Era Dessa is not in the original score of Lucrezia Borgia. Originally Lucrezia simply collapses over her son's body, and Caballe sings it this way in her first (live) recording. Donizetti added Era Desso to placate the first Lucrezia, who wanted to have a bravura aria to finish. I love this opera and feel that Era Desso is the only weak music in it. Fleming doesn't help matters with her tacky ornaments and wayward sustained high note at the end.
i don't know what they're trying to say. i saw renee singing borgia live last weekend and she was perfect. her tuns were still veyr clean after 13 years, although not as agile, but her trill was as beautiful as ever. i recorded it and uploaded it on my channel.
I regret that I have to agree with the hecklers at the La Scala performance here. They are just passionate opera enthusiasts who know Fleming and expect more from her, such that she can deliver with her full lyric interpretations of R. Strauss, Mozart, Dvorak, etc... While Fleming still sings this better than other average singers of today, the facility needed for the runs and ornamentations doesn't suit her silvery voice.
So she didn't hit the Eb! .... She has before on many occasions. She has a lot of great coloratura technique and has a wonderful voice. I think the audience of La Scala are peasants. No way to treat an artist. Va fan culo all those peasants of Milan who booed her!
She discusses this performance in her book. She never had a chance with that audience...I have even more respect for her for even making it through the opera.
the stupid part about all this booing is that why in the world would fleming add hight notes, that she doesn't have in her voice and aren't required for this role! sure sutherland and then sills added a climactic high note at the end, but they also didn't add the high notes that fleming adds and takes so badly. for the person here who says she couldn't dlo the coloratura, that's not true, and you aren't listening, her runs, trills, turns, roulades, are very smooth and well done.
MI SPIACE MA QUI HANNO FATTO BENE A FULMINARE LA FLEMING XKE HA FATTO VERAMENTE SKIFO! E' INUTILE INTERPOLARE SOVRACUTI NON SCRITTI QUANDO VENGONO UNA SKIFEZZA!
@Jazzmeaux you obviously have no clue what you are talking about because Fleming started singing Mozart and coloratura roles like Constanza, Rosmonda, Armida and the like. Fleming could have actually been the great belcantista of her generation as this clip amply demonstrates, she had the coloratura and temperament in spades to sing these roles. Bitch never sang like this EVER again. it is a shame that her voice has degenerated to the mess it is today. THIS is where Fleming should have lived.
The la Scala audience can be atrociously nasty, They boo when a single High C is crack; they boo when one trill isn't excuted well;they boo even when they dislike a opera singer's nose. It is horrible!
I just couldn't understand why there are always some acidulous who try their best to bash Ms Fleming. she has a good lower register, rich timbre, wonderful pianissimi the role ask for and she does puts ardour and emotion to the performence. Though the last E-flat is a strained, but it is only a very small flaw. She sings quite well whole though.
it's not bel canto calibur, but I don't think it deserved to be booed. it's true, Sutherland and Caballe sang this 7X better than she does, but can't expect everyone to be like that. voices like sutherland come around like once every 1,000 years. you can't compare a human to an angel. expecting every singer to soung like sutherland, callas or price is not only stupid, it's dreadfully unfair.
PS: with one exception, 3:36-3:45, that ornament was a disaster =( I may have booed that part too =P
Silly woman, why does she not stick to what she is good at. Leave these dramatic bel cant roles to the to the voices that can do it good. She should not have done this. Bel canto is not all about tremolo, high notes etc. It is more than that. Callas, Suthetland, Caballé, Aliberti, Dimitrova and all the others knew that. Flemming is outsatnding in her own rights. But she can not do everything. I can't understand why she is doing this.
O, I remember reading/hearing about this. When Renee sang Lucrezia Borgia at La Scala, she was booed. La Scala audiences are the nastiest, demanding perfection. Few sopranos have been applauded over there - Callas, Nilsson, Caballe, Sutherland, but more sopranos have been booed there. I'm afraid that this time La Scala-goers were right. Fleming doesn't have the right voice for bel canto. Her Lucrezia isn't any good. Caballe/Sutherland are better.
I agree. Renee can't sing bel canto. She only wishes she could be like Sutherland or Caballe. Even Sills sang better bel canto. I do like her bel canto CD album. As recital/concert pieces, they're fine. But she can't handle bel canto operas on stage. She sang Pirata & Lucrezia Borgia but she has no talent for this repertoire.
@MastersoftheOpera What about her Armida? Her Lucrezia I agree others have done and are still doing better (Gruberova, for example, with her old age still does wonderfully), although I don't believe Fleming can't sing Bel Canto - her Armida is great, who, still living on today's stage, can sing a better Armida?
Il est vraiment dommage que personne n'ait su conseiller stylistiquement Flemming qui est une des plus belles voix du monde. Ses effets jazzy, ses maniérismes gâchent tout. Elle aurait pu être merveilleuse et elle a été sifflée, ce qui est excessif. A Paris même problème pour Il Pirata, chanté comme Porgy and Bess.
to be fair, the reason I like Sutherland's version better is simply because it fit her voice better. Fleming can sing coloratura, Joan WAS a coloratura.
Bel canto technique is THE ONLY technique for the voice. Sadly, the technique is dying with the teachers. It is not merely for the Bel Canto repetoire.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
It is a pity to hear this vulgar, over reaction alla italiana!!, that's why Italia is where it is now, pure decadence, corruption and over all lack of level.
Sad but true. Italians should start to rebuild their old glorious musical past starting by behaving better and teaching their own cultural patrimony into the communities.
It is sad to see how the majority of Italians are clueless about Opera beside rude and miss behavior ed , sad, sad, sad
I have never cared about comparing singers who are so completely different in every way, but other people seem to thrive on it and unfortunately this Fleming/Devia comparison just won't die. Hey guys: just let it go. Maybe if you tried talking about something else you'd learn that in other areas you aren't so different? Or is that too much of a stretch. :) Anyway, I only listen to music to escape and enjoy myself. Being negative all the time must be exhausting. Aren't you tired of this debate?
Premesso che non amo la Fleming,c'ero anche io quella sera e il pubblico l'aveva già fatta nera prima ancora che entrasse in scena, poi vogliamo parlare del pubblico del loggione alla Scala? meglio di no, forse.. comunque non è da dimenticare che quella sera mentre la Fleming cantava l'aria del primo atto il direttore (gemetti g) svenne sul podio e dovette essere sostituito, creando non poco trambusto.. poi fu tutto un degenerare, una Lucrezia sfigatissima insomma, peccato
Hai perfettamente ragione GrandeGhena,la Fleming meritava più rispetto! I loggionisti della Scala? Osarono contestare anche la Urmana,per una sola nota incerta nel Macbeth! Comunque il loro covo,chiude per lavori di bonifica contro l'amianto,o meglio contro il veleno che hanno sparso in tanti anni!
parole sante. Persone che per una qualunque opera di repertorio fanno ore di coda vantando chissa' quali conoscenze e di cstodire 'Il sapere' del melodramma... poi in cartellone danno capolavori come 'Ariadne auf Naxos' di Strauss, 'Kovancina' di
Musorgskij, 'l'angelo di fuoco' di Prokofiev , vai alla bigietteria della galleria 10 minuti prima e ti tirano i biglietti in faccia!!
