Please, a little respect folks ! When Verdi was asked to name the three greatest singers of his time the maestro said: "Patti, Patti, and Patti. " Clearly Patti's voice here was recorded well past its prime. Her pittch was variable and she took breaths at awkward moments breaking up the musical line. But the runs and trills were exemplary. Stunning. When your favorite diva du jour can sing this well, let me know.
Her recording is remarkable for its' fluidity and flexibility in tone. Occasionally she takes liberties with the written note - this was common practice in those days- the composers prized the ability to enter into the expression of their music rather than a slavish obedience to the printed note. Embellishments were normal . She is always convincing and how mellow the voice sounds even in her later years.
The most interesting moment is the second verse, when she introduces unwritten variations, unlike modern singers who stick to the printed score. Did her embellishments reflect late nineteenth-century taste, or would Bellini's contemporaries have done likewise?
@Matt75003 Patti studied this Aria with maurice Strakosch - who was accompanist ogf Giuditta Pasta, the first Norma. Its nearly secure that this embellishments are from Pasta.
(By the way, Patti learned also the Zerlina Arias with Strakosch. Pasta sung this role 20 years after Mozarts death- its likely that patti sung embellishmenst wich has mozart heard - patti has some troble with the Mozart Arias - but its mor possible tnhat she sing this role in the way she has studied it in her youth
Adelina Patti was one of the greatest Primadonnas we had. In her best time shure she was the greatest. Sutch old records are impossible to record the real tone of her voice. Sorry, but it is so. She had sung very long time, I had read that she was also singing in the first worled war near the front for her soldiers. She was a wonder, like the other Primadonnas in this "golden Time of Belcanto"!
anyone thinks she sounds like Louise Homer I haven't listened to any Homer in years [even on youtube:just too lazy ] so I am just going by memory at this point. But I remember a similar sound. I still prefer Melba's tone and trill
Thie recording is of interest for what it reveals of performance traditions of the 19th century. Patti should be commended for having made this recording; it is much easier for this listener to compensate for the technique of the first decade of the last century than for the digitally produced and remastered voices of our time. Don't forget - there's been only one soprano who still sounded wonderful at 63, and that is Kirsten Flagstad.
Yeah, Gruberova is still singing with that unique voice today and that is hers alone. No one is disputing that. But the fact remains she has been singing smug since her debut almost forty years ago, period.
Birgit Nilsson in the early sixties decided to record her voice into one of those old fashioned horns they used to record singers in the early 20th century. After listening to the sound she made in the recording, Nilsson said that she will never again judge past singers from how they sound in these primitive recordings. Ironically, the reverse is almost always true nowadays. We hear singers who sound great in their modern digital studio recordings, but who disappoint in the opera house.
I remember hearing that on a Met Quiz. But some voices are just suited to the acoustic process. McCormack's certainly. Melchior came out pretty well, and Pinz was arguably at his best in the acoustic era.
@altanotte I didn't know that. What a great and revealing story. If pianists would do the same thing then i think the world of pianism would be cahanged forever. But then again.....Nilssons experiment doesn't seem to have influenced singers to make more allowance for period performance practice in their approach.
@altanotte I had never heard this story about Birgit Nilsson recording her own voice on primitive equipment. It is a fascinating piece of information, and I would love to hear the resulting recording! It would be very instructive and indicative of just how reliable those old recordings are in giving us an idea of how the great singers of the past truly sounded. It sounds to me like Nilsson had a lot of practical sense.
@karlakor They played it on the Met Opera Quiz one week when she was there and asked the panelists to identify the singer. of course they couldn't because they were trying to think of someone from the teens or 20s
'Birgit Nilsson in the early sixties decided to record her voice into one of those old fashioned horns they used to record singers in the early 20th century. '
hi, i couldnt find anything on the net. could you post the names of the recordings please, thanks
id be very interested to compare and contrast, as a frame of reference
There is no wrong critic possible! Patti was in this record 63 Jears old, The recording was in the technic before hundred Years. There is only a piano by her. Patti was one of the greatest sopranos, her voice is straigh and safe standing. When this record would be made in the technic of our time and Patti would be ca. 30 Jears old, it would be the best you ever heard.
