Much as I love Renée Fleming, and much as I do love this rendition, I still think her voice is best suited for German opera. There a few points where the high notes, while beautiful, aren't nearly as strong or loud as I think they should be. But then again, it is only a marker of Renée's unique, perfectly respectable style.
Here are the lyrics: Quando men vo, Quando men vo soletta per la via, La gente sosta e mira. E la bellezza mia tutta ricerca in me, Ricerca in me da capo a pie. Ed assaporo allor la bramosia sottil, Che da gl'occhi traspira. E dai palesi vezzi intender sa Alle occulte belta. Cosi l'effluvio del desio Tutta ma'ggira. Felice mi fa! Felice mi fa! E tu che sai, Che memori e ti struggi, Da me tanto rifuggi? So ben: le angoscie tue non le vuoi dir, Non le vuoi dir, So ben ma ti senti morir!
Bravo! The best vocalist and best version on this site, by far. Musical control and emotive power combine to reveal what Puccini surely intended for the complex and seductive character of Musseta.
I love her interpretation of this aria...her voice brings a melancholy to it that makes it (the aria) sound ironic...yes shes beautiful and everyone stares at her beauty yet you can hear the sadness..almost like shes alone in all her beauty...LOVE it :)
This is the best interpretation I have heard so far. It abounds with a wide range of feelings in various gradations. The technique employed is also superb. The soprano is not only in complete command of the aria. She is simply one with the music. This performance beats Kiri's and any other soprano's. Where may I reach Ms. Fleming?
It's interesting that Moffo and Fleming have that musky, come-hither voice quality but the difference between the two is Moffo didn't milk it to excess. "Double creme" might be nice but doesn't offer a balanced diet. It can even get boring and even intrudes on musical considerations. Moffo's "Quando" is far superior, sparkling, not bogged down in creamy mush.
That's very true. For such a gorgeous dark voice, Renee tends to make it over-dark with all her scoops and her phrasing. She has a fantastic voice, but Puccini can be so much lighter and especially with this role/aria, very flirty.
WEll, I hate to disagree with you folks but this interpretation is definetly not Musetta, it is not a love song, it is not introspective, . but its FLEMING doing what she wants including that jazzy shit with her voice, God i am learning to hate this woman.
I am talking about decrescendos and she did them all the time, beautifully .. You must not like her, or you would have heard it.. yes, it is nothing new.. She did on high E flats.. as well.
I didn't. But I guess Mrs. Fleming does not admire the extension of late Mrs. Callas' voice nor her phrasing.
I certainly don't.
I not only hear. I listen. I like to know very well what I dislike and taught my children to do so. I don't like Callas' voice. And her phrasing didn't improve her results, in my opinion. But I'm only talking about her performances after 1950.
You are arrogant, and ignorant, a lethal combination. You know very well, that there is fabulous singing of Callas after 1950, but its ok. I dont like Fleming and she is still a pretty good singer, but she sounds swallowed to me, and I hate her jazzy phrasing, and her lack of attention to musicality.
We are not talking about me. We have different tastes. It's OK. Ignorant? I explain what I like or dislike and why. And I don't hide my name.
If it's only a matter of tastes the discussion is over. You didn't need to insult.
You may like to know that, years ago, in Barcelona, Opera lovers - Callas vs Tebaldi - used to fight at the very doors of the Liceo theatre. I stand ready to explain why I dislike Callas' style. Don't need to blow anybody's brains off with the silver handle of my stick.
Okay Xavier, and I am not hiding behind my name either, as it is my name! And it is a matter of taste.. I dont expect you to like Callas, for instance, I do not like Tebaldi much, howeever, I have heard recordings and performances of hers that I like, and I can appreciate her, even though she was not to my liking, Callas.. for instance, had a tremendous impact on opera in general.. And she did have decrescendos . and crescendos.. one of the few singers to actually pay attention to that
Now, don't you agree on the idea that the beauty of phrasing is doing it the way a string would do? I mean a violin, not a harp, of course. What strikes me in Di Stefano is this calm long phrasing, the way he hides a tremendous control of breathing under a tide of beauty. And even so, letting his words go in such a neat way that you could write them down after only a first course in Italian.
No, I am not kidding. The trouble with you that do not listen to a singer, based on hearing one aria, you decide you dont like her voice, is that you do not get an accurate impression of what they were really like as an artist. For instance, I do not like Tebaldi much, however, this is based on listening to many of her performances and records, it is not based on one or two instances. I still can find performances of Tebadi that I find admirable.
