Renée Fleming - D'amor al dolce impero - Armida - 2010

[fabrizietto1980]

una sola domanda: perché???????????

[sttar1982]

oh mio Dio! mi sento offesa nell'animo...poveri i miei avi

[gustopheles]

Isn't Damrau scheduled for this same production? It's obvious the MET loves two awful things: Mary Zimmerman, and pissing on Rossini.

Also, the 'chromatic' runs at 5:39 - jesus christ. :(

[gustopheles]

Isn't Damrau scheduled for this same production? It's obvious the MET loves two awful things: Mary Zimmerman, and pissing on Rossini.

[richardvergara]

Awesome...

[tiyu656]

Hm, she is a star? Jadranka Jovanovic did this aria much better!

[NEBESHIKU]

Phlegminng + Gargleghiu + Netrebwhore + La Stupida = Paris Hilton.

[MrLupo23]

I bet nobody can ever sang it worse.

[leo50300]

I love Renee Fleming, she's a wonderful artist and her singing is beautiful! I wish people would stop hating. I love opera, but there is seriously so much opera snobbery around!!

[gustopheles]

Someone shoot Mary Zimmerman.

[leprincebeaumont]

Con gli anni non se ne è andata tanto la voce, quanto il buongusto. Quest'interpretazione è di un manierismo delirante. Se accenti ogni sillaba, ottieni lo stesso effetto di chi non accenta un bel nulla.

[jovi1715]

Quando vedo cose del genere mi sembra sempre più si voglia fare dell'opera un film pomeridiano in stile tv commerciale, con attori qualsiasi che parlano di cose qualsiasi, se non del tutto futili. Dov'è finita la musica? Ah sì... un sottofondo, ma trascurabile.

[olympicfreak678]

is that her daughter?

[bear46no]

Flemming didnt sing the long and difficult chromatic scale at the end of the aria compared to Callas, Gasdia and other sopranos.

the music is fantastic in itself!! Too bad they didnt cast Joice Didonato as Armida instead of La Flemming.

[ilfig1iomio]

@bear46no

well, you'er comparing a 51 y/o fleming to a 28 year old callas. gasdia is younger than fleming and her career is over. she doesn't sing much anymore, especially not armida. as for joyce didonato, there is no way they would cast her. armida isn't the kind of opera regularly performed. fleming requested to sing armida over 5 years ago. she sanga armida because she wanted to not because she was cast. she doesn't have to audition for roles.

[ChristineFlora]

Renee says herself that she is not a Rossini specialist. She did a lovely job in this aria anyway. Hey, people, give credit where credit is due! We should all be grateful to Renee for all she has done to promote classical music & opera and for all her years of great singing.

[operafy]

@ChristineFlora  Why is she singing this?

[Karcam]

Oh my god. Did she swallow a chicken? What is WRONG with her?

[castodivo]

@Karcam I just can't believe the world is letting her get away with some shrill high notes.

[rossifigaro]

Why are the last few notes of this aria cut off? - a major frustration of so many YouTube Clips!!!! Do appreciate the posting but its just so damnably irritating after getting involved in a piece of music to be deprived of its final moments.

[magicmonkichi]

I <3 Fleming, can't wait till her recital in December :D

As for Mr. Brownlee (as he does not snig in this moment), I just say. I want that jacket~! hehe.

[jovi1715]

Scandalosa.

[olartetenor]

OMG this is terrible! this is not italian singing, not Bel Canto technique. listen to Callas and compare, Callas is Perfection.

[davidpalaciosrdz]

thanks for the video !! please tell me where you found it :( I got a suscription at the met but it's not available yet =/

[Diegooover]

ojala y salga en dvd!!!

[sour7lemon]

Knowing full well that she is singing this in poor style, I can't help but keep listening to it.... she sounds LOVELY on it regardless of her not-so-ideal rossini stylings.

[BeauTenor]

sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. and what's with the last note? that's what, a B or a C? she BARELY hangs on to it. Honestly, I don't know how this woman CONTINUES to get accolades and commands the fees she does. She lost what made her special YEARS ago.

[MrLupo23]

I respect the singer for her past activities... But i think this is really crap.

[danteinf87]

She doesn't sing this with fast fioratura anymore, but her coloratura in the florid passages is very rich and warm and she still has the secure breath support for the long legato lines. On top of that, the tone of her voice is perfect.

[magicmonkichi]

Thanks agian for a great post. I'll never understand where you get all these clips~! ...*Thinks Coloraturafan has a Carpet Bag similar to Mary Poppins* o.O ^_^

[coloraturafan]

@magicmonkichi ..hahaha, thanks, I think that is the first time I have been compared to Mary Poppins! But I wish it were as easy as reaching into a little bag to access these videos!!! hahahaha

[danteinf87]

@coloraturafan

you must have some kind of source on the "inside" because this video isn't supposed to be released on Met Player or shown on TV for another month.

[sevoflurane]

@coloraturafan can you also sing like julie hahahahahahahahaha?

[mjmacmtenor]

Fleming is better than I expected, but not as good as she has been in the past. I agree that the inherent beauty of her voice is her strong suit as opposed to her coloratura (which is VERY good, but not always great). At least she does not aspirate her runs. It is a shame that by the time some artists (Fleming, Dessay, others) had the star "clout" to get less familiar works produced at the MET (and other large houses) they are not always at the level that made them stars in the first place.

[danteinf87]

@mjmacmtenor

I agree. She couldn't be as good as she was years ago. Also, yes, she does not aspirate her runs. Her middle voice is still very secure and not wobbly or thin, which is what happens to most sopranos as they get older. She is definitely due credit for being able to sing this role again at 51.

