is so free as well.
Everyone has said it already - Behrens had a strange technique that didn't always serve her voice. But she is such a compelling musician and actress that all that nonsense can be forgotten. The important thing is to communicate something to the audience, and Behrens always gave 100% commitment to her portrayals.
wotan10950 4 months ago
She delivered.
calaftheeast 6 months ago
I think she sounds better singing Mozart than Wagner. Mozart tends to get the voice more connected.
Operaman41 7 months ago
Poor thing she can't do the stacatti!
NEBESHIKU 9 months ago
@NEBESHIKU
Who cares? That performance is ravishing from top to bottom.
calaftheeast 4 months ago
@calaftheeast poor thing, if you can't fathom why the stacatti are important then i can't help you with that, I can't make you intelligent. I'm sure that you will also say that who cares when she breaks the line and makes it sound like it is a verismo aria. Since it is obvious you can't read the score...
NEBESHIKU 4 months ago
@NEBESHIKU
She's Behrens nonetheless, and was not 35 when she was singing this. She sounded great, and neither she, or I, deserve your belittling and belligerent attitude. I think the 'poor thing' in question here is you, since you're the one who happens to act like a complete imbecile regarding a woman who was a real musician.
As Sutherland said; sometimes the audience expects way too much, and they should know their place. You should listen to that. So beat it.
calaftheeast 4 months ago
@calaftheeast i had my doubts about your level of stupidity, but once you quoted La Stupida: who was know for her extreme stupidity, singing everything trasposed, queen of unwritten pauses, etc., etc., , it was done! I will not waste my time with filth like you.
NEBESHIKU 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@NEBESHIKU
Then go fuck yourself in the ass.
calaftheeast 4 months ago
extraordinaire la plus grande interprétation sur scène par une grande voix du siècle!
mannvishnu 10 months ago
Behrens is always criticized... because her voice and interpretation are WEIRD. Anyway, I enjoyed this immensely, far better than garbage Netrebko.
DottoreJojo 1 year ago 6
@DottoreJojo I agree...garbage Netrebko
htshoward 1 year ago 4
Hey, she got hired, didn't she?? If it's interesting and captivating who cares what fach she is. It was dramatically brilliant and the crowd loved it. They're the ones who are paying us to do what we do, so they are the ones that count.
operacody 1 year ago
best version of D'Oreste, d'Ajace ive seen so far! BRAVO!
theblueblacklady 2 years ago 3
Hildegard Behrens makes a great Elletra * sings this with all the expressive dramatic qualities of a Mad Scene. I think she' s fabulous & she has proven many times that even with a smaller voice, and in her older age, that she could sing heavy roles like Salome (under Karajan) and Isolde (under Bernstein), and Tosca (under Sinopoli). She doesn't have a Mozart voice but she does sing one hell of an Elletra here. Stop bashing. This is a great performance.
MastersoftheOpera 2 years ago 3
hildegard behrens .1937-2009
I will always love and miss her...
silallah 2 years ago 8
Comment removed
silallah 2 years ago
Why do people think that as the author of this posting says " this is not the way of singing Mozart " ? Mozart MUST BE EXPRESSIVE. This , Elettra , is an evil personality. AUS SINGEN ( extroverted , frank emision ) that is A MUST. Singers like Harper, Sutherland, Stich Randall ALL OF THEM used their resources. Wunderlich, London...All mozartians. What are we aiming at ? Repression of emotion ? Is that style ? Bull......!
Greatfan 2 years ago 11
You are being rather unfair to MBWoland in omitting what immediately follows that passage he wrote in the clip info, I think. He obviously likes the fact that she IS expressive.
One can also be very expressive without shouting. This style worked very well for Behren (who was more at home as Elektra than as Elettra, which she sang very late into her career), but god helps the younger artists if they try to sing like this while hoping that their voice stays intact until they retire.
SDCmorg 2 years ago 2
Anger is anger and this role is drammatic, that is all I meant. And even if she undertook this role late in her career her sound is exciting. As for intact voices until they retire, you can bet it is almost impossible, for AGE creeps in. You can avoid horrible side effects of bad singing through technique, but keep the voice intact ? You can only keep it if you are cold enough as to say NO at forty as did Farrar. Most singers cannot do it. It is human.
