The "Son vergin vezzosa" Contest - Sumi Jo

Bellini wrote so many absolutely irresistible arias that it is very difficult to choose the best one. Many will remember the genius "Casta Diva", the gentle Amina arias "Come per me sereno" and "Ah! non credea mirati", the glorious "A te, o cara"... The list goes on and on. But one aria stands out in the list of Bellini's arias: the quite delightful polonaise aria for Elvira from "I Puritani" "Son vergin vezzosa", a gentle piece, almost Rossinian in its peaceful happiness. One of my all time favorite arias, "Son vergin vezzosa" can be a boring showpiece in the hands of an average singer, but an imaginative artist can work magic with it. This "contest" includes renditions from the following singers: the sublime Amelita Galli-Curci, the virtuosic Beverly Sills, the silver-voiced Joan Sutherland, the wonderful Lucia Aliberti, the intelligent Mariella Devia, the powerful Montserrat Caballe, the high-flying Mado Robin, the artistic Maria Callas and the exquisite Sumi Jo. I do hope you enjoy this contest (the system is the same: the marks range from 1 to 5; there are two categories: singing/characterization; so your mark (+ comment :-) ) should look like this: (*/*))! Also, if you have the time, listen to all the versions, I think it's interesting to compare them all to see what makes each rendition so special. Thank you all in advance for your comments and opinions :-) !

P.S. I'm using this opportunity to say that I have come across some new versions of "Una voce poco fa" for the Youtubers to savour, I hope that I will be able to put them up as soon as possible.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Amelita
• Galli-Curci
• Beverly
• Sills
• Joan
• Sutherland
• I
• Puritani
• Mariella
• Devia
• Montserrat
• Caballe
• Maria
• Callas
• Bellini

[zurriuss]

FANTASTIC!!! Forgive me, I can't write anything because I'm astonished and have no room for thinking about words. BRAVAAA!!!!

[istreamda9te]

The technique in this was quite flawless...I would have liked a bit more depth but my o my was this just bliss to the ears ; )

[vorspiel1023]

What glorious speed and grace!!! Reminded me of the very early Sills, NYC Opera circa 1968..Thanks!

[FloriaTosca90]

This is my favourite "Son Vergin Vezzosa"!

[acitipo]

Esta es una aria perfecta para una soprano de bellisimos sobre agudos, y de grandes agilidades como la Sumi Jo, Horrible por ejemplo en la Anna Netrebko. En cambio en esta gran soprano es

todo un arte, maravilloso!!!!!

[NEBESHIKU]

Not bad, but again, her only REALLY good role is Olimpia: a lifeless doll with out a soul.

[icylakepaxphile]

really funny. this kind of singing is thd showcase of bel canto skills. emotion? 5/5

[winterkks]

AWSOME a TONE....

[09avenger]

Beautiful!!!

[vully70]

Beautiful voice, but who let Olympia out of "Les Contes d'Hoffmann?"

No heart, no feeling at all, so:

4/1

[sasylatin]

Shes is great! :).....

But there is something about Maria Callas' voice that is just so enchanting to the human ear! It doesn't leave you... and Callas has a sort of emotion that i cannot find words to fully explain....Shes still my favourite i guess :P