Mirella Freni sings "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca

[TheseusTex]

yes!

[1218elmo]

she sings beautifully; because of her great command of the language and her grace, she expresses the meaning of the text with feeling and credulity. brava mirella! sei graziosa..

[msandisue]

I've always adored Ms Freni. First opera I ever saw was the movie of La Boheme and I was captivated by her ever since. Thank you for the many years of beautiful music you've given the world.

[Dhyahbolical]

Brava, Madama Butterfly.

[MrAndredekock]

What consummate beauty! Ms Callas wishes she could have sounded like this in Tosca. To the best of my knowledge Ms Freni never performed this opera, but did record it and performed Vissi d'arte many times in concert. Brava.

[mezzosop1]

One is looking at consistency here - there is not one wasted note, not one note that is not prepared well - all that work is done in practise so that when she comes into the public arena, the voice is ready, under control and the emotions can come through - too many singers trying things out in concerts cos they haven't done the preparation.

[veeerooniicaaa]

Fantastica

[Calaf120]

unica, inigualable. hermosa voz muy limpia, y muy buena tecnica, nadie la iguala!! viva mirella freni :) <3 la adoro!!

[Milahi1935]

Freni is very good, but, not as good as caballe or Sutherland or callas. Her range is slightly less. Emotions are excellent.

[baritonefordays]

I LIVE for MIrella Freni!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im VERY picky about the soprano voice and she nails it everytime! Sorry but no other soprano compares to her technique, presence, and her passion ! She connects to you like no other soprano can! no doubt!

[JSBach5000]

@baritonefordays -- I love her too, especially as Mimi.

[minkoss]

She is my ultimate soprano

[Zebrinne]

La plus belle finale de tous les Vissi d'arte que j'ai entendus ! Aussi, cela respecte mieux la partition(c'est souvent trop étiré ou compliqué pour rien chez les autres) tout en étant très senti et juste dans 'intention et le sentiment.

[minkoss]

@Zebrinne Are you thinking about a certain Renee? LOL. I agree with your comment! A great rendition is the only stage version of this aria by kiri te kanawa (you can find it here on youtube).

[jenson7720]

So many sopranos doing well today ...they work hard on languages and musicianship ...but they are missing one thing...THE VOICE!!!!

[jenson7720]

love love love it 

[andreea94a]

I have never heard something sung by Freni that wasn't perfect.

[MrNeveman]

MIRELLA SEI MAGNIFICA..ANCHE NEI RUOLI MENO ADATTI ALLA TUA VOCE..SEI LA MIGLIORE DI SEMPRE

[cornificius22vain]

to cover what?

[musoph21]

its chesty sound on the Ab diminuendo sends chills up spine. So much richness and strength.

[oprah22]

she is in great voice here

[jamesings]

Every singer has his/her owns a song that no one can sing better.  The great lyric tenor Pavarotti has "Core n grato" and "Che gelida manina" from La boheme. Ms. Freni owns "Vissi d'arte" and "O mio babbino caro". She has a beautiful classic bel canto style voice that all aspiring singers can learn from.

[jorgepda]

when will the world see sopranos of this caliber again?

[Fegen]

Terrific!

[frapepsi]

Grazie ancora!

[ricardocalado]

I saw her here in Lisbon, at the opera house São Carlos, and I have to tell that I've never in my life listen to such beautifull voice. Huge one... She sang Ritorna Vincitor and it was like a thunder inside the opera house... The biggest voice I've heard! And she is so nice and lovely... One of my favourite singers. And I have the Last Four Songs with her! Directed by Karajan! Not even her has it!

[ezev8logos]

Please post them!!!

she is the best soprano in the history

[shielamamaful]

Ms. Freni - more than 25 years after performing this can proudly watch her former masterpiece.

[catface1965]

For those of you who wonder what Freni sounds like in the house. I heard her first in 1983 or 84 and the last time in 91 or 92. The voice was a huge lyrico spinto. One of the most beautiful sopranos and the high notes were big beyond belief, proportional to the size of her voice. What was amazing is that just like Pavarotti the sound filled the room amazingly but in an unforced way. They were actually both louder than they seemed because of perfect resonance.

[Manigran]

Thank you again Freni, for this marvelous performance!

[QuiRan82]

Mirella does not have to try to sound like ANYONE. She is Mirella Freni! That's fair enough. ANd she is just gorgeous. Una maestra vera!

