Montserrat Caballe "Dove sono" Le nozze di Figaro

[drbarbarabaker]

Bel canto just means beautiful singing. These words have been applied to the genre practiced by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, but it can also mean any beautiful singing in Italian. Caballe is taking her bel canto technique, she is one of the prime practitioners, and applying it to Mozart. I find the results very beautiful. This is my first experience of Caballe singing Mozart.

[mimsiesdaddy]

Mozart is not bel canto singing Do some research and study and learn very few did it well Callas, Caballe, Sutherland.

[mimsiesdaddy]

Caballe and Price were the only two great Divas to the art of opera Sutherland had a good top voice but poor diction. Fleming is just another good opera singer

[dottormario200]

con tutto il rispetto ad una delle più grandi soprano della storia, per cantare mozart ci vogliono ben altre qualità vocali ed interpretative. naturalmente second il mio modestissimo ed umile parere.

[tenordramaticitm2]

+ Bravo

[drodde5607]

On en s'attend pas trop à entendre Monserrat Caballe dans Mozart. J'aime bien mais sans plus ... Elle ne me semble pas trop dans son élément...Enfin, ce que j'en dis ... !

[drodde5607]

on imagine assez peu Monserrat Caballe dans Mozart, et pourtant ...

[bpicaud1]

Surprising video, which reminds us that madame Caballé studied all the secrets of the bel canto... and Mozart is pure bel canto. Incredible musicality and syle adequation ( it is a good occasion to hear again her marvelous Fiordiligi ). Bravissima, Montsy !

[chaimalka]

My God you're right. I apologize. Renee has a beautiful sound, but I hear and feel absolutely secure ringing technique and resonance in Caballe's voice. I've heard Fleming several times live as well as shared the stage with her, and it's always been a delight, but she's hard to hear, and I come away with questions. With Caballe as with Ponselle, Nilsson, Sutherland, and countless others, there are no questions, only confirmation and pure enjoyment.

[ReynoldOllivierre]

I looked at the performances of Dame Kiri, and Renee Fleming as well. All three have unique and beautiful voices. Of the performances I think that Madame Caballo stands out in this performance.

[guido2877]

E DICEVANO CHE NON ERA ESPRESSIVA!!! SUBLIME NON SI PUO' CANTARE MEGLIO. CHE FIATI!!!! CHE LEGATO!!! CHE TUTTO!!!!!! GRAZIE!!!

[Damasoavila]

Simplemente espectacular.  Montserrat es un regalo de la Naturaleza para todos nuestros oídos y su interpretación del Dove Sono es sin dua la mejor

[anacleto2011]

sublime ! avrebbe effettivamente dovuto cantare Mozart molto più spesso di quanto non abbia fatto ! da impazzire, o come direbbe un mio amico da bearsi proprio dell'ascolto

[Marlifan69]

Everything great as usual with Caballe's performances. But to top it off, I really enjoyed the spanish styled dress.

Great looking!

[TheSmoshmy]

Hate to rain on the parade, but I have to say that her intonation is less than perfect which I found very distracting.Fleming is far,far better.There are also other flaws in her singing which I found remarkable

[chaimalka]

@TheSmoshmy If you can even suggest that Caballe has more flaws in her singing than Fleming, then you have exposed yourself as not only someone who knows nothing about singing, but as someone who has no innate feeling for it either. I'd take a slightly flawed intonation from Caballe' over Fleming's so-called perfection anyday. Caballe has it. Period. And by the way, if you can't say anything good, then keep your mouth shut please.

[TheSmoshmy]

@chaimalka "I'd take a slightly flawed intonation from Caballe...."Well, it seems as though you are agreeing with me that Caballe's intonation is, as I said, less than perfect.I wouldn;t say I know "nothing" about singing.It is true that I am a pianist but I have done much accompanying and repetiteur work with singers, so i think I am entitled to express an opinion,I do not think that because my opinion does not accord precisely with yours that this entitles you to be personal and abusive and

[TheSmoshmy]

Respond to this video...

 to attempt to shut up dissenting views exposes you as a fascist mentality.Miss Fleming's singing of Dove Sono is in my view perfection.The ways she sings the second reprise almost sotto voce is ana artistic tour de force.And her voice maintains it's smooth creamy beauty in every register and no matter the difficulty.None of this is to detract from Caballe, who is undoubtedly a great artist.But I happen to prefer Fleming, if you will allow me

[bbbartolo]

How could the performance have continued after this? What singer could have followed her? How long was the applause for this aria? Caballe could rip out your heart when she's got the right music...

