Serse: Ombra mai fu

[Cissy97]

This is clearly one of the best versions of this aria, be it by mezzo-soprano, counter-tenor, tenor or baritone, which includes Carreras, Wunderlich, Hvorostovsky, Terfel, Bartoli, Fleming, Domingo, Murray, ...you name them.

Paula was very young when she gave this live performance (?)

Her voice is inordinately lovely, for sure, but I think we must not overlook her inflections and nuances given in her interpretation of this aria, which I think are very unique and appropriate to this work.

[pinkdazzlin]

What's her name?!

[Corenero]

@pinkdazzlin Paula Rasmussen

[pedrofribeiro]

such a gem!

[ballet7up77]

doing a pas to this music.. its great.. without the singing lol

[dyad2r1]

Never was there a shadow Of Branches Sweeter, more refreshing Or more gentle Tender and beautiful fronds Of my beloved plane tree Let fate smile upon you May thunder, lightning, and storms Never bother your dear peace Nor may you by blowing winds be profaned

[FUMAOMAO]

Her voice is so perfect for this aria, and her costume is so cool, a really memorable performance. Is she still performing these days?

[dyad2r1]

@FUMAOMAO - I think so. Wikipedia doesn't have anything on her, but Google "The Dallas Opera The Tales of Hoffmann" and scroll down to her picture.

[Cissy97]

@FUMAOMAO

She is only performing occasionally now, having given up a hectic operatic career a some years ago.

[MrAbellink]

II have this DVD -what a brilliant idea to set the opera not in ancient Iran but at the shah's court in the 1930's!

[possumgrits]

Beautiful

[MrCtblade]

....im weeping...

[lethelightin]

the recording doesn't

fully do her justice -

it could have been

still more

specta

cular

[dyad2r1]

@lethelightin - The singer is male. Look up "castrati."

[tiernan87]

@dyad2r1 this isn't a castrato. this is a woman, paula rasmussen. there aren't any castrati anymore, at least no known castrati. ms. rasmussen is a mezzo-soprano. this role is now sung either by a male tenor, a female mezzo-soprano, or a trained male counter-tenor/male alto

[dyad2r1]

@tiernan87 - You're right. I shot off my mouth before I did my homework.  Thanks for correcting me!

[mezzosinger100]

intonation problems?

[salanee]

it is imposible to express in words how excelent is she

[TheJbach]

SPLENDISSIMA!!

[AmericanBrian]

Beautiful, greetings form El Salvador!

[HerrWarja]

I like this setting. Neither modern or baroque. Simply timless and indeed a angelic voice she has.

[DynVec]

sorry but the recording is bad

[PrinsTan]

I saw this in Stockholm this season and it was sung by a woman.

She had such great charisma and was so good I forgot at times she was a woman. I must say I enjoyed this opera much more than I did enjoy Mozart's Zauberflote which was also magnificently conducted and played.

[mingienas]

Nuostabu, amazing, increíble, mahnitës, úžasné, sorprendente:)

[chabs85]

precioso...

[metteholm75]

..And her expression!

[beccablaze]

She did such a wonderful job her voice is so angelic..

[DottoreJojo]

Not ideal for the baroque style.

[PUArtista]

Nice but should be sung by a MAN!

[Loismustdie26]

But a good countertenor is almost imposable to find. David Daniels and Philippe Jaroussky. Id rather hear a woman sing it, over a bad countertenor.

[Renaissance3950]

@Loismustdie26 Drew Minter and Andreas Scholl are outstanding counter tenors

[bonnies1234567]

Yes, my voice coach, Mario Cimino, wouldn't let me sing it--he gave me Cara Selve instead. He insisted that it was for a man.

[Schubertfinished]

In the Baroque period, all operatic roles were sung by men, women didn't perform.

[belovedofarinna]

@Schubertfinished

That's not true- women's parts were sung by women and occasionally if a talented castrato or counter tenor couldn't be found, then they took breeches roles.

[cdaae3]

This is good but I still think Renee's version is pure beauty!

[sammaeldeath]

Unbelievable! Simply wonderful !!!

[DevaRupa]

What a simply delicious voice . Like honey

[Limpandtotheleft]

Horrid female voice!

How much better from a boy treble or, at a push, a counter-tenor.

[2591740]

muy linda la intrerpretacion por una soprano

[julietbravo69]

This is simply the best version of Ombra Mai fu..... there is such emotion in Paula's singing and I think her tone and register really suit the song. Beautiful!

[thebalox2003]

Yoshizaku Mera is much better..and he's a real countertenor

[VocalTechin]

Is this one of those pant roles meant for mezzo soprano? :) thanks

[rlee1976]

No, it wasn't. It was written for a castrato.

[Kcallwood]

Beautifully sung.

[thebalox2003]

Wow..

[davidkhundadze1972]

Anybody knows who is singing?

[fernandofernandezgar]

Paula Rasmussen sings

[davidkhundadze1972]

gracias amigo

[totorojaja]

Schöne Arie und schöne Stimme!!

jedesmal wenn ich diese Arie höre, weine ich. Die ist so schön!!

[Stasones]

Тётки такую музыку петь не могут.Отстой!!!

[tipirnapa]

Splendid.

[DaveGurgel]

Vibrato or not, the stage setting and costuming are dramatic, and the voice is beautiful.

[TrebleB4Mi]

her voice makes me melt! She invokes the masculine character without sacrificing her beautiful tone... I'm nearly in tears

[LLMusic94]

uhm..the vibrato absolutely ruins this beautiful piece..Why sing HANDEL..witha vibrato!? The two just don't go together...bad choice

[darnmat]

Actually, i agree with you but it is a matter of taste... but i cannot label this BAD... it was an excellent performance actually...

