...there are "divettes", and then there are DIVAS. Her delivery is always breathtaking and always impeccable. And she always draws you in...and that, regardless of what people may say to the contrary, IS NOT easy to do.
I remember my first time hearing Ms. Price, and this aria--it was in recital, in 1982 at the San Francisco Opera House, and by coincidence she was wearing the same dress as she is here. I still weep when I think of that experience, and this aria. An absolutely mind-blowing, amazing, exquisite voice, something that a 20 year-old from the sticks had never heard before. It opened a new world for me.
I remember my first time hearing Ms. Price, and this aria--it was in recital, in 1982 at the San Francisco Opera House, and by coincidence she was wearing the same dress as she is here. I still weep when I think of that experience, and this aria. An absolutely mind-blowing, amazing, exquisite voice, something that 20 year-old from the sticks had never heard before. It opened a new world for me.
Any singer that has heard Price or Caballé do this should give up their day job and go back to whatever it was they were doing before.... Thanks for posting.....
LEONTYNE PRICE IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BEST SINGER OF THIS PARTICULAR ARIA AND I HAVE HEARD MANY SING IT! HER VOICE FLOATS AND SPINS THE NOTES AS THEY SHOULD WITHOUT EFFORT! SUPREME SINGER
@italianoameta Being a singer, does not make you right. Why does her jaw move with the vibrato? It seems tense. No one is perfect, and that is okay. In all perfection there is imperfection.
@seektheforce "Tension in her jaw"? And so what? Is that your concern? I suggest you ENJOY this most exquisite rendition of this taxing aria. This is one of the best live performances EVER CAPTURED, so why do you waste your time and energy in checking out whether or not there's tension in her jaw? Her technique IS PERFECT: AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL GENERATIONS TO COME. So, enjoy!
Thank you so much for sharing. Simply glorious sound, wonderful control, intelligent interpretation - like all true greats she makes the incredible look so easy. This is one of my top 3 favourite renditions. For my taste, Moffo just pips it in this aria purely on her top float and the sexual quality to her rendition. Aren't we lucky to be able to hear them!
Not only do I find this to be an amazing performance, I actually feel she sounds better at age 55 than she did when she debuted at Carnegie Hall 17 years earlier. I have listened to dozens of others performed this piece and I feel this is the best one there is.
I was introduced to specialty opera arias by a very good friend who is an opera fan. I have to say I am truly moved by this. i am sitting here with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.. the most beautiful piece of art i have ever experienced.
the incredible breath control, the unique phrasing & unparalleled emotional intensity, the sheer brilliance of the upper register, plus the fact that she simply just stood there & sang the heck out of it without all the physical machinations, as only the greatest singers are able to do!
utter genius & unmatched vocal beauty from the one & only!
In her recitals, this was almost always the second encore - right after "Io son l'umile ancella" - and it always brought the house down. Nodody, but nodody sang this aria like Leontyne. Then she sang " Vissi d'arte" "In quelle trine morbide" "Signore ascolta" "Donde lieta" and then at the very end, when we all thought we just couldn't take any more, came "Ride on Jesus." None of us could sleep the entire night after a Leontyne Price recital.
When I first saw this, during the original broadcast, I burst into tears. So did my parents, rest their souls. I still think this is one of the most astonishingly beautiful things I have EVER heard.
Pamela Armstrong and Miss Leontyne Price are but a few sopranos who have interpreted the legato lines in this aria correctly. This has always been Ms.Price's gift, her ability to use the legato effectively even on soaring notes and in the messa de voce phrasing...brava !
I remember reading that in her youth Te Kanawa idolized Price. There is a similarity between young price and Te Kanawa. Price has more voice to spare for heavier passages, but there's no denying the sheer beauty of sound that BOTH posess.
Madame Price is supreme in this aria. I like this live rendition very much but I think I still prefer her "Blue Album" recording. Maybe I'm biased for the latter version because that was my introduction to this great American diva back in the 60's when I was a teenager. No matter both versions are sublime and quite easily "blow away" the competition.
This is one of the best live renditions EVER to be seen/heard. I very much regret reading the above exchange of comments which are so ridiculous and out of place here. Why do you waste your time and energy? Simply enjoy the great Leontyne Price. Our own contemporary Golden Age of singing.
Thanks to you. She's a monument in the history of opera: Her voice is so rare and her breath control quite amazing, with those glorious ringing high notes and 'PP', even in later years. So let's enjoy the sheer beauty of her art. By the way, this is part of a joint concert with Horne, conducted by M° Levine, a legendary evening! Cheers.
The aria you refer to was in A Room with a View AND so was this aria, it was also sung by Kiri.
I politely suggest you go back and watch the film, paying particular attention to the scene during the picnic where George kisses Lucy in the barley field.
