Leona Mitchell "D'amor sull'ali rosee" Il Trovatore

[ferrykalos]

nice voice but very bad diction and pronunciation.

[wTrevorh]

She should've practiced more before this performance.  Good effort, but not good enough.

[HU1914]

Miss Mitchell still has a beautiful voice. She was five months pregnant here maybe that acccounts for some of the faulty breathing. Having said that, she may be somewhat off key on some of the notes, but that is not at all unusual for a lot of great singers on some nights of their performances. Miss Tebladi was off key a lot in her middle, but no one says she should not sing because of that. We applaud you Miss Mitchell and thank God that we did get to hear you.

[gayoperadude63]

wny didn't the conductor or coach catch the diction issues, they are as much at fault!!!

[gayoperadude63]

be accepted. that said, Miss Mitchell has a beautiful voice! Perhaps the tuning of the orchestra didn't help, the disregard the needs of the singer for brilliance! Oh had they to sing rather than accompany.....

[rodlarocque]

OMG Why try the high D if you can't sing it???? Verdi would be rolling over as it's not even written

[HU1914]

@rodlarocque

What in the world are you talking about? She is singing the high Db not a D. Thank God for Miss Mitchell singing Verdi. He would be proud to hear her as was many Italian Conductors, people and Critics in Italy.

[HU1914]

@HU1914

When Tebaldi missed the high C in the O Patria Mia, I did not hear one person say she should not be singing the aria. No people appreciate her talent and contribution to opera as we should Miss Mitchell's great voice.

[Wotan123456789]

@HU1914 Its true, Ms Mitchell had a great voice, but no comparable to Tebaldi or Sutherland at all. Its not only the diction that is faulty here. She is not always on key and does severe cuts in other to breath. Not her best performance at all. Having said that, I saw her singing this role in 1990 and she has much better than in this performance.

[liedersanger1]

"Bad diction" is too general to be understood by those who aren't singers..Those who are singer will recognize how she rounds the vowels and makes them indistinguishable... way too much in my opinion. EXAMPLE: RRAAAA...sta-la-mia-difesa... instead of REH-sta etc. The clarity of the vowels is not only important to understanding the word, it creates an emotional response... Vowels are about emotions, teachers tell you, and consonants define the specifics. Wonderful voice, but NAUGHTY girl!

[Chilair1]

Bad diction and all---a truly fine, extraordinary, and rare instrument.

[timopragod]

These videos are ONE night in a singers life. Just like there videos of some singers that are glorious on a given evening, there are less than perfect nights captured as well. No great singer was ever perfect.

[timopragod]

Ok, so the Italian diction is not "text book". In a very high aria like this it's a general practice to use modification. Yes, there are certainly some compromises here, but most of the time the result is glorious spinning tones. We could use this voice at the MET right now.

[HU1914]

You people just don't want to listen.

Miss Mitchell sang all over Italy and with many of the great Italian Conductors and they adored her voice and musicality.

[Bigman240]

LOL 4:37. What was that??? Lucky she wasn't in Italy...

[HU1914]

As far as Miss Mitchell listening to Miss Price, She did. What Artist in their right mind, would not listen to one of the greatest intepreters of Verdi. I was told that she listened to learn the Verdi Style from her, not to copy.her sound. Which no one is capable of doing anyway.

She listened to Price, Callas,.Ponselle and all that she could.

Another point, is that Miss Mitchell was loved by the Italians and many Italian Maestros They never thought her diction was questionable.

[HU1914]

I find most of these comments on the diction and text of Miss Mitchell laughable.

Go back and listen to the diction of Ponsell and many others in this repetoire and you will see that they modified many vowels and sounds to make the aria work for them.. I never see a discussion of bad diction when we speak of any causaion artist. With Joan Sutherland, people upped this drawback to a flaw. However that did not lesson her worth as an artist.

[fiercejarret]

Exactly. I agree with you!! And beside just about all sopranos end up singing Ah!! LOL. No, but you're right!

[Homoclassicus]

Now that is what bad diction really is. It really seems she's singing in French in some parts. That said, when did people start bothering more about diction than about the voice and the music? We're Opera fans and not language teachers. Mitchell had a gleaming and easy top, a somewhat clouded but firm and beautiful middle (a few times reminiscent of later Price's) and was a wonderful soprano.

[silvanero]

Dear sometimes one doesnt have the luxury of every note being perfect when singing. Maybe on that day you're not feeling well. You get up and sing these difficult arias and see that sometimes you need to exert a bit more voice to get it out. Dont talk about Madame Price pushing!! WTH do you think you are.!!! Brava Leona. Music is not made to be kept in a perfect BOX otherwise it wouldn't have any personality or individuality from each performer.

[alejandrobajo]

It was not her day.

Was she singing in French?

or maybe Romanian?

Alejandro Bajo

[silvanero]

NO !!! She's singing in Italian !!!! and singing beautifully might I add !!! Stop Hating hater !!!!

[InBoccaChiusa]

Current information on Mitchell can be found by googling: Reunion: Leona Mitchell Opera News Online, January 2009, vol 73, no. 7. Miss Mitchell will be 60 next month. Incredibly, speaking of Leontyne Price, she has stated "People around me had all the records and played them non-stop, but that was not me. " She should have. This performance is marred by erratic breathing, lack of legato, distortion of vowels, and a pedestrian approach to a glorious aria. So much for not listening to Price.

[Magniloquent1]

Well, she got jobs, so she must have doing something correct...I'm just saying...

[Babs22h]

thank you... thats the point i am trying to make... she onstage... getting paid to sing opera!

[444mariam]

brawo super

[jmahlon]

she always over darkened imo upper mid to lower voice, and did weird things with her vowels...

[tenornmd]

Odd staging. Lovely singing.

[BrentAudi]

Thanks for posting this! I wish there were more recordings of her!

Is she still singing?

I always thought her voice was so beautiful!

The last couple of times I heard her sing years ago she sounded distressed.

Brent