My favorite aria

[Arkteia]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM3xE9f6LrE&feature=fvst

My favorite aria. "Casta Diva" sang by Maria Callas. Perhaps other PS-ers like her, it is definitely worth listening...

 

[ksinger]

People either love her or hate her. I loved her, and yes, her rendition of Casta Diva is excellent. Or at least the one I have is...(was, I think I've misplaced that CD).

The only thing about Callas is you have to be OK with a wide vibrato, because she is always on the edge of a wobble. But still, gotta love her. Her bio is pretty interesting too....

Bit of family opera trivia: My mother's cousin, Lucille Udovick, was on the short list for a fill in after Callas's famous 1958 Norma walkout in Rome. Another soprano ended up doing it, but Lucille was well-known (in Europe at the time) for her Norma and Turandot, and I have a 1958 Italian television production of her in Turandot with Franco Corelli, as well as family photos of her, my mom and my aunts backstage with Lucille and Richard Tucker after a 1960 Houston Grand Opera production of Turandot.

Love of opera runs deep in my family.

 

[ksinger]

In fact, Crasru, there a very few recordings of my cousin Lucille Udovick - currently on Youtube. You can go listen. She has a very similar sound to Callas...a bit "tighter"...if that makes sense...faster vibrato, but overall a similar voice type. She was a true dramatic soprano, while there is much speculation that Callas was actually more truly a mezzo who "pushed". In the end though, they sang much of the same rep.

ETA - Do try to imagine her singing something heavier, because it seems most to them out there are from Idomeneo, by Mozart, and as such are mostly pretty light...

 

[AGBF]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM3xE9f6LrE&feature=fvst

My favorite aria. "Casta Diva" sang by Maria Callas. Perhaps other PS-ers like her, it is definitely worth listening...

Thanks for posting, crasru. I have always loved Maria Callas, too. I never heard her in person, but I love her recording of, "Carmen". (That is my favorite opera.)

Deb/AGBF

 

[Aoife]

I will admit to preferring Dame Joan Sutherland's version of "Casta Diva," and the Joan Sutherland/Marilyn Horne version of "Mira O Norma" is very, very high on my list of favorites. The problem with Dame Joan was that you had to be all right with her slightly mushy diction, but the sound....! Superb. Callas was always just a bit unpredictable, sometimes perfection, and other times painful. A fascinating woman and a fascinating life, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STtwkh1rAAs&feature=related

It's just sound, but that's not necessarily a bad thing with La Stupenda.

 

[ksinger]

I will admit to preferring Dame Joan Sutherland's version of "Casta Diva," and the Joan Sutherland/Marilyn Horne version of "Mira O Norma" is very, very high on my list of favorites. The problem with Dame Joan was that you had to be all right with her slightly mushy diction, but the sound....! Superb. Callas was always just a bit unpredictable, sometimes perfection, and other times painful. A fascinating woman and a fascinating life, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STtwkh1rAAs&feature=related

It's just sound, but that's not necessarily a bad thing with La Stupenda.

I assume you've seen video of La Stupenda actually singing? As you said, glorious sound, but lord when she went for the high notes and dropped that jaw....you could drive an 18-wheeler into it!

I'm sure I will offend someone here...but I find Fleming's German to be mushy. I know I know - everyone gushes over it, but I find it too rounded and swallowed, and she does that annoying little catch-y stylistic thing too much - kind of like weeping, that annoys me, although she is one of those too who can be forgiven almost anything for the sheer sound coming out.

 

[Aoife]

I will admit to preferring Dame Joan Sutherland's version of "Casta Diva," and the Joan Sutherland/Marilyn Horne version of "Mira O Norma" is very, very high on my list of favorites. The problem with Dame Joan was that you had to be all right with her slightly mushy diction, but the sound....! Superb. Callas was always just a bit unpredictable, sometimes perfection, and other times painful. A fascinating woman and a fascinating life, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STtwkh1rAAs&feature=related

It's just sound, but that's not necessarily a bad thing with La Stupenda.

I assume you've seen video of La Stupenda actually singing? As you said, glorious sound, but lord when she went for the high notes and dropped that jaw....you could drive an 18-wheeler into it!
I'm sure I will offend someone here...but I find Fleming's German to be mushy. I know I know - everyone gushes over it, but I find it too rounded and swallowed, and she does that annoying little catch-y stylistic thing too much - kind of like weeping, that annoys me, although she is one of those too who can be forgiven almost anything for the sheer sound coming out.

No offense here, since I agree.(Referencing Fleming, here) Not so much on the German, since I'm not really an expert on that, but some of her stylistic quirks can be wearing. There really are some roles that she tries to sing that she just shouldn't.