I doubt that you have the courage to come back and admit both that you were wrong and that you are rude.
yumy. I agree with you about Kiri. I wouldn't personally like to say who is "better". The approach is so different. I love both Leontyne's and Kiri's singing always. It is strange how often these two are compared. Leontyne fans think Kiri is second best and vice versa. A great compliment to them both.
She makes it seem so effortless! After watching this I feel like even *I* can sing high C's beautifully. Then I snap back in reality and realize that it's never gonna happen.
What brilliance! When I was in college, she was my idol along with Callas. I don't suppose that I could even expect perfection again in my lifetime. Thank God for the recorded performances of both.
Thank You!!! I finally found this after all these years. She gave me goose bumps when I heard this 20 something odd years ago. It's still amazing today..and so is she!!! What an artist!!!
What a pity that she started swooping between notes. The beginning is awfuul and then she follows it up with that flawless singing in the difficult passages! Frustrating. But you put up with these things from the ones you love.
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Harsh I know but she started doing quite vulgar things from the mid 70s on. the sort of thing you singing teacher wraps you on the knuckles for when you are a beginner. Karajan was quite shocked and stopped using her and I think it is the reason she didn't make recordings into the 80's when her voice was still in such excellent condition. Such a shame. Her 78 Ariadne with Solti demonstrates this clearly- gorgeous passages followed by ones that are all over the shop.
This performance is stunning. I was in the audience that day and it was an historic recital - Leontyne Price and Marilyn Horne. When Mme. Price sang Chi il bel sogno as an encore, the audience went wild. She effortlessly glided on the tops notes and took artistic liberties that made her interpretation unique in the entire world. Being an ex member of the La Scala Orchestra, I can say that even during my years there I witnessed few performances that could come close to the Price Horne recital.
Thanks so much for your comments. I believe I have a good ear for music, but it is nice to hear from a professional musician, especially one who attended the performance! The top notes are simply unmatched. I did see this performance on TV and I remember the thunderous applause she received at its conclusion. The audience could hardly wait to roar its approval. This performance is simply divine.
Flawless, breathtaking, exquisite--one runs out of appropriate adjectives for Price whose stratospheric coloratura extension was unsurpassed. That she could moved into those bombastic Richard Strauss operas later in the her career was amazing. What a technique. And what a baby Levine is.
I forgot which opera this aria was from. Hearing a version in the 1986 film Room With a View tonight led to my search here. Kiri Te Kanawa in the film is perfectly acceptible, but I HAD to hear this one. I was a piano student in the early 80s & had the good fortune to see Leontyne Price in recital in Richmond, Va... TWICE. I could ill afford it, but got front row center seats both times. She retired shortly after the last time I saw her. She was as perfect then as in my first LP of her from 1975
Me too; I love the scene in which this aria is played, so I searched up Kiri Te Kanawa's interpretation. This is beautiful as well. Adore, adore, adore it.
its amazing how she stays so chill even in the most intense moments! non of that operatic posturing that annoys me at times....and the control of every single note! genuis!!!!
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Another example of the "goldern era" fetishes...this is a well sung version, but it has neither the voice, nor the technique, nor the intrepretive magic of Angela Gheorghiu. La Rondine is an operatta, it shouldn't be sung like this. Anghela Gheorghiu beats it hands down. in 10 years people will say the exact same things about her ["no such singers today" etc...]. But ofcourse, it's much easier living in the past than enjoying the present.
I'm sorry but you are an IDIOT. Gheorghiu is singing this in her prime and sounds like ass. Please buy yourself a copy of the "Blue" Album, when Price first recorded this. And then please find some way of comparing what Gheorghiu currently does to what Price did. They call it the golden age for a reason!
This is FANTASTIC!!! Once she gets to the "Folle amore! Folle ebbrezza!" my jaw is on the floor, and the song isnt even over yet!. Thank you for posting this.
After hearing this performance it makes you wonder if there are any other performers. This performance in my opinion is the benchmark by which others should study and learn from. I still sends goosebumps down my back to listen to such artistry as this. WOW!!
Hehe...sheer perfection. Gheorghiu should study this, and study it and study it and study it, because she doesn't hold a candle to this. But to be fair, who does?
There is an earlier recording (much earlier) recording of this on a collection of arias that Price recorded for RCA. Talk about style! I have never heard a better recording of "Il bel sogno di Doretta". As Leontyne sang it in her younger days, Doretta's dream simply couldn't have been more beautiful.
This performance is truely artistic and musically superior. For those of you with or without careers of the like that choose to disect this performance....Your Crazy !!! There is no other Soprano who has been able to keep the qualities and control over there instrument like Price all the others of her era have either retired, have lost it or are no longer with us. Just sit and enjoy true God given and Blessed Voice. In most cases listening is all your qualified to do .....really !!!!
Although I will always prefer Price's version of this aria, Caballe's version is the only other one that I have heard that I believe is worthy of listening to.
I am a great fan of the amazing and brilliant soprano, Leontyne Price. It was her incredible voice that awakened my interest in opera. Here she sings an aria that has long been associated with her. It is hard to imagine that anyone could sing it any better and I think the crowd would have agreed. Bravo Leontyne!!
