Anna Moffo as Musetta "Quando m'en vo" La Boheme

[Josquinquin]

Does anyone else think the Marcello s hot??!! Oh, and Moffo is a fabulous Musetta!! Check her out on the Callas Boheme. Excellent!!

[luwaig1]

stupenda in tutti i sensi

[hazelssister]

I agree. Netrebeko is not of Moffo"s calibre.

[gestas60323]

wonderful. thank you for posting this rarity

[jd1906sf]

A truly remarkable Musetta. Flirtatious, vivacious, seductive - a soaring, melodic version, as good as any recorded by anyone. Moffo is one of the truly great sopranos.

[aristopus]

ADG, I thought of another good example of what I was trying to say. There's an old movie "Fort Apache" with Paul Newman, 1981. The part of the drug dealer went to a real street gang hudlum. I defy any acting school method actor could play the role better. This kid was a natural.

[opera888able]

Anna in top form. Youth, beauty, voice,acting ability, the whole deal.Fabulous.

[DCFunBud]

This was pre-nose job Anna Moffo, before she became "La Bellisima."  She used stage acting instead of T.V./film acting, which made her seem a little hammy. The voice was exquisite. Too bad her career didn't last longer.

[aristopus]

I saw Anna sing Gilda years ago. But I question if she's sexy enough to play the coquettish Musetta.

Anna is a family chick, and Musetta is a fast chick. It's difficult to act the part of the other. Sort of like trying to act gay when you're not.

[AOG93]

@aristopus That's what acting is about. A good artist can portray anything and become anyone.

[aristopus]

@AOG93 Lyantine Price once said about Aida that this role was made for her. Being black and Aida being an Ethiopian princess. I don't think Ms Moffo could say that about Musetta.

[AOG93]

@aristopus Umm... ok, so one can only play charachters who are the same colour/nationality/rligion/etc as you????? Being an artist, that to me seems VERY close minded and unreal. Portraying a charachter is all about becoming someone else and acting out something that is already a lie, no matter how "realistic" the story may be. I like Price, but I don't think she was born to play Aïda just becuase she was black. Then she wouldn't play Leonora(s), Elvira, Liú....

[aristopus]

@AOG93 I only said, "it was difficult to act the part of the other." Musetta wasn't a natural role for her.

Who can play the role of a gay better? The effeminate movements, the devil-may-care, the swish. A gay or a straight actor. Being gay makes the portrayal more convincing.

As far as Lyantine goes, those were her words, not mine.  There weren't that many black singers, nor black characters. It's quite understandable she should feel that way.

[AOG93]

@aristopus OK, I get what you say, but it's a whole other discusion now if you think all gays are effeminate... and straight actors have made a good job of gay roles, and by the number of gay actors, closeted and out past and present [Like Brando, Grant, Neil P-H, etc], gays have also done a good job of straight roles...

But maybe you're right... and Anna was too "correct" for Musetta...haha..

[aristopus]

@AOG93 Ever consider how many major roles involve the abuse of women (by men)? Lucia, Juliet, Leonora in La Forza, , the saintly Desdemona, many others. Here I want a soprano who's sweet, delicate and lovely to love at. Sort of like a lovely flower in full blossom. Here Anna Moffo is perfect. Loveliness adds to the emotion. Not that Martina Arroyo or Prince couldn't do it. Leontine Price's Leonora is considered classic.

[ComaLies225]

Anna Mofo will always be Musetta. The Texture and tone of her voice is just perfect.

[MasochisticLion42]

Oh, Anna. The things you do to my musical heart. <3

P.S. The Marcello in this is....absolutely beautiful. Does anyone know who he is?

[sirpolopaul]

This is the 10th time this day I replay this clip. Her expression at high notes are marvellous

[sirpolopaul]

Excellent control over voice and breath. I fall in love with voice texture.

[DAVIDA1944]

Fantastic, could listen to Anna all day, and sometimes do.

[leporello33]

The Marcello looks an awful lot like Sergio Franchi, with whom Moffo recorded 3 albums in the early 60's. And, yes, she would have been perfect as Adalgisa.

[796824]

Too many affectations.

[Iareto]

Hardly. Who would you suggest?

