Renata Tebaldi "Vissi d'arte" Tokio 1961

[UnSuBX1]

It is one of the best performances of this aria I've ever heard

Tebaldi is great

And this aria is very beautiful

thank you for posting

greetings

[GoldenAgeSunshine]

Instead of blaming and criticizing the compromised top note (like Callas would say: a voice is not an elevator!) - the top register was not Tebaldi's best -, one should admire the MORBIDEZZA, FRASEGGIO, DICTION and natural ELEGANCE. All these are examples of the first rank. Amen.

[ferrykalos]

Ammiro tantissimo la tebaldi e in tosca è stupenda ma questo filmato è davvero di una tosca pessima. Il finale da 3.00 in poi è al limite dell'accettabilità. Lei stessa se ne accorge. Resta il mito di una grandissima.

[Pagudo]

@ferrykalos Ma per favore, un solo sbaglio nel SolB!

[citrussorbet]

great singer,but she sure didnt do here!!!!

[ArchiducDeBelgrade]

Great voice.. i love her tehnique. But her performance leave me a bit cold, she is just sitting and singing, no soul, no great emotions, acting doesnt exist. part 2:56-3:10 she looks like she is in pain.

[genopal1020]

@ArchiducDeBelgrade I guess you had to be there, because the audience at the end gives an uproar of emotional response. If you think she doesn't have emotions because she's not acting, I think that is a compliment to her true musicianship. She is a focused musician, not a puppet actor. This is why she is so remembered today.

[ArchiducDeBelgrade]

@genopal1020

I agree that she is well known and remembered today, but as a student of operatic singing, i must say that opera is not just singing, she has amazing voice, but at the end of this performance my thought was she has great gift and voice, but many opera singers have.. what i find remarkable performance is when u can feel chills and when u can feel the tears coming up,when singer can produce such emotion that u can feel the same one as the singer in the role..

[cogitoergoboh]

si accorge di avere sbagliato e da grandissima ammette l'errore. Io non sono per i paragoni specialmente al livello di Callas e Tebaldi che ancora oggi sono l' esempio del bel canto

[flavikio]

La madre di tutte le soprano,ha un solo nome:Renata Tebaldi

[callastoujours]

Bad night. Poor Renata. Look the gesture at 4:8.

[johan1938]

to me renata  lacks the human-musical depth that callas put in her performance

[topmeat69]

@johan1938 and that pitch wobble Tebaldi lack that too

[lyside1]

tutto quello che volete timbro stupendo condotta dell'aria nella gestone del legato da manuale ma a 3:07 stecca poverina

[spinto12]

anyone who sings and just doesn't sit on the sidelines making comments knows that at times the voice has a mind of it's own and no matter HOW MUCH technique and control one has over the voice, mishaps can and sometimes DO occur. it's one performance. Tebaldi has sung this aria many times before and after this one and has definitely secured her spot in the realm of legends where she so rightfully deserves to be. Brava Diva in spite of!

[RonaldBarone]

reasons Callas was the best

She moved on the stage, she made u think she was the character

opera is not just about singing... its feeling emotions...

if was just about a good voice... Celine Dion could be the best opera singer of this world... but no

its drama, singing, moving, emotions, sadness and happiness

thats why is so difficult to be a good opera singer

cause u have to be good enough to make the public cry and laugh when it is suppose to happen even if they cant understand what u sing

[laskojet]

OMG - what is that snarl at 3:08? She really did butcher this one. I just don't know how anyone can compare her to Callas. Aside from being too fat and unattractive for the role, she is just straining to get it done - poor Renata.

[mozzrt]

Please do. And don't bother to come back.

[iriisblue]

Take your pissing up with Caballe, bitch. It was her documented opinion I offered.

[BurghTunes]

I always find it a little odd. Tosca is such a volatile person through most of the opera, and yet for this aria she's a saint. It's beautiful and well-sung here. But dramatically it's odd!

[mozzrt]

You have a point there, but apparently Tosca becomes so shocked by Scarpias cruelty and immunity against compassion, that she is dazed, emotionally she almost goes back into childhood, to protect herself. Anyway that's how I've always interpreted it...

[theblacksister]

Good point. If I remember correctly, Vissi d'Arte was inserted into the score six weeks before the premiere to satisfy the first ever Tosca. Perhaps that's why - it wasn't there originally.

[lapoireUS]

Boring.

[RonaldBarone]

Serious... I coundnt say better.

its soooo boring

does she has a good voice... yes she does

and?

is opera just about the voice?

NO

Callas will be a rock in hers shoes....

[conmaleta]

You can see the frustration and the way she moves her head by the end of the video, like a way of telling herself she did not well in some parts of the aria and did not deserve the applause... that's a self demanding singer...

[universuale]

I think it's to each his/her own, and it's so funny to read all these comments about who's singing better!? They both are, like somebody said earlier, a product of their time and Tebaldi represents the 19th century, and Callas the 20th century, in both acting and singing.