Her voice at this stage of her career was far too rough for Puccini. For a brilliant performance by LP look for any Verdi aria. There she's totally amazing.
i dont think i agree with you. Her pianni phrases..especially the A and the Bb flats are emitted delicately. I've heard lighter voices do a rougher job with this aria but Leontyne sung on this. This is the best rendition i've found of this. Its like she is on another level. I cant get over how well sung and effortless this is . I'm rambling. Ahh..just my two cents.
Actually the audio of this video is not perfect, that is, doesn't presents the perfect voice of Leontyne Price performing amazingly this aria. The high C is emitted light, brillant, perfect. Oh my God!
Let's not exaggerate! I'm not saying it's bad. It's OK but she did sing it much better. Try and listen to her recordings and you'll see what I mean. Then you come back and listen to THIS and tell us what you think.
When one returns to the studio recording of the1960's and hears Ms Price sing it in a LIVE performance in the 1980's, one still remains dumbfounded by THIS!
BRAVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Leontyne, I love you lady. You made my life much brighter in times of darkness. What a voice. Bella Voce! I just wish you would enjoy the moment a bit longer at the end of your glorious arias before you break character, but such a MINOR flaw in an otherwise perfect voice, artist, and woman.
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This is NOT up to her usual standards. The crowd loves it because they listen to her divine singing before getting to this aria - which in fact was sung quite badly.
Try singing this aria, you idiot.. Its very hard.. because it is easy to get tight on those repeated A's and B flats.. But she does not.. this is fabulous.
Anyone who has sung, would know how hard this aria is to sing without getting tight. If you listen carefully to the vast number of performances of this aria by others, you can hear them getting tight in that last section. Price does not. And it is beautiful.
I feel like she could utilize some pauses or pacing or something, it draws out the emotion of the aria and makes its interpretation so much more lovely... but I do love her sound.
You are absolutely correct. Had LP included this here as she has the extensions that are just glorious it would be the pick of the top. The correct spacing is used by Sarah Bightman and that is her attribute in singing her material-spacing, but I just don't like the voice.
I cant stop watching this video..her middle is really low and then she just spins out this light High A (I think) when initiates the high tessitura section...its all blended so seamlessly. This performance is the standard for this aria should be sung.
Thanks. The whole concert with Horne is absolutely amazing. I've never heard such a beautifully balanced 'contemporary' instrument. Those ethereal PPP, the sheer natural volume and easy projection of the voice, the radiant natural presence (exhalted): such a classy performer! And to be able to sing and interpret opera, melody and cross-over the way she does is also a miracle. Mesmerizing!
This is pure gold: a glorious, perfectly controled and splendid instrument. What a sexy, sensuous and warm voice, that of a pure spinto soprano in the best Golden Age tradition. I wish long life to Leontyne. I'm afraid that after her, the best days of opera will be definitely behind us. Such a opulent sound has never been heard before and will never be equalled, stop. Bless you Leontyne, I love You. You give me (us) joy and happiness!
The gold standard!
cagedbirdsings 6 days ago
Great singing but other lovely versions also include Kiri Te Kanawa's and Renee Fleming's.
Misstroble90 3 months ago
There may be many who try, but none who succeed in matching or topping Ms. Price in this aria. Hers is the benchmark performance.
Josquinquin 3 months ago 3
...there are "divettes", and then there are DIVAS. Her delivery is always breathtaking and always impeccable. And she always draws you in...and that, regardless of what people may say to the contrary, IS NOT easy to do.
MisterCrazyLegs 4 months ago 3
THE ESSENCE OF THIS WOMAN
breakaliciouskid786 4 months ago
Primadonna Assoluta!!!!!!!!
AleksandraPlamenac 4 months ago
Sublime. Brava ,mille volte brava !!!
musictend 5 months ago
During the piano intro at the very beginning, the lower keys of the piano look filthy. Is that possible?
dave4128 6 months ago
@dave4128 sometimes keys yellow with age
khamikins 3 months ago
It sent tingles all over my skin and tears to my eyes. Truly wonderful and unparalleled performance.
SongsforRex 6 months ago
amazing singer shes fantastic
callasfan100 6 months ago
my favorite video on youtube. to be watch and admired over and over and over and over and...
pipposback2 6 months ago
la maîtrise parfaite de son art en fait de loin la plus grande diva du xxeme siecle
2000kelkel 7 months ago
Gloriana Leonessa, Assoluta.
higharch 9 months ago
I remember my first time hearing Ms. Price, and this aria--it was in recital, in 1982 at the San Francisco Opera House, and by coincidence she was wearing the same dress as she is here. I still weep when I think of that experience, and this aria. An absolutely mind-blowing, amazing, exquisite voice, something that a 20 year-old from the sticks had never heard before. It opened a new world for me.