Personally, I think I hear more boring asshole singing these days everywhere. Overly staged, stupidly interpreted. Just crap everywhere. Too bad, because there are good voices there, and this is a great opera.
That wasn't a C, It was an Eb. You're correct though, that was dreadful. I usually love Renee. I think she's a wonderful singer for the most part, and she's one of my favorite soprano's. But dear god that end note horrid.
Years ago, I remember reading somewhere that Donizetti was unhappy with his original, vocally declining "Lucrezia Borgia." Contrary to his wishes, she demanded a final bravura aria. He provided one guaranteed to shred her remaining voice-"Era desso..."
The aria (and cabaletta) is wicked. I applaud anyone willing to attempt it. Whatever one thinks about the performance, it is never dull. Brava tutti soprani. I apologize to the Italian language.
Listen to the one here on YouTube of Sutherland (her very first performance in Vancouver). It was truly astounding. I was there and I've never heard anything like it again (except her Maria Stuarda in San Francisco).
You're obviously a MORON with no class and no knowledge. Lucia, Traviata, Sonnambula, Puritani, Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena, Die Fledermaus, Merry Widow, Esclarmonde, Lucrezia Borgia and several "lesser" roles: That's not a good repertoir? You're a shit-eating asshole.
I guess you're just too stupid to realize that she didn't "sing anything under the sun," but concentrated on the Bel Canto repertoire. For you to say she sang the same lyrics in every opera shows what a complete moron you are.
Riccardo, what you say shows both your ignorance and your rudeness.
First, even aliens know about Sutherland's issues with diction. She could not be understood in any language she sang. And for the record, I'm fluent in 8 languages.
As for her concentration on Bel Canto repertoire, I didn't know Handel, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Poulenc, Thomas, Meyerbeer, Gounod etc were to be considered Bel Canto.
My God, if you didn't know that Handel, Verdi, Thomass, Meyerbeer and Gounod are indeed considered Bel Canto, then you are even thicker in the head than I originally thought. You may be "fluent" in 8 languages, but certainly aren't "fluent" in your knowledge of music.
Yes I guess you could have called me a "groupie." I know what is magnificant and what is not. You know, there are community college courses which could teach you the meaning of bel canto and which singers excelled in which roles. Good luck.
And again, where and when did I say Sutherland isn't magnificent? I just said she has a mushy diction and if you can't recognize that you're really baaaad since Sutherland herself admitted it in many interviews ;)
You just don't give up. For your info, I sang in Italy and Germany for 15 years, and my specialty, as a "dramatic tenor with agility," was the more dramatic works of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini (Elizabetta and Semiramide). I sang with Ricciarelli, Sutherland, Gencer, Valentini-Terrani, so I know what I'm talking about. The Italians indeed considered Handel to be Bel Canto, whether you agree or not.
if you knew these facts back then and shared your culture and facts with colleagues I'm not surprised Ricciarelli sang the wrong repertoire throughout her short messy carreer LOL ;)
You're SO right about Ricciarelli -- I first heard her signing the secondary soprano role in Verdi's Il Corsaro in Venezia: it was absolutely magnificent -- floated like Caballe. Several years later, she attempted Anna Bolena and had to be replaced by Leyla Gencer because it was so HIDEOUSLY bad -- she couldn't make it though to the end.
It is very sad because she had a lovely voice. At some point she must have thought she was a dramatic coloratura or something and then she took on all those heavy roles and the results are pretty much everywhere to see.
Wish I could have refuns on some dvds of her I bought, Lucrezia too lol
I "starred" along Gencer in Anna Bolena in Italy. I retired as a soloist and sang in the Met and San Francisco Opera choruses after that for 23 years (people say you're not a singer if you're in the chorus -- see stpuid responses here). With Sutherland, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Trovatore, Semiramide, Merry Widow, Fledermaus and Lucrezia Borgia -- all magnificent....... Are you a singer??
Nice try, Richard. How about roles like Imogene, Elisabetta, Adina, Norina, Rosina, Elena, Zelmira, Rossini's Desdemona, Giulietta, Parisina... she did a good job in a few belcanto roles, that's all.
You're a moron. You're probably a jealous, fat loser with NO talent, thus the need to dish one of the greatest singers ever. SO VERY PATHETIC. Keep your comments to yourself, cunt face.
Only when dealing with moronic cunts like you, asshole. And for the record, my name is not Richard. Only an idiot would turn Riccardo into Richard. Drop dead, you fucking loser.
You would really get your point across much easier if you would lose the vulgarity, and try speaking in more polite, dignified manor. For a man of your age you are acting like a child, and it is not helping your case at all.
Though I must admit, you have the true tenor attitude (which I myself am guilty of at times as well.).
Ignore what this guy says about the MET. The center of his opera world is Mariella Devia. If you put her at the center, then opera is dead because she performs only in minor European houses and ignores the rest of the world (or is it that the rest of the world ignores her?).
I guess you are the expert??? Well, if you think that the Met is the center of the opera world... go right ahead and enjoy it. Btw, as you wrote such a lovely message about Mariella Devia... you should know back when the Met was still a artistic venue, Devia sang there much of her early career. Now she sings where she likes, give me a "minor" European house anyday if a singer like Devia is performing.
People can like whatever they want and they don't need some loser who thinks he has authority telling them that an entire opera house has no MERIT and is not an "artistic venue" because the singer he's obsessed with doesn't sing there.
Do you have a 2009/2010 schedule for Ms. Devia to back up your claim that she's in such demand in Europe and that she can sing anything she wants? As for Renee Fleming, well, we all know she is booked at least four years in advance. I doubt Devia has ever had that luxury.
Who said Fleming isn't in demand? She's actually one of those sopranos that gets houses to cast her in what she wants.
Mariella Devia is 62yo after 36 years being one of the most important Bel Canto soprano in history she can choose what to sing, where to sing and how often. because she has nothing to prove anymore.
She's not usually doing more than 4 scheduled operas in one year and luckily she does master classes and recitals.
I'm not a paranoid groupie. It just annoys me when pretentious people talk trash about opera houses and singers just because their personal tastes differ.
ilfiglio, just because Devia sings every now and again at La Scala it doesn't make me like it as a opera house nor does it make me approve its strategies and repertoire.
The Met has basically fired the dazzling coloratura Swenson and makes Netrebko coloratura parts. They fill up the house and break even but much to detriment of opera.
Swenson is not dazzling eradesso. She had a nice voice, but it was not dazzling. Besides, she was not a team player and apparently she has a nasty attitude. They have asked her back to sing again, next season I think. I think the just let her cool her heels for a year and think twice about biting the hand the feeds her.
hahahahahahahahahahahaha I doubt at 61 Fleming will be able to sing Amenaide, Bolena, Stuarda, Elvira, Borgia, Violetta and recitals including scene from Pirata, Maria di Rohan, Parisina, Traviata, Bolena etc bu time will tell lol!
