Contes D'Hoffmann Contest - Doll Song - Natalie Dessay

[shikikzter]

NATALIE wins hands down!!



[dessay1]

BESIDES the sublime voice, what a brilliant comedienne ~ such Timing!

[rdsteyer]

Beter as her was only Beverly Sills.

[junejuliette]

This is really great!

[Allegra1231]

She never misses a beat-- musically, stylistically, artistically Incredible. 

[killerbunny123123]

ha! yes, maybe you didnt choose the best video of natalie singing this but she still remains the best soprano for this role....stratospheric high notes, inhuman coloratura skill and crystalline trills....this aria was written for natalie ;) 5/5

[jackiejqwan]

the video quality is not as great but the performance is outstanding

[ElisabettaVS]

she is an amazing actress

[ThulaPeregrin]

Just listening to the music is great, but it's even more fun when watching the video =D

Not only is her singing brilliant, but her performance is so amiable and funny.

[Republicrat74]

If you think this is great please check out the 9:49 version of Natalie Dessay singing Olympia's Doll Song!

[lfernan85]

every time i feel that i need to cheer up, or inspire myself for my own singing studies, i see this video. She just fulfills me with her vocal perfection, musical sense, and capacity for being funny and expresive. She really rocks!

[natygdm]

she even dances ballet!! omggggggg

[esterdion]

before she started studyng music she wanted to be a dancer, but she though she wasn't good enought

[natygdm]

omg, you're right! i read a little about that too and also an interview..! you know? she might seem like "another artist", you know, superficial, just does her work because it's good only at that or doesn't care about other things than her career

[natygdm]

(even if what i just said i don't believe it at all because i am an artist myself and know that all those unproper cliches are extremely poor and empty, cause no one really knows anybody, only what he sees...) BUT SHE IS SUCH AN INTELLIGENT WOMAN and MOTHER....and is not PROUD in the sense of egocentric, she rather has the notion of humility unlike a lot of peolpe, if you know what i mean.......=)

[classicalgal14]

her paris opera 2002 performance is the best :) check it out

[flouraki]

WONDERFUL!!!! =D

[dacanceruwishuwere94]

she's phenomenally terrifc............... i'm obsessed with it. the costume with the song is just wonderful!! thank you so much for posting! and her trills are beautiful.

[fromheretoglory]

Just great!!

[vanemoon]

Ilove this aria!!! It´s so beatiful...

But I think you missed Sumi Jo´s version.. Her version is my favorite!!

[CrystalFlames]

Lovely!

Although I do like the Beverly Sills recording better, this is incredibly adorable.

[Hybriss]

Beautiful done! singing and acting. Amazing

[yodavidnavarro]

Perfect! Great voacl performance and lovely acting!

[solensegunda]

No estoy muy de acuerdo con los "concursos", de todas formas esta es, por lejos, la mejor voz en el ruedo...

[DunklerEngel008]

Meh, I'd give her a 2.5. Her timing is a bit off, and she's too humanized. She needs to be more doll-like. (She IS playing a doll after all.) I quite prefer Laura Claycomb's version.

[MrsLonChaney]

You should check out some of her other renditions then. Really the human-likeness one of this praticular performance is the result of poor choerography. Laura is spectacular as well though.

[jazzylianne]

This is an amazing version! i much prefer it to the other versions Dessay has done! that freaky blonde wig in the others is just nasty! 5 for this one!

[ladydusk89]

Simply love her...

[dannymaestro]

She was the best Olympia for ten years. Her high f:s and g:s are unbeatable, her acting skills are as good as real actors, her timbre are beautiful and she is so musial-talented. The one and only...

[karlleo]

like you said. she WAS once the best Olympia. Sadly to say, there has been some vocal decline and she doesn't sound as good already...real pity. Maybe its the Fs and Gs that gave her vocal nodules she had to operate on. She was my favorite once but certainty not now

[Ichichan0326]

I love what she does with the second part. She sounds perfect!

[Fabioshinji]

5/5

[jdray83]

She is too good to be a real human...

[Griffin3820]

Lol, 5/5 by the way!

[Griffin3820]

Natalie brings life to every note that she sings with perfection.

[jsw663]

I think Patricia Petibon's version (available on YouTube) deserves an honorable mention!

[europeobsession]

5/5 best Olympia today. no one beats it.

[silvr94]

5/5.

nothing else to say...

[tetasdevirgen]

I don't know this production

Which one is it?

[AlexiouValenti]

She would be perfection itself if she only stopped moving so much!!