kdknyc 9 months ago
I remember my first time hearing Ms. Price, and this aria--it was in recital, in 1982 at the San Francisco Opera House, and by coincidence she was wearing the same dress as she is here. I still weep when I think of that experience, and this aria. An absolutely mind-blowing, amazing, exquisite voice, something that 20 year-old from the sticks had never heard before. It opened a new world for me.
kdknyc 9 months ago
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GREAT GREAT GREAT
kimkim338 10 months ago
CHE MERAVIGLIA!!!
giommy1974 11 months ago
Wow, she was 55? Nonethless, such beauty, so regal, such control...astounding! Seriously peope this is absolutely beautiful! Brava MS. Price!
pheelme 11 months ago 2
Any singer that has heard Price or Caballé do this should give up their day job and go back to whatever it was they were doing before.... Thanks for posting.....
orovalleydude 1 year ago
@orovalleydude I'm glad Dame Kiri didn't give up her day job.
baritonebynight 8 months ago
@baritonebynight My oversight!! You are correct!!
orovalleydude 8 months ago
Lee, I love you.
georgerannie 1 year ago
1:45-1:56 is the best musical moment i have heard in my life.
khaderach19 1 year ago 2
@khaderach19 You ain't preaching to the choir! Amen to that!
robinquinc329 9 months ago
WOW!!!
Ravenelvenlady 1 year ago
LEONTYNE PRICE IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BEST SINGER OF THIS PARTICULAR ARIA AND I HAVE HEARD MANY SING IT! HER VOICE FLOATS AND SPINS THE NOTES AS THEY SHOULD WITHOUT EFFORT! SUPREME SINGER
kenrayez1 1 year ago 3
ah! beautiful voice, beautiful musicianship, just beautiful!!
sopranosruletheworld 1 year ago
I cry every time...if only I had such a voice!
muchlove091 1 year ago
The voice!
Nettovox 1 year ago
Tension in her jaw???
Ummmm... I don't think so...
Sinergism between larynx and the jaw, maybe, but never tension in the jaw.
langdon1109 1 year ago
She has a lot of tension in her jaw...
seektheforce 1 year ago
@seektheforce you are wrong...I am a singer...she has no tension at all,
italianoameta 1 year ago
@italianoameta Being a singer, does not make you right. Why does her jaw move with the vibrato? It seems tense. No one is perfect, and that is okay. In all perfection there is imperfection.
seektheforce 1 year ago
@seektheforce "Tension in her jaw"? And so what? Is that your concern? I suggest you ENJOY this most exquisite rendition of this taxing aria. This is one of the best live performances EVER CAPTURED, so why do you waste your time and energy in checking out whether or not there's tension in her jaw? Her technique IS PERFECT: AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL GENERATIONS TO COME. So, enjoy!
GoldenAgeSunshine 1 year ago
Marvellous!
Miou50 1 year ago
Master class! Brava Leontyne Price!
cagedbirdsings 1 year ago
A "Queen" whose subjects are always happy! Flawless!
niceguy6967 1 year ago
A "Queen" whose subjects are always proud of her!
niceguy6967 1 year ago
Thank you so much for sharing. Simply glorious sound, wonderful control, intelligent interpretation - like all true greats she makes the incredible look so easy. This is one of my top 3 favourite renditions. For my taste, Moffo just pips it in this aria purely on her top float and the sexual quality to her rendition. Aren't we lucky to be able to hear them!
singerswithpresence 1 year ago
so GRAND. how fabulous is this video. :)
ronsworth6 1 year ago
I need to watch this again, through my weeping and all! What a lesson.
daniellepalomares 1 year ago
Not only do I find this to be an amazing performance, I actually feel she sounds better at age 55 than she did when she debuted at Carnegie Hall 17 years earlier. I have listened to dozens of others performed this piece and I feel this is the best one there is.
bubba6109 1 year ago 2
My gosh, this is just so incredibly beautiful!! I love it!
violinist1990 1 year ago
Wow. .this song makes my eyes water at the best of times but she has a lovely timbre. . .
Impressed.
MulBerrie 1 year ago
Simply Flawless...
JADEGATETIGRESS 1 year ago
This is just too perfect!!!!! She is one 0f the top divas for this century and she has many arias that capture the spirit of true opera.
bladezone1 1 year ago
I was introduced to specialty opera arias by a very good friend who is an opera fan. I have to say I am truly moved by this. i am sitting here with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.. the most beautiful piece of art i have ever experienced.
rixworks 1 year ago
Not human. Supernatural, she was.
VocalEdgeTV 1 year ago 2
Perfection. Sublime. Transformative. She makes me believe there are angels.
