Gwyneth Jones sings Lady Macbeth (vaimusic.com)

[leprincebeaumont]

Grandissima cantante e grandissima interprete!

[leprincebeaumont]

Bravissima, non c'è che dire!

[kgarmaker123]

Scoops and all, this is still good singing,, with wonderful tone.. and atmosphere... She feels like Lady MacBeth to me.. BRAVA

[NEBESHIKU]

Poor thing she can't sing it like Verdi wanted! Cero coloratura, cero chest voice, cero passion. She is a garish clown trying to sing an assoluta role.

[bear46no]

she does not sound like neither Callas nor Verrett or Sass. It sounds like she is skiing beetween the notes instead of singing them correctly

[MrStpendouslvforjo]

Incredible...and she's beautiful too!

[YoungGuitaristX7]

O___O uh...

[Rospaint]

If you do love opera you do love Gwyneth Jones

[Altonahh10]

@Rospaint Oh my, I could have said that :-)

[abbeliszt]

you either love Dame Gwyneth or you hate her. I will love her forever - there is no soprano like her.

[Ahdren]

This is some hideous screaming. She actually looks like she's shoving

[AmericanEvita]

Big voices can sound either good or "off" singing Lady Macbeth; it's a difficult part because Verdi wrote that the voice should be dramatic-lyric but "un po bruta" or "a little ugly". The voice calls for an evil bite, a nastiness and good chest voice and lower notes. Some sopranos like Rysanek & Nilsson have amazing high top register but no lower notes. Callas sang the best Lady M; as did Shirley Verrett & Grace Bumbry. Gwyneth has no lower notes; only solid high notes; and is't Verdian enough.

[kgarmaker123]

@AmericanEvita Rysanek's upper register is a myth... God listen to her Medea, she has to transpose whole arias and sections down a whole step.

[MelekBetul]

Wonderful.

[steve40004]

Shouldn't we just honor a great singer, who, as yanniblow said, is sounding great that this age.  Also, Verdi himself said that the voice for Lady Macbeth should never be too beautiful.

[henrifrombarcelona]

horrible

[divinetta]

Beg pardon? 'scooping'??? What's that supposed to mean? Is that one of those stupid terms like 'Passagio' which, I hasten to add, if you sing well shouldn't exist?! I think you mean portamenti, and I agree with Yaniblow. Who cares about technicalities in any case? The woman rocks!

[Hako2004]

Grand voices of such size and power are very rare indeed. I admire her very much, and the scooping is beside the point as far as I am concerned.

[youfeda]

portamenti portamenti

[KILLERADVICE]

Yes, a little late for this role but what a voice ! What a clever singer ! And what an actress !

[bigstrongboy1]

A fantastic performance - poised, flexible and grand in scale. Don't know if she ever did this on stage, but I am sure it would have been electrifying. Apart from all her other attributes, she is such a compelling actress. I want more of this and am so frustrated that the business doesn't bring forward and celebrate this class of singer any longer.

[yanniblow]

She is not up there for an opera contest. She does not care to compete. Why people can't get that? Who cares about technicalities when at this age she sings better and stronger and more correct than some in their 30's. Appreciate what you watch. No need for negative comments.

[Prickler32]

I only got to hear her once live and I will remember it the rest of my life. Loud as hell and VERY dramatic!

[CalifaJohn]

@Prickler32

Yes, the loudest voice I have ever heard. She sounded very different live than in a recording.

[clymnestre]

Gwyneth Jones is a great through the better Opera singer!

[operamusicfan]

Her low register seems very poor and weak.

[dollartwenty]

One thing I've always admierd about Dame Gwyneth's voice is its connection thoroughout the whole range. The voice is all of one piece without any disconnect between the registers. And she doesn't shriek; the sound may sometimes be harsh but never shrill.

[RobNYNY1957]

The scooping is distracting. But for a singer with a voice as huge as hers, she handles the coloratura passages amazingly well.

[beacoloratura]

The scooping is annoying, but this school of singing tells you to stretch rather than push. If you stretch very fast, it is fine, but if you take your time, it sounds like a scoop.

I love Gwyneth whatever she does. I will never forget hearing her Fidelio live, getting enveloped in sound larger than life... The rest of the cast sounded merely human and we were kind of embarrassed for them... She was the voice from heaven, not human at all. Overwhelming. Faults are forgiven at such moments.

[Altonahh10]

You're right. I've seen her many times. And the audience loved her. At the ending of Act 2 in Flying Dutchman she left Robert Hale breathless. And even though the music played on, the audience (including me) yelled and applauded as if there was no tomorrow. She really was the Welsh siren. And who cares about one note or the other she didn't hit correctly.

[Altonahh10]

@beacoloratura I absolutely agree. I remember her performances which belong to those I will always treasure. Once in Berlin her Senta made the adience applaud through the end of act 2 even though the music went on. We all know about her little troubles with intonation, lisp and whatever. I miss her deeply and haven`t found a "replacement" yet.

[Hako2004]

Brava Jones.  Instruments like these are too rare.

[pirocagrande]

Yeah,...I know what you mean....but her voice is not the type of voice really good for Lady Macbeth, which requires an edgy sound, clear attack, runs and nooo SCOOPING! Her voice is worn out by so much screaming in Wagner, she lacks that Bel-Canto approach to this role...But I do love her old recordings of MEDEA!! Sensational!

[raywong]

But then, Verdi required a rather ugly sound and a more strident approach in this role. Jones is able to fulfill it. In fact, her tone is, in my view, a bit too beautiful for this role!

[iskenderuna]

It's not really the voice that disturbs. It is the mannerisms! She was however always very exciting live and on stage - and cords of steel. One could not but admire her stamina.