As for Dame Joan: yes, exactly! Much easier to wallow in the lush sound if you aren't forced to watch the mechanics.

 

[kenny]

I'm not an opera nut, but do immensely appreciate what I've been exposed to.

Jussi Björling singing Che gelida manina from La Boheme is my favorite aria.
IMHO the 2-CD set c1956 EMI recording (CDS 7 47235 8 ) with Victoria Los Angeles under Sir Thomas Beecham is the quintessential recording of the quintessential aria from the quintessential opera.
The recording used the RCA Victor Orchestra and Chorus.

I think more than any other tenor Björling uniquely combines strength and vulnerability.

Here's a video of him in the same year of the recording, but the soprano is not Los Angeles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvVVa62PFPo

 

[Aoife]

I'm not an opera nut, but do immensely appreciate what I've been exposed to.

Jussi Björling singing Che gelida manina from La Boheme is my favorite aria.
IMHO the 1956 recording with Victoria Los Angeles under Sir Thomas Beecham is the quintessential recording of the quintessential aria from the quintessential opera.

I think more than any other tenor Björling uniquely combines strength and vulnerability.

Here's a vid of him in the same year of the recording.
I do not know if the soprano is Los Angeles or not.

My mother's would have agreed with you on Jussi Bjorling. I wonder what happened to all the old recordings of him we used to have when I was growing up?

 

[AGBF]

My daughter has been sick to her stomach and "needing" me, so I have been tending to her while YouTube played opera in the background according to its own whims for absolutely hours! I had set it on this duet from, "Carmen". This is one of my favorite pieces from any opera. When I first encountered , "Carmen" (as a young child), I liked the catchy pieces. In time, I grew to love this air. (I do not know if, technically speaking, it is an, "air". But I love this duet. In this video it is performed by Franco Corelli and Elda Ribetti, but I do not think I ever heard it performed by them before today.)

In the story line of the opera, Micaela, Don José's childhood sweetheart, comes to see him in Seville with a message from his mother who loves him. He is under Carmen's spell, and Micaela, who is good and sweet, represents all that could save him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd4Hy26Fc24

By the way, since we are mentioning divas we love, my favorite is Joan Sutherland. I have seen her perform in person, although only once, in, "La Traviata". She was magnificent. I did see Marilyn Horne in person in, "Carmen", but she did not bowl me over.

Deb/AGBF

 

[jstarfireb]

I'm not as much an opera fan as a classical vocal music fan, so I'll contribute a classical piece. I'm a lyric mezzo, and Anne Sofie von Otter is one of my idols. This is one of my favorite pieces both to sing and listen to. I love the jumps up to the high A at the end.

Laudamus te from Mozart's "Great Mass" in C minor - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTLyvYkqsm4

 

[Natylad]

I love Maria Callas...Not only a unique voice but a unique personality too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lspRhX5Vhhg

 

[kelpie]

That was beautiful. I am not really an opera aficionado but I am obsessed with Radu Marian, male soprano. I wish I could find his recordings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU2ErpT0qjk&feature=related

 

[JewelFreak]

there is much speculation that Callas was actually more truly a mezzo who "pushed".

Excellent description of what I hear with Callas & why listening to her always disappoints a bit. She hits notes from beneath rather than from above. I keep waiting for those notes to soar & they never quite make it. I have perfect pitch & things like that are almost painful. However, the quality and sheer athleticism of her voice is marvelous.

Interesting about your aunt, ksinger.

--- Laurie

 

[ksinger]

there is much speculation that Callas was actually more truly a mezzo who "pushed".

Excellent description of what I hear with Callas & why listening to her always disappoints a bit. She hits notes from beneath rather than from above. I keep waiting for those notes to soar & they never quite make it. I have perfect pitch & things like that are almost painful. However, the quality and sheer athleticism of her voice is marvelous.

Interesting about your aunt, ksinger.

--- Laurie

Yeah. I confess I think she is pretty cool. I wish I could have met her, but she lived in Rome, and alas, died in 2000. They had a nice obit about her in Opera News...

Here is one of the arias available on Youtube....

Tutte nel cor vi sento
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sIlONWh9uc&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL4DCBD882FFCF9487

 

[Arkteia]

I will admit to preferring Dame Joan Sutherland's version of "Casta Diva," and the Joan Sutherland/Marilyn Horne version of "Mira O Norma" is very, very high on my list of favorites. The problem with Dame Joan was that you had to be all right with her slightly mushy diction, but the sound....! Superb. Callas was always just a bit unpredictable, sometimes perfection, and other times painful. A fascinating woman and a life, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STtwkh1rAAs&feature=related

It's just sound, but that's not necessarily a bad thing with La Stupenda.

