THE TEN GREATEST SOPRANOS Heard Live 5 Sena Jurinac

[zgopify]

Jurinac is so underrated. She should definitely be on the list of the alltime greats. Of course she was famous, but not many today places her above Leontyne Price. Price had a lovely voice, but she was finished so early. Jurinacs monster performances are still talked about today by those who saw her, almost as much as Nilsson. I did not have the chance to see anyone of those giants live, and everyone agrees that what they did on the stage could never be captured on record...

[ezayi]

@zgopify I agree with you in everything you wrote here... except for Leontyne been finished so early. I think she was spectacular right up till the end. Name one soprano that sang Aïda her whole career and ended it with that role. None!

Leontyne was spectacular. That´s why she´ll be remembered for generations to come. Jurinac was a fabulous singer. A pity that she wasn´t even more famous. A wonderful singer. :))

[zgopify]

@ezayi Well...when she was perfect in her vocalizing, noone came close! But I felt that she - just as with the marvellous Shirley Verrett - had her register a bit 'split' in the 70s and onwards. Like a tired 'gap' between the two registers. It was much more evident with Verrett, still I feel that it was clearly heard even with Price.

When in her prime, she was something close to paradise though, lets be thankful for that!

[halavey]

it's pretty large as European houses go then. thanks.

[halavey]

What is the seating capacity of Covent Garden?

[CharlotteinWeimar]

about 2,300

[pellmeli]

She was a great Marschallin in San Francisco. Her recording of Strauss' "Four Last Songs" remains one of my favorites. She sang with such simple, honest musicality.

[senafan]

I did hear Jurinac live once, when she did Kostelnicka in San Francisco in October 1980. I'd been an ardent fan since the first notes I ever heard her sing (the Third Norn in Furtwängler's "Götterdämmerung") and that impression has never dimmed. But back then few people here knew who she was. She was magnificent even at the age of 59, and I will never forget the ovation she got at the end. It was so gratifying to see her getting the recognition she had earned.

[CharlotteinWeimar]

A splendid comment Senafan, just the sort of response I am hoping to attract,. At last there are some videos posted and they are very fine. She was really famous in England and I was surprised that she was not so well known world wide Many thanks.

[onkelgreifenklau]

@CharlotteinWeimar

I had the very same experience way back in 1974 when I heard her for the first time as komponist in vienna - not knowing who she was and not knowing the opera -

as you say - her first notes made such an impact on me that from then on I did not miss a single performance of hers until she retired in 1981 -

in that very performace I also heard a more or less unknown edita gruberova as zerbinetta

[JefRoberts]

I love Jurinac. She is one of my very favorite singers. She is such an artist - beautiful voice with really strong dramatic instincts across a wide repertoire of roles. I never saw her live. I grew up near San Francisco and she was a fairly frequent visitor to S.F.Opera in the late 50s-60s before I was old enough to attend myself. She did come back to S. F. to sing Kostelnička the same year I attended my first live opera, but I did not get into S.F. to see that production to my deep regret.

[corellithebest]

Sena Jurinac is my fellow Croatian and I am so proud of her!

[CharlotteinWeimar]

If you heard this great singer live, please post a description.