Dessays Range -- Every note from Ab6-B3

[LashleyRE4]

is she kidding....?

[KriBlackRoson]

xD

[seektheforce]

Not a fan of Dessay. She got nodules... :(

[KriBlackRoson]

always happens....

hope it doesn't happen to me too

[seektheforce]

@KriBlackRoson it doesn't always happen... only when you sing "on" your vocal chords without proper support. There are a whole host of singers who had very long careers that didn't get nodules.

[KriBlackRoson]

I know, but there are thousands who have

and some of them, I consider, are very good singers

[seektheforce]

@KriBlackRoson Nodules mean that their technique is not very good. Also, it's not like nodules suddenly pop up, there are several stages before the nodules actually harden. To get a nodule, is to be inconsiderate of your voice...

[KriBlackRoson]

=/ I am

[gustopheles]

I think she's gone as low as G below middle C

[THL95]

What piece is the highest note from? Thanks!

[NoodlesSF]

@THL95 It's Les Oiseaux dans la Charmille from Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann. There are videos of the complete aria here on YouTube.

[ChasinLauren]

@THL95 The Doll :)



[operadude32]

FUN!!!!! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

[fluffynamedkimba]

hahaha yay!!!!!! 

[flyaway2magicland]

LOL, at the end. haha

[Silver54ful]

Holy Moly! Natalie is a force with an unbelievable range. She truly is blessed. I'll never understand despite the years if not decades of training how opera singers really perform these magical vocals of theirs. I think science still has a lot of research to do. You rock Natalie!

[webbersarahlover]

wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­w

[menthol3D]

Super !!

[TrebleB4Mi]

luv it

[littleyellowgrl48]

That was cool.

[grizagriza]

0.06 That's Gruberova Zerbinetta Vienna 1976 on Foto?!

[Drelnis]

No, that's Dessay's Zerbinetta in Paris, 2003 :)

Gruberova dressed like THAT in her Ariadne? OMG!

[GrandeGhena]

same dress!!

[FoxyGrandpa]

@Drelnis Actually, I think that was from 1994. Her 2003 Paris performance is the one in the bikini.

[Drelnis]

Really? I have the video recording of her 2003 Paris performance and that was her costume :)

[regulargonzalez]

@FoxyGrandpa She had at least two Zerbinettas in 2003 -- the Laurent Pelly production with the beach theme (and the bikini), and the Met production which is available on DVD and features Deborah Voigt as Ariadne. I think her performance is slightly better in the Met production but she has some hilarious parts in the Pelly production (her walking "like a man" is great).

[filipinotenor]

THIS IS HILARIOUS, how they spliced everything... BRAVA, DIVA.

[olympicfreak678]

Oh this is excellent! I just love it at 0:04 and 0:05 when her pictures change really fast from the same production! Hilarious!Somebody should do this for other singers with really wide ranges! Like bartoli or podles! Bartoli goes from High E down to low E. Podles goes from High D al the way down to a low B below the C BELOW Middle C!

[FoxyGrandpa]

Actually there's a clip of Bartoli climbing all the way up to high F! It's int he clip with her mother.

[RedbeardNC]

This was hysterical, hearing her go from top to bottom in a montage. Great job!

[Trackstar2000]

Ab6 is/isn't a note. It would be considered a G#6

[sour7lemon]

Why do you say Ab6 isn't a note?

[Trackstar2000]

I mean its not a not on a piano. Ab6=G#6

Eb6=D#6.

D#6 and Ab6 arn't notes on the piano. Thats what I meant. But I do love dessay though. Im not a hater.

[sour7lemon]

So what you're telling me is that if a pianist is playing an A flat major scale, they would play G#, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G, G#? That makes no sense, what are you even saying? A flat is a note

[Trackstar2000]

i apoligize. i stand corrected. when i sing im just asked to sing G# instead Ab i was taught that notes like Ab are equivalent to G#.

[sour7lemon]

Yes they are the same notes, they are called enharmonics, notes that have the same pitch but are equivalents with other notes (C#=Db, E#=F, etc.) but they certainly do not replace one-another! It all depends on the key of the song, you'll basically NEVER find an A flat in a song written in like E major or A major or anything with a G# In the key signature. It depends on the key of the piece.

[classictomatosoup]

This is also why we have strange things like Abb in place of G, or GX in place of A. :) Key signatures and scales are important!

[whistlenotelover]

@sour7lemon I heard that that they discovered through mathematical equation that A flat is actually 1/10 higher in pitch than G sharp that they are basically enharmonic, but there is a slight decibel distinction between those keys. Have u heard anything about this?

[MithraMusic]

@Trackstar2000 There is definitely a difference between an Ab and a G#, but the piano and many other instruments are tuned in such a way that these differences are ignored. It's a flaw of the piano. Most people are taught that they are the same note because it's true according to the piano, but not according to the human voice. That's the difference between just vs. equal temperament.