[Operadiva73180]

Yes.

[artalirica]

Bravo Maestra!

[zerlina2203]

Love it!!! :)

Did you listen to her Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, with Colin Davis? That's also amazing!!!

[helgeevju]

Caballe was perhaps not frequently enough heard in Mozart. All the more reason to cherish this wonderful, noble, immensely moving, and really Spanish Countess!

[HM0880]

Wow. Just wow.  What a noble and elegant countess. I love the dynamic/expressive control from 6:00-6:18-- that subito piano is stunning and unique. Her unflappable composure with the loss of one earring and subsequent improvised acting with the remaining one demonstrates what a complete performer she was. Thank you for posting!

[ploplisphilin]

So wonderful! Charming improvisatory acting--with meaning. Unfortunately Mme. Caballe grew ill and was so much more cautious--appearing to be lazy, but probably not so.

[katieboyd1]

lol i keep rewinding the bit where it falls off...she jumps a bit but carries on so fast its hardly noticeable...pro!

[haranoe]

@MrEriugena Among several other things. No wonder singers educated in the tradition of XIXth century opera see Figaro basically as "fun"...

The Contessa may be impersonating a character of opera seria but Mozart's work is not: le Nozze is not as ridiculously tragicoid as verist operas or any opera after Rossini.

She has done exactly what she would not accept to be done to, say Bellini: the interpretation is all Caballe and barely any Mozart left.

That is what my "No" post was implying :-)

[haranoe]

No.

[GeorgiNM]

I must say, this is a simply astounding moment. Everything contributes to the magicality of the whole. The voice, the technique, the acoustics, the staging...

Masterful, MASTERFUL control of the singing, which is to the highest point infused with profound feeling. A product that is one of total limpidity and poignancy at the core of the aria, with wonderfully contrasting grandeur in the opening recitative and in the cathegorical closing lines. A voice magnificently enhanced by a slight echo.

[33blueberries]

...magicality?

[GeorgiNM]

Do you normally post comments on videos just to criticise other commentators' choice of (not very legitimate) words? I am sorry if I have disturbed your undoubtedly strong linguistic sense. Even though "magicality" might not be a real word and rather one that simply "wrote itself" with the flow of text, I sincerely hope it doesn't impede me from getting across what I mean. I don't want to be rude but frankly, aren't there more flagrant displays of the misuse of English to attend to?

[33blueberries]

Calmsies.

[GeorgiNM]

Oh I'm calm, I was just a bit irritated. And since 2 days ago Montserrat's video (a video full of magicality) has accumulated 4 comments so futile that Onegin65 would best delete them because they are a waste of space.

[tuadolcefanciulla]

This is the absolutely most beautiful

sound from start to finish that I have

ever heard this aria performed. I say

that owning about 9 recordings and

having listened to many more. Thank

you for posting this.

[SuperGil90]

grandissima!!

[MARJALET2]

La Caballé siempre cantó muy bien Mozart.

Aqui en el 70 aún con su timbre intacto da

un lirismo a la Comptessa perfecto.

Qué voz tan maravillosa!!!!

Parece de otro mundo y lo fácil que parece

que le sea emiir esos sonidos

Y encima sabe improvisar e escena

Que más queremos

[Desideria7]

She can sing as flat as she wants - we will perdonate her anything! She could repeat the frase that once Horowitz said: "Even if I play badly it is genial the same". She is unique and she could do whatever she wants - we love her!

[fedtho]

She sings like a nightingale... a reference performance.

I don't think I've ever heard her this early in her career.

Amazing.

GREAT POST !!!

[ohqueluna]

Excel.lent

[francobolletto]

perfect

[dolicimani]

love how when her earing fell out she wasnt phased then improvised a little bit with the other

[tiago1711]

@dolicimani It happens from 2:38 through 3:10. Very nice.

[josefsmadi]

this is how opera is done!! not like susan boyle of britains got talent who sounds crap!

[einmomolein]

what susan boyle sang were musicals not opera, and not crap

[alex11603]

sometimes i don't understand those who enjoy criticism w/o foundation. when anyone mention the name monserrat, it means classism!. ignorance is a blessing.

[HollyGolightly977]

LA CONTESSA PERFETTA!