That's true, but you have to take into account nearly 80% of the roles you mentioned are not in Renee's repertoire. She sings Borgia and Violetta. She is retiring Violetta in 2010 after her last scheduled performance and unless Gelb wants her to sing the Washington production of Borgia at the Met, she will retire Lucrezia as well. She's currently exploring new roles and if she's still singing at 61 she would be singing the roles you mentioned. What a silly thing to say.
Renee Is one of the most technically sound soprano's of our time, I would be willing to bet she'll be singing much better then Devia well into old age.
You think Renee will be singing better than Devia into her old age??? That would be fairly incredible, considering Fleming cannot sing as well in her "prime." Fleming does not have the technique to sing as well as Devia. It is simple, Devia is a true artist, Fleming is not. Fleming has been slowly loosing control of her upper notes for the past 10 years, and she very rarely even attempts the high notes in performance, and when she does it is usually not pleasant for anyone.
Renee has one of the most solid techniques in all of opera at the moment, anyone who cannot see this is an idiot. How do you figure she is not a true artist, do you even understand what it means to be a true artist?
Her high notes may not always be perfect, but I would take equal support and control throughout the voice over Devia's wobbly middle register and weak chest voice any day.
Renee does NOT have a solid technique, if she did then she wouldn't have to resort to the glutteral attacks, scooping, and approaching the note from under the pitch. However, we all like what we like. To each their own. That said, it really isn't possible for Renee to maintain her voice as Devia has. It just isn't possible for Renee, Devia has had an extraordinarily long career and she has preserved her voice very well.
Had you bothered to research anything before complaining you would be aware that Renee started out as a jazz singer. She tries to incorporate stylistic components of jazz into all of her interpretations. It has nothing to do with her technique being weak, it's a stylistic choice that she has made.
Renee's technique is, and most likely will remain better then Devia's.
Blahhh.. everyone knows Fleming crons to Jazz as well as other non-operatic styles of music. That does not excuse her faulty technique. If her TECHNIQUE was as good as you say it is, then she would NOT have such issues with fioritura, vocal dexterity, range, and control. She would do well to read a little by Manuel García.
But I don't understand how you compare an ex- high coloratura like the great Devia is (she was a Lakmé ) , specialist of "only" one repertory (and it's Ok), with a heavy lyric like the great Fleming who sings most of all Strauss, Mozart, and has a very different repertory. It 's even a miracle that she sings belcanto so "well" with such a different focus of repertory. And she sings "her" roles for at least 20 years without loss of quality.
Well you would only compare singers who are singing the same role... so if as you say it an ex-high coloratura and a heavy lyric choose to sing the same role, of course there would be room for comparision. This just highlights the need for a certain level of technique and knowledge when singing this kind of belcanto. One singer has the technique and understanding and the other does not.
But when you say "technique" you seem to mean that alone "belcanto" scales, trills, and ornaments are THE good technique. There are specific techniques adapted to each repertoires, to be able to sustain the pure lines without to much woble, color the phrases of the "4 lasts songs" doesn't belong to Devia 's capacities for example. Here the taste of the cadenza is bad, but the rest is OK. I do think that Caballé, Scotto, Freni have lots of respect for her, and they are singers!
.....Which is the technique that Fleming is lacking here. I think Fleming is being compared to Devia in this aria, because Devia's version is about the best out there. But you could easily say that Caballe, Sutherland and Gencer also sang this music with a finer grasp of style and technique than we hear here. When it's bad, it's just bad.
Also add Leontyne Price, Marilyn Horne and Joan Sutherland to the list of singers who respect Renée Fleming. I think that among opera fans it can all become just a nasty competition of which "diva" is the best...who one's this opera or that aria. But the truth is that none of them think of themselves as divas and they aren't trying to compete with other singers. Fleming first sang Borgia about 12 years before Devia and I'm sure that particular soprano never enters her mind when she sings.
@adballet The whole point of singing opera is to interpret it in your own way. Not to sing it line by line perfectly, that is what makes a great opera singer. If everyone sang it in the exact same way then it would be a rather boring thing to watch.
So would you rather everyone sing everything in the exact same manner, during every single performance? It's because of people like you that opera is considered boring, and a dying art.
the Met lost its final drops of credibility by overcasting Fleming and above all Netrebko.
It's become the center for business and not art. The theatre that draws thousands of people that only go for glam and have no clue about opera nor talent.
That said, I wouldn't wanna compare Fleming who has done many good things (not Lucrezia though) to that useless marketing project Netrebko.
This is pure crap Even the almost trills are flat. Thanks goodness I am old enough to have heard Sutherland. Callas and even early on Caballe sing these and other roles. On the stage now are sloppy and unfocused. Fleming is a good example of hype over substance. Never in bel canto! You could not get her to study that long. The ultimate proof will be lack of longevity.
Fleming underwent strong objections to her choice of cadenzas by the conductor, who insisted on using Muti's writings instead of the one Fleming had studied from.
The conductor also fainted and collapsed right there in the pit in the earlier scenes.
In 1998, Fleming was also undergoing divorce with her husband.
Wasn't a very high time for Fleming.
Listen to her studio recording before trashing her singing, it just wasn't a good day for her.
She sounds good, it's just that at the end the high notes are a bit ... . But she gets booed by the audience but they celebrate Annik Massis, who is a boring singer with no special voice, at least last week in Viaggio al reims di rossini.
The responses of la scala towards singers are always orchestrated... Callas had to face the famous Toscanini claques that she NEVER! agreed to pay to make them silence, as she was consulted by many of her colleagues ... the results are known (throwing vegetables at her during legendary performances in the House etc)
Fleming sang beautifully that night... listen to her Come bello it is Flawless but... :))
Italians have become in our days Drag Queen lovers. The Italian Decadence in full splendor
She was stunned and was shivering when she heard the news (she can't hear it from the stage since she's hearing her own voice and the orchestra all over her) but was congratulated and consolidated by Scotto and Freni.
Scotto told her she can come sing recitals and concerts again but don't think about the opera.
Fleming added Lucrezia to her repertoire and is still performing the role.
Her studio recording of Era Desso is one of the best recordings of any Bel Canto aria I've ever heard.
it is ridiculous that people to praise a singer they like have to insult another.
Devia is an institution of Bel Canto and will stay in the history of Opera. Her talent is there to hear and so are her skills. Her middle isn't that strong so what's your point? Renee's coloratura is sparkling now is it?
Renee's Lucrezia has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I think she doesn't belong to this repertoire for various reasons but still I like her attempt especially the better one at Carnegie!
on any given day a bad performance can happen.when it happens at la scala this what you get.however.if i was renee, i would not give them a second look.
Anyone who says Devia is NOT a good coloratura is dead of all senses! She is wonderful and perhaps one of the greatest performers of Rossini/Donizzetti.
AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA... How can you say that about Devia ... sorry LA DEVIA!!! She is an institution of singing and perhaps one of the greatest coloraturas ever! Such ignorance!
Devia is horrible, her middle register wobble makes her sound like the old lady at the church choir, and she has no chest voice. She should have stuck to Amina and Lucia, she had no business singing Anna Bolena, Norma or Lucrezia.