[PennyDreadful1]

That's an amazing range for a opera singer

[classicalgal14]

oh yeah :)

[califonia21]

i could emagine, that she also has more tones lower and also higher than this on the video! I know that some coloraturas have an range of 4 octavas. Her a6 was so beautifull, i guess she can sing a c7 in rehearsels but she doesn´t use it on stage (it´s like i do)

[agnellodei]

She also sings a decent Ab3 in the aria from Maria Stuarda

[RaWrZzZz]

wow i just measured and we have the same range, modularly.

[RaWrZzZz]

sorry i meant modally, the natural voice.

[angellique666]

Hehehe, great idea ;)

[bumblebee138]

sorry that was a reply to drxclassic!

:P

[Ichichan0326]

Doesn't she hit A6 in Voices of Spring?

[Ichichan0326]

Oh, wait, nevermind. I just read the rest of the comments XD;; Awesome job putting this together, btw!

[drxclassic]

hey, can anyone tell me the difference between head voice and is there a tonal different to them as well? this is extremely important.

[de33iene]

the difference between head voice and ...? breast?

[drxclassic]

chest

[bumblebee138]

i don't know how to explain it technically but try singing in your lower register in a tone similar to your speaking voice, and then try to sing a scale up from there and you'll find that you voice breaks at a certain point, and you continue with your head voice. so yes there is a tonal difference, and from what i can tell, sopranos sing almost entirely in their head voice

[wclawrence]

The two voices (in their pure state) are controlled by two completely different sets of muscles. The head voice is controlled by the cricothyroid muscles, while the chest voice is controlled by the thyroarytenoid muscles. As a classical singer, the goal is to have an even sound from the bottom of your range to the top. There usually is a difference in sound, though, seeing as how the thyroarytenoids get used more on a daily basis (making the chest voice naturally stronger).

[llcooljay1887]

not exactly true.  guys defintiely use more of the thyroarytenoids but i would say females (in opera) use their cricothyroids more often.

[agnellodei]

I have a song where she hits Ab3 if you want it.

[lokitrix]

Is she using whistle tone on those top notes?

[agnellodei]

No, whistle register like falsetto has a slightly hootie quality, it is a small sound and doesn't project. Natalie and operatic sopranos do it through connected head voice.

[lokitrix]

As a beginner soprano, you have your normal chest and head voice. But once i reach soprano C i create this weird sound that can project but it sounds spooky??? Do you know what that is agnellodei?? Comment if do please

[RaWrZzZz]

im not sure, is it uncomfortable? if so STOP.A your a normal soprano not a coloratura, so don't sing higher thaqn C6 and don't push that

[lokitrix]

Is this after of before she had the surgery?

[titanfan5]

She has a great range, which is the reason why she's one of my favorite sopranos. I have heard her Ab6 before but I had no idea she could go down to a B3. But by the sound of it, it sounds as if she can probably go to an A3, which means she has a 3 octave range! Brava Madame Dessay!

[sour7lemon]

Her speaking voice RESTS on a low E flat! I also have some videos of her marking her voice and singing down the octave during a Les Oiseaux rehearsal, so she can sing a low e flat.

[Kibouo]

surely the end note can't be her lowest note, when she speaks her voice is lower than that

[sour7lemon]

Haha I KNOW! Her speaking voice like practically sits on a low E

[RaWrZzZz]

seriously???it must be a colortura thing. im a coloratur, but i tALK IN like a bass range...0.0(sorry for the random caps loc xD)

[gypzyjz]

That was amazing - nice job putting that together. Lol.

[AmatureComposer]

I'm quite sure that if you keep on searching you'll find some lower notes.

[cuncinews]

she is a rat anyway

[kngiht84]

what is that at 0:06 ? That's kinda scary for me

[DessayBestSinger]

Don't be afraid...she's an actress, she can do everything

[33blueberries]

Hahahaha, that's the funniest thing I've seen today. I love how, for the first octave or so, you see nothing but Dessay's squinty eyes attempting to burst out of her head. LOVES IT!

[zambardecae]

That lower notes usually sound quite funny. However I have read that castrati ficused on adding a voluptuous tone to their lower notes. Lord knows what that sounded like and what that must have done to the audience!

[123Niche]

aucun intérêt !

[cuicuimusic]

Ca prete a sourire, et c'est informatif (si on s'interesse a son ambitus). Pas plus

[giuky84mascotte]

oh ok... always thought it was an A :D

sorry

[sour7lemon]

No problem!

[giuky84mascotte]

i think that in the fruhlingstimenwaltzer by strauss she hits a A in picchiettato... i should check but i am almost sure...

[sour7lemon]

It's an Ab, which i already have in this video (the first note, from the Doll Song)

[sonqualnave]

hehehe...if you want one more low note ,she was on a french program some years ago special on the voice , and was showing her lowest note, and she made a low G ... was funny

[Lilith89ibz]

I looooooooooooved it! lol Thanks ^^