[Chaconnesque]

Moffo should do Adalgisa, not Norma. She would have been ideal. I love to imagine that in perhaps 1955, there existed a Norma live video recording featuring Callas, Moffo & Corelli in all their vocal and visual splendour.... I would have died and gone to heaven!

[dougbalt]

You're right. Moffo would have been a fine Adalgisa. The role was orginally written for Giulia Grisi, who probably had a voice very similar to Moffo's.

[forallyouknow]

Who was the Marcello here? Is he even a baritone, or is he just some guy they put into the scene? Haha.

[GermanOperaSinger]

She turned down an offer from Hollywood. No doubt with her looks she would have hit it big there, but thank goodness she chose opera over the film industry!

[MusicaParola]

Moffo was a lovely Musetta to Callas' Mimì, and she's equally lovely here.

[yesys]

Lovely stuff. Does anyone think she looks like the young Liz Hurley here? Partly the eyebrows!

Apparently Moffo later had a nosejob ...

[Enochulation]

You can't compare Moffo and Netrebko in looks. Moffo was a classic Audrey-Hepburn type beauty and Netrebko is a make-up enhanced Jennifer-Garner type beauty. They are completely different.

[Desideria7]

But unfortunately only the presence of a pretty face and a pretty voice(even with problems with top notes) cannot substitute the inner culture,"noblesse" and a REAL musicality.Anna Moffo without doubts belongs to the generation of great singers of the past and moreover was a great actress.Anna Netrebko is a talented and musical lady like many others,but she made an incredible career due to a great publicity.Between Moffo and Netrebko common is only the Name Anna.

[ILoveTobin]

WHERE do you see any problems with her top notes?

[Desideria7]

There cannot be any comparison between Moffo and Netrebko.Of course Netrebko WOULD LOVE to be like Moffo and she is trying to do everything at least to look like her when she is singing her roles.

[lovesGenet]

Moffo is really got a perfect technique and a great shine to a voice.Not tiny or thin but she also sings coloratura as well as Puccini. she is the highest echelon. Why is Tebaldi and Callas so beloved whenMoffo was around.A little less intense i guess and they had that thing that the masses stick to.Callas is grt but it aint alln the voice.she communicated at a level few ever reach,Material vs. spirit I guess.i love this moffo sound..

[Symbioteofadiety]

wow now THAT's singing!

[qklq42]

Wow, Anna is a most beautiful Musetta. She knows that she is not a Mimmi. Callas had have learn something of this lovely Anna.

Hans

[ComaLies225]

agree, she to me is the perfect Musetta. Moffo has such beauty and the purity in her voice. It's a shame she's underrated because to me, she will always be the best.

[qklq42]

There are so much fine singers that were underrated at that time. The world was not only Callas and Tebaldi. Let's listen to Anna Moffo, Virzinea Zeani, Leyla Gencer, Magda Olivero and lots of other fine italian, french, belgian, german,american en all over the world sopranos. It will richesness our ears.

Hans NL

[profgv]

Yes I agree. The 1960s was the second golden age of opera and so many great singers like the few you mention were overshadowed. I saw the only performance Zeani did at the Met in La Traviata.

(or was it 2 performances). Olivero did only 2 Tosca perfs.

[suzugurl]

she was an awesome Mimi as well! I have a recording of it which is to die for!

[xilpix]

Anna Moffo was beautiful like Anna Netrebko, but she was also a very good soprano.

All wanted her, and her sung too much and had a short career, because she forced too much her physicist. Netrebko can do the same, also because she has a bad technique.

[caspiman]

Her beaty is much more noble than that of Netrebko....

[pisces49]

Anna Moffo is La Boheme! What a voice, the greatest!

[x4812k]

I agree that Moffo is superior to Netrebko, but Netrebko does NOT deserve to be bashed. Get a grip people, just because she is current does not mean she is bad. I hate when people criticize new things just for the sake of sounding learned and experienced. It's called SNOBBERY.

[xgianpatrick]

Netrebko has been granted the keys to the kingdom strictly because of her sex appeal. Her voice is not in the same universe as any of the great singers of today or the past. Her technique, diction, and lack of style are all objectively problematic.  The problem is not that she is current, or even that she is very pretty...the problem is that she doesn't sing very well, and sullies virtually every piece of music she attempts. Moffo...that was a voice!

