Ingeborg Hallstein's high G6 in Bell song Lakme

The prototype of Transparent Ethereal Soprano Coloratura

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Lakme
• Ingeborg
• Hallstein
• Delibes

[Carmela1881]

Perfection!

What year is this recording? I mean why is she singing in German?

[LohengrinT]

@Carmela1881

middle 60s I think - she sang the entire coloratura repertoire in German although she had a quite good italian and french diction

She is the highest class pure coloratura soprano I have ever heard - flawless technique and intonation, digital staccati as if manipulated with programme (listen to her Olympia)

[Ariadne7710]

@LohengrinT This is THE most absolutely fabulous rendition of the Bell song I have ever heard!! Normally i find it a bit of a so what piece mostly used by robotic sopranos to show off their top notes. Hallstein interprets it so that if flows beautifully and makes sense. Even though it is in German it doesn't detract. It is just beautifully gorgeous. And the top notes are sheer delight. They are sang with a proper natural singing voice not with a forced screech!!!

[LohengrinT]

@Ariadne7710

Listen to her Olympia that I have also posted (the sweetest sound flow ever) and the Lied der Nachtigal video in coloraturafan's list - they are incredible

The less known repertoire she's been singing is extraordinarily beautiful

[Ariadne7710]

@LohengrinT I have listened to the ones you recommended and a few more besides and the sound she makes is so gorgeously sweet, silvery and so very pleasing to the ear you can listen to it for hours. As the saying goes "it is music to the ears"!!! And her high notes are also so beautifully crystalline, no screams, nothing harsh just lovely, lovely sounds. How come the likes of Gruberova, Sills and Devia are big international names and Hallstein doesn't have the same big name?? Is it just PR?

[LohengrinT]

@Ariadne7710

I really dont know - her coloratura is so fast and perfect it sounds digital - if she were making these recordings today we would definitely be discussing about electronic manipulation of her sound - but these were made in early 60s ...

Devia was an italian kid, that was all ;)) Sills had her divine moments in some of her roles in her very short prime (up to 1960), Gruberova was Zerbinetta and Costanze and that was all ;)

[CantoSemper49]

I LOVE HER VOICE!!!! her high notes are completely in tune =]

[salmonfire]

i think as far as upper register really all the talented woman mentioned in these comments are roughly the same, but each one is different, Dessay.s intonation is forced on this song, it does not flow like honey as in Hallstein's version, Pon's is light and refreshing, Robin sing this with such power you would thing it was a Mad scene, it's astounding but her lower register is atrocious, a few of Hallstein's flourishes border on extrapolation, but fall exquisite on the ear, Jo is not a

[Serinia4melodic]

@Marmalade000000 and all sopranos of this world that don`t have health problem. Mariah reaches G7 :P but it`s not in head voice..

[rennes99]

Beautiful rendition! Thanks for uploading this gem :)

[prettycool997]

you know erika miklosa sounds like that at the end, you can hear her version of it here on youtube, it's not half bad :D

[prettycool997]

lily pons has that same quality I think when she sang lakme

[yamiko193]

Hallstein sounds wonderful in this recording, I think we can all agree on that much! So why does everyone feel the need to put down other extremely accomplished singers and compare them? Everyone's voice is different, so stop. Dessay, Damrau, Sills, Pons, Robin, Sutherland are all great singers with great careers. Obviously they each have strengths and weaknesses, but they are all pretty darn good!

[reginabellestar]

@Ariadne7710 you are right, hallstein deserves great international recognition. unfortunately it will only be now through viral accounts that her legacy will start to live on. better late than never. But indeed Hallstein was not backed by machinations that other superstars had plus she also chose to make the most of her comfort. Hallstein may have opte to make most of her performances where the other superstars dont usually go to.

[baltoman24]

An amazing beautifully nuanced performance. The aria is often maligned, but in contexts moves the story along; it is a beautiful as well as virtuosic vehicle.

[Ariadne7710]

@LohengrinT Sure, Sills had a short period of great singing in a very limited rep but kept on for ages until she had no more that a couple of notes in her throat and imagined herself an Assoluta. Both Devia and Gruberova are still shrieking and scooping on and on with no sign of end on the horizon. That is what I mean. They have 5 good years in their prime and hang on for another 35 on the strength of that, croaking their way along and get away with it. Why do the Opera Houses keep hiring them!!