Pywacket2 1 year ago
the incredible breath control, the unique phrasing & unparalleled emotional intensity, the sheer brilliance of the upper register, plus the fact that she simply just stood there & sang the heck out of it without all the physical machinations, as only the greatest singers are able to do!
utter genius & unmatched vocal beauty from the one & only!
sensual1213 1 year ago 36
In her recitals, this was almost always the second encore - right after "Io son l'umile ancella" - and it always brought the house down. Nodody, but nodody sang this aria like Leontyne. Then she sang " Vissi d'arte" "In quelle trine morbide" "Signore ascolta" "Donde lieta" and then at the very end, when we all thought we just couldn't take any more, came "Ride on Jesus." None of us could sleep the entire night after a Leontyne Price recital.
assindiastignani 1 year ago 2
@assindiastignani I truly wish I could have been there. I am but 25 and I'm smitten
khamikins 1 year ago
I wish I could thank her for all she has done...
happyaboutnothing 1 year ago
Out of all the great moments opera has given me in my life, 2:19 is perhaps the single greatest moment I've ever experienced.
ernestalba 1 year ago
What a beautiful rendition of this aria, that voice was so well focussed!!
ThePHILIPOTTO 1 year ago
When I first saw this, during the original broadcast, I burst into tears. So did my parents, rest their souls. I still think this is one of the most astonishingly beautiful things I have EVER heard.
IrishRedRose 1 year ago 2
I always cry! Damn!
davidepoot 1 year ago 3
Me too!!!
logan16wol 1 year ago
Just inspiring
jeanemail7 1 year ago
AMAZING!!!!!
collegeboundmusician 1 year ago
Too funny, but you are sooo right!
fiercejarret 1 year ago
This is a truly beautiful thing.
LordMgls 1 year ago
Pamela Armstrong and Miss Leontyne Price are but a few sopranos who have interpreted the legato lines in this aria correctly. This has always been Ms.Price's gift, her ability to use the legato effectively even on soaring notes and in the messa de voce phrasing...brava !
andretenor 1 year ago
I remember reading that in her youth Te Kanawa idolized Price. There is a similarity between young price and Te Kanawa. Price has more voice to spare for heavier passages, but there's no denying the sheer beauty of sound that BOTH posess.
gclavergne 1 year ago
Leontyne, the wonderful!
lamsalgado 2 years ago
i want to be her! she is my idol!
baby1loe 2 years ago 3
Madame Price is supreme in this aria. I like this live rendition very much but I think I still prefer her "Blue Album" recording. Maybe I'm biased for the latter version because that was my introduction to this great American diva back in the 60's when I was a teenager. No matter both versions are sublime and quite easily "blow away" the competition.
eyesk8er 2 years ago
LOL. Brava!
htshoward 2 years ago
This is one of the best live renditions EVER to be seen/heard. I very much regret reading the above exchange of comments which are so ridiculous and out of place here. Why do you waste your time and energy? Simply enjoy the great Leontyne Price. Our own contemporary Golden Age of singing.
GoldenAgeSunshine 2 years ago 6
I totally agree with you...ridiculous and uncouth comments don't apply here. Superb Leontyne.
americangalbasseyfan 2 years ago
Thanks to you. She's a monument in the history of opera: Her voice is so rare and her breath control quite amazing, with those glorious ringing high notes and 'PP', even in later years. So let's enjoy the sheer beauty of her art. By the way, this is part of a joint concert with Horne, conducted by M° Levine, a legendary evening! Cheers.
GoldenAgeSunshine 2 years ago 3
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List of soundtrack room with a view:
O mio babbino caro
The Pensione Bertollini
The City
In The Piazza Signoria
The Embankment
Phaeton And Persephone
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta (from La Rondine, Act One by Puccini) - Kiri Te Kanawa
The Storm
etc
yumyummoany 2 years ago
Oh dear, oh dear, take the time to read my comments!
Life is too short to tolerate your kind of comment. I shall go from here and block you.
yumyummoany 2 years ago
I fail to see why you need to be so rude!
The aria you refer to was in A Room with a View AND so was this aria, it was also sung by Kiri.
I politely suggest you go back and watch the film, paying particular attention to the scene during the picnic where George kisses Lucy in the barley field.
I doubt that you have the courage to come back and admit both that you were wrong and that you are rude.
yumyummoany 2 years ago
@yumyummoany You are 100% correct!
FoggyRoad81 1 year ago
I've watched this several times and I'm moved EVERY time! What a great Performance!
mckenzie07oboe 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I first hear this as music from 'A Room With a View' sung by Kiri - this is so much better, those wonderful effortless notes.
BTW I thought she was Welsh - Leontyne Price! Doh!!
yumyummoany 2 years ago
Yes,it's all that coal soot in those Welsh mines! :-) No, the aria in the movie was "O mio babbino caro"!
liedersanger1 2 years ago
La Rondine was the aria sung for the picnic, where George kissed Lucy in the barley field.
yumyummoany 2 years ago
yumy. I agree with you about Kiri. I wouldn't personally like to say who is "better". The approach is so different. I love both Leontyne's and Kiri's singing always. It is strange how often these two are compared. Leontyne fans think Kiri is second best and vice versa. A great compliment to them both.
swanningaround 2 years ago
I agree.. Te Kanawa and Price have completely different ways of singing and each is superb.
kigomin 2 years ago
This brought me to tears!