I just listened to it... it is fantastic. I am sitting there just amazed that someone could write such an opera, and someone could sing it like they did... (It is like listening to a violin and wondering how someone can extract such sounds from a mere piece of wood...)

Ksinger - your aunt was very good...

AGBF - Carmen, actually, is my favorite opera as well. What always surprises me is how deceptively easy it is to sing the arias from it. They are all very easy to remember, too. It is surprising that the French public absolutely did not accept Carmen at its first performance. They were used to gods, goddesses and heroes and the opera was about gypsies, contrabandists and semi-prostitutes. The public whistled... Bizet died shortly afterwards. I wish he could see how popular his opera would become! Also, he never visited Seville. In fact, when someone advised him to go there first, before writing an opera staged in Sevilla, he said he had his own vision of Seville...

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I was lucky enough to hear Callas in person once. There will never be another one like her. Carmen fans: She did a very good recording of Carmen- well worth having.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

My Favorite is the first act of Madam Butterfly. Don't know the names of the arias.

Philadelphia- the movie with Tom hanks had the aria La mama Muerte (Sp), sung by Maria Callas. I actually cry each time I hear it. I loved the movie and think Maia Callas should be remembered for that alone. my 2 cents


My parents loved Opera, and my brother does, more than I do, but some of it I love.

Annette

 

[AGBF]

I was lucky enough to hear Callas in person once. There will never be another one like her. Carmen fans: She did a very good recording of Carmen- well worth having.

I really envy you having heard her sing, MadamB. (And, by the way, I can imagine you at the opera carrying your Hermès bag and wearing your splendid jewelry while on the arm of your escort now that I have read of how you attend the opera).

Now that I have heard some of the voice experts weigh in on voice, I have heard in what ways the voice of Callas can be criticized. I am not a voice or a music expert, although I have always sung for fun. I took one voice class in college and my professor said that Callas had ruined her voice by getting, "too skinny" (in order to be glamorous). I have no idea if that is true. I do not have the ability to listen with enough precision to hear if she is hitting a note from below it or above it, that is for sure! All I know is that I do seem to be able to sing my own part in madrigal groups and to hear it when other people sing something off-key. That's about as close to "perfect pitch" as I get! So...to make a long story a little bit shorter...I love a beautiful, lyrical, voice; one that hits the correct notes; however what I look for in the singer is apparently not what some of the true purists here look for. I look for the voice that conveys my favorite music in the best way I have ever heard it or can imagine hearing it sung. Maria Callas does that with Carmen. And yes, I have owned that recording you mention, the long playing record album for many years. Maybe it is time to update my collection so that I can hear it on CD now. I haven't listened to it in years since I haven't taken out a turntable in years!

I can't believe you heard her sing!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

I was going to ask if anyone else loved, "The Queen of The Night" revenge aria from, "Die Zauberflote" as much as I did and simply post a link to a version (perhaps one by Joan Sutherland) here. However, when I got to YouTube, I found something that entranced me. I am sure I have searched for this aria before, but I don't recall ever stumbling over this clip before. I am posting a link to it below (as well as one to just the aria itself, which is heavenly).

The clip is of ten great sopranos singing the same difficult passage from the center of the aria, one after the other. It is truly amazing to hear them. The only levity provided here was by my Newfoundland, who wasn't in the room with me but who suddenly started to bark while I was listening to the music! The high pitch must have reached him in the living room. Newfies don't bark very often, so his barking was unusual and caused my father to think he must be hungry. As a result he fed the dog!

Anyway, here are the video clips:

The aria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ODfuMMyss

The ten sopranos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kyOcGM5nEA



Deb/AGBF

 

[Arkteia]

I was lucky enough to hear Callas in person once. There will never be another one like her. Carmen fans: She did a very good recording of Carmen- well worth having.

I really envy you having heard her sing, MadamB. (And, by the way, I can imagine you at the opera carrying your Hermès bag and wearing your splendid jewelry while on the arm of your escort now that I have read of how you attend the opera).