[LLMusic94]

Very true..and that is DEFINITELY not my taste..LoL..so I believe it was a bad choice...But hey! It works for some ppl! =]

[operawhore64]

oh yes by all means suppress vibrato.. ASS...

[Graviak]

it is a she, and why are you not allowed to sing Handel with " vibrato" ????

[tootsie4008]

EHHH...did you ALL not know that it's NOT A SHE?!ITS A HE FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!!

[Pltinum]

Euhm.. PaulA? SHE is a mezzo-soprano.. So I don't think she's a he..

[ne0n8]

in a love affair with a tree

this should not count much

1 reason

m0re

2 fall 4

3-s

(treee-s)

soo, don't fe// them

:)

[operagirl89]

I adore her take on this piece. It's such a lovely, calming performance, and it completely fits the piece. Her vibrato can get a bit heavy at some points, but who cares? Her voice is beautiful, and she shouldn't be expected to straighten the natural colour in her voice just because it's "not in the correct Baroque style".

[wisden18]

Yes, and it ruins the piece. Such a shame. Like I said why use vibrato with Handel?!

[hillevifan]

You need a well-placed vibrato to sing this aria- otherwise the long tones will come out too sharp- and won't feel warm enough for this tender arioso

[1andonlyDEl]

I agree. As with most Baroque pieces, well placed vibrato is key.

[wisden18]

WHY? WHY? WHY? Just use vibrato in Handel!?!

[hobo197]

she does sing with vibrato?

[alvarito45]

This is the correct way to sing to a plane tree!! Excellent voice, wonderful performance!! Xerxes was, undoubtly, a real ecologist. Unless Handel show us this in the Opera. Great!!

[ne0n8]

you know about

*the correct way to sing to a plane tree* ?

and what about a birch tree ?? ;)

[overtwenty2007]

oh my gosh sooooooo beautieful! And sung with such wonderful CALM!

[andayya]

she sings out of style, there´s only vibratto

[venise1946]

Out of style with Ch. rousset at the cembalo? You are joking I suppose?

[13orthanc13]

VIBRATO...why why why sounds like she is singing through a fan...

[JohnC5]

No one can sing it like her. Its just adorable.

[kyung1104]

sad song T.T but Really beautiful

[peterhinton]

How majestic! The performance was seemingly effortless but it was enough to floor me. This is truely the stuff of life. Thank you for sharing.

[bouleauxdesuede]

I love that recording! Rousset and Hallenberg is an excellent combination!

I saw her in Luigi Rossis 1640's opera Orfeo at Drottningholm where she played Aristeo and in Daniel Börtz "Marie Antoinette" where she sang Princess Lamballe, i think that one was released on cd too, though it's a modern opera and light years from Gluck. I know, it's just a shame we never get to see them here at all, Hallenberg gave a recital of swedish 18th century folk songs at some museum a while ago wich i missed.

[mariandelochs]

Hello again - I've just uploaded a couple of short ones from "Serse"- "Io le diro che l'amo" with Paula Rasmussen, and "Tu le dirai che l'ami" with Ann Hallenberg. Video quality isn't very good, but this was my absolutely very first time to try this video clip ripping and uploading. May improve the uploads when I learn more about the process! Please do a search for Serse, Rasmussen and Hallenberg, since YouTube doesn't allow URLs in the comments, I think!

[bouleauxdesuede]

Oh, thank you. She's really amazing, i've seen her at the Drottningholm court theatre a couple of times, it's sad that she never gets to work in sweden nowadays, all of our best singers perform regularly around europe and in america, but we rarely ever get to see them here. Have you heard the "Philemon et Baucis" by Gluck with Rousset on Naïve? -That one is really outstanding!

[mariandelochs]

Yes, I do have that recording. I think I've collected nearly all her CDs and DVDs in just the last few months. I envy you your catching her live-that must've been stunning. She hardly comes to the States, though, but does appear a lot in Europe. I've thoroughly enjoyed her performance in every work I've heard her in (sometimes she's the only good thing in it!)-and she's a fine actress, too, as shown in 'Serse'. Oh, but there are SO MANY outstanding singers from Sweden these days!

[lvega69]

She is fantastic, her voice is really beatuful

[bouleauxdesuede]

Oh, please do put more up! Especially the bits with Ann Hallenberg/Arsamene

Thanks!

[mariandelochs]

Hello there! You might want to do a YouTube search on Hallenberg to get the two other videos with her (one is only an audio bit even). Nice to meet a fellow Hallenberg admirer - why she isn't as well-known as she should be puzzles me.

[contessabrilliante]

Pardon me for budding in, BUT isn't this the Paula department? Although I do agree with you regading Hallenberg, but then when I see comments reffering to her as "SHE" now I don't know if we're still talking about Hallenber, or Paula. I believe the Hallenberg department is right next door, thank you.

[horseyak]

Her Crude Furie from same production is even more magnificent ( except for a moment where she gets behind tempo). Give it a listen.

[mariandelochs]

Hello there - I totally agree with your comment - and I've also just uploaded the "Crude furie" scene from "Serse" (after a crash course on clip ripping)! Also put up a handful of others from the same Dresden production. Enjoy!

[mariandelochs]

One of the best renditions of this aria, by Paula Rasmussen. A powerful and supple voice with a dark, steely timbre (never mind the cold sets). Thanks for the upload! Hope there's more from "Serse" coming up?