Most cant manage this note - the soprano jumps from middle voice into a very top note without the least preparation (no scale no previous ascending notes) And it has to be done in full voice even if sung pianisimo - this is a nightmare. Thais' Db6 at the end of the Air of the Mirror is same but usually lighter voices sing Thais so...
there is an earlier recording of her Quanto Cielo posted by Onegin where she blasts this most difficult Db6 with even more power and glory. Nevertheless this is gorgeous as well :)
I was there that night. After she finished this orchestra and everybody else had to just WAIT. That's what you do when Price sings. You wait, you reflect, and you learn. You learn about being a better singer, and about being a better person. She is an angel sent from heaven.
Probably the best live Db I've heard in this aria, though my favorite is still Steber's 1949 studio recording. Most sopranos perform this role too subtlety including the Db (if they do it), which thankfully isn't the case here.
<<<<A Leontyne Price fanatic, and I have heard possibly everything she ever recorded, but I still remember the first time I heard her sing this in the 1980s and I was blown away by that high note. That fast vibrato is just extraordinary!
@LohengrinT I stated that incorrectly. She possibly did have the high D-flat, certainly she still had that silvery high C, as evidenced in many of her 1980s recitals, but I meant to say it was in the 1980s when I first heard her recording of Butterfly with Richard Tucker, and although I had heard her sing 100s of others songs/arias, I was completely blown away all over again. The Price Magic!
I think she had an E flat too (Eb6) but you see "having a note" is a very strange thing. You have the note where exactly? In the rehearsal room? in the studio? on the stage? and as what? as a fast staccato scale? as a gliding scale? and what precedes the tone? a little scale? or is it a sudden "jump and land" on pitch with the previous tones lying in the middle of the voice and being projected with full volume (the most difficult of all and what Cio Cio San must do)
@LohengrinT You´re right on what you´re saying. Im talking when at the end of her career, when she sang Forza and Aïda. I was referring to that. But anyway, maybe she did have a C sharp. I wouldn´t be surprise if she did. That C sharp at the end of the first aria is definitely a killer... but she sang it great. What a singer!
Folks, may I offer my 30 cents of comment. I always hold Price on a high regard, definitely superior to many of her comtemparies: Scotto, Caballe, Freni..... But , the concluding Db6 is not as great as you folks trumpet to be: she rushes to it and the note itself sounds detached as if it has got nothing to do with what has gone before. Puccini wants Cio cio san's entrance and the concluding high note to sound soft and dreamy, as Callas've aptly demonstrates. OK . I know I am a little nit-picky.
you explain all the reasons why this is one of the most difficult notes in any aria to be sung. Very few Butterflies sing this exactly for the reasons u mention. For me even the ability to sustain this tone in this aria is fantastic
Callas surely did demonstrate it in the studio, but did she also do it "live" and, if yes, did she do it consistently over a span of 13 years as Miss Price did?
-Span of years means absolutely nothing to me. There are 12 000 vocal tricks and repertoire choices that allow a singer to sing "forever" that 99% of long lasting singers used in order to maintain their vocal health.
-Alas, her live Chicago Butterfly has not been recorded as it would have been truly interesting to hear early Callas sing this killer note Live.
-Price's 1962 live Quanto cielo just emerged and her Db6 there is quite equal to Callas'
"basie8", the master of this channel, "LohergrinT", essentially express what I want to say to you. I might even add that even the latter day Callas could still muster long sequence of airy, dreamy, lightweight singing capped with pianissimo high D and E. Go check out her live recordings and you'd be amazed at the greatness of the La Divina.
@mannail888 Yes dear but who of her comrades at the same age Price was at that point of her career could still sing this role and the Db???? Let's play drop the needle and see who would win !! Like we don't already know Price wins hands down!!!!1
I am not a Price expert... I am sure this is not her best live reading of this gorgeous aria nevertheless I find her outstanding here. The year is 1973 - singing this Db6 live is an ENORMOUS VOCAL TASK. I wish I had earlier (mid-60s) live recordings of her Butterfly
@LohengrinT We ALL wish we had those recordings, her early 60s Butterly recording makes me ache for hearing what she did live with the role. But this in 1973 is still absolutely perfect.
I heard Ms Price three times, live, and I thought her voice sounded like a sizeable, lirico spinto.. as she aged she moved into the dramatic territory ... She also did the D flat at the conclusion of the Trovatore aria(the second one). This is also not done much. She had the notes..
