Anna Stephany - Dopo notte - Handel - Ariodante

[ballbasher100]

these competitions in my opinion are a vehicle for mediocrity.

[ballbasher100]

ooh, early music forum, hit a nerve.

[ballbasher100]

I am sorry, but to say that she is singing Handle with the wrong technique is rubbish. There is only one way to sing opera and that is with true appoggio. She has none. There is no chest connection which is why we have a passionless performance with vocal gymnastics meaning nothing. Handle seems to have been completely hijacked by the english school. Namely the Cambridge Mafia resulting in these meaningless contrived performances. Sad

[ballbasher100]

hhhh

[McHammerMeal]

How in the world did this get 4 dislikes?

[BaroqueJazzPlays]

Well I’m not going to be popular here... but here goes.... She has a wonderful voice and obviously from the classical arias she had performed for this comp, she has mastered the 19th/20th century techniques she uses. But this isn’t a classical operatic aria, it’s a Handel’s baroque aria and written at a time using different techniques. Remove the authentic vocal technique and you remove the meaning to the aria... her performance of the aria is not the way Handel intended to be performed...

[dimrous1960]

@BaroqueJazzPlays I totally agree, even though she sings great .

[BaroqueJazzPlays]

@dimrous1960 Well, no doubt some will see it as a “couch-potato music critic” writing negative things, but it’s what I hear and feel… I have a clip of Plácido Domingo singing ‘Ciel e terra armi di sdegno’ and the same applies to him… using the wrong techniques for a baroque opera performance…

[TheseusTex]

@BaroqueJazzPlays You're right. Not popular with me--this comment. What is the purpose of technique? To allow one to sing the music. When she sings we hear all the notes very clearly. We hear musical shape and phrasing. It is a beautiful timbre, in that it is not shrill or overly bright. We can understand the text. I love it.

[TheseusTex]

@BaroqueJazzPlays furthermore: I would guess that Handel would LOVE it. Just because it isn't straight tone, or because it's more full voiced, or because her ornaments are more creative and expressive than they were in the 70's doesn't disqualify this as "not the way Handel intended..." Besides Handel was always changing his music depending on the situation. He never had ONE way he intended it to be done. He was practical and open to all kinds of things.

[djhooten]

She's a mezzo-soprano not a soprano.

[dschuetz11]

I can't believe anyone would dislike this.

It's absolutely beautiful and exquisite singing.

Brava Diva, and Bravi Tutti!

[davidrrothwell]

Thumbs up

[CoroLuigiGazzotti]

brava brava bravissima!!!!!! Straordinaria

[TheFireHorseUK]

Help! Has anyone got a HD video clip of Magdalena Kozena singing with the Venice Baroque Orchestra the aria "Dopo notte atra e funesta" from Ariodante -- I have searched the internet high and low for this and can't find it. Thanks..

[lipera]

She should have won this contest!! Wonderful! Bella voce!!

[rix657]

Beautiful voice, beautifully sung.

[MrAndrew1907]

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed.

[lipera]

why didn't she win this competition, she was waaaaaaaaaay better than Ekaterina!!!! OMG, these judges are crap!!!

[maccwosser]

Ann Murray looks like a bitch at 2.09. Is she on?

[maccwosser]

Ann Murray looks like abitch at 2.09. Is she one?

[maccwosser]

Ann Murray looks like a bitch at 2.09 is she one?

[ombraninja]

She has a good italian and a good mezzosoprano voice. I liked it!

[rumezzo]

I think what I like best about this is that she is singing something incredibly difficult, but she still remains pleasant to watch. Sometimes I see singers perform this aria and they're doing such odd things with their faces and bodies I have a hard time watching. Brava!

[Gobbi2007]

I hadn't heard of her before. I can't believe all of these couch-potato music critics writing negative things about her. Yes, she's singing with a modern technique, the sound of the orchestra is relatively thick, and she opts for glissandi instead of staccati in some passages, but that is her choice (and the conductor's). Despite Ann Murra'y face of boredom @ 2:09, I think this singer is very, very good. Look at her. Listen to her. Fantastic.

[CountertenorJ]

@Gobbi2007 Castrati were notorious for using glissandi and slides.  Some scooping and coupling of notes were parts of technique as well.

[flaze3]

@Gobbi2007 Ann Murray is clearly an old crow stuck up her own ass. I hate judges who aren't prepared to accept true talent like this when it doesn't conform to their own narrow expectations.

[Loismustdie26]

Wow, after the da capo she totally reinvents the aria. That's very impressive. good on you.

[idaspe]

Is there Ann Murray in 9:10???

[idaspe]

@idaspe in 2:10, sorry...

[citizenross]

yes, I think she was a judge that day.

[Loismustdie26]

What's the context for this performance? is it a competition?

[citizenross]

I think it's one of the rounds from BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.

[dannymaestro]

The orchestra sounds almost exactly as the Lausanne chamber orchestra while it´s playing this aria with Jennifer Larmore. Very similiar sound, but the Lausanne orchestra has better thrills.

[wironalga]

I'm italian and I can tell all of you that this is a very accurate performance, her diction being so well delivered. Brava Anna!

[GabrielaJanine]

I quite like it. I don't like her pianos and the way she hits the higher notes though. Would love to her more from her...

[TheSueprano]

really terrific classy effortless singing from a consummate artist!