I rarely cry! ............SIMPLY AMAZING!!
blkmichaux 2 years ago
The greatest soprano voice in all of history.
Perhaps even delete 'soprano' from that observation.
JohnnyMarsden 2 years ago 3
I wonder if I could ever get my tongue to sit that flat in my mouth...maybe then *I* could produce an easy, glorious tone. *sigh*
kowh 2 years ago
That is one electrifying performance!
Amethyst888 2 years ago 2
She makes it seem so effortless! After watching this I feel like even *I* can sing high C's beautifully. Then I snap back in reality and realize that it's never gonna happen.
Hisrevenge 2 years ago 2
What brilliance! When I was in college, she was my idol along with Callas. I don't suppose that I could even expect perfection again in my lifetime. Thank God for the recorded performances of both.
mortitio 2 years ago 2
The best " sogno·" ever sang
The voice is marvelous.
joanabanyeres 2 years ago 33
I second that!
sairamnagarajan 2 years ago
@joanabanyeres Amen!
duckmangoes 1 year ago
BRAVA LEONTYNE!!!
Schollistico 2 years ago
how i would like to have been in one of her performances.
jorgepda 2 years ago
this is was unbelievable.
godsmuzic 2 years ago 3
Bravísima Price
55patri 2 years ago
Thank You!!! I finally found this after all these years. She gave me goose bumps when I heard this 20 something odd years ago. It's still amazing today..and so is she!!! What an artist!!!
duckmangoes 2 years ago
Leontyne Price is unsurpassable in this aria!!! In this concert, she was already after her prime, but is still the best!!!
fernandobicudo 2 years ago
Her high notes are so even and stable and well-controlled!
otfried 2 years ago
lol levine just loves her. watch his face as she announces the aria
Chilair1 2 years ago
What a pity that she started swooping between notes. The beginning is awfuul and then she follows it up with that flawless singing in the difficult passages! Frustrating. But you put up with these things from the ones you love.
grantangus71 2 years ago
Awful? You really meant to use that word? I'd call Florence Foster Jenkins awful, but not Leontyne Price! Oh well...your call...
UrsulanChild 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Harsh I know but she started doing quite vulgar things from the mid 70s on. the sort of thing you singing teacher wraps you on the knuckles for when you are a beginner. Karajan was quite shocked and stopped using her and I think it is the reason she didn't make recordings into the 80's when her voice was still in such excellent condition. Such a shame. Her 78 Ariadne with Solti demonstrates this clearly- gorgeous passages followed by ones that are all over the shop.
grantangus71 2 years ago
That is what I like about Leontyne. That is her trademark singing style but to each his/her own
bigdigger87 2 years ago
oooooooohhhhhhhhh! such ease and very sexy too [dare I say it!]
SMMHELDENTENOR 2 years ago
Cuánta elegancia. Excelente!!!
30martin082007 2 years ago
This performance is stunning. I was in the audience that day and it was an historic recital - Leontyne Price and Marilyn Horne. When Mme. Price sang Chi il bel sogno as an encore, the audience went wild. She effortlessly glided on the tops notes and took artistic liberties that made her interpretation unique in the entire world. Being an ex member of the La Scala Orchestra, I can say that even during my years there I witnessed few performances that could come close to the Price Horne recital.
ondaslokas 2 years ago 3
Thanks so much for your comments. I believe I have a good ear for music, but it is nice to hear from a professional musician, especially one who attended the performance! The top notes are simply unmatched. I did see this performance on TV and I remember the thunderous applause she received at its conclusion. The audience could hardly wait to roar its approval. This performance is simply divine.
chasmnblue 2 years ago
Flawless, breathtaking, exquisite--one runs out of appropriate adjectives for Price whose stratospheric coloratura extension was unsurpassed. That she could moved into those bombastic Richard Strauss operas later in the her career was amazing. What a technique. And what a baby Levine is.
Pywacket2 2 years ago
This is very interesting and heart-filling!
united423 2 years ago
simply stunning!
LjubljanaSI 2 years ago
I forgot which opera this aria was from. Hearing a version in the 1986 film Room With a View tonight led to my search here. Kiri Te Kanawa in the film is perfectly acceptible, but I HAD to hear this one. I was a piano student in the early 80s & had the good fortune to see Leontyne Price in recital in Richmond, Va... TWICE. I could ill afford it, but got front row center seats both times. She retired shortly after the last time I saw her. She was as perfect then as in my first LP of her from 1975
madeleinedouglas 2 years ago
The opera is La Rondine (Puccini).
musicgatekeeper 2 years ago
Me too; I love the scene in which this aria is played, so I searched up Kiri Te Kanawa's interpretation. This is beautiful as well. Adore, adore, adore it.