Now that I have heard some of the voice experts weigh in on voice, I have heard in what ways the voice of Callas can be criticized. I am not a voice or a music expert, although I have always sung for fun. I took one voice class in college and my professor said that Callas had ruined her voice by getting, "too skinny" (in order to be glamorous). I have no idea if that is true. I do not have the ability to listen with enough precision to hear if she is hitting a note from below it or above it, that is for sure! All I know is that I do seem to be able to sing my own part in madrigal groups and to hear it when other people sing something off-key. That's about as close to "perfect pitch" as I get! So...to make a long story a little bit shorter...I love a beautiful, lyrical, voice; one that hits the correct notes; however what I look for in the singer is apparently not what some of the true purists here look for. I look for the voice that conveys my favorite music in the best way I have ever heard it or can imagine hearing it sung. Maria Callas does that with Carmen. And yes, I have owned that recording you mention, the long playing record album for many years. Maybe it is time to update my collection so that I can hear it on CD now. I haven't listened to it in years since I haven't taken out a turntable in years!

I can't believe you heard her sing!

Deb

Is that true? I have heard that opera singers are overweight because it helps their voices so many times and I am not convinced. I can not even think of a good explanation to it, except for excess weight flattening the diaphragm... How can being heavy improve the voice?

As to voices... I actually have poor ear for music so I can not be a good judge here... all I know that I want to cry when she sings...

 

[jstarfireb]

Deb, my favorite version of "Der Holle Rache" is Christina Deutekom's. It's not all that special at the beginning, but her coloratura is so spot-on it sounds like she's being auto-tuned. Especially the triplets starting around 1:55, followed by the descending passage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qmyWC38HVI

ETA: You have links to 2 different arias, so I'm not sure if you're referring to this one as the revenge aria or the other one. But I really enjoyed hearing the 9 different sopranos singing the same piece.

 

[AGBF]

I was lucky enough to hear Callas in person once. There will never be another one like her. Carmen fans: She did a very good recording of Carmen- well worth having.

I really envy you having heard her sing, MadamB. (And, by the way, I can imagine you at the opera carrying your Hermès bag and wearing your splendid jewelry while on the arm of your escort now that I have read of how you attend the opera).

Now that I have heard some of the voice experts weigh in on voice, I have heard in what ways the voice of Callas can be criticized. I am not a voice or a music expert, although I have always sung for fun. I took one voice class in college and my professor said that Callas had ruined her voice by getting, "too skinny" (in order to be glamorous). I have no idea if that is true. I do not have the ability to listen with enough precision to hear if she is hitting a note from below it or above it, that is for sure! All I know is that I do seem to be able to sing my own part in madrigal groups and to hear it when other people sing something off-key. That's about as close to "perfect pitch" as I get! So...to make a long story a little bit shorter...I love a beautiful, lyrical, voice; one that hits the correct notes; however what I look for in the singer is apparently not what some of the true purists here look for. I look for the voice that conveys my favorite music in the best way I have ever heard it or can imagine hearing it sung. Maria Callas does that with Carmen. And yes, I have owned that recording you mention, the long playing record album for many years. Maybe it is time to update my collection so that I can hear it on CD now. I haven't listened to it in years since I haven't taken out a turntable in years!

I can't believe you heard her sing!

Is that true? I have heard that opera singers are overweight because it helps their voices so many times and I am not convinced. I can not even think of a good explanation to it, except for excess weight flattening the diaphragm... How can being heavy improve the voice?

I am sorry, crasru. I never questioned it. I certainly am not about to defend it on scientific principles!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[AGBF]

Deb, my favorite version of "Der Holle Rache" is Christina Deutekom's. It's not all that special at the beginning, but her coloratura is so spot-on it sounds like she's being auto-tuned. Especially the triplets starting around 1:55, followed by the descending passage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qmyWC38HVI

I will go listen to it, jstarfireb! Thanks for the heads up!!!

Deb

 

[jstarfireb]

No problem! Natalie Dessay does a great version as well. I actually prefer her in the beginning, but Deutekom's coloratura is just so spectacular that I have to count her version as my favorite.

 

[Arkteia]

Thank you, jstar! Wonderful voice!

 

[jstarfireb]

Here's a favorite of mine...again, my favorite mezzo, Anne Sofie von Otter, singing Rossini's "Nacqui all'affano" aria. It starts a little bit slow, but builds up to a fantastic ending:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnffFw9QuCo

 

[ksinger]

I was lucky enough to hear Callas in person once. There will never be another one like her. Carmen fans: She did a very good recording of Carmen- well worth having.

I really envy you having heard her sing, MadamB. (And, by the way, I can imagine you at the opera carrying your Hermès bag and wearing your splendid jewelry while on the arm of your escort now that I have read of how you attend the opera).