Yes she descrescendos wonderfully, her voice sounds so light and delicate, yet powerful even in her pianos and pianissimos. Decrescendoing as evenly as one crescendos is very difficult to do, and she just sounds wonderful. beautiful!
Something in the back of my mind tells me that there were english lyrics used (was it for a pop recording?) which made it a love song. "Don't you know, I have fallen in love with you" instead of Quando men vo. Does this ring a bell?
Beautiful, indeed. Warm, neat phrasing. Reminds me of her eyes.
Please, please, do tell me some true really nasty things about her. I badly need not to fall in love with her. Don't let her turn my life into a yoghourt.
Yeah. It's about when she walks down the street all the boys stare at her to see her beauty. She's a very extravagant woman and is actually singing this song to get another man to look at her. Duh. I meant Rene's voice makes me cry.
Please, don't say song. It's an aria. It's actually about a lot more than that, but I see you got your Wiki-definition down pretty good. You should try watching Act IV, that'll make you cry.
i agree, This aria is certainly not a tear jerker when you consider it's meaning, but it is so beautiful that i imagine one could be moved to tears after listening to it. Being moved by a piece is not always because of it's meaning, but because of how it made you feel listening to it. Just my 2 cents...
The melody alone is very beautiful and can move one to tears. While it is funny, it is also romantic and sensitive. Musetta is trying to get Rodolfo to see how much he really loves her ("You wont admit it..but you are dying inside!"..at the end which is forte...meant sung with lots of emotion). Then at the end they get together. How could you not gush over that lol.
but why is she trying to make him jealous? i thought it was so that he could get back with her..as is done at the end of the aria. Its open for interpretation i guess. I know forte means loud..however, forte sections..atleast from what i've learnt are used to convey deep emotion. Like sadness, anger,..my two cents. The great thing about opera is that is all open to interpretation. Not saying i am right. Just my take on it.
Musetta is estranged from Marcello and with an old man - she makes a scene to make him jealous, but also to let him know that she still loves him, not that he still loves her - she knows that, which is why she does what she does.
I dont understand how she is trying to let him now that she still loves him when she says " And you know, who remember and yearns, You shrink from me. I know it very well. You do not want to express your anguish. I know it so well that you do not want to express it but you feel as if you are dying inside! To me it seems like she is singing about his love for her not conveying her love him.Although it can implied that she is because she is trying to make jealous. Make sense?
I guess contextually speaking. I view forte notes as exclamation marks in music. In that they are sung loud for some reason. The author of the music must want something expressed in that phrase. Does that make sense?
Yes, but forte is used for any instrument - it is a dynamic marking and not limited to vocal pieces at all. It simply means loud. Interpretation uses dynamic markings like forte and piano(soft), but as a starting point. It really just means loud, honest! What the composer intended must be interpreted with much more than just a dynamic marking.
i gotcha..i probably should have specified in the context of opera. Most, if not, forte sections in operatic singing are supposed to convey deep emotion. I understand what u mean though. :0)
I actually had the chance to meet Renee Fleming once. She is a truly stunning person. I have yet to hear a voice that pulls at me like hers does. Everything from her control to the smooth honey-like way the music comes out of her just blows me away every time.
Brilliant! So rich in sound and feeling!
SufitMusic 3 months ago
Lovely, delicate, full of emotion...slowly she gives us a "present."
ger6704 4 months ago
Much as I love Renée Fleming, and much as I do love this rendition, I still think her voice is best suited for German opera. There a few points where the high notes, while beautiful, aren't nearly as strong or loud as I think they should be. But then again, it is only a marker of Renée's unique, perfectly respectable style.
eliasnestelle 6 months ago 2
Her high notes are divine
MissAmbassador 7 months ago
what a beautiful sound....i wish i have this sound..
syazwanjunaidi6 11 months ago
whitemouseish 1 year ago
Bravo! The best vocalist and best version on this site, by far. Musical control and emotive power combine to reveal what Puccini surely intended for the complex and seductive character of Musseta.
Zeppolino100 1 year ago
Her musicality seems to be in a different league than her colleagues. ......
She brings the role and music - musical storytelling - to life - with seemingly less effort
than most as well.... I think of her a bit as the singing equivalent of Arthur Rubinstein.
She chose a great tempo for this piece methinks, and it really seems perfect for
her particular voice.
sdorr 1 year ago 5
Her musicality seems to be in a different league than her colleagues. ......