So for now I'd say Fleming is the best Lucrezia Borgia. But to talk about other roles in the Bel Canto repertoire, no she's not the best Bel Canto singer.
I love Fleming and am bored of the Mozart pieces, I've never learned to love Strauss, so her doing Bel Canto is a big thrill for me. Afterall, other than Dessay (who no longer has her F) and Devia, and Jo (don't forget her she is a great Queen o NIght and Lucia) I can't name any other modern coloratura soprano.
Hard to tell what this is in reply too But I was referring to Devia.. She has a wobbly middle and forced upper register and Netrebko is not that great either.. musician ship really sucks.
I guess excpetional people can annoy mediocre people. Sad but I have noticed it a lot on youtube. Look at these kgarmaker and Lohengrin hahahahahahaha. They chase Devia clips obsessively and leave their vulgar comments all over. Sad.
WHether or not her final top Eb was horrible (as it was) Renee Flemming is an accomplished artist and booing is an bsolute disgrace! It think it's an insult to such an artist. Italian white trash ......
Here is another one that is not singing bel canto.. and why would she attempt a High E flat and not have it? She is not a coloratura.. She is a lyric soprano and should have stuck to Nedda.
You know I find that interesting and I am sure you do too, however, when it comes down to the art of opera, those notes really have no place in the vast majority of operas, and will not be used there either, ... it is so much more than that, and Flemin.g. as talented as she is .. has kinda run amok.
I am not a Fleming fan, yet I find no fault with this, The boos were undeserving. I wish she would have stuck with this stuff and left some of the shit she is singing. Maybe her voice would be in better shape.
Era Dessa is not in the original score of Lucrezia Borgia. Originally Lucrezia simply collapses over her son's body, and Caballe sings it this way in her first (live) recording. Donizetti added Era Desso to placate the first Lucrezia, who wanted to have a bravura aria to finish. I love this opera and feel that Era Desso is the only weak music in it. Fleming doesn't help matters with her tacky ornaments and wayward sustained high note at the end.
operafantic 1 day ago
Perhaps, it took her 13 years to get it right
hottlcaring 4 months ago
Eine Zumutung!
nikodemus7777 4 months ago
THESE RUNS ARE NOT SLOPPY -- What are you people talking about!?
OperaLover84 4 months ago
@OperaLover84
i don't know what they're trying to say. i saw renee singing borgia live last weekend and she was perfect. her tuns were still veyr clean after 13 years, although not as agile, but her trill was as beautiful as ever. i recorded it and uploaded it on my channel.
asdfopera 4 months ago
Las coloraturas están fuera del tono, no me gustó, horribe el agudo final, innecesrio
Rossinifan99 5 months ago
I don't know, I feel like if most of the runs are sloppy, adding a high G is sort of beating a dead horse.
flicfan416 6 months ago
Va beh.... le solite americanate.
jovi1715 7 months ago
I regret that I have to agree with the hecklers at the La Scala performance here. They are just passionate opera enthusiasts who know Fleming and expect more from her, such that she can deliver with her full lyric interpretations of R. Strauss, Mozart, Dvorak, etc... While Fleming still sings this better than other average singers of today, the facility needed for the runs and ornamentations doesn't suit her silvery voice.
dougbalt 9 months ago 2
destroy the Scala audience! i agree with hayyu2008; this is not a way to treat an artist of such class as Renee Fleming!
youri1310 9 months ago
So she didn't hit the Eb! .... She has before on many occasions. She has a lot of great coloratura technique and has a wonderful voice. I think the audience of La Scala are peasants. No way to treat an artist. Va fan culo all those peasants of Milan who booed her!
hayyu2008 10 months ago
che disastro...
TitoSchipa65 10 months ago
She discusses this performance in her book. She never had a chance with that audience...I have even more respect for her for even making it through the opera.
hlwf2 1 year ago
the stupid part about all this booing is that why in the world would fleming add hight notes, that she doesn't have in her voice and aren't required for this role! sure sutherland and then sills added a climactic high note at the end, but they also didn't add the high notes that fleming adds and takes so badly. for the person here who says she couldn't dlo the coloratura, that's not true, and you aren't listening, her runs, trills, turns, roulades, are very smooth and well done.
mmbriggs 1 year ago
MI SPIACE MA QUI HANNO FATTO BENE A FULMINARE LA FLEMING XKE HA FATTO VERAMENTE SKIFO! E' INUTILE INTERPOLARE SOVRACUTI NON SCRITTI QUANDO VENGONO UNA SKIFEZZA!
emilytransex 1 year ago
Loved Fleming's interpretation! Brings out the full blown tragedy of this scene.
MegaCavatina 1 year ago
@Jazzmeaux you obviously have no clue what you are talking about because Fleming started singing Mozart and coloratura roles like Constanza, Rosmonda, Armida and the like. Fleming could have actually been the great belcantista of her generation as this clip amply demonstrates, she had the coloratura and temperament in spades to sing these roles. Bitch never sang like this EVER again. it is a shame that her voice has degenerated to the mess it is today. THIS is where Fleming should have lived.
tenore23 1 year ago
People who boo are stupid.
spenzur 1 year ago
@spenzur
Agreed. If you don't like it, don't clap. Boo'ing is jus rude.
magicmonkichi 11 months ago
The la Scala audience can be atrociously nasty, They boo when a single High C is crack; they boo when one trill isn't excuted well;they boo even when they dislike a opera singer's nose. It is horrible!
dyingswine 1 year ago 2
I just couldn't understand why there are always some acidulous who try their best to bash Ms Fleming. she has a good lower register, rich timbre, wonderful pianissimi the role ask for and she does puts ardour and emotion to the performence. Though the last E-flat is a strained, but it is only a very small flaw. She sings quite well whole though.
dyingswine 1 year ago
BOOOO TO THE FRICKIN AUDIENCE SHAME ON YOU. The ornament wasn't THAT bad.
CantoSemper49 1 year ago 4
@CantoSemper49
Oh give me a break, you are a deaf moron. It was HIDEOUS. No place on any operatic stage.
granten0re 4 months ago
it's not bel canto calibur, but I don't think it deserved to be booed. it's true, Sutherland and Caballe sang this 7X better than she does, but can't expect everyone to be like that. voices like sutherland come around like once every 1,000 years. you can't compare a human to an angel. expecting every singer to soung like sutherland, callas or price is not only stupid, it's dreadfully unfair.
PS: with one exception, 3:36-3:45, that ornament was a disaster =( I may have booed that part too =P
raigekimaru 1 year ago 2
Silly woman, why does she not stick to what she is good at. Leave these dramatic bel cant roles to the to the voices that can do it good. She should not have done this. Bel canto is not all about tremolo, high notes etc. It is more than that. Callas, Suthetland, Caballé, Aliberti, Dimitrova and all the others knew that. Flemming is outsatnding in her own rights. But she can not do everything. I can't understand why she is doing this.
FloreoShortia 1 year ago 3
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha we were right at La Scala! Even the polite audience at the Met booed her in Armida.
viafilodrammatici 1 year ago
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adballet 1 year ago
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adballet 1 year ago
@viafilodrammatici they really did?
