La Favorita Contest - O mio Fernando - Dolora Zajick

[19operajon]

OMGOSH!!!! I am SO obsessed with her voice!!! Best interpretation of this aria!!! BRAVA!!!

[callastoujours]

I think she is a dramatic soprano too.

[bodiloto]

Questa é la voce di soprano drammatico.

Non e mezzo,contralto ancora meno.

Negli anni 50/60 i contralti interpretavano questo ruolo...

I tempi moderni...

[hamb4]

I have listened to all the Oh mio Fernandos this evening. all I can say is you can start you contest after Ms. Zajic. It is in a totally different class of singing. The other singers are fine for what they do. it takes great guts and stamina and vocal control to sing many arias. This one is no easy toss off. However, Ms. Zajic takes it to another level.  Here she is like Usain Bolt. I thank God I had the opportunity to meet and sing for her then studied a bit with her Teacher on her advise

[mabemawi]

Stunning. Like her Amneris. Who else comes even close to singing this way today?

[bravazingara]

I must confess I am not a huge fan of hers, but this is absolutely breathtaking....those high notes....the phrasing....all of it.

[zamadeapio]

Thanks for sharing! I'd only heard the Italian version before this.

[stephenhkent]

now i ain't an expert but this is one of the most thrilling performances i have ever heard. i randomly bought a CD of a marilyn horne recital and even SHE cannot compare to dolora! is dolora still singing?id love to see her in the theatre. surely no one else can produce as much volume "bottom to top"? volume IS important! it brings a visceral thrill to opera. my favorite dramatic soprano is eva marton. see turandot at the met 1987.omg!she looks believably young and sexy-and a virile domingo!

[Zashorigin]

Spectacular!

[Zashorigin]

@rtivelle And the rest of the workd os wrong... yeah right! You have a lack of ears!

[horseofcoursetack]

I first heard Dolora at the Met in the late 80s with Pavarotti, Milnes & Marton. This woman's voice DWARFED everyone on that stage. I'm not a "size queen", if you would, but she happens to be an amazing singer as well as having a ginormous instrument...ridiculous! She should/will go down in history as one of the most amazing EVER. I would classify her as a dramatic mezzo, just to get my 2 cents in.

[giacominifan]

No doubt that some voices are much more difficult to place in a "fach", but Dolora has proven that her voice can manage the low tessituras of many major mezzo roles. Some big voices who can be mezzos choose that fach because the competition is slimmer, but I'm not saying that she has.

[CatalinaDM56]

Oh shes a mezzo...how can any of you deny that?

[caspiman]

Never liked her voice.... So sharp and so not mezzo. I believe though people appreciating her art, especially the drama and acting side of it. And I'm sure she's a very nice person.

[turandotisolde]

The only thing that's wrong is her hair!

[federricoilgrande]

bastano le prime note...per cambiare canale!

[Zashorigin]

@federricoilgrande Sei SORDO!

[metaxotos715]

mezzo great

[The69moogie]

I saw her Amneris at the Met. Nobody could touch her. She made Act iv, scene one the most outstanding section of the opera.

[mappleby6]

It's a mistake to comment on Zajick on the basis of a piece of video. I heard her many times at the Met, and her voice is simply too large and colorful to record well. But live? I would take a bullet for her. If you can arrange it, hear her live, anywhere. She still sings like a goddess. But it can't last forever.

Maryanne A

[sirenadellopera]

She IS a goddess!

[sirenadellopera]

I heard her "Amneris" at the MET, both seated in the nosebleeds, and in the second row center orchestra. Up front, she sounded like a drill bit. In the nose bleeds, her voice was the hugest, fullest, most colorful thing I've ever heard in my life. Incredible. She made the other voices (and the orchestra!) sound like toys.

[vitroz]

My God

[amonasro100]

She does it - but it has not much to do with belcanto. Far to noisy - and not many emotions. Singing at Circus Maximus

[vanzofaust]

Her line isn't fantastic, she doesn't seem to master vocal coloring, but I wonder if the French language is taking its toll. I'd like to hear her sing this in Italian.