She brings the role and music - musical storytelling - to life - with seemingly less effort
than most as well.... I think of her a bit as the singing equivalent of Arthur Rubinstein.
She chose a great tempo for this pice methings, and it really seems perfect for
her particular voice.
sdorr 1 year ago
Both Renee and Kiri have a very mature sexuality and sensuality when they sing this-- not to mention to-die-for musicality and phrasing.
leoniemikele 1 year ago
@leoniemikele They are similar. Renee always seems to be trying to hard. If she relaxed a bit, she might be even better.
osinging 1 year ago
SING RENEE!!! Everytime I want to learn an aria I search for her version =)
meroekhalia 1 year ago 3
Multus Pulcherimus, Est magnima bene, Celestbus est invidus altae pulcherae carmenae.
Chainsawkoneko 1 year ago
Ms. Fleming who makes the character a real," melancólico", and a multi-dimensional human being. She interprets a BEAUTIFUL MUSETTA.
Tenorbravo 1 year ago
Effortless. I don't know how she does it.
jwellin33 1 year ago
Music of the angels...
summergirl63 1 year ago
Wow!
She sounds amazing.
I will like this. =)
The notes she hits are very powerful.
BeeRieOnBroadway 1 year ago
my only goddess*__*
KriBlackRoson 1 year ago
I love her interpretation of this aria...her voice brings a melancholy to it that makes it (the aria) sound ironic...yes shes beautiful and everyone stares at her beauty yet you can hear the sadness..almost like shes alone in all her beauty...LOVE it :)
jgdmol4l 1 year ago 3
She sings like an angel. This suits best for her voice and the seductive role of Musetta.
beersibley 2 years ago 12
Beautiful aria, wonderful voice :O OMG!!!
Davidzz17 2 years ago 5
Wanna know what perfection is? THIS is perfection
nimmidiel 2 years ago 5
I THINK THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!
faustooo2000 2 years ago 2
its definitely italian..lol
HeartSong90 2 years ago
Nice voice and she's got miles of talent...
kibitz422 2 years ago 4
Simply delicate and beautiful!
kibitz422 2 years ago
i have to sing this anyone know how to pronounce the italian
geesterlee 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
It's in French, not Italian.
HistoryGeek4U 2 years ago
it's italian, not french.
geesterlee 2 years ago 18
@geesterlee The language is certainly Italian but the scene is French.
samdon815 10 months ago
hahahahahaha
YeAhSuperGirl 2 years ago
@geesterlee
You should probably ask your teacher.
If you don't have a teacher, I suggest finding someone who knows Italian.
fanlotr91 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Her voice does't suit for Musetta.Sorry...
spqrmor 2 years ago
Saw her in Quito, Ecuador. She was brilliant, the best soprano of this times, no doubt.
kingromeraso 2 years ago 4
I give her a ten, out of 9. brave.
bparno 2 years ago
i agree
castepaumari 2 years ago
This is the best interpretation I have heard so far. It abounds with a wide range of feelings in various gradations. The technique employed is also superb. The soprano is not only in complete command of the aria. She is simply one with the music. This performance beats Kiri's and any other soprano's. Where may I reach Ms. Fleming?
monlamdrompa 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Her Voice Is Not As Beautiful As Anna Netrebkos & Not As Soft As Anna Netrebko's
Christlicious 2 years ago
Is that a joke cos I'm laughing.
SmbwJessiRose 2 years ago
uh-oh, this will be scary!
uniqueattack 2 years ago
superba
walchiria08 2 years ago 4
This comment has received too many negative votes show
eeew! horrible. she is so not a Musetta
uniqueattack 2 years ago
no,its incredible to make these sounds by human's voive box!! famtastic!!!
Mishellable 2 years ago
EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!
sociedadpensante 2 years ago
It's interesting that Moffo and Fleming have that musky, come-hither voice quality but the difference between the two is Moffo didn't milk it to excess. "Double creme" might be nice but doesn't offer a balanced diet. It can even get boring and even intrudes on musical considerations. Moffo's "Quando" is far superior, sparkling, not bogged down in creamy mush.
zamyrabyrd 2 years ago
That's very true. For such a gorgeous dark voice, Renee tends to make it over-dark with all her scoops and her phrasing. She has a fantastic voice, but Puccini can be so much lighter and especially with this role/aria, very flirty.
saxamaphoneguy1 2 years ago
Beautiful !!!!!
egrosz 2 years ago
WEll, I hate to disagree with you folks but this interpretation is definetly not Musetta, it is not a love song, it is not introspective, . but its FLEMING doing what she wants including that jazzy shit with her voice, God i am learning to hate this woman.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Do you really mean that Callas did it beautifully?
