I heard her sing a Christmas recital in Chapel Hill, NC 3years ago. She was still in great voice. She sang all the way up to D6 more than once. One of them was sustained. My teacher used to sing at the Met at the same time as her. She introduced my fellow students and I to Miss.Battle after the concert. She engaged in a lovely conversation w/us about our voices and training. I have been and always will be a fan. To all haters, bashing one singer DOES NOT elevate your favorite singer.
@winsome1235 No one ever built a monument to a critic. Her technique worked for her and she knew how to present herself. It seems she stuck to her guns as far as technique goes - as well as her convictions towards people. You can't argue with consistency - but you can argue about the voice. However I'm inclined to think her voice has always been a matter of taste rather than anything technically. I believe most only listen through recordings which does little justice for any singer.
JACKSVOICE: Good grief. How do you know that she was not trying to express emotion? How do people come up with things like that. She may not have moved you but you certainly cannot say what she was "trying" to do.
I've listened and listened to this singer, of course have heard the rumours of her difficult disposition (who cares?) which some believe curtailed a burgeoning career, and can only conclude that her career didn't flourish because there is a complete lack of natural human expression in her singing. Impressive show, yes, but able to truly move you? Well, not me. Such emotionally disconnected singing will always lead to early vocal decay and I think this is the reason she disappeared.
her vowels if you sing Italian are perfect.And she knows exactly wheer in the body and is able to produce a fabulous cantilena as well as timbre.go eat cat food fool!
Please, don't get mad at me... but Battle was absolutely incapable of singing a decent Rosina. If we need to adapt a character to our voice that much... I think we should sing something else (in Battle's case, just leggero parts). I highly recommend you to hear Anna Moffo's Rosina here in youtube; I think you'll find her interpretation much better in any sense. Just compare and tell me. Thank you for the video!
I just saw her perform this piece in San Diego - incredible. Her voice was fantastic and she was so very gracious, singing one encore after another. The audience truly, truly showed their love.
I kinda wish she wasn't moving around sooo much. But that could just be because the camera is having trouble following her. Getting a tad sea sick. Just a playful comment.
One of the best coloratura singers ever! She's in my top 10 list alongside: Popp, Moser, Sutherland, Sills, Tetrazzini, Melba, Gruberova, Sumi Jo and Dessay!
i think acting wise shes is leaps and bounds ahead of someone like sutherland who probably would be seen as having a better all around technique. However in the presentation I am sure a Sills or Sutherland would just stand there....what a bore to watch for 40 plus years on end... yes fantastic voices but tedious...brava Ms. Battle.
naters81 is right. while a lot of people are put under the coloratura label, they shouldn't be because they aren't true coloraturas and don't have that extra note. battle is a leggiero. (i think this is the conclusion reviewers, conductors and critics have finally come to.)
normally i don't like so much ornamentation on this aria, but she does it so tastefully. maybe it's because she's the only young person doing it. it's really a young girls's aria, and she's amazing. go, kathleen!
Battle describes herself as a soprano legiero which is sort of a cross between a lyric soprano and lyric coloratura soprano. The soprano legiero has a some what warmer quality than a lyric coloratura and doesn't go quite as high ending at a high E6. Battle doesn't have the high F6 that a lyric coloratura would have.
I would classify her as a lyric coloratura soprano, suited for mozart,rossini,gunod,strauss,handel,sicchi, spirituals,jazz,and just about anything she wants to present. It is usually a best performance in their music.
Kathleen Battle's voice is obviously classified as a coloratura soprano. She is considered along with Beverly Sills (and deservedly so) to be one of the greatest coloraturas who have ever lived. The purity and beauty of her tone is unmatched. This performance is exvellent not only in execution but in acting ability. It is unfortunate that those who "can't" tend to be the first to criticize.
Not to take away from Ms Battle, I adore her, but I think you will be hard pressed to find people in the opera community who list her and Sills as the two greatest coluraturas who ever lived. She might be on a list with like, the top 15 or something. Not that she isnt stupendous, but coluratura applies to a lot of sopranos, and you are leaving out some important ones like sutherland, as well as the hundreds who were around in the first half of the 20th century. And those around before recordings
I think coloratura roles should'nt be sung by lyric sopranos. Since, (I think; and it seems) that Kathleen Battle is a lyric, the voice is not well suited to the role. Maybe she needs to sing roles like The Countess in Le Nozze de Figaro or Pamina in Die Zauberflote; roles that can suit her vocal capacities.