4/5

[Khia84]

why does her eyes look so wierd........almost as is she were one of those clowns of Cirque del Soiles

[JuillHope17]

hahaha, i love dessay sometimes. i especially love how the last note (the final a-flat) she like half cracks on when she first hit's it, and then basically says "fuck it" and cuts it off, lol.

[OperaGuy13]

I luv dessey but im just curious is there a recording of diana damrau singing this

[operalover9001]

that would be cool!

[gypzyjz]

5/5

Dessay is phenominal!

I don't know who I prefer better - Natalie or Laura Claycomb.

They're both my favorite.

[KatherineXIX]

I didn't realize she was that short...is that an illusion?

Like her or not, Dessay is the best Olympia singing today.

[nicevidbro]

of course 5/5. dessay gets the role and she knows how to move on each and every note. The ballet dancing on the second part is her signature, i love when she does that. Probably the best Olympia, im sure.

[141407078989]

4.5/5 voice 3.5/5 character (It's very hard to play the stupid doll hahahahaha) Awsome!!! Love you Dessay!!!

[nicevidbro]

stupid doll, LOOOOLLLL!!!!!!!!

[141407078989]

I'm sorry but english is not my first lenguage, can you tell me please what does loll means? I looked for it but I still don't know what you were trying to say, I'm sorry if I offended you with the stupid doll, I ment it in the nicest way...

[nicevidbro]

significa que me ha causado mucha risa!! =) LOL significa ''laugh out loud'' como que estoy riendome a carcajadas!

[141407078989]

ahhh, no sabía esa jeje, muchas gracias!!! en el diccionario me salía otra cosa muy diferente jajajaja.

[141407078989]

sorry again, I don't understand why the reply comments appear here too, this was a reply comment.

[141407078989]

ahhh, no sabía esa jeje, muchas gracias!!! en el diccionario me salía otra cosa muy diferente jajajaja.

[DessayBestSinger]

Que no!! que es 5/5!!

[141407078989]

jajajaja, vale vale, que lo hace muy muy bien, ya lo he dicho!!!

[DessayBestSinger]

5/5

[peejes]

3.5/5

[hwhap13]

By far the best!

[rawdonqueen]

I have to admit that her voice is well-suited to this role, and it helps that she is a French singer. 4.5/4.5

[dutchtallguy]

Miss Dessay is suited well for the coloratura fach, aspecially in her native French repertoire. Startling coloratura, and the ballet lessons paid off ;-) 5/5

[ererofea]

5/5 Great!!!

[leadingbyxample]

Great voice, great characterization.....BUT, some of her phrasing didn't sound doll-like to me. 4/5

[meltzerboy]

I agree this role is perfect for Dessay. For once, I am not at all disturbed by her added ornaments and flourishes since they fit so well the character she creates. I find her high notes exciting as well. So different from Sutherland's splendid performance, but equally great! 5/5

[songbirdwatcher]

Dessay is perfect in this role! She really "gets" it -- great voice and ornaments, great energy, funny, unexpected. Big and bold and theatrical yet not over the top. Of all the ladies in the contest, she is the most-doll like, while still being a fascinating "character". Dessay is a superb stage actress! And in that costume with her short body, she really likes like a big odd doll.

Voice 5/Character 5+

[timsuffolk]

3/3

[Hako2004]

3/4 I liked the artificial, doll-like movement, but not the emotional expressions. The trills were so/so and the high notes on-pitch but not exciting.

[ManonLes88]

5/5

[gypsycafe]

5/5 I love her olympias. They are never typical and always beautifully sung. The best on youtube (in my opinion) is the one from the unpopular Nagano production (she's in a blue dress).

[gypsycafe]

After reading the other comments I realized I am not being fair because if I judge strictly on this one performance I would give it a 5/4

[operadm]

well acted and excellent high notes 5/5

[Jabe88]

5/4

[sparkupthequirk]

I think the production is going for more demented than cute. loves it.

[Lilith89ibz]

5/5

[nickbigd]

5/3

[puccinilover]

5/5

[lyside1]

5/5

[patjan92]

4/5

[magicmonkichi]

Kind of hard to judge the acting but I have to agree didn't get me laughing, the voice as always bright and great coloratura 4/3

[sevoflurane]

Vocally very good in her prime. For some reason I do not find her acting funny in the slightest. But maybe that's the whole point of her interpretation 5/4

[hotazzoperastud]

At this point Dessay still had an so many beautiful high notes. Lovely perfectly in character with this comic role. 5/5

[BAMBAM8993]

more dramatic than cute 3.5/5