[Thewisemonkey9]

@danteinf87 Don't doubt it for a minuet... lol.

[Sutherland2]

Audiences have a history of booing BAD productions. Recently, the Met couldn't even stage Lucia di Lammermoor successfully, after two tries!!! Concept directors are the enemies of opera. But their small coterie of friends think they're fabulous! And this is the current state of opera --- hysterical managements seeking shock-productions to "impress" their audiences. They've got it wrong, dead wrong. The OPERA and the SINGERS impress the audience.

[sevoflurane]

one is seduced by rossini's genius, even though fleming's dull phrasing and sloppy florid singing tries hard to put us off to sleep. this is an opera in which the sorceress should cast her spell through incomparable singing

[coloraturafan]

@sevoflurane I could not agree more!!!!!! I am certainly one who is seduced by Rossini's genius :)

[MrDivaBitchXXX]

@sevoflurane

LOL as if any of your faves could sing Armida AT ALL as written

[sevoflurane]

@MrDivaBitchXXX you need to change your modus operandi in order to be credible, sweetheart. i would be most grateful if you could stop wasting my time with bitchy and fruitless comments. thanks in advance.

[montsyblackmadonna]

@sevoflurane Caballe sang it so much better !

[Andy1000K]

@montsyblackmadonna , I like Fleming, she's not morbidly obese.

[Andy1000K]

@montsyblackmadonna , my favorite Caballe is without a doubt her performance with the GAY superstar Freddie Mercury. It's nice to see she can over look someones sexual preference unlike some of her fans, like you, that want all GAYS exterminated.

[montsyblackmadonna]

@Andy1000K Gays should be given a chance to repent and Obey God,and convert to heterosexual christianity.If they chose to continue serving the Rectum over the Lord their God,then they should be arrested.

[Andy1000K]

@montsyblackmadonna , montsy has stated in the past that "she" wants gays killed. HATE, in the name of God and "her" buddy Fred Phelps.

[niletomei]

@sevoflurane -.-'

[kyle8246]

Saw this on the front row! Also met her after. She sounded better on my night especially at the end. Wasn't as slurred.

[Sutherland2]

Ok, girls, the insult to Rossini is huge! Fleming is fine, if a bit long in the tooth now. she was better in this role earlier, available on CD. This production is typical post-modern crap. The focus should be on the soprano, not the tenor, nor cupid!

What is this crap? It demeans the prima donna, insults Rossini and accomplishes nearly nothing to explain the opera. Who is this director? He/She should be barred from directing bel canto opera -- clearly, doesn't understand bel canto opera

[ilfig1iomio]

@Sutherland2

Zimmerman is the designer. She was booed on opening night for this Armida production and for La Sonnambula last season. The Armida production featuring June Anderson was also booed, so audiences have a history of not liking production of this opera for some reason. This is puzzling since the opera is so rarely staged...

[AmericanEvita]

@ilfig1iomio I was among the booers. I don't like modern or post modern productions. Opera should be traditional and staged in the manner that the composers originally envisioned and as they were staged in their respective time period - 18th century, 19th century. We all know we are in 2010 but the stories of the opera are not in the year 2010. As for Fleming, she did a much better Armida when she first sang it in the 90's, but then again she wasn't age 50 then.

[JesusFan]

@AmericanEvita Perfect Response...period.

[BWV1906]

@AmericanEvita U were actually classless enough to boo a performance?

[allanrosendo]

In this aria the time show its cruel face to Fleming, we cannot compare this to her perfomance 17 years before! But Callas dont tell me anything better than this!

Deutekom, for me the ultimate Armida of all times!

[meltzerboy]

@Flamingopera True, but I doubt Fleming could have sung it as well when she was in her thirties. I prefer Fleming in Mozart and Strauss, where the beauty of her voice shines more than in bel canto opera. But if you're a fan of hers, no problem.

[ilfig1iomio]

@meltzerboy

Renee Fleming was 34 when she first sang Armida. It's okay if you think Callas is better, I enjoy the Callas recording very much, but it has never ruined how much I enjoy Fleming's earlier recordings. Fleming's voice is much too different from Callas' to draw a reasonable comparison. Callas' voice is steel and Fleming's voice is butter. What I mean is that there's a softness to Fleming's approach, whereas Callas is about fury.

[meltzerboy]

@ilfig1iomio Perhaps their technique can be compared if not the sound of their voices and differing style. But your point is well taken.

[meltzerboy]

I think Lawrence Brownlee is not so much smitten with love by Cupid's arrow as he is writhing with pain, hoping Rene Fleming's singing will come to an end. Not that she's that bad, but this aria demands great florid technique, which she really doesn't have to offer. Unfortunately (or fortunately), most of us have in their mind the live performance of this aria by Callas, which is by far superior. The visuals do help somewhat, however.

[meltzerboy]

@meltzerboy My English is becoming as sloppy as Fleming's coloratura. I meant "writhing in pain," and I should add another "e" to Fleming's first name: she's already suffered enough.

[BWV1906]

@meltzerboy and thats complete stupidity...im sure that young tenor ...actually i know that young tenor is not nearly as arrogant and dillusional to not appreciate every moment of being on stage with renee fleming.

[meltzerboy]

@BWV1906 I'm sure you're right in that Lawrence Brownlee appreciates the opportunity to be singing with a world-renowned soprano such as Renee Fleming. I hope you realize I didn't actually mean he was writhing in pain and that I was just making a point about what I believe is Fleming's somewhat sloppy singing here. Please give me some credit: partial stupidity, perhaps, but not complete stupidity!