This role is meant for Mezzo coloratura so, to me, any soprano that does the aria has automatically altered Rossini's intent. With that said, I think Battle does just as good as any other soprano that sings this role, if not better!
Rossini did write a soprano version of the character. As far as I know, it became the usual one until Conchita Supervia sang the lower version in 1915.
Battle is following a soprano version Rossini wrote him himself. I agree with dugbin and think she shouldn't have sung the role at all, not because she is not even a lyric soprano but a leggero one, but because she just wasn't able do it properly.
This bitch can SING. It doesn't matter what Rossini intended. He's dead, and would probably just be happy to know that he's represented here on YouTube.
Theory doesn't really matter here. She is exceptional!
Kathleen Battle is my favorite Rosina! I have her 1992 Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Placido Domingo. She is miraculous in it. Her voice is a bit smother than this.
I would agree that her charcterization is abit off from what the words she is singing... but she sounds amazing... if this was musical theatre she might not be able to get away with that... but from my understanding of opera the voice tends to be more of the focus than acting...though I definently appreciate a singer an opera singer who can a la Diana Damrau
Hey guys, Rosina was written for the mezzo range (with coloratura techniques) - but exclusively for mezzos. Most sopranos singing this role completely destroy the sense Rossini put into the entire Rosina role. Battle is (was?) a great soprano, but Rosina does not suit her voice.
Superb!!! Absolutely brilliant coloratura!!! The very BEST Rosina of all. Stunning and crystal clear high notes. Puccini would have found Kathleen Battle to be the perfect soprano for his Rosina.
Thanks for the correction!! I had just posted another comment on a Puccini aria on another soprano and still had Puccini on the brain. Didn't mean to slight Mr. Rossini. Thanks again
that's true...but I have a text telling a brevius history of the roles of women in the grand opera and it says that Rossini was actually shocked when the women started replacing the castratti...
I heard her sing a Christmas recital in Chapel Hill, NC 3years ago. She was still in great voice. She sang all the way up to D6 more than once. One of them was sustained. My teacher used to sing at the Met at the same time as her. She introduced my fellow students and I to Miss.Battle after the concert. She engaged in a lovely conversation w/us about our voices and training. I have been and always will be a fan. To all haters, bashing one singer DOES NOT elevate your favorite singer.
keisha528 9 months ago 3
Wonderful voice. She is clear and her voice is a true instrument. The detractors will always be there, forget them.
winsome1235 11 months ago
@winsome1235 No one ever built a monument to a critic. Her technique worked for her and she knew how to present herself. It seems she stuck to her guns as far as technique goes - as well as her convictions towards people. You can't argue with consistency - but you can argue about the voice. However I'm inclined to think her voice has always been a matter of taste rather than anything technically. I believe most only listen through recordings which does little justice for any singer.
songsofscarlet 7 months ago
JACKSVOICE: Good grief. How do you know that she was not trying to express emotion? How do people come up with things like that. She may not have moved you but you certainly cannot say what she was "trying" to do.
TheSoulflower 1 year ago
I've listened and listened to this singer, of course have heard the rumours of her difficult disposition (who cares?) which some believe curtailed a burgeoning career, and can only conclude that her career didn't flourish because there is a complete lack of natural human expression in her singing. Impressive show, yes, but able to truly move you? Well, not me. Such emotionally disconnected singing will always lead to early vocal decay and I think this is the reason she disappeared.
jacksvoice 1 year ago
I heard her tonight in Ottawa. It was amazing.
fryzee11 1 year ago 2
Damrau or DiDonato do a much better job. She strains on the high notes.
saagua1953 1 year ago
her vowels if you sing Italian are perfect.And she knows exactly wheer in the body and is able to produce a fabulous cantilena as well as timbre.go eat cat food fool!
lovesGenet 1 year ago
Does anyone else hear that she doesn't pronounce the vowels right? :/
sorry fans, it's true..
PhoenixFlowerSophia 2 years ago
Where's the rest of the aria??? This is just half of it!
soaringsound 2 years ago
Kathleen Battle is the most sublime soprano!
tenorfan0609 2 years ago 4
i completely AGREE with sugarobyn - BITCH CAN SING. PERIOD.
alexdeaguiarreuter 2 years ago 9
lol... bitch can SANG......:-)
Babs22h 2 years ago
Joli, mais c'est avant tout un air de mezzo.
mariasarda 2 years ago 4
I believe she did a great job.