[ImTreibhaus]

Such pathos in this voice... a world of emotion exits here.

[zurriussII]

Caballe's sweet and bird-like-timber voice is like a sweet for Mozart's music... Great, Great Caballe!

[vocalvideos]

I love how you describe her sound. She is so lovely to listen to. Musical and expressive in every way with that sweet tone that just floats. Love it!

[Hajnikovmuz]

how to save an awkward moment :-)

the earings aria :-))))

[muzzeu]

Indeed a great voice, as we all know, but she sings so flat, my god! And it's not the first time I hear it on her !

[theblueangel28]

yes you are quite right

while her pianissimi and tone are simply extraordinary, she is frequently not in tune

its why i cant be a fan

[Steinweg9]

You cannot hear the things of which a legato line is made. Caballe sings perfectly in tune, the phrase must always be moving. If you hear a singer such as this one, but do not know how voices work, it is more polite not to comment.

[Tristiano]

Montsy at her glory

[nichtsleezy]

Mesmerizing!!

[operaticsoul]

She is a genius! The voice is incomparable and what she does with the earrings is amazing. She loses one as she passes and then takes out the other and makes it part of her staging as farewell to her love. It takes a true artist to think that quickly to make an accident into a work of art. BRAVA!

[wironalga]

The queen of pianissimos.... no equal to her.

A velvety, silky caressing tone, healing the discomfort of everyday life

[stingabe]

remember Callas?

[Andante735]

I think we all remember Callas, but I'm not sure what you mean exactly.

[Orfeus80]

nope

[dougbalt]

This woman can sing absolutely everything: Bel Canto, Verdi, Puccini, R. Strauss, and now obviously Mozart's full lyric roles.

[musoph21]

@dougbalt and it all still sounds the best of the best.

[meltzerboy]

@dougbalt Caballe can also sing some French opera, and, more important, whatever she performs she does it well.

[violin6969]

Really love her in this aria...I love when an artist and take an costume malfunction (the earing) and use it to their benefit. It was great how she kept going then used the second one as a little prop later on....Loved it.

[sam0xin]

I'm speechless,as usual..never heard HER Mozart...thanks for video! Absolute Perfection,Living Legend.I need all positive words & expressions from all dictionaries for Montserrat Caballe.

[einmalhier]

Great!!

[patjan92]

Incomparable. Stunningly beautiful.

[trumansf]

Love Love Love her!!! I wonder who taught her acting? The earing part was so professionaly played. A true artist from top to bottom!!!! Brava!!!

[bjmiceli]

I will admit at the outset that Montserrat is my favorite singer and this performance shows all the reasons why: her gorgeous tone, her magnificent legato, and the extraordinary elegance and style of her singing. Who else does such lovely things with portamenti? I have never heard a diva repeat the phrase "di cangiar l'ingrato cor" subito piano. This is really lovely.

[Agatarco]

she's always the best

[Heraopera]

She has a voice for Mozart and Donizetti for my opinion... And she knows how to sing the recitativos! Bravo! Not like the young sigers who are fighting with breath and not able to speak italian or to singit correct! and she has in this repertoire never been boring! Brava!

[Dorle]

she is loosing her earring at

[ArturoPVLondon]

How good a singer could be ... pity she didnt sing ONLY mozart! :-)

[ssbs18]

All the stuff with the earrings is the best, a true professional to take a little wardrobe mishap and work it into the performance.

[paulotomaso]

yes the best part of this is her pianissimi. i mean wow

[choirofangels89]

That last 'cangiar' on the high A was amazing! So perfectly pianissimo! No strain at all. I could listen to it for another couple minutes.

[Klassizismus]

The perfect voice for Mozart!

[jimmymartinezzz]

im sorry, but this aria is fiendishly difficult and she has intonation problems. the whole thig is out of tune.

[violajerk]

You wouldn't know 'in tune' if it hit you in the fucking head.

[barmanjoe]

I agree, that comment was very stupid, and not at all a result of someone's proper musical hearing skills. She is in fact so in tune and so excelled in this aria that I would suggest to anyone who attempts to sing it, to listen to this as an example and a lesson.

[BillyBudd56]

Caballe is First Class Supreme, she's accustomed sing fiendishly  difficult things

[shinjitsu85]

I agree with you. She is pitchy but that's usually in everything she does. Like, she has some AMAZING musicality skills, but her intonation has ALWAYS been a problem for me, and she's usually FLAT as HELL. But overall, I still think it was ok.