Voices that are not easily categorized are the most interesting. She was definitely Lyrical from a timbre point of view but the use of the voice, the well supported low register, the loud top notes were characteristic of the Soprano Dramatico. An incredible voice overall, in her best day she was one of the Greatest who ever lived - although she had said that in her best day she was never in the theatre singing ahahah
Indeed she also sang the Db6 in D amor sull alli.
It's partly the way it's approached that makes it so scary for so many.......and rightly so. Best to not do it if you can't manage it.
MuscleDaddyCMH 2 days ago
@MuscleDaddyCMH
Most cant manage this note - the soprano jumps from middle voice into a very top note without the least preparation (no scale no previous ascending notes) And it has to be done in full voice even if sung pianisimo - this is a nightmare. Thais' Db6 at the end of the Air of the Mirror is same but usually lighter voices sing Thais so...
LohengrinT 2 days ago
My favorite opera scene...
ewaevaluna 4 months ago
Exquisite.
Chimier 8 months ago
@Chimier
there is an earlier recording of her Quanto Cielo posted by Onegin where she blasts this most difficult Db6 with even more power and glory. Nevertheless this is gorgeous as well :)
Leontyne was incredible
LohengrinT 8 months ago
@LohengrinT LOL I'm on that video right how haha.
Absolutely. Just a lush, gorgeous instrument being played by a virtuoso.
Chimier 8 months ago
Stunning!..
Crwthy 10 months ago
I was there that night. After she finished this orchestra and everybody else had to just WAIT. That's what you do when Price sings. You wait, you reflect, and you learn. You learn about being a better singer, and about being a better person. She is an angel sent from heaven.
higharch 10 months ago 4
Great. I know of no spinto soprano effortlessly up to this high notes
DiverdiMusic 11 months ago
@DiverdiMusic
indeed her voice was extremely talented as well as the support of her sound
LohengrinT 11 months ago
Probably the best live Db I've heard in this aria, though my favorite is still Steber's 1949 studio recording. Most sopranos perform this role too subtlety including the Db (if they do it), which thankfully isn't the case here.
VinylToVideo 11 months ago
<<<<A Leontyne Price fanatic, and I have heard possibly everything she ever recorded, but I still remember the first time I heard her sing this in the 1980s and I was blown away by that high note. That fast vibrato is just extraordinary!
htshoward 1 year ago
@htshoward
she still a had a high Db6 in the 80s? wow I wasnt aware she kept her Db6 that long
LohengrinT 1 year ago
@LohengrinT I stated that incorrectly. She possibly did have the high D-flat, certainly she still had that silvery high C, as evidenced in many of her 1980s recitals, but I meant to say it was in the 1980s when I first heard her recording of Butterfly with Richard Tucker, and although I had heard her sing 100s of others songs/arias, I was completely blown away all over again. The Price Magic!
htshoward 1 year ago
@LohengrinT She had a very, extremely easy high C and the end, which she could sing pianissimo. Im wouldn´t be surprise if she had a D. :)
ezayi 1 year ago
@ezayi
I think she had an E flat too (Eb6) but you see "having a note" is a very strange thing. You have the note where exactly? In the rehearsal room? in the studio? on the stage? and as what? as a fast staccato scale? as a gliding scale? and what precedes the tone? a little scale? or is it a sudden "jump and land" on pitch with the previous tones lying in the middle of the voice and being projected with full volume (the most difficult of all and what Cio Cio San must do)
LohengrinT 1 year ago
@LohengrinT You´re right on what you´re saying. Im talking when at the end of her career, when she sang Forza and Aïda. I was referring to that. But anyway, maybe she did have a C sharp. I wouldn´t be surprise if she did. That C sharp at the end of the first aria is definitely a killer... but she sang it great. What a singer!
ezayi 1 year ago
@LohengrinT She had a sustained E6 in the end of Caro Nome
mbaggarly 1 year ago
@mbaggarly
after 1980?
LohengrinT 1 year ago
@LohengrinT oh, sorry...I didn't realize we were talking in the 1980s.
mbaggarly 1 year ago
@ezayi Yes, she had the Eb it's on recording and she jokes about the F while in the shower. Of course there's the Thais Mirror Aria which is high D.
