Regnava nel silenzio - Lucia Contest 2 - Ruth Ann Swenson

[MrAndredekock]

She has a beautiful instrument despite going sharp on her top notes, but I always compare any soprano singing Lucia with Ms Sills, who is for me the benchmark of all Lucias and Ms Swenson doesn't quite measure up.

[bodiloto]

Bellissima donna,voce bella ma questo gusto "moderno" di cantare tutto sulle consonanti,ma questa moda mi distrigge,che pecato.

Ma ragazzi questo é belcanto,non é belparlando!

Poi l'orchestra é pesante,da 4:05 -5:02 sembra una marcia militare...

[windstorm1000]

I cannot get enough of her beautiful voice--its like something from heaven. The most beautiful voice I have ever heard in opera. And she looks like a genuinely nice person as well. Nice to see opera in the park in San Fran.

[windstorm1000]

I've run out of superlatives with Ms. Swenson.  She is one of the best sopranos of all time. Love her tone, diction, interpretation. The richness--and yet clarity of her voice. Can't even explain it!! Well, you know.

[GreenGoddessofGaia]

Young sopranos can learn from this diva. See how she sticks out her tongue on her high notes? Perfect.

[Eiswirth1]

Any recording of this aria by Sutherland from '59-'75 will always be my top choice, but I must say I absolutely love her version here. She's in top form and delivers a beautiful rendition of a great aria.

[skitzo429]

the intonation is better than usual for her

[matteobs86]

Grande artista!!! Sempre sottovalutata in Europa!!!!

[Maggielicious21]

WOW!!!

[1019q]

I want to hear her Lucia live one more time , please.

RAS is my best Lucia.

[Drelnis]

Swenson is the best late 80s to early 90s everything :D

[supervia]

For the record, this is the San Francisco Opera's annual Opera in the Park, which used to be held at the Band Shell (as you can see in this video), probably late 80s. I think someone else may have said 1989. She rocks!

[dolcefico]

Beautiful singing, great technique, and with great charm!!!!

[Winnjn5]

I wanna be her when I grow up. Wow.... and this was from WHEN????

[phirze]

c'est magnifique !!! bravo

[tararep]

wow, what solid technique!

[SVENSKSOPRAN]

What a beautiful voice! Lots of charm too...How could you or me judge her intelligence? Absurd! Perhaps, with this talent and beauty she never needed to suffer much?

[sonnet43]

She's flat too often for me.

[Gigglingatagas]

Although I'm usually a strictly kunst-diva kinda guy, I do love the occasional foray into pure, luxurious, velvety singing - like this. Swenson ALWAYS impresses me with the consistency of tone, the gorgeous spin in the sound, and flawless coloratura.

P.S. I love the clarinet players.

[Davidoff1Gustav]

the only thing that ever bothers me about her technique is coloring her vowels  otherwise she is open like Freni was

[IMthinkingGoAway]

I think she's wonderful and has great technique and tone. I like this a lot.

[agnellodei]

Great voice, only thing that distracted me slightly were the big gasps.

[tetrazzini]

She's not a clever woman...So the singing is boring, but the voice is beatifull

[dinacarina88]

Im sorry to say but this is BORING>

[z2me]

FANTASTIc diva soooooooo under rated wake up american officinatos shes it rena

[garconfrancais01]

i saw a banner saying something about paris..is this in paris?

[operajk]

She is very nice and good technique.

4.5/4.5

[sottoipini]

Bland. 4/2

[dinodfw]

4 - 4

[Orfeus80]

A bit more contrast between the cavatina and cabaletta would be good but overall she's excellent. 5/4

[olgamarga]

Primera visita y siento qué:técnicamente es 5/5,pero Lucía llega en 3/3.

Gracias.

[operamusicbuff]

odd diction...merges consonants into vowels or vice versa, bland coloration, little sense of drama...very pretty..

[riccardo699]

Very odd diction indeed. Here, at least she is in tune (most of the times). I've heard her often and she has the tendency to sing very flat, especially on the ee or eh vowels.

[meltzerboy]

The voice is warm and limpid, the technique admirable (legato, staccati, scales, trills all in place), the characterization moving. Swenson is at her best here! 5/5

[metinalican]

Would have liked to see her live 15-20 years ago... this is good 4/4

[rwolfman1265]

Lovely lovely lovely 5/5

[robbyjarrett]

good for her 4.5/4

[songbirdwatcher]

Ah, the voice is so pearly, so smooth, so even, so perfectly balanced from the crisp bottom notes to the radiant top notes. Yet it really is the warm middle voice that you just want to bathe in. She is such a lovely, graceful performer! To me this is a home run: 5/5

[Funny choice of aria for an outdoor summer concert series!]

[iosonmedea]

Good job! 4/4

[magicflute3]

Lovely and accurate, not too dramatic 4/4

[BeauTenor]

Good God how fabulous is THIS...Swenson has always had one of the most beuatiful voices around, and she's got technique to burn. Granted, she's not an actress like Sills or Callas (who is?), but the singing MORE than makes up for it. Absolutely amazing. 5/5

[nickbigd]

4/4

[sevoflurane]

The facile remarks of the commentator are rather amusing! This is very good. Sometimes the breaths are quite intrusive. Diction is excellent, with unusual variations in the da capo. 4.5/4

[sschimel]

I posted my first response to this before she even started the cabaletta. OMG, she's gorgeous. It's just about as perfect as I've ever heard. And she has a real trill! She even gives good "face".

[sschimel]

I remember when her first album came out. It was called Positively Golden. I thought she was talented but found her a little breathy. She has developed into a fabulous artist. She always gets raves here in NYC at the Met. I love her slightly darker voice, which I find more plangent. This is gorgeous. (I just checked the date on this. I can't believe she's been around for that long!)

[ck8289]

4.5/5

[hotazzoperastud]

My god, how many wonderful Lucia's are going to be in this contest! Swenson is a dream come true in this role vocally! Dramatically I think she is just short of the best. My god this is a beautiful performance. 5/4.5

[curiequ]

4.5/4

[tinyvoicedgheorghiu]

Great and steady low notes, so essential for the aria. Crisp diction. Trills. 4/5.

[patjan92]

4/3