Ladie702 2 years ago 2
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Please, don't get mad at me... but Battle was absolutely incapable of singing a decent Rosina. If we need to adapt a character to our voice that much... I think we should sing something else (in Battle's case, just leggero parts). I highly recommend you to hear Anna Moffo's Rosina here in youtube; I think you'll find her interpretation much better in any sense. Just compare and tell me. Thank you for the video!
DiomedesDioscuro 2 years ago
She is absolutely phenomenon!
singcrossover 2 years ago 4
I just saw her perform this piece in San Diego - incredible. Her voice was fantastic and she was so very gracious, singing one encore after another. The audience truly, truly showed their love.
TraveltoMexico 2 years ago
P.S. she was extra flat on the last note...
operababe2010 2 years ago
I kinda wish she wasn't moving around sooo much. But that could just be because the camera is having trouble following her. Getting a tad sea sick. Just a playful comment.
operababe2010 2 years ago
Nobody could sing this better. she ruled the world for a while
rad2damax 2 years ago 6
Whichever fach you'd like to call Kathleen Battle, in this aria the important thing is that the runs are absolutely clean. And they are.
tritone212 3 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
She looks like a maid (as in Aunt Jemima maid).... sorry ......
thesillycunt 3 years ago
My God, your name is appropriate for your mentality!! Go to HELL!!
nichtsleezy 3 years ago
Hhahahahaha Racist asshole!
She's amazing!
So suck it
Ladie702 2 years ago 2
One of the best coloratura singers ever! She's in my top 10 list alongside: Popp, Moser, Sutherland, Sills, Tetrazzini, Melba, Gruberova, Sumi Jo and Dessay!
yodavidnavarro 3 years ago 2
How is Cecilia Bartoli not on your list???
Talk2ben 2 years ago
Comment removed
operababe2010 2 years ago
i think acting wise shes is leaps and bounds ahead of someone like sutherland who probably would be seen as having a better all around technique. However in the presentation I am sure a Sills or Sutherland would just stand there....what a bore to watch for 40 plus years on end... yes fantastic voices but tedious...brava Ms. Battle.
Babs22h 3 years ago
naters81 is right. while a lot of people are put under the coloratura label, they shouldn't be because they aren't true coloraturas and don't have that extra note. battle is a leggiero. (i think this is the conclusion reviewers, conductors and critics have finally come to.)
normally i don't like so much ornamentation on this aria, but she does it so tastefully. maybe it's because she's the only young person doing it. it's really a young girls's aria, and she's amazing. go, kathleen!
oleander1684 3 years ago
Battle describes herself as a soprano legiero which is sort of a cross between a lyric soprano and lyric coloratura soprano. The soprano legiero has a some what warmer quality than a lyric coloratura and doesn't go quite as high ending at a high E6. Battle doesn't have the high F6 that a lyric coloratura would have.
naters81 3 years ago
A good performance from the lyric coloratura/soubrette soprano
romarius2005 4 years ago
BRAVISSIMA!!!!! IMPECCABCABLE!!!
NATULINAN 4 years ago
I would classify her as a lyric coloratura soprano, suited for mozart,rossini,gunod,strauss,handel,sicchi, spirituals,jazz,and just about anything she wants to present. It is usually a best performance in their music.
Brownmuscle2007 4 years ago
Kathleen Battle's voice is obviously classified as a coloratura soprano. She is considered along with Beverly Sills (and deservedly so) to be one of the greatest coloraturas who have ever lived. The purity and beauty of her tone is unmatched. This performance is exvellent not only in execution but in acting ability. It is unfortunate that those who "can't" tend to be the first to criticize.
renzy79 4 years ago 3
Not to take away from Ms Battle, I adore her, but I think you will be hard pressed to find people in the opera community who list her and Sills as the two greatest coluraturas who ever lived. She might be on a list with like, the top 15 or something. Not that she isnt stupendous, but coluratura applies to a lot of sopranos, and you are leaving out some important ones like sutherland, as well as the hundreds who were around in the first half of the 20th century. And those around before recordings
LFP2010 3 years ago 2
this is wonderful! could you please post more of this production?