[moghedien13]

Her Cosi recording is wonderful!! It reeks of class and good taste.

[direttore2007]

You are absolutely right!!! This "Cosi" is -with all the singers and the fantastic orchestra - the best I have ever heard!!!

[sidonie3]

I,too, believe Caballe is her own school of the operatic art.

[ClaudiaSwann]

those earings are dangling leathaly anyway. lol

[123mortimer]

I had never heard her with Mozart before. Amazing! Her dynamic control is almost superhuman. This is shockingly good. So different from Schwarzkopf, yet at the same level. And the bit of improvisation with the earring shows both poise and humor.

[direttore2007]

From all the singers I've heard there are only three who had sung this role with the noblesse and grandezza it had to be:

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Lucia Popp and Montserrat! And Montserrat is for me the greatest belcanto-soprano of the 20. century!

[dconfessgrl]

did anyone notice her earring fell off right as the aria started?

[sschimel]

It was the left one. Then, in an amazing bit of improvising, she took off the right one and sang to it as if she was reminiscing about it wistfully, and then at the beginning of the fast part, dropped it on the floor deliberately. She has more concentration; there's a clip here of her singing with an orchestra outdoors (Rossini, but I forget which), during which something happens in the audience. She smiles and acknowledges it, all the while singing the most difficult fioritura.

[saverioorlando]

Grande,piacevolissimo canto.Doveva rimanere in questo ambito vocale.

[dolcefico]

Stunning--vocally and dramatically: what poise, appropriate emotion, and technical splendour. And what ease. It's as though people forget that her early training was as a Strauss/Mozart soprano. When she replaced Horne as Lucrezia, she didn't know how to sing bel canto, but she pulled it off by using her touch for Mozart. Wish she recorded more Mozart.

[munkustrap79]

the earring...

ghghghghg

^_^

[fuzmiq]

So gorgeous. Sung with such ease and strength.

[camaneh]

one of my favorite arias in Caballé's perfect voice. What a show of beauty and art!

[vicdomi]

Credo veramente nessuno soprano posono cantare meglio quest'aria

[colibridelapampa]

Bellisima interpretacion!!! Aunque algunas notas un poco bajas de afinacion. Pero aun asi la belleza de la voz es increible

[weberclaudia]

Einfach perfekt!

[GABYCONSTANZA]

I can't take it! It is so beautiful. I really adore her. thank u. She always brings a tear from sheer beauty!

[montejm]

BRAVISSIMA!!! In regards to excellent technique, I can't say that she is the only that has a great technique. There are others of course. For example Price, Swenson, Bartoli, Te Kanawa, yes Fleming, and many others. This by far is one of my three favorite interpretations of this aria. Also listen to Te Kanawa's by fernandoclassic, and Fleming's by Onegin65. They are also exquisite and on the top of my list. Enjoy!

[intertextus]

Yes, the left earring fell off by accident. Later she took off the other one, and yet later, ceremoniously dropped it on to the floor (probably for other people to pick up). So cool!

[Ruffiello]

A ravishing voice and a stupendous technique. To me, she is the technician of modern times. Does anyone think there is one better? I'd seriously like to know. I would love to be able to purchase this entire video!

[erinmatt]

How fabulous! The singing is exquisite & deeply felt. Did you see how she loses the left earring then removes the right earring & uses it to symbolize the joy of the past she is relinquishing? This is what makes a diva: not publicity & hype but the ability to make ones presence on the stage meaningful & to serve as a focus for the emotions of the audience. Thank you for posting this.

[Orfeus80]

Fantastic!

[Orbazzano]

Stratosferica cantante!

[Dymension]

Brava!

[mariogorga]

Perhaps the Renee's of today should stop and listen to this,sheer beauty!!!BRAVA MONSY!!

[iTubeVlc]

Gorgeous indeed! (Did you see her left earing falling down in the minute 2:39'?) :-)

[sricvs75]

I love it!!! do you have anymore clips? or is this available for purchase?

[FABRIZIO82]

Si, amico, caro, perfect canto sul fiato, perfect technique, perfect breathing, absolutely flawless singing. How lucky are we to be able to watch her doing her mythic pianissimi!!!

[Agatarco]

The best voice....amazing. Il canto sul fiato, best example!!!