[UrsulanChild]

Hmm...a dramatic mezzo with a gigantic, flexible voice with absolute command of the instrument right up to an impressive sustained High-C#? Hard to top this, folks...I wouldn't say that Dolora Zajick has the most beautiful instrument in her fach-- but her many other virtues make up for what some may call forceful singing. As Isola Jones once told me, "Oh, Dolora? She's the real deal. She gets the job done!"

[petrina1022]

I heard her sing Adalgisa at the Met a while back and she was phenomenal. HUGE voice, but extremely well-controlled and effectively used for dramatic roles. Whoever said her technique isn't solid doesn't appreciate how hard it is for a singer to learn how to handle such a powerful instrument. Bravissima, Dolores! I salute you!

[save312]

Ulteriore commento: dove sono gli acuti della Amparan? Che meraviglia quelli della Zaijk vero mezzosoprano sfogato di antica scuola!

[save312]

Musedirec ma sei forse parente, sposo/a fidanzato/a della Amparan sei solol ridicolo/a la Amparan NON SA CANTARE.

Stop

[musedirec]

don't confuse the great natural instrument with her lousy technique. all i do is sit and wait for the next high note. listen to giada amparan for an example of what is coming for the true fans. she is a young dramatic mezzo with tons of technique and NO SLOW VIBRATO OR WOBBLE IN THE MIDDLE RANGE. power is genuine, not forced. zajick, as grateful as i am to hear a great natural instrument, should find a voice teacher who will not let her push and wobble. .

[countceprano]

"don't confuse the great natural instrument with her lousy technique...."

LOLOL! And no one will confuse you with someone who knows voices and technique.

[JScorpion11]

@musedirec Please refrain from making non-sensical comments about her technique, because it shows your ignorance, and lack of vocal knowledge. Someone with lousy technique isn't capable of the vocal feats that Dolora does. Listen to any recording of Dolora and you will hear so much diversity in the coloring, dynamics, and acting. If someone does not have a solid technique they would fall flat on their face doing such things. And that wider vibrato that you are referring to is not a wobble...

[JScorpion11]

@musedirec ... based on the sheer size of her instrument her vibrato isn't going to be like a machine gun! I am irate that you would even criticize such vocal prowess in that manner. You clearly don't have any idea of what you are talking about.

[GylchrisSprauve]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSAH!!!!

[Mistlav]

Es esplendida, la mejor mezzo de su generacion, pero tengo que admitir... ME GUSTA MAS LA VERSION DE PHOEBE!!

[Ronizetti]

Brava!

[pasfresh123]

En quelle langue chante-t-elle?

[VerdiMezzo]

I think it is french one second and italian the next, or spanish. But I believe it is french! Now it sounds Czech!

[pasfresh123]

Je ne comprends aucune parole. Tout ce que j'entends, c'est des i, é, eu, sauf exceptions. Elle garde la bouche en cul-de-poule et les dents serrées presque tout le temps. On dirait qu'elle essaie de toucher son nez avec sa lèvre. Seulement ses aigus et graves ont de la résonance, tout le reste est éteint, mat, gris.

[VerdiMezzo]

Je suis d'accord avec vous complètement. Je ne suis pas sûr au sujet de la tension. La tension n'est jamais bonne, qui explique l'élargissement du vibrato. Beau jour !

[xafnndapp]

ahah you are right! She has a spectacular voice but i never got why she kept her middle range so clutched in her mouth and teeh...

[ciociosan]

voce chiusa?

[xafnndapp]

Il "medium" della sua voce per me e' imbottigliato tra la bocca e il collo

[ciociosan]

auf Englisch, bitte?

in Inglese, per pavore?

[xafnndapp]

I am sorry I thought you spoke English as you replied in Italian....

I feel like her voice in the middle is bottled between mouth and neck. Unpleasant.

Great bottom and great high notes, but i don't like her middle part of the voice.

[countceprano]

"Great bottom and great high notes, but i don't like her middle...."

What have you heard her sing live in the opera house? That's the only way to judge a voice. Her voice very well put together and solid, beautiful and huge in the house.

[xafnndapp]

Of course I heard her singing live. Big voice and definitely she has lots of talent. Still, I find her Italian and her diction in general a bit poor and i don't like her bottled middle voice.

[countceprano]

Bottled middle voice? Most mezzos would die to make such a large sound in the middle with their bottled voices. Her Eboli and Amneris at the Met were outstanding and Golden Age singing.

