Ileana COTRUBAS sings "E strano...Sempre libera"

[Erik83474]

The only & one Violetta...

[MrSwifts31]

The E Flat is not in Verdi's score.

It was interpolated by Nellie Melba and has been used ever since by many Sopranos.

If the Soprano does not sing the E Flat(uneducated) audiences think she just cannot sing it.

It is their musical ignorance that is at fault not the Soprano.

BTW I have seen Cotrubas on several occasions sing Violetta(and Mimi) and she is the best I have ever heard.

[jotahuene]

Don't forget Verdi didn't write any spectacularly high notes. Not even in Di queslla lpira

[tzuchi]

She's simply wonderful!

[andreea94a]

Her voice is so pure.Wonderful.

[suzanneetmoi]

Brava!! Just lovely!

[pharisis]

fara comentar

[Lactoris1]

There is a very fine video of Ileana COTRUBAS in Rossini's GAZZA LADRA.

I wonder if someone could put it on "You Tube"? There is more great music in Gazza Ladra than just the well-known overture - and the action is dramatic - seemingly headed for tragedy and then pulled out to a happy ending. It was based on a real-life tragedy in France, where a young women was executed, and then the necklace turned up high on a statue where the "Thieving Magpie" took it -but Rossini makes a happy ending

[rrgallo]

This traviata was one of the very first opera videos I were saw..Too bad it's never been released commercially...

[emergency47]

don't forget Mariana Nicolescu et Eugenia Moldoveanu, romanians too

[ionutz1791]

yes,and are alot of soprana mezzo bariton and tenors witch are romanians and thei sing at Scala Covent Garden and at another big scenes of world

[ionutz1791]

Ileana Cotrubas,Angela Ghiorghiu & Virginia Zeani...the soprano witch make knew the roumainian canto school.BRAVO...and please post more videos like this.

[LMBS7]

Very well done!!!. SUPERB.

Excellent actress, beautiful voice.

It is only missing the E b.

[mabemawi]

Many years ago, this woman, in this part, converted me to opera. What else is there to say? Thank you for posting!

[khothye]

How can I say! I agree with all the comments. What a tecnique and domain! she doesn't show any effort; a great singer and actress. I like very much her clair sound and vibrato. There are many few real full lyric sopranos. One of the best gifts to the story of the opera.

[RobNYNY1957]

She sings the trills quite well in other performances. I wonder why she leaves them out here.

[polishCprincess]

Wonderful to see this posted on here! Saw it on PBS at age 15 and went on to study voice and opera singing just because of this one performance. Blew me away and became my teenage romantic dream. We had it on VHS for many years and unfortunately the tape degraded over time. Would love it if they would remaster this Met performance and release it on DVD. Thanks for posting it!

[Vsevolod14]

Wonderful indeed! It was her DG recording that had me falling in love with this opera (and her!). And when she returned to Covent Garden in '85 I queued for hours to get a ticket. i was a student (art) and it cost a fortune. But it was worth every penny - she was superb.

Interesting how many Rumanian's conquer this role: Gheorghiu, Miricioiu, Zeani etc.

Cotrubas has such a human frailty, such sincerity, such warmth

[moghedien13]

If anyone has heard her entire performance of this role, she goes to show you dont have to sing like your dying to portray a sick woman.

[urherman]

she and Sayao are great in this role--Check out Sayao from the early 40s in live performance from met on youtube.

[lindsaydenman]

She is the best Violetta and Mimi of all time. Hands down. Heartbreaking. Her Act III "money" scene of this Traviata is stupefying. Watch her say "Taci..." OMG! : (

[fringelily]

Don't forget her Antonia in "The Tales of Hoffmann" ... also the best presentation of the role.

She is a great Violetta, but a great many sopranos have shone in this great role ...some of them very different from each other ...apart from Cortubas, I also love, for different reasons, Callas, Sutherland, Stratas and Netrebko.

[Gibraninsky1]

you are right!!!!! she is my favorite one, not olny because of technique or her timbre , she was a really actress. Another divas like Freni, Sutherland, Norman, Fleming, Caballe, etc.. sang like a gaddes but Cotrubas is the only that make me cry jejeje

[snozzefactor]

I love her in this part ... absolutely heart-wrenching.

[jhvorotin]

the ressemblance is striking between Cotrubas and Gheorghiou, both Roumanian, similar technique and attitude.

[jhvorotin]

WOW! I know she's amazing but it's always striking!

[POTFFREAK4LIFE]

I saw her debut at the Met as Mimi.

She was perfect,beautiful voice.

[39Flood]

To hear the great Ms Cotrubas sing the high E flat in an arm-numbing, hair-raising rendition of Sempre Libera, check out the fabulous recording from 1972 with Kleiber conducting...WOW!!!!

[BrunoLien]

@39Flood It dosn't matter at all whether she sings or not any E flat at the end, as in her recording. What matters is that she is wonderful and distressing.

[39Flood]

To hear the great Ms Cotrubas sing the high E flat in an arm-numbing, hair-raising rendition of Sempre Libera, check out the fabulous recording from 1972 with Kleiber conducting...WOW!!!!

[pughhollinger]

I agree with allegra55 and Prissie27.

A great voice like this one deserves better sound quality. On the other hand, better this than nothing. She is the best I have heard.

[allegra55]

Wunderschön! Kristallklar, sauber und sicher! Herrlich! Danke Ileana für diese unvergesslichen Momente!

[Prissie27]

the sound quality is not the best in this video, but it doesn't matter really. :-)Ileana is the best!

[Cinderella181]

The powerful purity and brilliance of her upper register is incredible! I am truly disappointed that there was no high E flat. Not written in the score, but always a crowd pleaser when included and done well.

[KatherineXIX]

While I love the E flat, I think it's admirable to do it as written as well.

[Fiddler0nTheRoof]

the best Violetta..