[lamsalgado]

Beautiful, and then some... !!!!!!!

[Manigran]

So beautiful! Oh Signora Freni, you will stay in my heart forever! Whatever you perform becomes magnificent.

[DavidoffGustav]

Freni sang with her voice and ... hey a good example is the live Manon Lescaut videos.... wow... at the end of a huge show she still had perfect control of her voice.. I still wish i could have heard her sing tourandot.... and those who think her voice is small, i heard her sing Fedora and Eugene Onegin live and she wasn't young my favorite recording is manon lescaut with domingo because it sounds live not as if the mices are close.. this is the closest to what she sounded like in the theater

[Royalorgans]

She is trying to sound like Leontyne Price, what a knock off. But she is good though.

[saxamaphoneguy1]

...why do you say that? I think she's trying to sound like herself....this is how she sings. Perhaps they just have similar styles? I'm not a big fan of Price, and I love Freni, I don't think they are that similar.

[Manigran]

I agree with you. Freni is sublime!

[bcggx2]

do you really believe that...she isn't a knock off...she's frickin' Freni!!!

[peteobh]

Sublime doesn't even begin to cover it

[RonEvane]

Aah, Freni. Mi bella, mi amour. No one like you!

[zafireh]

After la Callas, Freni is my favourite! She's perfect!!!!

[PetalaDewi]

Freni's version is so soothing to the ear, unlike others.

[jplaura02]

Always beautiful and elegant! Brava!

[JulietteDruet]

In Switzerland.

[uniqueattack]

Dove Lugano?

[controignoranti]

e' meglio che spette di insegnare,se no tra poco cominceranno arrivare le denuncie da tutte le parti del mondi.sta rovinando tutti i giovani.....

[DonAlfonso63]

scusa, ma cosa intendi?

[controignoranti]

intendo che è stata una grandissima cantante,eccezionale,ma è PESSIMA,PESSIMA E RIPETO PESSIMA insegnante di canto.

non nè sa proprio niente. ha già rovinato un paio di giovani cantanti e continua a farlo. che ingiustizia. non sono prima e ne ultima a dire queste parole.

[DonAlfonso63]

Capisco... beh, non sono al corrente delle sue qualitá da insegnante, quindi prendo letue parole x vere, avrai sicuramente delle fonti attendibili.

Comunque é vero che in tutti i mestieri ci sono alcuni che anche essendo bravissimi, non riescono a tramandare l'arte agli altri....

[compadrecerro]

sei stato uno dei suoi allievi per parlare cosi di Mirella come insegnante? lei non dice troppo quando insegna, ma sa molto bene quello che bisogna fare co i suoi allievi..scusa el mio italiano

[csapaugh]

la sua voce e perfetto, molto ricca :-)

[JoelBWeisberg]

Sono qui, dopo aver guardato questo

video. Non posso smettere le lacrime.

Che bellezza! Che una voce. Non c'era un altra cantante cosi bella. Viva la Freni, per

sempre!!!!!!!! Dio mio.!!

[femilyrpy]

beautiful, thank you for posting this.

[eoncues]

She sings it soooooooo marvelously!

[musoph21]

wow i never realized how beautiful her tone was..very rich and beautiful

[Klaudhius]

Maravillosa, para mí Freni fue la mejor intérprete de las heroínas de Puccini en el siglo XX...

Brava Freni :D

[shagirl5]

When I first began studying vocal music almost six years, my voice teacher introduced me to Mirella Freni as someone to listen too because she is one of the greats and because I could learn a lot from her. Dr. David Blackburn and I would spend hours listening to Freni and many other Great singers he knew fitting for my voice. I lost my mentor, teacher, and dearest friend even father on 09-28-08. I am so thankful to have this to remember him by and I thank you for posting!!!!!!

[Iareto]

I cannot recalling a more beautiful voice from anyone. Everything is so even in this voice. Everything is so beautiful. Brava! She's perfect.

[springlife]

freni esta completamente dura en el ecenario

no se le ve relajada y el aria me gusto pero solo hasta el final cuando dio todo al prinsipio se veia insegura esa impresion me dio eso persivi es eso o deplano no sabe actuar

[JorPove]

Creo que antes de criticar hay que aprender. Y ademas hay que aprender a escribir sin "horrores" ortograficos,para que la critica tenga al menos una aceptacion aceptable. Mirella Freni es una de las figuras mas representativas de la lirica del siglo pasado,junto con Pavarotti.