[countceprano]

Also her Santuzza and Adalgisa at the Met. Bottled middle? Not hardly.

[57monks]

@countceprano Could not agree more ---most Ebolis and Amnerises pale by comparison. Perhaps not the most gorgeous voice, but God! is she exciting. I heard her do this piece at the Eve Queler Gala at Carnegie Hall 2 years ago, and Dolora was just beyond belief, a true force of nature. Her dramatic expressiveness and attention to dynamics are models for all singers.

[tenormcgee]

I agree that her diction is a little difficult to understand, but so was Joan Sutherland's. Sometimes diction must be sacrificed a little to make the best technique come through to make the most beautiful sounds.

[xafnndapp]

I don't agree but I respect your point.

To me, a great diction is essential.

[tenormcgee]

Oh, I'm not saying I don't believe it's essential, I agree with you on that point, but I watched an interview on here that Joan Sutherland did, and one thing they talked about was the only way she was able to perfect her legato line and be a perfect bel canto soprano was to sacrifice some of the diction. It's nice having a calm respectable conversation, thank you.

[macskaas]

I can't find this aria with Marilyn Horne. I think her recital is the BEST!!!!!!!!!

[montsyblackmaddona]

Powerful!!! 5/5

[albertogrilo]

She is perfect. Lower register strong as a Mezzo should have.

Then, the high notes... out of this world. The high sharp in diminuendo is a must.

[albertogrilo]

Sorry I ment high C Sharp

[emmatoth]

Unfortunately, we barely have a recording device, what truly gives the human voice back.

I heard her sing in Carnegie Hall.her voice is truly amazing! Her high notes goes over 5 sopranos+ orchestra, she is GREAT!!! She has a huge voice!!!

[fer1179]

Zajick rocks!

5/5

[UrsulanChild]

I'm not gonna lie-- there are some moments that I wish had a little more honey on them to make them less blunt. However, where can you find another dramatic mezzo of our time who has push-button high notes, clear up to a High C# upon which she does an enviable diminuendo? Many sopranos out there on the market have to bow before Zajick as she shows them up in their register! This ain't my most favorite rendition, but I have to stand up and give respect where it's due. She handled her business.

[tehen162]

Amazing. 5/5

[spitface33]

CADS!!!! you have no idea what you are saying, just return to your pitiful Alagnas and Dessays. I have you laugh, perhaps you do not know the caliber of the voice you are hearing due to the sad state of opera today. Zajick belongs in the time of the real greats, Corelli, Monaco and the like when one could hear them over an orchestra.

[sirenadellopera]

Right on!!!!

[UrsulanChild]

AMEN!!!

[mezzomeera]

You are right on, my friend. Zajick has always been and stlll is a phenomenal singer. I saw her three years ago in Don Carlo. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life. Her chest voice is powerful and clear and her high notes exquisite. Brava Dolora!

[lilibetp]

Absolutely! I saw her in Don Carlo at the Met and she absolutely blew away the rest of the cast.

[ciociosan]

saw her as adalgisa at the met... i wanted her to sing norma

can you imagine her singing norma to swenson's adalgisa?

only in my wildest dreams....

[lilibetp]

Giggle.

[xlgrobonom]

I was there. This was maybe the stronger moment i spend in an opera house during 15 years. Listening on records makes you can't even imagine the feeling this voice can produce. Hearing there you can say: "it miss that, this would be better, she'd must etc." But, in the house, you die for pleasure !

[fazendasantoexpedito]

Does Miss Zajick have an idea about what she is singing? Impossible to understand a word! I can't find any exprerssion at all. Only voice and voice and more voice (and not always a nice one). Visually I prefer not to talk about. Nothing happens.

[CandyHaleLinton]

This is COARSE musically, artistically and visually

[d123h456]

Amongst all the criticism it's worth pointing out that you're listening to one of the top few mezzos in this generation signing live with everything she's got. Most mezzos would give their right arm for her top voice. Brava! 5/4.

[kensajolaw]

i'd give both my arms and maybe a leg:)

[toplesstenor]

I always want to like Dolora, but I can't understand a word she sings most of the time. Her diction is non-existent especially in French. She is what I call a "fish-mouth" singer. I can't discern any consonants in her singing, let alone the different e vowels in French. She might as well be singing er-er-er.