I think that's fair to them both, they did a good job pleasing so many all over the world.

[xafnndapp]

Definitely this "Vissi d'arte" didn't end in glory, but the way she began the aria and her creamy voice are really something!

Never a great Artist, though.

[iriisblue]

As Montserrat Caballe aptly observed, this is the Tosca by which all are measured.

[pesciolinotriste]

The most beautiful female voice ever.

However, her technique had serious shortcomings maily due to the pressure to the larynx. No one like her today, with the exception of Millo maybe. That's it!

[CalifaJohn]

Sounds like her voice is starting to fry at 3:06 just before she throws the release of the note at 3:08 and ends up barking like a dog. So unfortunate in an otherwise, sublime, breathtaking, and magnificent performance.

[VivaMariaCallas]

For the most part, beautifully sung... I thought the B-flat was strong. The ending was a bit unfortunate (what on Earth happened at 3:08?). But, boy, does she look ticked off afterwards.

The acting leaves something to be desired.

[pedoni5]

This is very strange, Renata is in great voice on this october, 1961 Tokyo "Tosca", all the Cs on 2nd act are great, third act C is stunning.The only weak moment of the performance is "Vissi d'arte" very strange! this is the only one weak Tebaldi Vissi d'arte, because she is always perfect in all her so many Vissi d'arte, 51 Erede studio, '56 Met, '61 Stuttgart, etc '67 Philadelphia

[pedoni5]

Bflat is ok but a bit short and she has an accident in the down after the Bflat, it can be seen in her face, she is disgusted in the applause.From the same year, 1961, 4 months earlier in june '61 there is the Stuttgart "Tosca" opossite George London.Renata is in glorious voice in Stuttgart "Tosca", everything is perfection.For me Stuttgart "Tosca" is the best and the DVD sound is terrific

[pedoni5]

I am sorry VivaMariaCallas but I disagree completely about Renata acting, she is divine , elegant, refined Tosca in her both '61 complete filmed DVD Toscas '61 Stuttgart and '61 Tokyo.

I don't like Maria acting on '58 Paris Tosca 2nd act.A bit hysterical and not refined Tosca

[VivaMariaCallas]

I personally think that Maria's 1958 Paris Act 2 Tosca is most moving acting (even edging out the Covent Garden performance). The thing is, I don't view Tosca as a refined character at all- she is frightened, she's desperate, and not at all calm. Surrounded by all the commotion, she can barely think straightly, even believing that Scarpia will just let her go midway through the act.

[VivaMariaCallas]

I don't view Vissi d'arte as simply a quite prayer. Perhaps Tosca wanted it to be, but she says this prayer out loud, for Scarpia actually responds to it- it spins it for his own use (with Sei troppo bella, Tosca, e roppo

amante. Cedo. A misero prezzo tu....)

I find Maria's 1958 Vissi d'arte perfectly choreographed, with each motion both refined and meaningful. The singing is also most subtle, not at all hysterical in my opinion.

Can't agree with everything ;).

[CalifaJohn]

Yes. Overall very beautifully done, amazing in fact. Evidently something went horribly awry at 3:08. I think she threw the note to avoid some vocal problem that she was having. The problem is foreshadowed at 2:58 when she throws the release of another note. I think she was dealing with a momentary problem.

[CalifaJohn]

Interesting what you say about maximizing pressure. I have heard this in the voices of several of my favorite singers Tebaldi, Callas, Gwyneth Jones. I think they used technique that maximized their voices, but in the long-run gave them trouble. But their singing is satisfying to me in ways that others' is not. For having given us such peaks I forgive Callas her later wobble, and Gwyneth her later screetch. Tebaldi remains one of the best for me.

[carlo331]

Il Si bemolle e un po' aperto e leggermente calante, la smorzatura che segue non le riesce. In "diedi fiori agli altar" stona.

Non era decisamente in serata.

[marioj34]

aïeaïeaïeaïeaïeaïe the typical example of a vissi of arte missed and a soprano in evil the acute ones. Alarm

[hwlphwynn]

i keep thinking that technically her voice was the best ever, she was like a moarvellous instrument, much more refined that Callas'. Yet, her acting is terrible, by troday standards. She was a product of XIX cent. Opera. Callas restituted opera singing to the acting dimension, thus opening modern opera. this is all: the rest of the feud over the two is just silly nonsense

[saverioorlando]

The B flat is good,not exceptional,and the 2 following descending notes only ok.Totally great.Renata's best vissi belongs to Met 56 with Mitropoulos

[pedoni5]

It's true you can see how Renata shocks her head after the applause, she is angry because she had a little accident in the down after the Bflat.Not her best Vissi d'arte, but the complete performance is stunning, it was released now in great sound on DVD

[pedoni5]

I agree '56 Met Vissi d'arte is perfection but many others too, '61 Stuttgart Tosca opossite London is a perfect Tosca, released on DVD, '61 Sttutgart great Vissi d'arte, '59 Scala and '59 Voice of Firestone uploaded in this website are perfect Vissi d'arte too

[VivaMariaCallas]

Her 1953 Teatro Colon Vissi d'arte is a gem as well.