[ognianok]

Baby, you just very jelous, Netrebko is GREAT!

Just becouse there were great singers yesterday, it does not mean today there are none, I know it hurts (jelousy) but get over it!

[xgianpatrick]

Netrebko fans, in addition to having commercial taste and/or cold-war nationalistic tendencies and/or no sense of pitch and/or sticky hands are apparently logic-deficient, as well. No comparison here. Viva Moffo!

[ognianok]

You can bet Netrebko fans are not gay!(:

[sarasava]

Why do you listen to Moffo and think about Netrebko at the same time?They are both great and different.If you prefer Moffo you don`t have to spit at Netrebko.

[xgianpatrick]

I was responding to a comment already here. Reading...it's a good thing.

[classictomatosoup]

I completely agree with this comment. Netrebko is very sexy, and though her voice is good, she is not a great operatic soprano in my estimation. She's lovely, and there is no doubt that she's quite talented, but she is not of Moffo's calibre... Not even close.

Part of Netrebko's problem, in my estimation, is that she can't seem to decide what fach she's in...

[KatherineXIX]

And she always sounds as though there are marbles shoved in her mouth, and down her throat...

[classictomatosoup]

*giggles* Yes. I think she is actually a much lighter voice than she tries to be -- perhaps trying to pick up some of Renee's following as a fuller lyric?

The offensive thing is when Netrebko tries to pass herself off as a coloratura soprano, and she just hasn't the agility for it.

[KatherineXIX]

The problem with singers these days is that they just sing whatever they want, regardless of fach. Moffo hardly ever pushed her voice beyond its limits, but Netrebko needs to realize that a soprano will hardly EVER sing Susanna and Norma in the same career. Honestly...

[classictomatosoup]

Exactly. Anna is right up there with Hayley Westenra on my list of very popular singers doing not-so-good things to classical music.

[sigridonegin]

Moffo hardly ever pushed her voice beyond its limits? She didn't support her tone, the upper regions were screamed, the lower register breathy. Though she CLAIMED to have sung Norma, please name an opera house that featured Moffo as Norma. Her voice was in ruins by the age of 35.

[Iareto]

This is true. But she was brilliant at what she did. She was a lyric soprano who sang coloratura roles and paid the price for it. Here, in her correct territory, she was wonderful.

[SiEtIn1]

@classictomatosoup the way i see it, she did actually decide already, only it was the wrong decision (she swears she can sing coloratura parts, which she cant) 

[sigclu]

Wow, does this clip take me back to the days of my youth. John Dailey from "Whats My Line" fame nararating The absolute voice of the nightingale. Anna does Pucinni justice in the flow of the melody. In my not so humble opinion I beleive Puccini was the most melodic of the composers. Verdi was the most powerful. Opera di taliano numero uno.

[ComaLies225]

Dear god, I have witnessed an angel and I'm in love!

[theropodia]

Netrebko - pah! This is a free and secure technique. No comparrison is possible. I have sung in 16 productions of Boheme over the years, and you simply do not hear singing like this anymore.

[Milordvega]

Renata Scotto also did both Mimi and Musetta, I think, but Anna Moffo is better. She is convincing in both roles.

The other "beautiful and talented soprano named Anna" (Netrebko) has charisma, but she is nowhere near as great as Anna Moffo.

[Italia1987]

ahhh she's great!!

[SueAnnNivens]

I think that people that really love music and beautiful singing, know how superior Moffo is, and there´s no way in comparing her with netrebko.

[LaReineDesTulipes]

Absolutely! What a great way to put it! :)

[stellasapon]

Is it possible that they compare Moffo with Netrebko? They have absolutely nothing to be compared...

[gvjps123]

Moffo's Musetta is charming and vibrant. Her warm,sensuous tone fits this character like a glove.

[ComaLies225]

agree

[patjan1992]

Oh Boy! I find more MOFFO every day on you tube. This is too good to be true. Thank you.

[mariogorga]

The only singer to have recorded Mimi and Musetta.I love Moffo and I hate how the compare her to Netrebko,Moffo was a great musician and a very stylish singer.Wouldn't Miss Netrebko like to be Moffo for a day.

[Parryprime]

Thank you, Yes its true!

[sophiemozart]

moffo is really charming more than netroko

[mrrk]

Moffo was perfect in this role.