The woman is 63 it' 1906 technology, she is singing only with a piano-no chorus, no orchestra. It's a naked voice under a bright spot light.Difficult under the best conditions. Thumbs up for spunk.
This is obviously a voice LONG past it's greatest days. Patti was a renowned soprano, and probably rightly so, but this "Casta Diva" is very, very bad. To begin with, she takes breaths where she shouldn't; the descending scales are downright inaccurate; the aria is transposed downwards to make her more comfortable; the extra embellishments are very embarrassing. There may be hints here and there of what the voice once was, but I don't hear any of it. Maybe I'm being too critical.
I agree with parts of your critique--extra breaths, such as between the words "casta" and "diva," inaccurate scales, transposition. I might add that the ending--as John Steane remarks--sounds as if it is improvised. However, I do hear moments of greatness, including the trills and other elegant fioraturi, declamatory passages that are quite original interpretively speaking, and a beautiful, clear, crystalline tone in the middle register. This is not one of Patti's finest discs, however.
No, you are right: there is no sense of rhythm and all the embellishments are all over the place... It sounds like a rehearsal when she's half-drunk... :-/
It truly sounds horrible, but I think we should be grateful she nevertheless agreed to record. Interesting to hear what she does with it musically. What strikes me is the lack of vibrato in basically all singers from the time.
Her voice was well past its prime at this time, from years of constant use - even Adelina Patti recognized it. At first, because of it, she was reluctant to record her voice - but she was convinced to and for all of her faults of her voice at this period (she was in her 60s-70s), if you listen very hard - you can still hear a bit of her talent in the middle and lower ranges. As well as her interepretation.
@SVENSKSOPRAN It isn't so much a lack of vibrato as an extremely rapid and well-controlled vibrato that's so tight that it's hardly noticeable except as part of the richness of the voice. It is pretty awesome that she agreed to record something like this -- it helps us imagine how amazing it must have been when she was young!
The other problem was that some of the great legends in opera like Giuditta Pasta, Giovanni Mario, Giulia Grisi, Enrico Tamberlick, Antonio Tamburini, Jenny Lind, Marietta Alboni, Pauline Viaradot-Garcia, Jean-Baptiste Faure - they had either died decades before recording or were too old by the time it came out to sing.
Wow this is beautiful, I'm trying to get accepted in to Daniel Ferro's program. My teacher told me in a year or two I'm 14. But does anyone else know what opera singers I can look up to?
it's not, especially for females. look at nadine sierra who won the met competition last month: she joined palm beach opera's young artist program when she was 14, which is a HUGE opera company in florida, and she debuted there at 16, and won their competition at 18. 14 is a fine age.
many feared to make a recording for the unforgiving recording horn . One can see why....It was a device more suited for tenors than sopranos. Yet what we are blessed with are wonderful sonic echos of another age. Thank you Patti for having the courage to make these recordings.
Some say the main reason why Patti--after much coaxing--finally decided to record in 1905 was that Melba had recorded in 1904 and Patti wished to demonstrate her superiority. Whatever the reason, I'm also grateful for the aural glimpse of this remarkable singer.
That's exactly right. There were many of Adelina's collegues who were alive by the time this came out, unfortunately most of them, like Adelina, were past their prime and they felt it was better to not record when they were at their best and rather be "remembered" when their voice was at its peak - such as singers like Christine Nilsson, Minnie Hauk, & Angelo Masini.
If you think this beautiful, imagine if there was a recording of Angela Peralta, "The Mexican Ruiseñor" it callus this woman's mouth when he said "So is sung in Italy" and after singing angel exclaimed, "So is sung in Glory "
A most wonderful rendition, even if very late in her life. Norma was NEVER her role in the sense it is not associated with her, at least not her career. Still what she brings to our ears is wonderful. By the way, the little embellishments you hear her sing are those used by Pasta herself when she sang the role of NORMA.
