Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - Vanessa - Act I - Barber

[larespo1]

A beautiful voice that went unappreciated by those people who do not know what bel canto is. She was an aftist -- the voice was always focused and there is so much beauty and color in it and her dynamic range is great: pianissimo on up. How anyone can consider her performances lacking in musicianship is indicative of how limited that listener's musical ear is. If you are looking for Callas, go ahead, but remember that she did not sing correctly and lost her voice within a matter of 12-15 years.

[LorneAGruen]

Schlittschu'::)

[WagnerFan25]

Kiri te Kanawa is a brilliant musician, but she is a lyric soprano, and should stay away from the dramatic repertoire. It sounds all wrong!

[mrantiquedealer]

She's all wrong for this and the conducting is void of any excitement. She... is always void of excitement!

[damekirilover]

It's a question of TASTE........She, as usual, is always tasteful and knows how to maintain this charm instead of screaming.

[blktenorpower]

if you look closely, she SO trips on her dress an falls! wow

[bradoperaman]

Dame Kiri is a wonderful singer but this repertoire is too big and uncomfortable for her. It's borderline painful to watch. This is a spinto, dramatic territory and Ms. Te Kanawa's voice is clearly a lyric one. Kudos to her for learning this insanely difficult music and giving it her all.

[jschultz4]

I saw her do this role live in Washington DC - in a small house she phoned the part in. It was boring and insipid.

[blatinokat]

I agree.....such a lovely voice but here is too strident....

[divaesq]

Wow, Kiri has some acting chops and passion!

[148jules]

Fascinating! (I saw the NYCO production last fall with Rosalind Elias as the Baroness and the incredible Lauren Flanigan as Vanessa. Since Dame Kiri is not recording then Flanigan is the ideal Vanessa today. Also saw her in Seattle Opera's Vanessa many years ago and she only gets better with age!)

[Chasson0318]

I just happened upon this and saw your mention of Lauren Flanigan...Glad to see she is still singing...I started out with her over 20 years ago!

[wotanman]

THIS is the Kiri I've always wanted to hear. She just got better with age and still kept it sexay!

You go girl!

[SchweigsameFrau]

Thank you for this!

[damekirilover]

You're welcome!

(I visited Regensburg last summer. It's a wonderful town with richness of art and history!)

[Hjadlowker]

What a wonderful opera this is! Great performance indeed by Dame Kiri. Thanks for posting, Kiri-loving.

Unfortunately there are so few recordings of the work, apart from the Mitropoulos. Has Fleming recorded it?

[damekirilover]

I don't think Miss Fleming has recorded it.

[Hjadlowker]

That's too bad! Now that Dame Kiri is not recording, a dream-cast would be Fleming, Graham, Ramey (while he is still around). As for the tenor... Gedda remains unsurpassed. Thanks for the imput.

[mattyslipp]

Renee recorded this particular scene on her "I Want Magic" CD, it's really thrilling! Her diction isn't... though it's odd, her Italian and German diciton is quite impeccable yet her English diction is a little sloppy... truly though that's the only downfall of the recording! Check it out.

[justasondheimbaby]

@damekirilover It's on Fleming's "American Opera Arias" CD. So glad this version with Te Kanawa was caught on tape :)

[yasminile]

Thank you so much for putting this here! I've been looking for Vanessas aria for ever! where did you get this?

[LaBelleHelene]

I feel as my heart has just stopped beating for a while... I'm frozen.

[damekirilover]

dameKIRIlover will warm you up......

[LaBelleHelene]

th*nks! ;D