[BeniaminoGigli1985]

What happens to her tongue?

Even the "Famous" OperaStars have the same problems,now they are paying more attention on acting than singiing.

[flaze3]

This soprano sings this aria beautifully and she gets youtube criticism shat all over her. Just goes to show how people get obsessed with trivialities and forget that classical music should quintessentially be a thing of beauty and elegance--exactly what this performance delivered.

[mtenor]

she is a mezzo not a soprano

[flaze3]

right.

[musoph21]

@flaze3 i think she's a mezzo

[flaze3]

Ok, well whatever fach she is, she sung well :p

[CountertenorJ]

@flaze3 I disagree that classical music should quintessentially be a thing of beauty and elegance. If a song has an ugly context in words, I expect an ugly sound from the singer that matches. I however believe that far too many people don't give enough people credit for forging their own interpretations of a work. They constantly berate someone for not being exactly like their idol. I think Ms. Stephany does a wonderful job here. She wouldn't be a Cardiff singer otherwise.

[flaze3]

@CountertenorJ If a song has an ugly context it is the singer's job to convey that ugliness while still singing 'beautifully'. That is the great art of opera. Take for instance the famous Queen of the Night aria--the content is hardly beautiful, but the music is, and should be.

[CountertenorJ]

@flaze3 I think we are merely arguing semantics. Where you use the word beautiful, I would like to think "artistic and masterful."

[flaze3]

@CountertenorJ What I meant is that I don't like performances where opera singers over-act at the expense of the music, making it screechy, grunty or just unmusical. Opera is foremost singing, and acting should enhance, not upset, the production of sound.

[CountertenorJ]

@flaze3 Well, then we are at a disagreement.  I want the voice to express the words accurately and the acting to set the mood. If I just want to hear pretty sound, I'll listen to a 'cello.

[flaze3]

@CountertenorJ or you could just go and watch Gilbert and Sullivan :p

[TheFireHorseUK]

@flaze3 ‘If a song has an ugly context it is the singer's job to convey that ugliness while still singing 'beautifully'. ‘

Totally agree with you there. If there is pain or joy then the singer needs to show it, not just smile...

‘Ann Murray is clearly an old crow stuck up her own ass’

Totally DISagree with you there, Ann Murray is a judge because she was a fantastic mezzo-soprano, she knows what the singer should be revealing in the aria. Anna Stephany is a good but lacking here.

[flaze3]

@TheFireHorseUK Just because someone's a good singer, it doesn't make them a good judge. People should be open to different interpretations, whereas Muray obviously only wanted one that she would have done. That's not good judging.

[TheFireHorseUK]

@flaze3 Different interpretations of opera is fine – I really enjoyed Claus Guth’s Messiah even though it was slated by the traditionalists. The thing there was he didn’t substitute the feeling behind the arias, you still feel it. Anna Stephany’s try wasn’t an interpretation of the aria, it just wasn’t done with the correct feeling or meaning behind it. You lose the aria if it’s not done correctly. May as well say Barbara Streisand could do it if you wish to remove the meaning behind an aria.

[SDCmorg]

@CountertenorJ Well said indeed!

[sfkcbf]

Those persons who enjoy vocal music & have made a careful study of the Baroque era are well aware that vocal music of that genre absolutely required a pure, focused voice. Singing style changed, e.g., in the 20th century; & audiences adpapted to the difference and accepted it. Most singers for some time now, e.g., most woman, have a looser style with heavier vibrato & much less focused technique, often sliding to notes and scooping to high notes. Some exceptions are Kiehr, Kirkby, and Janowitz.

[sfkcbf]

The video posted on YouTube with a voice and performance that is somewhat closer to the orginally intended sound is the one by Susan Graham. She has a somewhat tighter vibrato, does not indulge so much in loose technique, and even has a touch of male timbre. In addition from beginning to end, there is a musical integrity that sometimes is missing with other performers. She is no Farinelli, but her performance is more satisfying to the trained ear.

[sfkcbf]

The usual performance of a Baroque aria in a 20th-century singing style, sure to please many even if not as the composer intended.

[rayangreene]

You don't seem to be sold. What is it you find too 20th century in that rendition ?

[chocolatefrogbrain]

I really like this performance a lot and believe it to be adequately 'historically informed' given that it is being performed some 250+ years after it was written.

Can you be more specific about why you feel Anna Stephany's performance is in a 20th century singing style? I'm interested to hear your opinion, as I too, enjoy listening to Baroque vocal music.

[GoBogi]

It's not a matter of her not having good technique, cause she has VERY good technique. The technique is just out of era in these types of pieces.

The vibrato, the coloratura technique, the trills (and lack thereof in several places where they are called for - scores are wonderful, aren't they?), and even the placement of the voice in some areas (although it's nice to hear her chest go up so high, Castratos had a head voice and did use them for high notes... up to F6 for Velluti/Farinelli etc

[GoBogi]

It also changes the colors of the vocals massively, and thus the music is percieved differently. On top of that, it robs the piece of some virtuosity.

She sings the easy version with a very 20th century technique, but she does so masterfully. That is nothing to frown on, or bash her about. That being said, it sounds worse with a modern technique cause the music was written for singers with different voices and different methods of producing sounds/breath control, among other things.

[monhibou1]

Beautiful singing with great style and poise. Love it!!!!