[BDSCalgary]

And as a closing thought, judging them by recordings and faded broadcasts is very bad, for neither voice was really captured as it was. Tebaldi's voice was too huge for the recording equipment, Callas' overly forward placement at times shrill or even hallow sounding.

[BDSCalgary]

I don't understand the fight over which was better. They really didn't sing each other's roles all that much. They each specialized in very different areas of music. And each one of them gave 150% all the time. I am just glad I was able to actually see and hear them.

[BDSCalgary]

I happened to love BOTH singers. They were so different. Both acted extremely well, but in a very different way (and NO, Callas was not all over the place; she used her movements with great insight and economy). Tebaldi could be dull at times, but so could Maria.

[BDSCalgary]

Callas' voice may have been huge in the beginning, but by the time of her weight loss it really diminished in size (as stated by Franco Zefferelli), when I heard her, it was not large at all, but was very exciting. And the sound was often extremely strident.

[BDSCalgary]

This is a beautiful rendition. I happen to have seen BOTH Callas and Tebaldi live. Neither were at the "height" of their careers then (Callas in her Paris Norma and her London Tosca; Tebaldi only in concerts in the US). Tebaldi's voice was much larger.

[artforlove1945]

POne of the greats of Opear .How many of you actually heard Callas in person?

[VivaTebaldi]

I heard Calllas in person in 1974 in Montreal, and she was a wreck - I heard Tebaldi in person in Montreal and New York in 1966 and she was great. I am sure in 1966 Callas's voice gone by then.

[panheat]

no the best role for her.

[gsperister]

Boring..not the voice for it.Look for Maria Callas she was the best,as we all know.

[Andante735]

Are you referring to yourself again? I'd thought you'd gone and died by now - oh well that's life.

[sicuro75]

For someone hear to say Callas voice isn't strong,especially in 1952 is obviously one of the funniest exagerated things mentioned,just bitter remorse towards the comments made about Tebaldi..LOL Have you seen her repertoir compare to tebaldi's and she sang these roles live not just in a studio. Her Lady macbeth is the most famous to date. LOL.

[jicontios]

Yea, Callas, Fiorilla's Il Turco in Italia, Gilda's Rigoletto, Lucìa, Elvira's Il Puritani, roles that suited for her, a soprano leggero.Let's aldo remember that most Callas atttempts were debits and farewells at the same time, Macebth, Nabucco only 3 perf, Gioconda only 8 perf, etc, etc, etc

[sweetaliena]

Yes Tebaldi have a powerful voice, very beautiful if you only listen to her but if you watch her perform the song with expression and emotion she's nul, sh'es nothing compare to Maria Callas. I better like Callas because the notes were fluid. Renata Tebaldi has to stop and breathe before she hit the high not, but Maria Callas done it simultaneously.

[michaud1]

Callas's voice was not very strong even in 1952 when she was quite heavy. Tebaldi has a stronger and more powerful voice. Sorry.

[PAZ0619]

As an observer , I feel that she understood the concept of economy of posture ( watch the film Medea, then comment). Also, Renata's sang Vissi d'arte brilliantly, but Maria sang as if she was TOSCA herself. Her decline was not contributed to bad technique, but factors such as early menopause in her mid thirties, weight loss after 54', as well as loss of confidence in her voice, as Tito Gobbi commented, this is backed up by the recorded clip of Callas shortly before her death.

[michaud1]

Tebaldi is fabulous - the voice, the personality.

Like fabirou says (La Tebaldi est La Tebaldi) a great voice,

[fabriou]

LA TEBALDI E' LA TEBALDI

[PAZ0619]

I beg the differ. Yes, in terms of tonal beauty Renata IS unmatched. But in terms of performance(emotion, stage presence), she was no where near to Maria Callas. In fact, at times I felt that she tried to make every note perfect that emotion is lost.I am not saying that Telbaldi is worse than Callas, but Callas was a total artist, because opera is basically music + a storyline. She had the technique, stage presence, and expression that Renata never had.

[topmeat69]

@PAZ0619 Americans critiquing an Italia art form, Amazing ! Well why not,we do have nothing to learn from the rest of the world, we do know it all.

[PAZ0619]

Unfortunately ur ad hominem sarcasm does not hold, because i am a Hong Konger currently living in the US. Try again son.

Just because Tebaldi is a legend doesnt mean she is flawless. Yes Callas is flawed in my opinion if u haven't noticed.

[michaud1]

What a beautiful voice. The greatest Tosca.

[mrrk]

I agree. tebaldi was the greatest ever.