You're right, Norma was not one of Patti's roles in the opera house. But it is known she sang "Casta Diva" even as a child, while demonstrating to her sisters (also singers) how to produce a perfect trill. And legend has it that Patti's mother sang the role of Norma shortly before giving birth to Adelina.
wow .THe timbre and color she had at this age are remarkable.the personality must have been immense but charmed not too intense though here r stories about her. we r lucky to have these documents .perfect intonation still she must have really beena virtuoso on stage.
I have spend some time at craig-y-nos, Patti's Welsh home. We saw the tiny room that ( I am pretty sure) these were recorded in. It is amazing to hear the recordings!
I have spend some time at craig-y-nos, Patti's Welsh home/Castle. We saw the tiny room that ( I am pretty sure) these were recorded in. It is amazing to hear the recordings!
Despite technical flaws and lack of sufficient breath at times, Patti's voice is still very beautiful, especially her middle tones. And she proves herself to be quite original in some of the declamatory phrases, while her trill and other ornaments are elegant and graceful.
The technique was undiminished, and they paid her close to $5000 for the recording session (£1000) My favorite of this vintage is Russ' recording of Casta diva. This was probably six or seven times the annual income of a middle class professional, say a college professor at the time,(1906)
When we speak of opera singers, we take Ponselle and Martinelli out and talk about the rest.
babybearkill 4 months ago
The Legendary Diva Adelina Patti(1843-1919)
who was acclaimed as the most Brilliant soprano of her time.
Brilliant performance for a Brilliant performer!!! Thank you Operalala for posting.
MrGer2295 5 months ago
She might have been good for her time but I do not enjoy listening to her .
hazelssister 6 months ago
I visited her home in South Wales last friday -Graig-y-Nos remarkable history and what a remarkable lady Adelina was.
powerspade 6 months ago
5 people who watched this are not musicians.....
wks1978 6 months ago
Please, a little respect folks ! When Verdi was asked to name the three greatest singers of his time the maestro said: "Patti, Patti, and Patti. " Clearly Patti's voice here was recorded well past its prime. Her pittch was variable and she took breaths at awkward moments breaking up the musical line. But the runs and trills were exemplary. Stunning. When your favorite diva du jour can sing this well, let me know.
mriltrovatore 7 months ago
Uno stile a cui non siamo abituati.
Lirico96 7 months ago
She is terrible.
hazelssister 8 months ago
@hazelssister Very funny
wks1978 6 months ago
Her recording is remarkable for its' fluidity and flexibility in tone. Occasionally she takes liberties with the written note - this was common practice in those days- the composers prized the ability to enter into the expression of their music rather than a slavish obedience to the printed note. Embellishments were normal . She is always convincing and how mellow the voice sounds even in her later years.
Tenortalker 8 months ago
She is my great-grandmother
loldu77810 10 months ago 3
@loldu77810 Great grandmother? That's odd since Patti never had any children....
semiramide1945 6 months ago
those trills are so sharp, and the runs are so crisp......
=)
wonderful coloratura....
ClareBElsey 10 months ago
3 Idiots didn't like this video....
wks1978 1 year ago 2
шикарная школа на у....поёт так же по месту...как и её педагогиня.....
svjatazarov 1 year ago
Mon Dieu,n'avaient-ils personne d'autre?..C'est d'un mauvais goût consternant!..
abracadabranque 1 year ago
The most interesting moment is the second verse, when she introduces unwritten variations, unlike modern singers who stick to the printed score. Did her embellishments reflect late nineteenth-century taste, or would Bellini's contemporaries have done likewise?
Matt75003 1 year ago
@Matt75003 Patti studied this Aria with maurice Strakosch - who was accompanist ogf Giuditta Pasta, the first Norma. Its nearly secure that this embellishments are from Pasta.