MrLupo23 1 year ago
@viafilodrammatici they did not
CallasAfrica 1 year ago
Has she ever returned to La Scala?
mozartlver 2 years ago
@mozartlver
yes
asdfopera 2 years ago
Non si può trattare così una cantante di questo livello
Cipioful 2 years ago
O, I remember reading/hearing about this. When Renee sang Lucrezia Borgia at La Scala, she was booed. La Scala audiences are the nastiest, demanding perfection. Few sopranos have been applauded over there - Callas, Nilsson, Caballe, Sutherland, but more sopranos have been booed there. I'm afraid that this time La Scala-goers were right. Fleming doesn't have the right voice for bel canto. Her Lucrezia isn't any good. Caballe/Sutherland are better.
MastersoftheOpera 2 years ago 2
So lightly sung...she simply can't really cut it...Sad..
lastupendaboy 2 years ago
I agree. Renee can't sing bel canto. She only wishes she could be like Sutherland or Caballe. Even Sills sang better bel canto. I do like her bel canto CD album. As recital/concert pieces, they're fine. But she can't handle bel canto operas on stage. She sang Pirata & Lucrezia Borgia but she has no talent for this repertoire.
MastersoftheOpera 2 years ago
@MastersoftheOpera What about her Armida? Her Lucrezia I agree others have done and are still doing better (Gruberova, for example, with her old age still does wonderfully), although I don't believe Fleming can't sing Bel Canto - her Armida is great, who, still living on today's stage, can sing a better Armida?
Drelnis 1 year ago
@MastersoftheOpera What the hell do you mean EVEN Sills? Sills was defined by her bel canto roles.
IfYourMomWereATaco 1 year ago
Il est vraiment dommage que personne n'ait su conseiller stylistiquement Flemming qui est une des plus belles voix du monde. Ses effets jazzy, ses maniérismes gâchent tout. Elle aurait pu être merveilleuse et elle a été sifflée, ce qui est excessif. A Paris même problème pour Il Pirata, chanté comme Porgy and Bess.
opera75frfr 2 years ago 6
Entièrement d'accord
tetrazzini 2 years ago
to be fair, the reason I like Sutherland's version better is simply because it fit her voice better. Fleming can sing coloratura, Joan WAS a coloratura.
raigekimaru 2 years ago
amazing! screw the booers
OperaLover84 2 years ago
compared to Sutherland: mediocre at best
compared to anyone else: superior
PS: it would have been nice if Edda Moser sang this. she would totally dominate this role.
raigekimaru 2 years ago
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adballet 2 years ago
No, they're both great.
asdfopera 2 years ago
notice the "compared to anyone else: superior" =)
raigekimaru 2 years ago
noted.
asdfopera 2 years ago
Bel canto technique is THE ONLY technique for the voice. Sadly, the technique is dying with the teachers. It is not merely for the Bel Canto repetoire.
angelovocci 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
It is a pity to hear this vulgar, over reaction alla italiana!!, that's why Italia is where it is now, pure decadence, corruption and over all lack of level.
Sad but true. Italians should start to rebuild their old glorious musical past starting by behaving better and teaching their own cultural patrimony into the communities.
It is sad to see how the majority of Italians are clueless about Opera beside rude and miss behavior ed , sad, sad, sad
Apologranfortisimo 2 years ago
@Apologranfortisimo So true.
tenor220 2 years ago
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sour7lemon 2 years ago
I have never cared about comparing singers who are so completely different in every way, but other people seem to thrive on it and unfortunately this Fleming/Devia comparison just won't die. Hey guys: just let it go. Maybe if you tried talking about something else you'd learn that in other areas you aren't so different? Or is that too much of a stretch. :) Anyway, I only listen to music to escape and enjoy myself. Being negative all the time must be exhausting. Aren't you tired of this debate?
asdfopera 2 years ago
Premesso che non amo la Fleming,c'ero anche io quella sera e il pubblico l'aveva già fatta nera prima ancora che entrasse in scena, poi vogliamo parlare del pubblico del loggione alla Scala? meglio di no, forse.. comunque non è da dimenticare che quella sera mentre la Fleming cantava l'aria del primo atto il direttore (gemetti g) svenne sul podio e dovette essere sostituito, creando non poco trambusto.. poi fu tutto un degenerare, una Lucrezia sfigatissima insomma, peccato
GrandeGhena 2 years ago
Hai perfettamente ragione GrandeGhena,la Fleming meritava più rispetto! I loggionisti della Scala? Osarono contestare anche la Urmana,per una sola nota incerta nel Macbeth! Comunque il loro covo,chiude per lavori di bonifica contro l'amianto,o meglio contro il veleno che hanno sparso in tanti anni!
morachioli1 2 years ago
parole sante. Persone che per una qualunque opera di repertorio fanno ore di coda vantando chissa' quali conoscenze e di cstodire 'Il sapere' del melodramma... poi in cartellone danno capolavori come 'Ariadne auf Naxos' di Strauss, 'Kovancina' di
Musorgskij, 'l'angelo di fuoco' di Prokofiev , vai alla bigietteria della galleria 10 minuti prima e ti tirano i biglietti in faccia!!
GrandeGhena 2 years ago
i think she was booed not only because she allegedly refused to pay the claques but also because of her mannerisms and choice of cadenzas.
ciociosan 2 years ago
What disgraceful behavior! Any audience that can be paid to react one way or another has lost all legitimacy in my book.
novasafo 2 years ago 4
una bacchetta incapace, variazioni brutte e sconclusionate si sommano a ei che canta lagnosamente snaturando il pezzo.
la signora fu la causa del suo male
nè a washington è migliorara, ma aha solo ripulito il pezzo da quegli assurdi sopracuti fissi come sirene.
ma chi ha seguito la preparazione di questo suicidio? nessuno le ha detto niente?.....
LaBorgia 2 years ago
Personally, I think I hear more boring asshole singing these days everywhere. Overly staged, stupidly interpreted. Just crap everywhere. Too bad, because there are good voices there, and this is a great opera.
Cantormatis 2 years ago
ooh her C at the end was really bad.
musoph21 2 years ago
That wasn't a C, It was an Eb. You're correct though, that was dreadful. I usually love Renee. I think she's a wonderful singer for the most part, and she's one of my favorite soprano's. But dear god that end note horrid.
tenor220 2 years ago 2
I wonder what happened?
ChrisStockslager 2 years ago
super brava Fleming....
pichuchoni 2 years ago
Years ago, I remember reading somewhere that Donizetti was unhappy with his original, vocally declining "Lucrezia Borgia." Contrary to his wishes, she demanded a final bravura aria. He provided one guaranteed to shred her remaining voice-"Era desso..."
The aria (and cabaletta) is wicked. I applaud anyone willing to attempt it. Whatever one thinks about the performance, it is never dull. Brava tutti soprani. I apologize to the Italian language.
Frohlichstein 2 years ago
Listen to the one here on YouTube of Sutherland (her very first performance in Vancouver). It was truly astounding. I was there and I've never heard anything like it again (except her Maria Stuarda in San Francisco).
riccardo699 2 years ago
Oh stop with this Sutherland chestnut! She made a fortune by singing the same roles over and over again, the same way with no imagination.