EscargoTouChaud 2 years ago
She really looks beautiful in this video
bberman2 2 years ago
its amazing how she stays so chill even in the most intense moments! non of that operatic posturing that annoys me at times....and the control of every single note! genuis!!!!
megashoo 2 years ago 4
The moments between 1:40 and 2:02 are absolutely divine!!!!! This is a remarkable display of beauty!
gj2855 2 years ago
WOW!!!... It was the firs which I thought while listening to this aria just right now! Incredible!... Great!
zurriussII 2 years ago
I am just floored by her presentation of this aria every single time that I hear it. WOW!!!!! What else can be said.
CGib36 2 years ago 2
Amen! Amen! I well remember watching that concert with my late mother so many years ago on TV. One of my all time favorite ariA sung by Miss Price!
blackaristo 2 years ago
Thank god we had her. And thanx to the cameraman who took the close up!
hullguy123 2 years ago 3
This is a real "heart test". If you don't cry watching this, you have no heart.
zehtesko 2 years ago
Comment removed
zehtesko 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Another example of the "goldern era" fetishes...this is a well sung version, but it has neither the voice, nor the technique, nor the intrepretive magic of Angela Gheorghiu. La Rondine is an operatta, it shouldn't be sung like this. Anghela Gheorghiu beats it hands down. in 10 years people will say the exact same things about her ["no such singers today" etc...]. But ofcourse, it's much easier living in the past than enjoying the present.
yuvalyel 2 years ago
I'm sorry but you are an IDIOT. Gheorghiu is singing this in her prime and sounds like ass. Please buy yourself a copy of the "Blue" Album, when Price first recorded this. And then please find some way of comparing what Gheorghiu currently does to what Price did. They call it the golden age for a reason!
FoggyRoad81 2 years ago 2
This is FANTASTIC!!! Once she gets to the "Folle amore! Folle ebbrezza!" my jaw is on the floor, and the song isnt even over yet!. Thank you for posting this.
koollynne 2 years ago 3
This is by for the best performance of this i have every seen. I have watched others been she just made my cry!!!!! WOW
ClassicalSAI 2 years ago 3
Huelgan las palabras... aqui sí que el escuchar se traduce en gozo y disfrute plenamente. Gracias Leontyne Price por tanta belleza!
Lavro504K 2 years ago 2
Muy expresiva interpretación, excelente.
30martin082007 2 years ago 3
Stunning.
Breathtaking.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
anglicansag 2 years ago 3
This is so beautiful. I could weep listening to this each time. God Bless Leontyne Price and her gift.
jmsmth14 2 years ago 3
After hearing this performance it makes you wonder if there are any other performers. This performance in my opinion is the benchmark by which others should study and learn from. I still sends goosebumps down my back to listen to such artistry as this. WOW!!
CGib36 3 years ago
Great video.
drbarbarabaker 3 years ago
Hehe...sheer perfection. Gheorghiu should study this, and study it and study it and study it, because she doesn't hold a candle to this. But to be fair, who does?
BeauTenor 3 years ago 4
There is an earlier recording (much earlier) recording of this on a collection of arias that Price recorded for RCA. Talk about style! I have never heard a better recording of "Il bel sogno di Doretta". As Leontyne sang it in her younger days, Doretta's dream simply couldn't have been more beautiful.
filippovonreutter 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Straordinary but totally out of style.
susejf 3 years ago
This performance is truely artistic and musically superior. For those of you with or without careers of the like that choose to disect this performance....Your Crazy !!! There is no other Soprano who has been able to keep the qualities and control over there instrument like Price all the others of her era have either retired, have lost it or are no longer with us. Just sit and enjoy true God given and Blessed Voice. In most cases listening is all your qualified to do .....really !!!!
Rich2millions 3 years ago 13
I loved it but I rather listen here to Montserrat Caballé.
tena2 3 years ago
Although I will always prefer Price's version of this aria, Caballe's version is the only other one that I have heard that I believe is worthy of listening to.
chasmnblue 3 years ago
Anna Moffo's is beautiful too
robertdonkers 3 years ago
I am a great fan of the amazing and brilliant soprano, Leontyne Price. It was her incredible voice that awakened my interest in opera. Here she sings an aria that has long been associated with her. It is hard to imagine that anyone could sing it any better and I think the crowd would have agreed. Bravo Leontyne!!
chasmnblue 3 years ago
Her voice at this stage of her career was far too rough for Puccini. For a brilliant performance by LP look for any Verdi aria. There she's totally amazing.
hwhap13 3 years ago
i dont think i agree with you. Her pianni phrases..especially the A and the Bb flats are emitted delicately. I've heard lighter voices do a rougher job with this aria but Leontyne sung on this. This is the best rendition i've found of this. Its like she is on another level. I cant get over how well sung and effortless this is . I'm rambling. Ahh..just my two cents.
musoph21 3 years ago 4
I used to have this on LP and always wished I could see it too -- and now I can! You don't know how much this means to me -- thank you!!