Maybe before 1950. Can't recall it.
XavierBelles 2 years ago
I am talking about decrescendos and she did them all the time, beautifully .. You must not like her, or you would have heard it.. yes, it is nothing new.. She did on high E flats.. as well.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
And maybe you didnt know but Fleming is a fan of Callas.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
I didn't. But I guess Mrs. Fleming does not admire the extension of late Mrs. Callas' voice nor her phrasing.
I certainly don't.
I not only hear. I listen. I like to know very well what I dislike and taught my children to do so. I don't like Callas' voice. And her phrasing didn't improve her results, in my opinion. But I'm only talking about her performances after 1950.
XavierBelles 2 years ago
You are arrogant, and ignorant, a lethal combination. You know very well, that there is fabulous singing of Callas after 1950, but its ok. I dont like Fleming and she is still a pretty good singer, but she sounds swallowed to me, and I hate her jazzy phrasing, and her lack of attention to musicality.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
We are not talking about me. We have different tastes. It's OK. Ignorant? I explain what I like or dislike and why. And I don't hide my name.
If it's only a matter of tastes the discussion is over. You didn't need to insult.
You may like to know that, years ago, in Barcelona, Opera lovers - Callas vs Tebaldi - used to fight at the very doors of the Liceo theatre. I stand ready to explain why I dislike Callas' style. Don't need to blow anybody's brains off with the silver handle of my stick.
XavierBelles 2 years ago
Okay Xavier, and I am not hiding behind my name either, as it is my name! And it is a matter of taste.. I dont expect you to like Callas, for instance, I do not like Tebaldi much, howeever, I have heard recordings and performances of hers that I like, and I can appreciate her, even though she was not to my liking, Callas.. for instance, had a tremendous impact on opera in general.. And she did have decrescendos . and crescendos.. one of the few singers to actually pay attention to that
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Got your point and promise to listen for decrescendos and crescendos when listening to Callas' recordings from now on.
Sorry about not identifying a real name under your username.
By the way, do you like Di Stefano as much as I do?
XavierBelles 2 years ago
I love him! .. I thought he was a fabulous singer, he could give me goosebumps.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Now, don't you agree on the idea that the beauty of phrasing is doing it the way a string would do? I mean a violin, not a harp, of course. What strikes me in Di Stefano is this calm long phrasing, the way he hides a tremendous control of breathing under a tide of beauty. And even so, letting his words go in such a neat way that you could write them down after only a first course in Italian.
XavierBelles 2 years ago
"And she did have decrescendos . and crescendos.. one of the few singers to actually pay attention to that"
Are you kidding me?
barytondeaf 2 years ago
No, I am not kidding. The trouble with you that do not listen to a singer, based on hearing one aria, you decide you dont like her voice, is that you do not get an accurate impression of what they were really like as an artist. For instance, I do not like Tebaldi much, however, this is based on listening to many of her performances and records, it is not based on one or two instances. I still can find performances of Tebadi that I find admirable.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Yes she descrescendos wonderfully, her voice sounds so light and delicate, yet powerful even in her pianos and pianissimos. Decrescendoing as evenly as one crescendos is very difficult to do, and she just sounds wonderful. beautiful!
bigVrocks 2 years ago
Something in the back of my mind tells me that there were english lyrics used (was it for a pop recording?) which made it a love song. "Don't you know, I have fallen in love with you" instead of Quando men vo. Does this ring a bell?
gdmadix 3 years ago
How in this world did Hugh Heffner pass this beauty up! Probably because she was over 16!!
kokodog11 3 years ago
Beautiful, indeed. Warm, neat phrasing. Reminds me of her eyes.
Please, please, do tell me some true really nasty things about her. I badly need not to fall in love with her. Don't let her turn my life into a yoghourt.
By the way, telling me she's married won't help
XavierBelles 3 years ago
This was just beautiful. That decrescendo at the end gave chills. Hard to do on a high note.
Largo64 3 years ago
Callas did them all the time, and yes it is hard, which is why most sopranos cannot do them.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
rene is so good! i love her voice..
petalakapetty 3 years ago
A wonderful rendition!!
Kentoo48 3 years ago
Does it get more beautiful? Renee has a way of holding us all spellbound when she sings.
MagicalSongbird 3 years ago 2
her voice loves Puccini! i've heard her sing a lot of things, but this is impressive.
allstatebass 3 years ago 2
I agree, no one can sound as good as Renee. Although, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa comes close. Brava Renee!