But her tone is always exciting.

[ChuckNYC71]

WOW 5/5

[sedahedonja]

... 5/5!!!

[sedahedonja]

In the score is written: "Leonora di Guzman - Soprano"...so we solved all our problems...:-)

There are a lot of mezzos with a big "?" by the way, at least she is singing with HER voice and is not trying to get her voice darker like Cossotto always did...

[AmatureComposer]

AT that time I think that mezzos weren't distinguished in the score - either a soprano (as with Mozart or Donizetti) or alto (Rossini) is mentioned. Yet the part was written for Ms. Stoltz who was a known mezzo.

[sedahedonja]

Yeah, I know, the ms and baritone were just being born at that time, but yet... in other scores like the I Capuleti e i Montecchi is written clearly "mezzosoprano"(the Romeo! :-)), although the register is even a little higher, like Adalgisa...

But, at the end I like it the way that everybody can sing the parts which are "suiting" them the best.

[cantanteporsiempre]

i totally agree with this, because, there are some voices that can be named like sopranos because they can scale really high, but the middle can be suited for mezzo parts, so if the part suits you, you can sing it, there¨s the case of Bartoli, she sings like mezzo and soprano.

[tenorismo]

Soprano ? where do you get that the meat of her voice in her lower register. She happens to have a top yes but the meat of her voice is a mezzo . Elias

[AmatureComposer]

I think that's the point: She is quite meaty in her lower register, but there many dramatic sopranos who have similar sound there, and she is not as strong as were Obraztsova or Cossotto near the middle c. On the whole Zajick has an enormous sound, hence it is also big at the lower reaches, but I think her upper range is more than usually dominant compared to standard mezzos. Obviously I wouldn't compare her to altos.

[AmatureComposer]

Perhaps she is not a soprano, but something in the middle between sopranos and mezzos (Falcone). Zajick described herself as a "high mezzo".

[soundfond]

In his "Training Soprano Voices", Richard Miller states "there are authorities who make no differentiation between the dramatic soprano & the dramatic mezzo-soprano. They regard the large mezzo-soprano voice as a dramatic soprano with a short top range. For them the Zwischenfachsangerin & the dramatic mezzo-soprano are but subcategories of the dramatic soprano...

[soundfond]

"...This is too limited a viewpoint, because it does not take sufficiently into account divergent timbres nor the location of registration events that characterize categories of the female voice..The dramatic mezzo-soprano often sings as high as and no lower than the dramatic soprano, but her timbre displays depth and the darker colors associated with tragedy, intrigue, jealousy, revenge,..."

[soundfond]

I personally think that Zajick's voice displays such darker nuances, and also, if one listens carefully to that ascending scale to the high C# will notice that the 2nd passaggio had occurred much lower, around high A#, and the sustained note itself does not float like the same one produced by a dramatic soprano. It shimmers but it's totally wrapped in the core of the voice. Not to mention the richness & comfort she shows in the middle-lower & lower registers.

[vitroz]

Thank you Dolora for keeping opera alive.....up are one of the only ones these days

[REIKI65]

bellissima voce.. espressività e fraseggio totlamente assenti

[1calaf]

5/5 Wonderful. Big big fan of her.

[soundfond]

The high D-flat in the ascending cadenza is a miracle, very few sopranos would be able to pull it as she did these days. BTW, hers is a true dramatic mezzo-soprano, with its top completely attached to the center of the voice, not nearly as floating as any type of soprano is produced in that passaggio. Heard her Amneris last month at the Met, warmth, mezzo-soprano richness & legato are abundant throughout. Ah, and huge sound, topping the entire staff in Gloria all'Egitto.

[operamusicfan]

Grace Bumbry said that Zajick is actually a soprano.

[AmatureComposer]

Zajick, Zajick, Zajick...

The interpolated high c sharp was not that good idea.

We all know that Zajick is more of a soprano than a real mezzo, yet here she outdid herself.

Her lack of wormth and mezzo-like richness on a note like f made her run up to a higher interpolated note - a natural - in the slow part.

She seemed too bored in this section anyway.

