Beautiful! But are you sure that Kozena is a soprano? I've always thought she is a mezzo. The most beautiful version of Armate face I've heard so far is our Russian CT Oleg Ryabets's version! Actually, it's only traditionally sung by women, and it's OK I guess as all the characters in JT are allegorical but it's a MAN's aria, Vagaus who was the Turkish Sultan's servant and a Turkish general. Nowadays when we have enough good CTs it's more logical if they sing men's stuff and not women everywhere
@dark999crow Then this aria is not for her. It's supposed to be sung by a soprano, though I like her voice very much anyway:-). She sings very feminine without forced ugly low notes and only visceral speficial effects a la Bartoli, which I appreciate very much...
@serenaluce What matters is the result...Kozena sings mezzo roles, but she has also recorded Cleopatra (which is also sung by Natalie Dessay, among others). Garanca sings Donna Elvira. Bartoli sings Tancredi (contralto), Cenerentola (mezzo) and Comtesse Adèle (soprano). The difference between soprano and mezzo is quite small; the colour of the voice matters more than anything else. Kozena has the right colour for this aria, and that's all that matters for me, more than the label.
@LordHettrick OK, you have a point here. Overall I like Kozena's voice very much, also among mezzos e.g. the same Garanca, Basso, Baka, Donose, some others. I would just not mention among such very beautiful rich feminine voices overpromoted commercial singer Cecilia Bartoli who just entertains people with her ugly visceral special affects with ugly forced low notes pretending that she is a man which is so excited for some that that even write on YT about having orgasms listening to her...
@LordHettrick Also, this aria is OK for a woman, and Kozen sings it very beautifully and really can modify her voice to sound lower or higher, so also can sing soprano parts which I can hear from her potential. She is not like Bartoli who is just an ugly mezzo but sings ANYTHING which is not for her voice like Casta Diva, but she gets away with it only because she is PROMOTED and people react only to BIG NAMES.But overall I think that women should explore more women's repertoir and not men's...
Beautiful! But are you sure that Kozena is a soprano? I've always thought she is a mezzo. The most beautiful version of Armate face I've heard so far is our Russian CT Oleg Ryabets's version! Actually, it's only traditionally sung by women, and it's OK I guess as all the characters in JT are allegorical but it's a MAN's aria, Vagaus who was the Turkish Sultan's servant and a Turkish general. Nowadays when we have enough good CTs it's more logical if they sing men's stuff and not women everywhere
serenaluce 7 months ago
@serenaluce Sorry, Magdalena is mezzo, of course
dark999crow 7 months ago
@dark999crow Then this aria is not for her. It's supposed to be sung by a soprano, though I like her voice very much anyway:-). She sings very feminine without forced ugly low notes and only visceral speficial effects a la Bartoli, which I appreciate very much...
serenaluce 7 months ago
@serenaluce What matters is the result...Kozena sings mezzo roles, but she has also recorded Cleopatra (which is also sung by Natalie Dessay, among others). Garanca sings Donna Elvira. Bartoli sings Tancredi (contralto), Cenerentola (mezzo) and Comtesse Adèle (soprano). The difference between soprano and mezzo is quite small; the colour of the voice matters more than anything else. Kozena has the right colour for this aria, and that's all that matters for me, more than the label.
LordHettrick 2 months ago
@LordHettrick OK, you have a point here. Overall I like Kozena's voice very much, also among mezzos e.g. the same Garanca, Basso, Baka, Donose, some others. I would just not mention among such very beautiful rich feminine voices overpromoted commercial singer Cecilia Bartoli who just entertains people with her ugly visceral special affects with ugly forced low notes pretending that she is a man which is so excited for some that that even write on YT about having orgasms listening to her...
serenaluce 2 months ago
@serenaluce Though a light mezzo; she sings Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), for instance...
LordHettrick 2 months ago
@LordHettrick Also, this aria is OK for a woman, and Kozen sings it very beautifully and really can modify her voice to sound lower or higher, so also can sing soprano parts which I can hear from her potential. She is not like Bartoli who is just an ugly mezzo but sings ANYTHING which is not for her voice like Casta Diva, but she gets away with it only because she is PROMOTED and people react only to BIG NAMES.But overall I think that women should explore more women's repertoir and not men's...
serenaluce 2 months ago