AmoredeOpera1 3 years ago
I've listen to all the renditions of Quando men vo in the world... practically, and there is no one, NO ONE who can sing it as better as Rene can.
vul2gnis 3 years ago 2
I've listened to this song to, with a different stars, but Rene, her voice is so beautiful.
vul2gnis 3 years ago 3
This is the first opera song that's made me cry. And I've listened to a lot of Opera.
vul2gnis 3 years ago
...and do you have any idea what this aria is about?
IfYourMomWereATaco 3 years ago
Lol! That's EXACTLY what I thought. Not exactly a tearjerker of an aria is it?
Iareto 3 years ago
Yeah. It's about when she walks down the street all the boys stare at her to see her beauty. She's a very extravagant woman and is actually singing this song to get another man to look at her. Duh. I meant Rene's voice makes me cry.
vul2gnis 3 years ago
Please, don't say song. It's an aria. It's actually about a lot more than that, but I see you got your Wiki-definition down pretty good. You should try watching Act IV, that'll make you cry.
Pretzel1124 3 years ago
i agree, This aria is certainly not a tear jerker when you consider it's meaning, but it is so beautiful that i imagine one could be moved to tears after listening to it. Being moved by a piece is not always because of it's meaning, but because of how it made you feel listening to it. Just my 2 cents...
Knemily 3 years ago
My goodness your comment made me think so hard I forgot what I was going to say =) Well put indeed Knemily!
loveyoutodeathbut 3 years ago
The melody alone is very beautiful and can move one to tears. While it is funny, it is also romantic and sensitive. Musetta is trying to get Rodolfo to see how much he really loves her ("You wont admit it..but you are dying inside!"..at the end which is forte...meant sung with lots of emotion). Then at the end they get together. How could you not gush over that lol.
musoph21 2 years ago
Marcello, not Rodolfo.
revivaljesus 2 years ago
right...meant marcello
musoph21 2 years ago
Musetta is speaking about how when she walks down the street, men look at her because she's so beautiful - to make Marcello jealous.
Forte simply means loud, not sung with lots of emotion...but a nice thought!
bevsoprano 2 years ago
but why is she trying to make him jealous? i thought it was so that he could get back with her..as is done at the end of the aria. Its open for interpretation i guess. I know forte means loud..however, forte sections..atleast from what i've learnt are used to convey deep emotion. Like sadness, anger,..my two cents. The great thing about opera is that is all open to interpretation. Not saying i am right. Just my take on it.
musoph21 2 years ago
Musetta is estranged from Marcello and with an old man - she makes a scene to make him jealous, but also to let him know that she still loves him, not that he still loves her - she knows that, which is why she does what she does.
bevsoprano 2 years ago
I dont understand how she is trying to let him now that she still loves him when she says " And you know, who remember and yearns, You shrink from me. I know it very well. You do not want to express your anguish. I know it so well that you do not want to express it but you feel as if you are dying inside! To me it seems like she is singing about his love for her not conveying her love him.Although it can implied that she is because she is trying to make jealous. Make sense?
musoph21 2 years ago
I guess contextually speaking. I view forte notes as exclamation marks in music. In that they are sung loud for some reason. The author of the music must want something expressed in that phrase. Does that make sense?
musoph21 2 years ago
Yes, but forte is used for any instrument - it is a dynamic marking and not limited to vocal pieces at all. It simply means loud. Interpretation uses dynamic markings like forte and piano(soft), but as a starting point. It really just means loud, honest! What the composer intended must be interpreted with much more than just a dynamic marking.
bevsoprano 2 years ago
i gotcha..i probably should have specified in the context of opera. Most, if not, forte sections in operatic singing are supposed to convey deep emotion. I understand what u mean though. :0)
musoph21 2 years ago
I´m ehhhh.....ahhhh.....impressed,that´s the word!
foxtiefirst 3 years ago
I'm breathless!
WretchedLivesWhite 3 years ago 2
renee muy bueno sos mi preferida y la mejor
carlacuria 3 years ago
Beauty voice!!!
Fadoboy 3 years ago 2
I actually had the chance to meet Renee Fleming once. She is a truly stunning person. I have yet to hear a voice that pulls at me like hers does. Everything from her control to the smooth honey-like way the music comes out of her just blows me away every time.
polyjuice20 4 years ago 3
You're right; she captures the rich flow of the piece
briitard 3 years ago 3