[bazone8]

A truly great rendering.

[musicyh]

I can't believe she was 50 when she sang this. Her voice still sounds so fresh! I guess that shows how constantly being "one step behind what your voice can do" - her own quote - helps. She managed to preserve her voice so excellently.

[berlinman46]

Freni is superb I am sorry but Caballe is not even in her leauge

[girellabergamasca]

yes,i think so. caballè with her powerful voice is better in this aria.

[55patri]

La voz de Mirella es maravillosa, pero me quedo con el Vissi D'arte de Caballé, tiene mucha más fuerza

[cabalettaverdi]

diras mas kilos de fuerza y de aire ...la freni es que no se puede comparar con la caballe es perfeccion echa tecnica.saludos y forzaaaaaaaa!!!

[controignoranti]

non sarà mai come Caballe, non sarà mai nessuna come lei.

[ferrando81]

wonderfull

[turandot82]

She did a beautiful recording of Tosca. It's nice to hear a Tosca that isn't "chewing up the furniture" like many of the recordings out there. A very beautiful interpretation.

[musicyh]

Lol, I laughed at "chewing up the furniture". I think lyric sopranos bring to the character something that dramatic sopranos can't...a certain kind of softness and fragility. Though of course lyrics could never contest dramatics in terms of volume and power.

[DoinItClassy]

She's simply he best soprano that has ever walked the earth.

It's in arguable.

[dennisdeem]

i'm in total agreement w/you. freni has forever been one of my favorites and she's the last of a classic and rare kind of singer: the bel canto!

[Jmooreluv]

You got it! I'm so glad to hear that people in the world know what's what! Keep it up! Viva la Diva Freni!!!!!!!

[Manigran]

I love Freni too! I'm eighteen years old, and although I'm probably too young to hear her at the theatre, I'll love her forever anyway. It's too bad I didn't get to grow up with her! Thank you Freni, for your amazing voice and heart wrenching emotion in this performance! Did you see her sing in public? If so, what was it like?

[Jmooreluv]

That's right. Who ever you are, you're my new best friend. Viva la Diva Freni!

[dennisdeem]

here, here!!! i'm so glad to hear that you love her. indeed, there is none better!

[TheAleph74]

Wow. I am speechless...

[lewijack77]

the best "vissi d'arte" I have ever heard. Only Kavaibanska's version is near from this perfect interpretation. Thank you Oneguin for your videos, and Sorry for my poor english

[Onegin65]

Gracias por el comentario, tu inglés es igual que el mío, lo importante es poder participar

[lewijack77]

jajaja, el acento español se nota hasta por escrito

[Manigran]

I love Freni too! And you English is good! Don't be sorry!

[izrah82]

her voice is like a trumpet, powerful!

[Manigran]

No kidding! Have you heard her sing at the theatre? I wish I could have!

[urgrad03]

One hell of a voice:).

[carlosparedesa]

what a voice. I saw Mirella Freni outside of Modena's Cathedral on TV while Pavarotti's Funeral. She said that she couldn't even sing during the mass because of the pain she felt about her friend's lost, the great Luciano Pavarotti.

Carlos Paredes Abad, Trujillo, Peru

[Manigran]

Oh, you've heard her sing in public? What's she like?

[carlosparedesa]

In fact I watch her on TV as I said on my comment, but I saw her personally on a master class at Caracas Venezuela, last year on february.

[oleganna]

Brava Singnora Frani, she was always one of the best!

[jamesings]

one has to be the lucky man to sing standing opposite from this classic soprano with the voice

[michaud1]

She does not have a great voice like Tebaldi.

She ok, not cold singer. You need more volume in the voice. It is not really her role.

[fred0125]

Freni could pinch-hit for Rosa Ponselle anytime, anyplace.

[rogernldw]

19 century???

[Orbazzano]

che grandezza!!! è troppo grande!! il miglior Vissi d'arte!!! stratosferica!!!

[stuarda]

A sublime voice - angelique!

[desiriex1]

I agree with you! she is the best!!

[tenorrman]

She had everything...the very best

[boipussi]

What a beautiful voice... virginal and clear.