Susan Graham - "Parto, parto" - Volpe Gala '06

[19operajon]

I love the trill at 2:27! LOVE LOVE LOVE TRILLS!!!!

[MichelleKoebke]

The moment between 4:14 and 4:18 is brilliant, what a singing actress. Amazing talent. Love her!

[zeroOtwo]

great breath control, and phrasing. Excellent singer!

[prince2000ful]

During the 1900 we had none better mezzo than Teresa Berganza.!But I agree, Susana Graham is good , really good. Now also Joyce Di Donato and Cecilia Bartoli, all work with the same kind of music. Susan is really powerful. 

[demaree30]

I'd like to hear a 22 yr old sound like that...

[mariasarda]

Quel timbre ambré !!!!! Superbe de densité, cette voix est gorgée de miel liquide, c'est un régal qui met en santé les oreille et masse le coeur.

[jewelegg]

Great, but my personal favourite is still Teresa Berganza.

[buxter]

Anthony McGill.... WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?????

[vnessie1]

@buxter He played one of the most difficult pieces Mozart ever wrote in the clarinet repetoire brilliantly...that's all.

[TheFra091]

Very good Anthony McGill

[cantanteporsiempre]

Great!! so musical

[GundulaBraum]

Susan Grahams singing is so beautiful with heart and soul. She is one of the best mezzos I ever heard and a great idol from me.

[horseyak]

She's the best mezzo out there. I can't wait to see her in Xerses in Houston.

[rhonesilva]

@horseyak saw her, and she was brilliant, and it was just a dress rehearsal!

[BravoLucero]

I was at this amazing Gala. I remember Susan singing this aria.

[BravoLucero]

I was at this gala. It was amazing. I remember susan singing this aria.

[sagagossard]

actually i think that she is in fact a liryc

[CountertenorJ]

I have always thought that she is a soprano. Her impeccable ability to sustain high tessitura and sing very high and very softly coupled with her very hesitant usage of chest voice lead me to believe this.

[radubradu]

who are the people standing in the back?

[llamaboy9000]

anthony mcgill's tone is impecable! he makes me want to switch to a leblanc legacy! lol

[carusoclarinet]

he was playing on a selmer then.

[oohrenee]

Is this really the best Mozart mezzo we have to offer?

[opmaus]

Is this really a serious question? Susan Graham is one of the best mezzos out there today, period.

[VforVespa]

@opmaus What??? She doesn't have power, I mean I've heard students of 22 years old singing like that! :P

[opmaus]

@VforVespa She's a lyric mezzo - she doesn't have a voice that just pins you to the wall with sound, but it is a beautiful instrument that carries, and she knows how to use it. On the same token, if she can be heard clearly in the house at the Met (4000ish seats), there is definitely some power there, whether or not it matches your idea of what a "powerful mezzo" should sound like.

[opmaus]

@VforVespa Have you ever leard her live? She's definitely got power, my friend. She's nothing to scoff at - and no 22 year old sounds like that. Sorry.

[xPremavix]

AWESOME!!! love McGill!!! I'm really glad we had band homework or else I never would have figured out his name!!!!! XD

[ARReith]

Wonderful! I got to meet her in December! Awesome lady!

[operafan1975]

Amazing!

[googlefoshmoogle]

McGill is stunning.

[mcramer224]

Anthony McGill's playing is brilliant...as always!

[nclysander]

Along with her Dorabella and Iphegenie (there seems to be something else I'm missing...), this may be my favorite thing that Ms. Graham has ever done; I certainly don't recall liking her earlier version of this nearly as well. She just gets better and better, I think.

[nclysander]

I posted too soon. It's still great, but not perfect. I don't think the coloratura at the end is all that could be desired.

[jmahlon]

Eccodandi, I agree in Mozart's day she would have been considered a lower soprano ideal for roles such as Sesto, Cherubino, Idamante, ect...oh wait we consider those Mezzo roles today...oh wait that wait Ms. Graham sings. Today the tendency is to over-darken in like every voice class, thank God she doesnt.

[whotrulybelongshere]

My vocal director says that she's an alto.

Isn't a "lower soprano" just considered an honorary alto or 2nd alto?

(...not trying to be rude at all; just wondering.)

[jmahlon]

She actually refers to herself as a High Mezzo-Soprano. Her roles reflect that, Cherubino, Dido, and the Composer from Ariadne to name just a couple. Your director is confused, or uneducated.

[ishawhittaker]

yeah, susan graham is definitely NOT a contralto.... "alto" doesn't really exist as a voice type. we say "alto" in choir to refer to the group of lower singing females, but that's just another one of those adaptions.... singing terms/definitions have changed so much and choral and solo terms occasionally evolve separately. that and a lot of choral directors don't have to take pedagogy to graduate with their teaching degrees.... bad universities!

[baritonebynight]

Alto is not an operatic term, it is used only in choral singing. She is an operatic mezzo soprano. If she sang in a choir she would probably sing either second soprano or first alto. Most operatic singers do not sing in choirs as they try not to manipuate their sound to "blend" with other singers.

[olympicfreak678]

actually, ms. Graham sang as a soprano in her choir. (Granted, it was in high school)

[baritonebynight]

@olympicfreak678 Interesting, I didn't know that. High School choral directors who know their stuff can have quite an influence on finding great talent.

[oakroom48]

Fabulous!! Thanks!

[22and5]

This is fantastic! Thanks so much for posting.

[eccodandini]

soprano

[WaltersQuincy]

I hope to join the Metropolitan Opera as a trumpeter someday.