Greatfan 2 years ago 3
Rest in peace. You had an amazing voice. I am glad there are recordings like this that will help keep your memory alive.
kablooeee2u 2 years ago 4
Wow she' amazing! What drama! Love it! I love Hildegard Behrens singing this
AmericanEvita 2 years ago 4
minerva68 es cierto que al cantar la falta el aire, pero no me parece un defecto en esta interpretacion pues lo que hace es resaltar el dramatismo. La desesperacion y el odio que refleja no puede cantarse mejor.
clementgs 2 years ago 6
Cierto que es un aria complicadísima, con su recitativo acompañado anterior...Escénicamente, no digo nada, ignoro la regia, ella como actriz está muy bien.
Minervas1968 2 years ago
was is she singing about in this aria? a little background anyone?
Babs22h 2 years ago
Elettra wants to marry Idamante, but Neptune (the god) had just decreed that he is to marry his beloved Ilia instead. So Elettra's mad and is fuming of how tormented she is (just like Oreste and Ajax) while hallucinating about being harassed by poisonous snakes.
SDCmorg 2 years ago 2
simplemente la mejor electra que se haya visto en mozart y en strauss tambien claro Brava Hidelgar!!!!
gustavoanmosura 2 years ago 9
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Lo malo de you tube es que uno escucha versiones...Y después de Edda Moser, Carol Vaness, incluso la pobre Leontine Price...A la escucha pierde Behrens, oidlas..Ya comparáis...Va ahogada, corriendo...Incluso se la merienda Gruberova en el bis del Liceu...
minervas68 2 years ago
¿Quién podría subir a la Grümmer aquí?
Por otra parte, descanse en paz una gran intérprete dramática como fue Hildegard Behrens, impresionantes sus Wagner, Straus o Berg.
Minervas1968 2 years ago
This is a great display of madness!
AccidentalTouch 2 years ago 12
I get so sick of hearing the argument about Behrens and her non-Mozartean voice versus other singers. Of course she is not a Mozart singer in the traditional sense or perhaps even the sense most are accustomed to, but this is grand opera and theatrics at its finest! Every time I see this clip I am mesmerized from beginning to end. It is consumate madness. That she is a great Wagnerian and not a superb Mozartean hardly is the issue and certainly does not detract from a damn thing. Brava!!!
htshoward 2 years ago 37
I agree!!
OperaLover84 2 years ago 10
Love Her in this Aria! She Kicks Major Ass! LOVE IT!!!
Dashingdiva73 2 years ago 9
OMG: who cares if there are 8 notes that don't speak and she is stylistically over the top! She's amazing! And the staccatti were not nearly as bad as I have heard from others. Brava!
hchristopher1 3 years ago 13
This comment has received too many negative votes show
She compenses with good acting the errors she has in a repertorie she would never have done.
In fact, there are no stacatti, no final high note.....
Not my cup of tea...
asisecanta 3 years ago
What final top note? - there isn't one written.
teddydiva 3 years ago 18
I believe its an A flat or high C...I dont have my score on me to check
sweetaztecangel69 1 year ago
@teddydiva the highest note in the whole aria is the soprano C
sweetaztecangel69 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Horrible.
Lo siento su italiano es muy malo, la voz estridente.
Rapicienta 3 years ago
la horrible eres tu rapicienta, estridente? una de las voces mas dulces y bellas? que tonta eres
wagnermacht 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Mozarts Elettra? That is new !
brunorausch 3 years ago
:O the stacatti indeed are awful.. but she is greaat
vhennus 3 years ago
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Complete disaster from a vocal stand point. Where the hell where the staccatti towards the end of the aria? She sang like she looked!
fernandoclassic30 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
True. The staccato "laughing" is a disaster. Moser is quite unique in that repertoire.
liszt80 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This is more a verismo Elettra. She acts like a tornado, but it's totally out of style.
mrlammermoor 3 years ago
IHMO the only right 'style' is coherent musical theatre. Otherwise we should limit ourselves in performing operas on concert stage in a 'stylistically' correct context. This is opera stage, this is drama, this is living music. Brava, Hildegard!
basselyrique 3 years ago 14
Wow the exclamation point in the title is well deserved! This is Behrens as Mozart's Elettra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dem24utube 3 years ago 13
Allow me to add that this singer's name is Hildgard Behrens!
Nugnugs 3 years ago 6
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I hate her voice but she's perfect for this type of crazy whack job role, the hair and all
gransasso101 3 years ago
Powerful, indeed!
vscanzi 4 years ago 9
did u see in the beginning when she had that crazy smile and went straight up to ilia? that would have scared the shit out of me, acting or no. plus her top range is so free as well.
moghedien13 3 years ago 5
Yes, I agree, she is my acting diva for this.
vscanzi 3 years ago 10
This is a performace we go to boo and end up giving a standing ovation.
moghedien13 4 years ago 11