Now that I have heard some of the voice experts weigh in on voice, I have heard in what ways the voice of Callas can be criticized. I am not a voice or a music expert, although I have always sung for fun. I took one voice class in college and my professor said that Callas had ruined her voice by getting, "too skinny" (in order to be glamorous). I have no idea if that is true. I do not have the ability to listen with enough precision to hear if she is hitting a note from below it or above it, that is for sure! All I know is that I do seem to be able to sing my own part in madrigal groups and to hear it when other people sing something off-key. That's about as close to "perfect pitch" as I get! So...to make a long story a little bit shorter...I love a beautiful, lyrical, voice; one that hits the correct notes; however what I look for in the singer is apparently not what some of the true purists here look for. I look for the voice that conveys my favorite music in the best way I have ever heard it or can imagine hearing it sung. Maria Callas does that with Carmen. And yes, I have owned that recording you mention, the long playing record album for many years. Maybe it is time to update my collection so that I can hear it on CD now. I haven't listened to it in years since I haven't taken out a turntable in years!

I can't believe you heard her sing!

Is that true? I have heard that opera singers are overweight because it helps their voices so many times and I am not convinced. I can not even think of a good explanation to it, except for excess weight flattening the diaphragm... How can being heavy improve the voice?

I am sorry, crasru. I never questioned it. I certainly am not about to defend it on scientific principles!

Hugs,
Deb

Load 'o codswallop. See Kathleen Battle, Beverly Sills (chunky at times but not obese) and many others. The characteristic operatic tone and ability to project and cut through an orchestra comes from the vocal tract and one's ability to produce "the singer's formant", not chest resonance (and most sopranos are scared spitless to grind away down in chest voice anyway - Beverly Sills made the conscious choice to "push" down there - for artistic reasons, knowing it would likely shorten her career.). One can, in fact, sing classically with little deterioration of sound, with one's nasal cavities packed with...stuff. Not much of anything to do with the nasal cavities either. Vocal tract shaping and breath control, simple as that. (Not that either one is simple at all, mind you)

Now, maybe you have large singers with correspondingly large diaphragms - strong ones - or huge mouth cavities, but that hardly precludes a slimmer singer from having them too.

Sources over the years - 4 years of classical voice, many an hour in the stacks reading NATS Journals (no, I'm not a pro OR a teacher, just a nerd) and Meribeth Bunch's "Dynamics of The Singing Voice", and "Great Singers on Great Singing" compiled by Jerome Hines. And about 4 months of belt technique taught by Tamara Long.

 

[Arkteia]

Ksinger, what an interesting person you are! And so talented! Wow!

 

[ksinger]

Ksinger, what an interesting person you are! And so talented! Wow!

LOL! Thanks Crasru! I HOPE I'm not too boring. As for the talent, well, this IS the internet and I could be as full of crap as a Christmas goose, and tone-deaf to boot. I'm not, at least not in this case, but I haven't sung anything seriously since late 2006: my voice is going to seed... I can tell ya, lack of practice combined with decreasing hormones, is not a happy combination for a female voice, especially a soprano....

Singing is really a weird kind of activity - unlike other physical endeavors from tennis to sewing, you can't SEE what is happening, you can't watch a video and "work on your follow-through" you know? It's why so many singers and their teachers use such weird word descriptions of what to do, and have such strange ideas (sometimes) about what is going on in the throat, or what makes a voice - like the idea that it's being overweight. Now there MIGHT be some correlation between overweight and hormone levels (I'm just speculating here) that might explain why many singers tend to stout, but I've not heard of it.

Anyway, you hear stuff like....

"Your vibrato is too tight - the edges of it should only TOUCH the outer edges of the column of air. Spin some more air through there."

"The sound should float."

"Sing in the mask. (a classic) Place the sound like a wedge with the big part in the back and the pointy part right behind your front teeth."

The student is like...what???? You can't actually "place" sound, there is clearly not a sound-wedge in your mouth and what is all this blather about vibrato on the outside of ... umm...why do I want my face to buzz....what?

Fun stuff. I understand it all NOW, but when you're learning it at first it's like you're almost immobilized.
Teacher: "Lift your palate, drop your jaw...hold it...now SING!"
Student - standing with mouth open, no tune coming out: "Ahh cahn'....hah cah you sing lahk ths...?"

You just feel like you're trying to stack ball bearings, walk while chewing gum, and flap your arm all at the same time.

I had a really fab teacher - she was a scion of one of the best teachers in the nation - Florence Birdwell, a woman who has taught some HUGE names over the years, the most recent one that you may know is Kristen Chenoweth. Birdwell's stamp is on so many singers all over the country. So, my teacher's training was stellar and she was an effective teacher in her own right, and I got to benefit from it.