Chasson0318 11 months ago
@LohengrinT The Eb in Caro Nome on recording is still mind boggling and that was in the 80s.
Chasson0318 11 months ago
Hey what year was this?
Chasson0318 11 months ago
@Chasson0318
1973 at the Met
LohengrinT 11 months ago
I'm guessing this is the Met 1973.
liedersanger1 1 year ago
-yes you are right,
-I dont post info as they are always revealed by knowledgeable fans ;)
-check out Onegin65's post of Price singing this same aria live in 1961
LohengrinT 1 year ago
Why can't I tell WHEN and WHERE this performance was given? It may be posted here, but I can't find it. Help would be appreciated, Lohengrin!
liedersanger1 1 year ago
Folks, may I offer my 30 cents of comment. I always hold Price on a high regard, definitely superior to many of her comtemparies: Scotto, Caballe, Freni..... But , the concluding Db6 is not as great as you folks trumpet to be: she rushes to it and the note itself sounds detached as if it has got nothing to do with what has gone before. Puccini wants Cio cio san's entrance and the concluding high note to sound soft and dreamy, as Callas've aptly demonstrates. OK . I know I am a little nit-picky.
mannail888 2 years ago
you explain all the reasons why this is one of the most difficult notes in any aria to be sung. Very few Butterflies sing this exactly for the reasons u mention. For me even the ability to sustain this tone in this aria is fantastic
LohengrinT 2 years ago
Callas surely did demonstrate it in the studio, but did she also do it "live" and, if yes, did she do it consistently over a span of 13 years as Miss Price did?
basie8 1 year ago
-Span of years means absolutely nothing to me. There are 12 000 vocal tricks and repertoire choices that allow a singer to sing "forever" that 99% of long lasting singers used in order to maintain their vocal health.
-Alas, her live Chicago Butterfly has not been recorded as it would have been truly interesting to hear early Callas sing this killer note Live.
-Price's 1962 live Quanto cielo just emerged and her Db6 there is quite equal to Callas'
LohengrinT 1 year ago
"basie8", the master of this channel, "LohergrinT", essentially express what I want to say to you. I might even add that even the latter day Callas could still muster long sequence of airy, dreamy, lightweight singing capped with pianissimo high D and E. Go check out her live recordings and you'd be amazed at the greatness of the La Divina.
mannail888 1 year ago
Onegin65 uploaded yesterday Leontyne's 1961 live version of this most difficult aria and the Db6 there it totally fantastic. Check it out :)
LohengrinT 1 year ago
@mannail888 Yes dear but who of her comrades at the same age Price was at that point of her career could still sing this role and the Db???? Let's play drop the needle and see who would win !! Like we don't already know Price wins hands down!!!!1
silvanero 1 year ago
@mannail888 I think Moffo has one of the best Butterflies! Her D flat is incredible!!!!!
Rcoppin91 1 year ago
Its still GLORIOUS!
TreblesBasses 2 years ago
indeed fantastic
LohengrinT 2 years ago
What year is this recording?
TreblesBasses 2 years ago
I am not a Price expert... I am sure this is not her best live reading of this gorgeous aria nevertheless I find her outstanding here. The year is 1973 - singing this Db6 live is an ENORMOUS VOCAL TASK. I wish I had earlier (mid-60s) live recordings of her Butterfly
LohengrinT 2 years ago
@LohengrinT We ALL wish we had those recordings, her early 60s Butterly recording makes me ache for hearing what she did live with the role. But this in 1973 is still absolutely perfect.
FoggyRoad81 2 years ago
I heard Ms Price three times, live, and I thought her voice sounded like a sizeable, lirico spinto.. as she aged she moved into the dramatic territory ... She also did the D flat at the conclusion of the Trovatore aria(the second one). This is also not done much. She had the notes..
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Voices that are not easily categorized are the most interesting. She was definitely Lyrical from a timbre point of view but the use of the voice, the well supported low register, the loud top notes were characteristic of the Soprano Dramatico. An incredible voice overall, in her best day she was one of the Greatest who ever lived - although she had said that in her best day she was never in the theatre singing ahahah
Indeed she also sang the Db6 in D amor sull alli.
LohengrinT 2 years ago
@LohengrinT
Leontyne Price also had a really good high E, you can hear it in her Caro Nome.
primohomme 2 years ago