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
You're obviously a MORON with no class and no knowledge. Lucia, Traviata, Sonnambula, Puritani, Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena, Die Fledermaus, Merry Widow, Esclarmonde, Lucrezia Borgia and several "lesser" roles: That's not a good repertoir? You're a shit-eating asshole.
riccardo699 2 years ago
In other words Sutherland sang anything under the sun lol
And considering her sloppy diction, she sang the same lyrics in every opera.
That said, Sutherland's vocal qualities are and always will be amazing and that just can't be denied.
eradesso 2 years ago
I guess you're just too stupid to realize that she didn't "sing anything under the sun," but concentrated on the Bel Canto repertoire. For you to say she sang the same lyrics in every opera shows what a complete moron you are.
riccardo699 2 years ago
Riccardo, what you say shows both your ignorance and your rudeness.
First, even aliens know about Sutherland's issues with diction. She could not be understood in any language she sang. And for the record, I'm fluent in 8 languages.
As for her concentration on Bel Canto repertoire, I didn't know Handel, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Poulenc, Thomas, Meyerbeer, Gounod etc were to be considered Bel Canto.
eradesso 2 years ago
My God, if you didn't know that Handel, Verdi, Thomass, Meyerbeer and Gounod are indeed considered Bel Canto, then you are even thicker in the head than I originally thought. You may be "fluent" in 8 languages, but certainly aren't "fluent" in your knowledge of music.
riccardo699 2 years ago
lol riccardo you're not even worth discussing with, groupie.
thank god i said Sutherland is vocally magnificent.
eradesso 2 years ago
Yes I guess you could have called me a "groupie." I know what is magnificant and what is not. You know, there are community college courses which could teach you the meaning of bel canto and which singers excelled in which roles. Good luck.
riccardo699 2 years ago
Riccardo, there are colleges that could teach you the differences between BEL CANTO and BEL CANTO singing.
Handel isn't BEL CANTO, whether you apply bel canto technique to sing it is a different story.
eradesso 2 years ago
And again, where and when did I say Sutherland isn't magnificent? I just said she has a mushy diction and if you can't recognize that you're really baaaad since Sutherland herself admitted it in many interviews ;)
eradesso 2 years ago
You just don't give up. For your info, I sang in Italy and Germany for 15 years, and my specialty, as a "dramatic tenor with agility," was the more dramatic works of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini (Elizabetta and Semiramide). I sang with Ricciarelli, Sutherland, Gencer, Valentini-Terrani, so I know what I'm talking about. The Italians indeed considered Handel to be Bel Canto, whether you agree or not.
riccardo699 2 years ago
if you knew these facts back then and shared your culture and facts with colleagues I'm not surprised Ricciarelli sang the wrong repertoire throughout her short messy carreer LOL ;)
eradesso 2 years ago
You're SO right about Ricciarelli -- I first heard her signing the secondary soprano role in Verdi's Il Corsaro in Venezia: it was absolutely magnificent -- floated like Caballe. Several years later, she attempted Anna Bolena and had to be replaced by Leyla Gencer because it was so HIDEOUSLY bad -- she couldn't make it though to the end.
riccardo699 2 years ago
It is very sad because she had a lovely voice. At some point she must have thought she was a dramatic coloratura or something and then she took on all those heavy roles and the results are pretty much everywhere to see.
Wish I could have refuns on some dvds of her I bought, Lucrezia too lol
eradesso 2 years ago
You sang with Ricciarelli, Sutherland, AND Gencer? How old are you?
And what's your name?
Drelnis 2 years ago
Older than God, honey.
riccardo699 2 years ago
lol in which role did you star alongside Sutherland?
Drelnis 2 years ago
I "starred" along Gencer in Anna Bolena in Italy. I retired as a soloist and sang in the Met and San Francisco Opera choruses after that for 23 years (people say you're not a singer if you're in the chorus -- see stpuid responses here). With Sutherland, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Trovatore, Semiramide, Merry Widow, Fledermaus and Lucrezia Borgia -- all magnificent....... Are you a singer??
riccardo699 2 years ago
So you starred along Gencer like thousands of people. LOL!
iosonmedea 2 years ago
Nice try, Richard. How about roles like Imogene, Elisabetta, Adina, Norina, Rosina, Elena, Zelmira, Rossini's Desdemona, Giulietta, Parisina... she did a good job in a few belcanto roles, that's all.
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
You're a moron. You're probably a jealous, fat loser with NO talent, thus the need to dish one of the greatest singers ever. SO VERY PATHETIC. Keep your comments to yourself, cunt face.
riccardo699 2 years ago
Your comment simply sums you up, Richard: vulgarity and bad taste shouted to the wind.
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
Only when dealing with moronic cunts like you, asshole. And for the record, my name is not Richard. Only an idiot would turn Riccardo into Richard. Drop dead, you fucking loser.
riccardo699 2 years ago
You confirm it with your own words, Richard! Vulgarity and bad taste.
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
You would really get your point across much easier if you would lose the vulgarity, and try speaking in more polite, dignified manor. For a man of your age you are acting like a child, and it is not helping your case at all.
Though I must admit, you have the true tenor attitude (which I myself am guilty of at times as well.).
tenor220 2 years ago
Holy S%*#, listen to the crowd!
StevenLivesay 2 years ago
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StevenLivesay 2 years ago
hahahaa.... the Met is the "center of the opera universe" are you serious???? If that is true opera is truly a dead art.
coloraturafan 2 years ago
Ignore what this guy says about the MET. The center of his opera world is Mariella Devia. If you put her at the center, then opera is dead because she performs only in minor European houses and ignores the rest of the world (or is it that the rest of the world ignores her?).
h3dral 2 years ago
I guess you are the expert??? Well, if you think that the Met is the center of the opera world... go right ahead and enjoy it. Btw, as you wrote such a lovely message about Mariella Devia... you should know back when the Met was still a artistic venue, Devia sang there much of her early career. Now she sings where she likes, give me a "minor" European house anyday if a singer like Devia is performing.
coloraturafan 2 years ago
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h5dral 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
People can like whatever they want and they don't need some loser who thinks he has authority telling them that an entire opera house has no MERIT and is not an "artistic venue" because the singer he's obsessed with doesn't sing there.
h5dral 2 years ago
He wouldn't know the difference between "not being hired by the Met" and "Not caring about singing at the Met".
Devia doesn't care to sing there because the Met's priorities have shifted towards show-business and besides, Devia doesn't like travelling by plane.
She can afford not singing at the Met since she has all major European houses lining up to have her in anything SHE wants to sing.
eradesso 2 years ago
Do you have a 2009/2010 schedule for Ms. Devia to back up your claim that she's in such demand in Europe and that she can sing anything she wants? As for Renee Fleming, well, we all know she is booked at least four years in advance. I doubt Devia has ever had that luxury.
ilfig1iomio 2 years ago
Oh dear another paranoid groupie!
Who said Fleming isn't in demand? She's actually one of those sopranos that gets houses to cast her in what she wants.