(By the way, Patti learned also the Zerlina Arias with Strakosch. Pasta sung this role 20 years after Mozarts death- its likely that patti sung embellishmenst wich has mozart heard - patti has some troble with the Mozart Arias - but its mor possible tnhat she sing this role in the way she has studied it in her youth
OLIVCHEN77 8 months ago
Adelina Patti was one of the greatest Primadonnas we had. In her best time shure she was the greatest. Sutch old records are impossible to record the real tone of her voice. Sorry, but it is so. She had sung very long time, I had read that she was also singing in the first worled war near the front for her soldiers. She was a wonder, like the other Primadonnas in this "golden Time of Belcanto"!
WQ673 1 year ago
Awesome! TY.
paulostroff99 1 year ago
Comment removed
paulostroff99 1 year ago
anyone thinks she sounds like Louise Homer I haven't listened to any Homer in years [even on youtube:just too lazy ] so I am just going by memory at this point. But I remember a similar sound. I still prefer Melba's tone and trill
lpvcrcd 1 year ago
An extraordinary testimony of the great art of Bel Canto,so musical,so expressive.
We are very lucky to be able to listen to her!
And she was not so young when she registrated!
Very,very great art!Thank you!
Juliet0307 2 years ago
ПРЕКРАСНАЯ НОСТАЛЬГИЯ. ТАКАЯ
НЕЖНО-МЕЛАНХОЛИЧЕСКАЯ АДЕЛИНА ПАТТИ, КАК И САМ ВИНЧЕНЦО БЕЛЛИНИ...
DanteGamma 2 years ago 2
In her prime she sang "Home, Sweet Home" for Abe Lincoln at the White House. Eerie!
SullivanNiall 2 years ago 2
Thats incredible!
That was a 63 year old woman singing into a primitive acoustic recording apparatus.
Just imagine what she must have been like in her prime.
No wonder she charged $5000 in gold per night!
wks1978 2 years ago 3
Thie recording is of interest for what it reveals of performance traditions of the 19th century. Patti should be commended for having made this recording; it is much easier for this listener to compensate for the technique of the first decade of the last century than for the digitally produced and remastered voices of our time. Don't forget - there's been only one soprano who still sounded wonderful at 63, and that is Kirsten Flagstad.
VivaRenata 2 years ago
There have been many more, actually. Gruberova is still singing today, and she sounds great.
KatherineXIX 2 years ago
Yeah, Gruberova is still singing with that unique voice today and that is hers alone. No one is disputing that. But the fact remains she has been singing smug since her debut almost forty years ago, period.
mannail888 2 years ago
Its an echoe of an echoe of the past.
Nice to hear.
qklq42 2 years ago 3
Birgit Nilsson in the early sixties decided to record her voice into one of those old fashioned horns they used to record singers in the early 20th century. After listening to the sound she made in the recording, Nilsson said that she will never again judge past singers from how they sound in these primitive recordings. Ironically, the reverse is almost always true nowadays. We hear singers who sound great in their modern digital studio recordings, but who disappoint in the opera house.
altanotte 2 years ago 20
I remember hearing that on a Met Quiz. But some voices are just suited to the acoustic process. McCormack's certainly. Melchior came out pretty well, and Pinz was arguably at his best in the acoustic era.
ciroalb3 2 years ago
@altanotte I didn't know that. What a great and revealing story. If pianists would do the same thing then i think the world of pianism would be cahanged forever. But then again.....Nilssons experiment doesn't seem to have influenced singers to make more allowance for period performance practice in their approach.
aardvaark069 1 year ago
@altanotte I had never heard this story about Birgit Nilsson recording her own voice on primitive equipment. It is a fascinating piece of information, and I would love to hear the resulting recording! It would be very instructive and indicative of just how reliable those old recordings are in giving us an idea of how the great singers of the past truly sounded. It sounds to me like Nilsson had a lot of practical sense.
