The "Son vergin vezzosa" Contest - Sumi Jo

[vorspiel1023]

What glorious speed and grace!!! Reminded me of the very early Sills, NYC Opera circa 1968..Thanks!

[FloriaTosca90]

This is my favourite "Son Vergin Vezzosa"!

[acitipo]

Esta es una aria perfecta para una soprano de bellisimos sobre agudos, y de grandes agilidades como la Sumi Jo, Horrible por ejemplo en la Anna Netrebko. En cambio en esta gran soprano es

todo un arte, maravilloso!!!!!

[NEBESHIKU]

Not bad, but again, her only REALLY good role is Olimpia: a lifeless doll with out a soul.

[icylakepaxphile]

really funny. this kind of singing is thd showcase of bel canto skills. emotion? 5/5

[winterkks]

AWSOME a TONE....

[09avenger]

Beautiful!!!

[vully70]

Beautiful voice, but who let Olympia out of "Les Contes d'Hoffmann?"

No heart, no feeling at all, so:

4/1

[istreamda9te]

The technique in this was quite flawless...I would have liked a bit more depth but my o my was this just bliss to the ears ; )

[sasylatin]

Shes is great! :).....

But there is something about Maria Callas' voice that is just so enchanting to the human ear! It doesn't leave you... and Callas has a sort of emotion that i cannot find words to fully explain....Shes still my favourite i guess :P

[brenda1b2c3]

5/4

This is wonderful

[LeonConrad]

Singing 5 / Characterisation 3.5

Technical command, elegance and charm, but little else. Like going to a concert and expecting Paganini, but ending up with a Suzuki method violin player substitute. Good, but leaves me wanting more.

[brenda1b2c3]

what are you talking about??

This is a bel canto piece and I am sure that this is how the conductor/director told her to sing it (As well as being whats written)

Bel Canto was all about fantastic vocals. the drama got forgotten! LOL!

I do get where you are comming from though.

[zurriuss]

FANTASTIC!!! Forgive me, I can't write anything because I'm astonished and have no room for thinking about words. BRAVAAA!!!!

[mzmz78]

beautiful! 5/5

[gwright199]

wonderful as a small scale "look a me" concert performance, but no real emotion or conviction. A beautiful, albeit "tweety-bird" rendition of the aria. 3/3

[kngiht84]

I think Sumi does best with concert, but not opera. Her style is too much of a you-are-in-a-Jo's-concert place. Think her techniques are supern BTW

[beefnotfish]

obviously great technique. I guess if you had to pick from recordings...choosing a winner is highly subjective...my two favorites have always been Bev and Joan.

but if i had to see a live performance - well..duh - beverly had the most amazing comand of not only the stage - but the entire house. Joan had a tendency to scare me when she sang..and i'm always scared of wopmen that are bigger than me.

[evaeke]

Sorry, I wrote wrong marks... 3/2

[evaeke]

Her voice is to clear!!! If singing Bellini you should have a golden dark voice like Callas or June Anderson! Generally speaking, Sumi Jo is just technique and no soul... 2/5

[kngiht84]

What ? June Anderson put in league with Callas ? Are you kidding me ?

[brenda1b2c3]

So true but I mean it like they are both great singers not just Callas

[meltzerboy]

Sorry, I forgot the rating. 3.5/3

[meltzerboy]

I agree with most of the previous comments. The ornaments are without heart or meaning; it sounds as if Jo listened to several recordings of the aria (Sutherland, Galli-Curci, Pons, etc.) and patched some of the ornaments of each together. The only difference is that she doesn't execute any of them as well as the "originals." I am generally not a fan of Jo's singing, although I liked her Rossini; her voice and technique do not lend themselves to Bellini's music, however.

[sevoflurane]

Where are Gruberova's and Freni's?

[SirGeorg]

Lovely voice, rich sound, cristal clear high notes but nothing fascinating about her characterization 4.5/2

[sevoflurane]

Coloratura is all right, but unfortunately the size of the voice is what it is...4/4

[drdre333]

She is definitely a leggera along the lines of Galli-Curci, Lind, etc.

I have no problem with the tempo, personally. She does flaunt this as a showpiece, which is what cabalettas typically were... a chance to show off, so I don't knock her for it, and her interpolation is tasteful. I must mark her down though for her vocal sloppiness in some areas. 4/4

[operadm]

i sort of like the brisk tempo, but her trills are no match for Sutherland's nor her pianissimos for Caballe.  4/3

[Iareto]

3/3. She is more of a show-off than an actress. She definitely has a nice voice, but it is just that: a voice. No heart behind it makes it boring...

[xema2005]

Shes going a little too fast if you ask me, but the singing is very good. The coloratura in some parts dont sound very natural, but is a good performance

[Orfeus80]

She turns legato into portamento and here it is inappropriate besides the fact that it makes her approach notes from below. Her ornamentation doesn't sound meaningful either and she sound bored. 3/3

[jjcbss]

4.5/3

[OperaBR]

Jo can't offer us the sheer amazement of a wall of coloratura sound like Sutherland and Callas do, but her leggero voice has an amazing control, incredible agility and a beautiful tone somewhat in the Galli-Curci style. I think her performance is very beautiful, but it should be a little slower. It's an exciting singing, but I think the fast tempi may harm the stylish shaping of the vocal lines and the characterization.

Marks: 4/3.