Part II - Your Favorites: LISA DELLA CASA

THIS PART IS FOR YOUR FAVORITES!
Swiss soprano Lisa della Casa in this favorite-collection? Please give us your comment!

Lisa della Casa, Soprano (born 1919)

Richard Strauss - Arabella
Und Du sollst mein Gebieter sein
With George London, Baritone (1920-1985)
Conductor: Georg Solti
(Recorded 1957)

My personal opinion: It´s not easy to estimate a singers assimilation with one single role. Was it a curse or a blessing for swiss born soprano Lisa della Casa to be Arabella, to be ONLY Arabella? No doubt, della Casa gave the standard for "Arabellissima": Cool elegance, coupled with the mystery of a sphinx. Not exactly it is a compliment to term Lisa della Casa "the ideal of a Strauss-singer". All heroines from this composer are psychograms of hidden defecits. "To sing Strauss, it doesn´t need a special technique. You need a special instrument with cutting intensity in the top register!", judged Lisa della Casa about her own efforts. Strauss and Mozart, the most important composers during her career. But Lisa della Casa was a different kind of a Mozart-singer, she wasn´t charming like Hilde Güden or soulful like Irmgard Seefried. Della Casa was a "Glamour-Soprano", singing with "Grandezza" and born to represent operatic-aristocrats (And she influenced her bosom buddy Anneliese Rothenberger). Steane: "Her voice has that touch of spring and silver, that Strauss loved and wrote for; her tone will float and soar. Her Elvira and Countess lack an element of command and dramatic projection surely needful in both." Della Casa sang Mimi, Queen of the Night, Gilda, Nedda, Antonia, Butterfly (!), Cleopatra and of course Donna Elvira and Donna Anna - but she remained in audiences awareness primarily Arabella. If you compare such a career with others, it´s difficult to rate her status. Lisa della Casa always spoke about the drawbacks of her career, denominated the Vienna State Opera House as the home of intrigues. When she suddenly decited in 1973 to end her career, she broke all contracts without regarding the audience, and this is perhaps another facet of "Cool elegance" and "Mystic of a sphinx". For me, she never was an interesting artist. She was there with her beauty and her singing. What more can I say? Is there more to say?
47 nominations and place 18 for Lisa della Casa.

THE COMPLETE OVERVIEW: GO TO ALL SINGERS IN THIS LIST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBsScnQWVlU

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Lisa
• della
• Casa
• Richard
• Strauss
• Arabella
• Mandryka
• Anneliese
• Rothenberger
• George
• London
• Dietrich
• Fischer-Dieskau
• Vienna
• Mozart

[mazzone1]

The perfect voice for this role. None better.

[cantorandopera]

This is just a "glimpse" of Della Casa, I disagree with the comments about her being uninteresting, or not as charming as other Mozart/Strauss sopranos. To me, she suffered from being too pretty! Maybe people didn't take her seriously enough - after all, being so gorgeous and glamorous might have made people think she attained her career the easy way. For me, she is a great singer - not one of the greatest - but definitely first rate in the repertoire for which she is famous.

[sbreathnach100]

@MrMattsboy Couldn't agree more!

[sebreathnach]

@mazzone1 Absolutely!

[bruckner4444]

1:48, para morir..., divino.

[MrMattsboy]

I saw Della Casa many times, and she was NEVER uninteresting. Her charm was immense, but of a quiet non-Sills-like type. You watched her every movement, she was gorgeous and fascinating. She could be VERY funny ("io non intesi niente" to the Count in Nozze, e.g.), and she had a nobility and grace which were enchanting. NOBODY has equalled her as Arabella, because they all try to be "normal". DC's Arabella lived in her own fragile world and was heartbreaking at the end.

[billyguns2]

@Addiobelpassato Thanks for the clarification!

[Addiobelpassato]

Vor lauter Geschwafel pro oder contra Lisa della Casa merkt niemand, dass George London leider Paul Schöffler ist?

Feine Experten!

[Addiobelpassato]

@billyguns2 This is not George London! The singer is Paul Schöffler!

[willem51]

The best

[mckavitt]

@ShawDAMAN Oh, i see. But these who get the big votes but not a lot of views, are nonethless singers who continue to wow as they did when in their heyday or ALIVE:) We make as much if not more of singers today, even if they are not up to those who preceded them. Don't get me wrong, tho', there are plenty of really good and beautiful ones at the top today. It's just that a Della Casa is a once in a lifetime, in a century! singer and when even youngsters hear her, they are wowed.

[ShawDAMAN]

@mckavitt lol no problem; I am aware that there are great singers I am not overly familiar with and I am somewhat young, but the point of my original comment was just that I was surprised that some of these lesser known singers (outside the comparatively small opera enthusiast set) got a considerable number of votes, on a pretty small project. Even this video after a year has only 1400 views (a speck by youtube standards, haha.) no biggie ;-D