karlakor 5 months ago
@karlakor They played it on the Met Opera Quiz one week when she was there and asked the panelists to identify the singer. of course they couldn't because they were trying to think of someone from the teens or 20s
ciroalb3 2 months ago
@altanotte
'Birgit Nilsson in the early sixties decided to record her voice into one of those old fashioned horns they used to record singers in the early 20th century. '
hi, i couldnt find anything on the net. could you post the names of the recordings please, thanks
id be very interested to compare and contrast, as a frame of reference
jonbakeruuutube 1 week ago
There is no wrong critic possible! Patti was in this record 63 Jears old, The recording was in the technic before hundred Years. There is only a piano by her. Patti was one of the greatest sopranos, her voice is straigh and safe standing. When this record would be made in the technic of our time and Patti would be ca. 30 Jears old, it would be the best you ever heard.
WQ673 2 years ago 3
the second half is fascinating! what would Serafin think of those variations?
wattever333 2 years ago
The woman is 63 it' 1906 technology, she is singing only with a piano-no chorus, no orchestra. It's a naked voice under a bright spot light.Difficult under the best conditions. Thumbs up for spunk.
718rogers 2 years ago
This is obviously a voice LONG past it's greatest days. Patti was a renowned soprano, and probably rightly so, but this "Casta Diva" is very, very bad. To begin with, she takes breaths where she shouldn't; the descending scales are downright inaccurate; the aria is transposed downwards to make her more comfortable; the extra embellishments are very embarrassing. There may be hints here and there of what the voice once was, but I don't hear any of it. Maybe I'm being too critical.
Zva26 2 years ago
I agree with parts of your critique--extra breaths, such as between the words "casta" and "diva," inaccurate scales, transposition. I might add that the ending--as John Steane remarks--sounds as if it is improvised. However, I do hear moments of greatness, including the trills and other elegant fioraturi, declamatory passages that are quite original interpretively speaking, and a beautiful, clear, crystalline tone in the middle register. This is not one of Patti's finest discs, however.
meltzerboy 2 years ago 3
No, you are right: there is no sense of rhythm and all the embellishments are all over the place... It sounds like a rehearsal when she's half-drunk... :-/
MarcoCallas 2 years ago
wow, really like a time capsule, a travel to 19 century, really excellent
diegoduey 2 years ago
It truly sounds horrible, but I think we should be grateful she nevertheless agreed to record. Interesting to hear what she does with it musically. What strikes me is the lack of vibrato in basically all singers from the time.
SVENSKSOPRAN 2 years ago
Her voice was well past its prime at this time, from years of constant use - even Adelina Patti recognized it. At first, because of it, she was reluctant to record her voice - but she was convinced to and for all of her faults of her voice at this period (she was in her 60s-70s), if you listen very hard - you can still hear a bit of her talent in the middle and lower ranges. As well as her interepretation.
EmilyGreene1984 2 years ago
@SVENSKSOPRAN It isn't so much a lack of vibrato as an extremely rapid and well-controlled vibrato that's so tight that it's hardly noticeable except as part of the richness of the voice. It is pretty awesome that she agreed to record something like this -- it helps us imagine how amazing it must have been when she was young!
AgnesRegina 1 year ago
The other problem was that some of the great legends in opera like Giuditta Pasta, Giovanni Mario, Giulia Grisi, Enrico Tamberlick, Antonio Tamburini, Jenny Lind, Marietta Alboni, Pauline Viaradot-Garcia, Jean-Baptiste Faure - they had either died decades before recording or were too old by the time it came out to sing.
EmilyGreene1984 3 years ago
Wow this is beautiful, I'm trying to get accepted in to Daniel Ferro's program. My teacher told me in a year or two I'm 14. But does anyone else know what opera singers I can look up to?
babyangel963 3 years ago
i can be wrong but 14 seems very young, if not too young, to start singing opera.
cuicuimusic 3 years ago
it's not, especially for females. look at nadine sierra who won the met competition last month: she joined palm beach opera's young artist program when she was 14, which is a HUGE opera company in florida, and she debuted there at 16, and won their competition at 18. 14 is a fine age.