scordeteyla 4 years ago
I think coloratura roles should'nt be sung by lyric sopranos. Since, (I think; and it seems) that Kathleen Battle is a lyric, the voice is not well suited to the role. Maybe she needs to sing roles like The Countess in Le Nozze de Figaro or Pamina in Die Zauberflote; roles that can suit her vocal capacities.
dugbin 5 years ago
This role is meant for Mezzo coloratura so, to me, any soprano that does the aria has automatically altered Rossini's intent. With that said, I think Battle does just as good as any other soprano that sings this role, if not better!
bowgrefal 4 years ago 2
Rossini did write a soprano version of the character. As far as I know, it became the usual one until Conchita Supervia sang the lower version in 1915.
DiomedesDioscuro 2 years ago
Battle is following a soprano version Rossini wrote him himself. I agree with dugbin and think she shouldn't have sung the role at all, not because she is not even a lyric soprano but a leggero one, but because she just wasn't able do it properly.
DiomedesDioscuro 2 years ago
blah blah blah....
This bitch can SING. It doesn't matter what Rossini intended. He's dead, and would probably just be happy to know that he's represented here on YouTube.
Theory doesn't really matter here. She is exceptional!
sugarobyn 2 years ago
Kathleen Battle is my favorite Rosina! I have her 1992 Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Placido Domingo. She is miraculous in it. Her voice is a bit smother than this.
negvar 5 years ago
i love sopranos...even more so the coloraturas...but she was doin a lil much....hmmmmm
kenndogg 5 years ago
lol
Jamaicanchocolate34 4 years ago
too sweet. Looks like a stupid Rosina with no brain.
cecilcecilka 5 years ago
Yeah, I don't like her characterization at all.
DiomedesDioscuro 2 years ago
I would agree that her charcterization is abit off from what the words she is singing... but she sounds amazing... if this was musical theatre she might not be able to get away with that... but from my understanding of opera the voice tends to be more of the focus than acting...though I definently appreciate a singer an opera singer who can a la Diana Damrau
Babs22h 2 years ago
This is around the time she went all nuts and the Met had to fire her.
operamusicfan 5 years ago
check Horne's Rosina out - I like it much better - less extravagant and great coloratura as well!
pigsears 5 years ago
Her singing is good, but she simply gets lost in the whole coloratura embellishment, and forgot about the character itself.
alexmacias 5 years ago
damn that woman is amazing!!!! I love coloraturas! Even though Kathleen isn't a coloratura she's a lyric. but she sings the notes just as well.
tjonesmusicman 5 years ago
Hey guys, Rosina was written for the mezzo range (with coloratura techniques) - but exclusively for mezzos. Most sopranos singing this role completely destroy the sense Rossini put into the entire Rosina role. Battle is (was?) a great soprano, but Rosina does not suit her voice.
dchemaly396 5 years ago
tereza berganza...I have a recording of her singing it and it's true....the mezzo voice is the one that fits in ths music and role...
creidhe 5 years ago
Is this recorded from the PBS special that was released on video or is this taken from the Met itself?
FoggyRoad81 5 years ago
Superb!!! Absolutely brilliant coloratura!!! The very BEST Rosina of all. Stunning and crystal clear high notes. Puccini would have found Kathleen Battle to be the perfect soprano for his Rosina.
ChagoWilson 5 years ago
Kathleen Battle..Puccini's Rosina?? Oh NO!!! Gioacchino Rossini wrote IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA....Not Giacomo Puccini LOL :).
BlkMuscGent 5 years ago
Thanks for the correction!! I had just posted another comment on a Puccini aria on another soprano and still had Puccini on the brain. Didn't mean to slight Mr. Rossini. Thanks again
ChagoWilson 5 years ago
i think it was Rossini that hated the sopranos...
creidhe 5 years ago
nope, he had two mezzi in his touring company. so many of his operas have mezzo leads.
josephlemon 5 years ago
that's true...but I have a text telling a brevius history of the roles of women in the grand opera and it says that Rossini was actually shocked when the women started replacing the castratti...
creidhe 5 years ago
Isn't Rosina a mezzo part?
boipussi 5 years ago
yes it is...
creidhe 5 years ago
Come one, he didn't! Otherwise he wouldn't have that many and marvelous soprano roles. But he would've definitely hated Battle's Rosina, for sure!
DiomedesDioscuro 2 years ago