Mariella Devia is 62yo after 36 years being one of the most important Bel Canto soprano in history she can choose what to sing, where to sing and how often. because she has nothing to prove anymore.
She's not usually doing more than 4 scheduled operas in one year and luckily she does master classes and recitals.
eradesso 2 years ago
I'm not a paranoid groupie. It just annoys me when pretentious people talk trash about opera houses and singers just because their personal tastes differ.
ilfig1iomio 2 years ago
ilfiglio, just because Devia sings every now and again at La Scala it doesn't make me like it as a opera house nor does it make me approve its strategies and repertoire.
The Met has basically fired the dazzling coloratura Swenson and makes Netrebko coloratura parts. They fill up the house and break even but much to detriment of opera.
That is a fact not talking trash
eradesso 2 years ago
Swenson is not dazzling eradesso. She had a nice voice, but it was not dazzling. Besides, she was not a team player and apparently she has a nasty attitude. They have asked her back to sing again, next season I think. I think the just let her cool her heels for a year and think twice about biting the hand the feeds her.
ilfig1iomio 2 years ago
yes apparently she was mean to a Met's resident soprano, I wonder who that was.
Not that I know Fleming personally but she seems like a very sweet down to earth woman.
And her Lucrezia has always been a guilty pleasure of mine.
eradesso 2 years ago
hahahahahahahahahahahaha I doubt at 61 Fleming will be able to sing Amenaide, Bolena, Stuarda, Elvira, Borgia, Violetta and recitals including scene from Pirata, Maria di Rohan, Parisina, Traviata, Bolena etc bu time will tell lol!
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
That's true, but you have to take into account nearly 80% of the roles you mentioned are not in Renee's repertoire. She sings Borgia and Violetta. She is retiring Violetta in 2010 after her last scheduled performance and unless Gelb wants her to sing the Washington production of Borgia at the Met, she will retire Lucrezia as well. She's currently exploring new roles and if she's still singing at 61 she would be singing the roles you mentioned. What a silly thing to say.
ilfig1iomio 2 years ago
exactly, if....hahahahahahahahahaha. but time will tell.
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
Renee Is one of the most technically sound soprano's of our time, I would be willing to bet she'll be singing much better then Devia well into old age.
tenor220 2 years ago
You think Renee will be singing better than Devia into her old age??? That would be fairly incredible, considering Fleming cannot sing as well in her "prime." Fleming does not have the technique to sing as well as Devia. It is simple, Devia is a true artist, Fleming is not. Fleming has been slowly loosing control of her upper notes for the past 10 years, and she very rarely even attempts the high notes in performance, and when she does it is usually not pleasant for anyone.
coloraturafan 2 years ago
Renee has one of the most solid techniques in all of opera at the moment, anyone who cannot see this is an idiot. How do you figure she is not a true artist, do you even understand what it means to be a true artist?
Her high notes may not always be perfect, but I would take equal support and control throughout the voice over Devia's wobbly middle register and weak chest voice any day.
tenor220 2 years ago 2
Renee does NOT have a solid technique, if she did then she wouldn't have to resort to the glutteral attacks, scooping, and approaching the note from under the pitch. However, we all like what we like. To each their own. That said, it really isn't possible for Renee to maintain her voice as Devia has. It just isn't possible for Renee, Devia has had an extraordinarily long career and she has preserved her voice very well.
coloraturafan 2 years ago
Had you bothered to research anything before complaining you would be aware that Renee started out as a jazz singer. She tries to incorporate stylistic components of jazz into all of her interpretations. It has nothing to do with her technique being weak, it's a stylistic choice that she has made.
Renee's technique is, and most likely will remain better then Devia's.
tenor220 2 years ago
Blahhh.. everyone knows Fleming crons to Jazz as well as other non-operatic styles of music. That does not excuse her faulty technique. If her TECHNIQUE was as good as you say it is, then she would NOT have such issues with fioritura, vocal dexterity, range, and control. She would do well to read a little by Manuel García.
coloraturafan 2 years ago
But I don't understand how you compare an ex- high coloratura like the great Devia is (she was a Lakmé ) , specialist of "only" one repertory (and it's Ok), with a heavy lyric like the great Fleming who sings most of all Strauss, Mozart, and has a very different repertory. It 's even a miracle that she sings belcanto so "well" with such a different focus of repertory. And she sings "her" roles for at least 20 years without loss of quality.
foropera 2 years ago
Well you would only compare singers who are singing the same role... so if as you say it an ex-high coloratura and a heavy lyric choose to sing the same role, of course there would be room for comparision. This just highlights the need for a certain level of technique and knowledge when singing this kind of belcanto. One singer has the technique and understanding and the other does not.
coloraturafan 2 years ago
But when you say "technique" you seem to mean that alone "belcanto" scales, trills, and ornaments are THE good technique. There are specific techniques adapted to each repertoires, to be able to sustain the pure lines without to much woble, color the phrases of the "4 lasts songs" doesn't belong to Devia 's capacities for example. Here the taste of the cadenza is bad, but the rest is OK. I do think that Caballé, Scotto, Freni have lots of respect for her, and they are singers!
foropera 2 years ago
When I am speaking of technique, I mean the technique it takes to sing this music. Which
coloraturafan 2 years ago
.....Which is the technique that Fleming is lacking here. I think Fleming is being compared to Devia in this aria, because Devia's version is about the best out there. But you could easily say that Caballe, Sutherland and Gencer also sang this music with a finer grasp of style and technique than we hear here. When it's bad, it's just bad.
coloraturafan 2 years ago
Also add Leontyne Price, Marilyn Horne and Joan Sutherland to the list of singers who respect Renée Fleming. I think that among opera fans it can all become just a nasty competition of which "diva" is the best...who one's this opera or that aria. But the truth is that none of them think of themselves as divas and they aren't trying to compete with other singers. Fleming first sang Borgia about 12 years before Devia and I'm sure that particular soprano never enters her mind when she sings.
asdfopera 2 years ago
that should be "owns". ;)
asdfopera 2 years ago
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adballet 2 years ago
@adballet I would rather be booed for singing the way I want, than pay to be applauded.
tenor220 2 years ago
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adballet 2 years ago
@adballet The whole point of singing opera is to interpret it in your own way. Not to sing it line by line perfectly, that is what makes a great opera singer. If everyone sang it in the exact same way then it would be a rather boring thing to watch.
tenor220 2 years ago
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adballet 2 years ago
Please read what you have just written before posting. It will prevent you from looking foolish.
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
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tenor220 2 years ago
So would you rather everyone sing everything in the exact same manner, during every single performance? It's because of people like you that opera is considered boring, and a dying art.
tenor220 2 years ago
Bravo. And you're wasting your time with tenor220. He can't even distinguish between "pay" and "being paid."
iriisblue 2 years ago
@iriisblue You realize you don't "paid" someone.
tenor220 2 years ago
I would underline another aspect... singing at 61 can be done, singing at 61 the way Devia sings that is the tough part.
eradesso 2 years ago
the Met lost its final drops of credibility by overcasting Fleming and above all Netrebko.
It's become the center for business and not art. The theatre that draws thousands of people that only go for glam and have no clue about opera nor talent.