JuillHope17 2 years ago
que increible
lalikarl 3 years ago
many feared to make a recording for the unforgiving recording horn . One can see why....It was a device more suited for tenors than sopranos. Yet what we are blessed with are wonderful sonic echos of another age. Thank you Patti for having the courage to make these recordings.
jfs78 3 years ago 4
Some say the main reason why Patti--after much coaxing--finally decided to record in 1905 was that Melba had recorded in 1904 and Patti wished to demonstrate her superiority. Whatever the reason, I'm also grateful for the aural glimpse of this remarkable singer.
meltzerboy 3 years ago 2
That's exactly right. There were many of Adelina's collegues who were alive by the time this came out, unfortunately most of them, like Adelina, were past their prime and they felt it was better to not record when they were at their best and rather be "remembered" when their voice was at its peak - such as singers like Christine Nilsson, Minnie Hauk, & Angelo Masini.
EmilyGreene1984 3 years ago
A pesar de que Adelina Patti fue la más grande de su época, se puede escuchar como desvirtuo el aria de Bellini.
La interpretaciones esta llena de arpegios y juegos vocales, pero carece de mucho melodrama vocal.
¡¡Hermosa voz!!
Alleeexoscm 3 years ago
If you think this beautiful, imagine if there was a recording of Angela Peralta, "The Mexican Ruiseñor" it callus this woman's mouth when he said "So is sung in Italy" and after singing angel exclaimed, "So is sung in Glory "
partenongriego 3 years ago
What a remarkable voice and technique she still had at that age.
It's a little glimpse on the instrument that made her so popular at her prime...
LLehmannfan 3 years ago 4
A most wonderful rendition, even if very late in her life. Norma was NEVER her role in the sense it is not associated with her, at least not her career. Still what she brings to our ears is wonderful. By the way, the little embellishments you hear her sing are those used by Pasta herself when she sang the role of NORMA.
BDSCalgary 3 years ago
You're right, Norma was not one of Patti's roles in the opera house. But it is known she sang "Casta Diva" even as a child, while demonstrating to her sisters (also singers) how to produce a perfect trill. And legend has it that Patti's mother sang the role of Norma shortly before giving birth to Adelina.
meltzerboy 3 years ago
a distant echo from a bygone age
at your finger tips
thanks to YouTube
lapao 4 years ago 2
wow .THe timbre and color she had at this age are remarkable.the personality must have been immense but charmed not too intense though here r stories about her. we r lucky to have these documents .perfect intonation still she must have really beena virtuoso on stage.
lovesGenet 4 years ago 2
aveva ancora una bella voce a 63 anni
fà venire i brividi ascoltare questa registrazione di 102 anni fà.
pasielu 4 years ago
I have spend some time at craig-y-nos, Patti's Welsh home. We saw the tiny room that ( I am pretty sure) these were recorded in. It is amazing to hear the recordings!
pappalazarou1 4 years ago
I have spend some time at craig-y-nos, Patti's Welsh home/Castle. We saw the tiny room that ( I am pretty sure) these were recorded in. It is amazing to hear the recordings!
pappalazarou1 4 years ago
Despite technical flaws and lack of sufficient breath at times, Patti's voice is still very beautiful, especially her middle tones. And she proves herself to be quite original in some of the declamatory phrases, while her trill and other ornaments are elegant and graceful.
meltzerboy 4 years ago 5
The technique was undiminished, and they paid her close to $5000 for the recording session (£1000) My favorite of this vintage is Russ' recording of Casta diva. This was probably six or seven times the annual income of a middle class professional, say a college professor at the time,(1906)
ciroalb3 4 years ago 4
I would like to have heard Patti about 30 years earlier.Thanks.
TedL 4 years ago 3
I'm so glad she wasn't too vane to make a few recording well after her prime.
coopandre 4 years ago 7
I think if I had her voice at her age I would be showing it off ;)
Operalala 4 years ago 2
Vanity it a great inhibitor!
coopandre 4 years ago