Prefer Cossotto

[soundfond]

I don't see a problem when a singer with a dramatic voice renders a rather lyrical role. Not when the singer's expressivity is faithful to text, as hers is in here. I find it problematic when the opposite occurs, and that'd be especially for the singers themselves, putting their own voice in jeopardy. At the same time, truth is great voices are historically not easily taken...

[SDCmorg]

What a great singer indeed! Though I agree with actionsrlouder that the voice is really too dramatic for Leonor. Still amazingly good, tho! Verdi mezzo usually don't do well coping with the bel canto music. She sounds too angry for me and not premonitive enough.

[actionsrlouder]

Incredible voice, but this repertoire does not suit her voice. Her voice is too dramatic and too powerful for this role. All I hear is lazer beams coming out of her mouth. Belcanto requires good vocal expression something that I don't hear in her voice. She also looks piss off singing this aria, like if she's singing "O don fatale."

[fazendasantoexpedito]

I don't think this is a problem of Miss Zajick voice being "too powerful". The problem is that is evident her repertoire teacher did'nt explained her that this is not "angry Amneris" or "angry Eboli". She overdoes and her singing lacks good taste.

[soundfond]

It's truly sad to see some gratuitous negative comments in regards to the art of one of the greatest and most talented artists on stage today. Have you ever seen her live? Or else, have you ever been to an opera? I doubt it. By your comments one can tell you have a rather shallow concept of what operatic singing is.

[pasfresh123]

That's gotta be the most common comment in youtube.

[leadingbyxample]

Zajick is amazing! She's gives singers a great example to follow. Her technique is so consistent: round mouth, grounded, flexible posture, etc, and the voice comes floating out every time. I would also like to see a bit more expression. 5/4

[BAMBAM8993]

Such power! 5/5

[spizell]

There are so few singers of her ability. I just love her. I wish she had the following she deserves.  5/5

[tenorismo]

Without the opening line " O Mio Fernando" it dosen't have the same sentiment in french. But she is absoultly wonderfull

[caspiman]

If Cossotto gets 5, this will be 4/4.5.

Not bad, but far not the level of great italian mezzos...

[Bigman240]

If she could only vary her facial expression a bit more! Impressive voice!

[primadonna13]

She is lovely!!

4/5

[janejones11]

Amazing, powerful instrument, incredible upper register! I usually associate her with Verdi so it is interesting to hear her in Bel Canto. She is an absolutely thrilling singer.

5/4.5

[soundfond]

I've said it before but I must repeat that I love it when she twists her body in sharp turns, rubs and holds her right palm with the left thumb in a nervous, boyish and tender way.. quite cute... In time: 5/5.

[soundfond]

El Gran Teatre del Liceu is known for its massive proportions, but in that evening its walls and rafters were shaken by Dolora's high Bflat's, B's and C. Is there another true dramatic mezzo-soprano on stage nowadays? I can only think of Ludwig, who's still teaching but has retired. But not only big sound this great singer relies on. Commitment to text and stage persona as well. BRAVA.

[sschimel]

This isn't French in an Italian opera, because the opera was written to a French libretto and premiered in Paris in 1840. it was performed in Italian until 1842.

[fer1179]

She's wonderful! her high notes are absolutelly amazing!

5/5

[Orfeus80]

Wow, I usually dislike French in Italian operas but here it really works and gives Dolora more charm than she has. Vocally so solid, excellent. 5/5

[vitroz]

Dolora is opera. If only the opera houses were full of such artists!

[rawdonqueen]

Powerful singing, short on flexibility.  Her high notes are wonderful. 4/4

[operadm]

powerful 5/5

[curiequ]

4/3.5

[sevoflurane]

Vocally outstanding! She does not make much of an effort in the characterization in my opinion 5/3

[drdre333]

This is absolutely sensational (holy high note!). An easy winner, and kudos for it being the french version...

5/5

I've seen her live, and I can only imagine how this was in the house... WOW.

[dinacarina88]

BRAVA!!!! 5/5

[nickbigd]

I am a Zajick fan. She's under-appreciated. This was superb. 5/5

[patjan92]

4/5.

[BeauTenor]

All I can say is...wow. Absolutely phenomenal singing. 5/5