That said, I wouldn't wanna compare Fleming who has done many good things (not Lucrezia though) to that useless marketing project Netrebko.
eradesso 2 years ago
BTW - Sutherland was 53 in the recording - Fleming only 39?
LyricoSpinto 2 years ago
This is pure crap Even the almost trills are flat. Thanks goodness I am old enough to have heard Sutherland. Callas and even early on Caballe sing these and other roles. On the stage now are sloppy and unfocused. Fleming is a good example of hype over substance. Never in bel canto! You could not get her to study that long. The ultimate proof will be lack of longevity.
LyricoSpinto 2 years ago
Fleming underwent strong objections to her choice of cadenzas by the conductor, who insisted on using Muti's writings instead of the one Fleming had studied from.
The conductor also fainted and collapsed right there in the pit in the earlier scenes.
In 1998, Fleming was also undergoing divorce with her husband.
Wasn't a very high time for Fleming.
Listen to her studio recording before trashing her singing, it just wasn't a good day for her.
Drelnis 2 years ago
the audience at La Scalla isn't very polite
brightboy86 2 years ago
She sounds good, it's just that at the end the high notes are a bit ... . But she gets booed by the audience but they celebrate Annik Massis, who is a boring singer with no special voice, at least last week in Viaggio al reims di rossini.
zafireh 2 years ago
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Lohengrin 2 years ago
The responses of la scala towards singers are always orchestrated... Callas had to face the famous Toscanini claques that she NEVER! agreed to pay to make them silence, as she was consulted by many of her colleagues ... the results are known (throwing vegetables at her during legendary performances in the House etc)
Fleming sang beautifully that night... listen to her Come bello it is Flawless but... :))
Italians have become in our days Drag Queen lovers. The Italian Decadence in full splendor
Lohengrin 2 years ago 2
Do you know how her reaction was? Did she sing again at la scala after this?
zafireh 2 years ago
She was stunned and was shivering when she heard the news (she can't hear it from the stage since she's hearing her own voice and the orchestra all over her) but was congratulated and consolidated by Scotto and Freni.
Scotto told her she can come sing recitals and concerts again but don't think about the opera.
Fleming added Lucrezia to her repertoire and is still performing the role.
Her studio recording of Era Desso is one of the best recordings of any Bel Canto aria I've ever heard.
Drelnis 2 years ago
it is ridiculous that people to praise a singer they like have to insult another.
Devia is an institution of Bel Canto and will stay in the history of Opera. Her talent is there to hear and so are her skills. Her middle isn't that strong so what's your point? Renee's coloratura is sparkling now is it?
Renee's Lucrezia has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I think she doesn't belong to this repertoire for various reasons but still I like her attempt especially the better one at Carnegie!
eradesso 2 years ago
MI dispiace dirlo, ma il pubblico è stato veramente CAFONISSIMO!!!!!
Madrigalante 2 years ago 2
...mamma mia! Terrificante!
silsio 2 years ago
the voice is not of wood or brass.
on any given day a bad performance can happen.when it happens at la scala this what you get.however.if i was renee, i would not give them a second look.
jhagenson 2 years ago
Anyone who says Devia is NOT a good coloratura is dead of all senses! She is wonderful and perhaps one of the greatest performers of Rossini/Donizzetti.
hayyu2008 2 years ago 2
Devia is a fantastic coloratura soprano and that is why she is not a fine interpreter of the Bel Canto repertoire ;)
Lohengrin 2 years ago
Interesting that you say that.. I too do not think she is a good interpreter of the belcanto repertoire.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
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Drelnis 2 years ago
AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA... How can you say that about Devia ... sorry LA DEVIA!!! She is an institution of singing and perhaps one of the greatest coloraturas ever! Such ignorance!
hayyu2008 3 years ago 4
Devia is horrible, her middle register wobble makes her sound like the old lady at the church choir, and she has no chest voice. She should have stuck to Amina and Lucia, she had no business singing Anna Bolena, Norma or Lucrezia.
primohomme 2 years ago
At last something you and I agree on.. Devia is not a dramatic coloratura.. she is very simply a coloratura.. and not a great one at that.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
At last someone else who agrees with me.. She is horrible. and yes her middle register wobbles and her high notes are FORCED.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
So for now I'd say Fleming is the best Lucrezia Borgia. But to talk about other roles in the Bel Canto repertoire, no she's not the best Bel Canto singer.
I love Fleming and am bored of the Mozart pieces, I've never learned to love Strauss, so her doing Bel Canto is a big thrill for me. Afterall, other than Dessay (who no longer has her F) and Devia, and Jo (don't forget her she is a great Queen o NIght and Lucia) I can't name any other modern coloratura soprano.
Drelnis 2 years ago
To tell the truth I can't name a single dramatic coloratura soprano still on today's stage.
Drelnis 2 years ago 3
@Drelnis
Diana Damrau!
thattaray 2 years ago
You mean Netrebko? :)
Drelnis 2 years ago
Hard to tell what this is in reply too But I was referring to Devia.. She has a wobbly middle and forced upper register and Netrebko is not that great either.. musician ship really sucks.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
I agree that Netrebko is not as good as the publicity and media are putting her up to.
For Devia I don't think I've heard enough of her to be able to state an opinion :)
Drelnis 2 years ago
I guess excpetional people can annoy mediocre people. Sad but I have noticed it a lot on youtube. Look at these kgarmaker and Lohengrin hahahahahahaha. They chase Devia clips obsessively and leave their vulgar comments all over. Sad.
viafilodrammatici 2 years ago
I see your occupation as "opera critic" which paper do you critique for?
And I'm interested, since you seem to hate Devia, do you despise Netrebko?
Drelnis 2 years ago
WHether or not her final top Eb was horrible (as it was) Renee Flemming is an accomplished artist and booing is an bsolute disgrace! It think it's an insult to such an artist. Italian white trash ......
hayyu2008 3 years ago
Here is another one that is not singing bel canto.. and why would she attempt a High E flat and not have it? She is not a coloratura.. She is a lyric soprano and should have stuck to Nedda.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
She has an Eflat, she has a D an octave above high C in fact (whistle register), her studio version of Era Desso is sublime.
primohomme 2 years ago
You know I find that interesting and I am sure you do too, however, when it comes down to the art of opera, those notes really have no place in the vast majority of operas, and will not be used there either, ... it is so much more than that, and Flemin.g. as talented as she is .. has kinda run amok.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Listen to her studio recording of Era Desso before you say anything bad about Fleming :P
Drelnis 2 years ago
You know I will. I like Fleming in so many other operas.. and with other kinds of music,.. I just have not ever been sold on her in this repertoire.
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
I am not a Fleming fan, yet I find no fault with this, The boos were undeserving. I wish she would have stuck with this stuff and left some of the shit she is singing. Maybe her voice would be in better shape.
tenore23 3 years ago
To be honest, I would love to be booed at La Scalla! I 'd be joined to all these, aparently, bad singers like Fleming, Alagna, Pavarotti and Callas.
All of these singers have been booed there, can you imagine!?
La Scalla sucks! It's not a symbol of perfecionist or style any more
Querzeo 3 years ago