Chsrles62 3 years ago
Actually the audio of this video is not perfect, that is, doesn't presents the perfect voice of Leontyne Price performing amazingly this aria. The high C is emitted light, brillant, perfect. Oh my God!
operataste 3 years ago 2
Let's not exaggerate! I'm not saying it's bad. It's OK but she did sing it much better. Try and listen to her recordings and you'll see what I mean. Then you come back and listen to THIS and tell us what you think.
hwhap13 3 years ago
When one returns to the studio recording of the1960's and hears Ms Price sing it in a LIVE performance in the 1980's, one still remains dumbfounded by THIS!
sketL 3 years ago
One of the most beautiful arias of all time sung by one of the most beautiful voices of all time. Brava Ms Price!
baritonebynight 3 years ago
This is incredible singing. Period. I'm blown away.
Iareto 3 years ago
BRAVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Leontyne, I love you lady. You made my life much brighter in times of darkness. What a voice. Bella Voce! I just wish you would enjoy the moment a bit longer at the end of your glorious arias before you break character, but such a MINOR flaw in an otherwise perfect voice, artist, and woman.
htshoward 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Not so sure about this one :-(
hwhap13 3 years ago
If you are not sure please avoid comment 'cause I'm sure she's magnificent!
yodavidnavarro 3 years ago
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This is NOT up to her usual standards. The crowd loves it because they listen to her divine singing before getting to this aria - which in fact was sung quite badly.
hwhap13 3 years ago
Just your opinion! Just this!
yodavidnavarro 3 years ago
But of course it's just my opinion, to which I am hopefully entitled! What else would we be posting here?
Price IMO was a great singer but NOT in this aria. Questions?;)
hwhap13 3 years ago
Yes! Can you please just shut up?
yodavidnavarro 3 years ago
Aggressive, are we? SOoo typical ;)
For the record: Leontyne's Magda sucks!
hwhap13 3 years ago
Just your opinion! Just this!
yodavidnavarro 3 years ago
Try singing this aria, you idiot.. Its very hard.. because it is easy to get tight on those repeated A's and B flats.. But she does not.. this is fabulous.
kgarmaker123 3 years ago 2
Why would I try singing this aria? Is that how you evaluate a musical/singing performance?
hwhap13 3 years ago
Anyone who has sung, would know how hard this aria is to sing without getting tight. If you listen carefully to the vast number of performances of this aria by others, you can hear them getting tight in that last section. Price does not. And it is beautiful.
kgarmaker123 3 years ago
And your point would be??
hwhap13 3 years ago
Get a life
waterfordwinstons 3 years ago
Absolutely her style! Great!!! Good!! I love it!!
cek1111 3 years ago
I feel like she could utilize some pauses or pacing or something, it draws out the emotion of the aria and makes its interpretation so much more lovely... but I do love her sound.
jlthopper 3 years ago
You are absolutely correct. Had LP included this here as she has the extensions that are just glorious it would be the pick of the top. The correct spacing is used by Sarah Bightman and that is her attribute in singing her material-spacing, but I just don't like the voice.
tHEnOOSEsWING 3 years ago
I love the way she uses her big large wonderful lips in a perfect choreography, to form her sounds clearly and strongly.
foropera 3 years ago
MY LORD. Amen to that! Thank God for her!
fiercejarret 3 years ago 2
I cant stop watching this video..her middle is really low and then she just spins out this light High A (I think) when initiates the high tessitura section...its all blended so seamlessly. This performance is the standard for this aria should be sung.
musoph21 3 years ago 2
Thanks. The whole concert with Horne is absolutely amazing. I've never heard such a beautifully balanced 'contemporary' instrument. Those ethereal PPP, the sheer natural volume and easy projection of the voice, the radiant natural presence (exhalted): such a classy performer! And to be able to sing and interpret opera, melody and cross-over the way she does is also a miracle. Mesmerizing!
GoldenAgeSunshine 3 years ago 2
This is pure gold: a glorious, perfectly controled and splendid instrument. What a sexy, sensuous and warm voice, that of a pure spinto soprano in the best Golden Age tradition. I wish long life to Leontyne. I'm afraid that after her, the best days of opera will be definitely behind us. Such a opulent sound has never been heard before and will never be equalled, stop. Bless you Leontyne, I love You. You give me (us) joy and happiness!
GoldenAgeSunshine 3 years ago 10
You have said everything, I can't agree more with you. She brings me to tears. Exquisite!
callastoujours 3 years ago
WOW!
876234ABC 3 years ago 3
she is amazing!
lillerbell 3 years ago 2
What a genius.
franciscusliszt 3 years ago 2
There is no better singer of this aria!!! My goodness..Brava Leontyne
raycanto76 3 years ago
i felt a chill go down my spine..her pianaissimo notes were flawless.
musoph21 3 years ago
brought me to tears
touchofjazz 3 years ago 2
I saw this on tv in 1982...........it was