Kathleen Battle - Mozart: Concert aria K.418 Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! Live, NY Phil, 1983
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- The sumptuous American lyric-coloratura soprano Kathleen Battle sings arguably Mozart's supreme soprano aria, K.418 "Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!" in a live performance with the New York Philharmonic in October 1983, Zubin Mehta conducting. I have not seen this performance on TH-cam as of my posting.
It appears Battle programmed this aria regularly in the early 1980s, including her first season at the Salzburg Festival in a 1982. She made her debut there as Despina in "Cosi fan tutte" on July 28, then appeared in a matinee concert on July 31, singing this aria and "Exsultate Jubilate." And, of course, recorded it commercially on her first solo aria recital disc in 1985 (released in 1986). One can hear why Battle was so closely associated with this aria as she clearly had an affinity it -- she is an ideal interpreter of both the dreamy serenity of adagio section and urgent passion of the closing allegro. It's worth nothing that she takes the very final note up an octave (A4 to A5) -- I'm not aware her doing this small variation elsewhere.
Wow! This might be the best Vorrei by her. So much attention to the words and her usual technical finesse!!!
What a lovely pure voice . She was magnificent!
I keep having this dream that I’m watching a Kathleen Battle documentary on Netflix
That's called a great idea! hahaha
@@PensadorProfundo42 She is still alive and Lord knows she can still sing!
I just want to hear her side of the story and hopefully get to behold that angelic voice once more
Such a spectacular recording! Thank you very much for posting it! The approach she used here is quite different from the one she uses on later recordings. It almost feels like she is experimenting with all the possible dynamics.
For instance, up until bar 80 (the alla breve portion) she darkens her voice much more than later on. An interesting point is the beautiful change in dynamics, of going softer and to the mask, on the "ta-cer" (2:06) at the final part of a very long breath. The way she approaches chest lightly on "be a-mo-re" (3:06) to instantly use the bottom end of her head voice to sing the "e" of "e fà che cru-da" that sits only 3 semi-tones higher is a masterclass of control by itself. She does the same daring light chest at the "da io sem-bri" immediatly after the sustained very high "cru-da". And last, but not least, the attack on the high D is gorgeous: clean, precise and immensely resonant. It has to be one of the most beautiful high D's I've ever heard. I can only imagine what she could have done negotiating the quick ascending scales of K.416! Once more, thanks so much for posting it! K.418 truly is the definitive piece for high sopranos, such an astouding well written aria!
She sings this masterfully indeed. While she sang many high Es in roles like Blondchen and Zerbinetta, I don't know if she ever had a high F though, and there are several in K. 416. I think the best I've heard is Rita Streich though I haven't listened in a while.
@@ThomasDawkins88 Her highest singing note in public performances is a high F#. She sang it many, many times as Blondchen. Immediately before her first aria "Durch Zartlichkeit" she usually did a beautiful glissando up to F#6, and all the way down. This recording is a perfect example: th-cam.com/video/b_WzUHWi8Ok/w-d-xo.html . Honestly, I don't know why she never sang K. 416, perhaps she didn't like the piece at all.
@@ThomasDawkins88 I just remembered about this recording: th-cam.com/video/CJ1ktNxTgGA/w-d-xo.html
In this other live K. 418, for some unknown reason, she sings Vorrei a whole step higher. So, instead of high E, the piece tops at high F. And instead of a leap from B3 to D6, the octave jump is from B3 to Eb6. It's a very interesting recording, specially the slower tempo in which she chose to perform.
@@PensadorProfundo42 It's very common for european orchestras (especially in Germany) to be tuned at a slightly higher pitch than the normal concert pitch @A440 which is common in the US and UK.
@@andrew11101 I was not aware of that. Thanks for the explanation!
no one sings this aria more beautifully than Battle, the range of the aria's highest notes sits perfectly at her most resonated tessitura and it just resonates so beautifully there in her chamber, which she is clearly aware of and exploits it to the full. Her recording of this area is one of 20th century's grammophone miracles.
Highest notes sound flat.
She is gorgeous!
@songbirdwatcher Do you have (or know where I could find) a 1983 recital Battle gave with the Lausanne Orchestra at Carnegie Hall? It used to be on youtube, but it is nowhere to be found. It was the first time she sang "Grossmachtige Prinzessin" to an audience, apparently.
Hi -- I don't know have that. I see it listed in the Carnegie Hall online archives here: www.carnegiehall.org/About/History/Performance-History-Search?q=&dex=prod_PHS&event=32501&pf=Kathleen%20Battle_
@@songbirdwatcher its on a private recording which I have
@@baritoneblazzin1965 Could you share it?
Performed with elegance as always but IMO Miss Battle doesn't sound too comfortable with the high notes in this particular aria.