I was an Army officer in the Italian Army. I would have painted them Olive green. It was the only paint we had. Also, Pinkerton outranked me but I would have kicked his ass anyway. I don’t know if I wrote this before, but I am convinced Madama Butterfly saved my wife’s life and most certainly our marriage. We were in a terrible accident in Portland that screwed up her neck badly, I started playing her my (at the time meager) opera collection and it seemed to make her feel better. She told me this aria specifically brought her out of her depression and despair. Also, for the Americans here, Italians do not understand the words either. Especially when soprano sing. Tenors is about 50%, baritones and bass in a bit more. I have Tosca memorized (I was born across the river from where Tosca jumps to her death), I know most of M.butterfly, but the other operas I have to read the subtitles like everybody else. Speaking of which, who wrote the subtitles for this aria. I’d say google translate if it wasn’t for how old the recording is.
In my opinion, Renata Tebaldi sang the most sumptuously beautiful butterfly that I’ve ever heard. Now that being said, I like Victoria Del los Angeles, Maria Callas, Ana Moffo, Leontyne Price, Renata Scotto.
Spero davvero che la passione con cui crei questi stupendi video venga un giorno apprezzata da tutti. Si vede che ami quello che fai da come ti si illumina lo sguardo ogni volta che comincia il video che commenterai. Con l’eccitazione di una bimba che non vede l’ora di rivelarci un piccolo segreto, “a guilty pleasure”. Davvero davvero brava e divertente oltre che informativa. Spero che la community aumenti sempre più: te lo meriti.
I love this post. Besides the value of Puccini and Madame Butterfly. I am an opera curious at age 59. But you lady have done a wonderful job. It isn't true that TH-cam is rotten. You and the alike dignify this medium!
Madama B made me know opera, i can sing it by heart (not a singer so you can imagine) , as always a great video, very interesting and explicative, and i always get goose bumps hearing this opera
Tebaldi does an amazing job in this aria, and it's a pleasure to get to listen to it over and over again. I'd love to look at the aria from different singers as well .. thinking of doing a sort of aria through the ages video
@@operaanna that´s a great idea, i like to hear an aria from diferent singers, it´s allways amazing to see how each singer brings something diferent into the interpretation
Apart from the exceptional blend of chest and head voice and that gorgeous timbre, her phrasing, the perfect diction and the accents on the right syllables make Tebaldi's singing spellbinding. I keep returning to her performances not just for the beauty but also this unique storytelling.
Yay 👏 👏 👏 another video from Anna! Please do try and post more, darling, your content is so great: fun and informative at the same time. In the meantime, take care and be happy! Ciao 👋
Tebaldi was the best Butterfly, in my humble opinion. Her voice is pure gold :X Also, those who say Tebaldi doesn't act well should definitely watch this performance!!
Puccini saw this play in London, based on an American book making Butterfly the joke and butt of the joke and blame for her demise. Still being 15. And Pinkerton being 20+ years her senior. The actress was made to speak in an accent to elicit offence from the British audience. He was enraged at the obvious wrong of this, and decided to correct this. The writer sent ppl to his opening to ruin it. But his talent actual talent would surpass this with his revisions and correct the very wrong narrative.
Ti ho odiato profondamente per ogni interruzione, anche perché ho lasciato cadere più di qualche lacrima. Mi hai allungato il dolore. Tebaldi per sempre! Viva Puccini!
I so appreciated the analysis of the aria and, in particular, this performance. Tebaldi inspired me to pursue a career in opera (as a stage director) - there simply was no other voice like hers. Although she was not a natural stage actress, she was able to create through voice and expressive use of the text, the absolute sense that she was the character she was playing. In this case, Un bel di, she captures the feeling of the teenage Cio-cio-san as she relates to Suzuki the minute by minute experience she anticipates having when Pinkerton returns. Tebaldi also captures the intensity of feeling Cio-cio-san experiences when she says that she will hide from Pinkerton, in part to tease him but also out of fear that her emotions will overwhelm her. That is the moment in the aria that gets me the most. At the end of the aria she turns to Suzuki with defiance and says "I will wait for him"
I first heard Tebaldi on recording, as Mimi. There was some aspect to her voice that touched me in a singular way, I'm not sure that I can define it. It was so personal and so connected to the character's emotional state that I was transported into Mimi's situation immediately and could not let go of it until she had passed. I have heard many fine Mimi since then, but none that touched me so indelibly. If you want to get a sense of it, please listen to the first Boheme recording she made. The Rodolfo is Prandelli and the Musetta the excellent Hilde Gueden. Prepare to be blown away!
I love R.T. and I can appreciate one artisan admiring another one showing the mastery of their craft. Yes, conveying emotions by “coloring” their voices is what great singers do for us. That said. I can hear how R.T makes me feel what she is saying, the joyful and anxious anticipation and hope. And yet; I am certain - as much as one can be certain talking about a character in an opera))while Cio-Cio-Sun is trying to convince Suzuki aand also herself “…(One day we’ll see… A thin smoke in the distance, and then the white ship. A man climbs the hill… He will call me ..” - deep inside she knows. So, there is a terrifying mix of hope and despair, joyful anticipation, and dread. To my ear there is only one singer who can do it in such a way that we can’t help but hear it, feel it. Becose she is not singing she is (what a terrible cliché!, sorry) becoming Cio-Cio-Sun. And it is not R.T. But that’s me. You certainly can hear and feel differently))
@@operaanna Or, perhaps, it is too subjective for a debate? My favorite Cio-Cio-Sun is - yes, Maria. Not just because I love her singing (I do!), or think “she is better” - I am not qualified to judge- but because I have strong pre-conceived notions as to how she (C-C-S) really feels, and to my untrained ear only M.C. conveys those exact feelings. Perhaps, because she (M.C.) doesn’t really “perform” the role but rather ? That’s why when she sings what I hear is exactly how I imagine C-C-S. Yes, she is only 15 (or 16 already?) but her feelings are no longer “girlish”. Not cute. Not … etc. (and Don’t get me started on other roles, male and female characters 😊) But that’s me; you - a singer herself - hear much more, much better, I am sure.
@@operaanna On a separate note - many thanks for posting Yuja playing “Gretchen am spinnrade”. I liked it performed by many others, but this is different - magic, sorcery, witchcraft. The first time I listened to her, I went to sleep, woke up, listened again - and could no longer fall asleep that night. She is a witch )))
Many great sopranos refuse to sing the role. Not only because it is one of the most difficult and longest Puccini roles for a soprano( Madama B. is on stage all the time) but because it is so emotional that is it hard to keep emotions not affect singing. Many pushed and ruined the voice because of this role...I am happy to say that we have a great soprano in our country Sabina Cvilak who is a world-class Madama B. th-cam.com/video/-n0nOtArYxA/w-d-xo.html.
It was the American Great White Fleet undee Commodore Mathew Perry that sailed into Tokyo Harbour, forcing open Japan, and ending the Tokugawa Shogunate. That is what Puccini is probably referencing.
There is a fundamental problem - especially for the high voices - that they portray carachters that are very young - and it takes so long to get the technique and expression right that the premise is contradicted that it becomes absurd. Wagner is particularly redicilous in that. Wagners roles demand such stamina, that you really has to be a stout 40 year old. Just remember Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nielsson. The other problem is that most roles are tailored to a specific singer and voice. If you take the role of Susanna: If you listen to the role performed by Cecilia Bartoli and Diana Damrau: They are two completely different women. As to the hand gestures: Well, Tebaldi wants to show of her gracefull hand with long slender fingers. At the same time: Hand gestures are a signal to the conductor - as long as the hand is open and flat the singer is good (having enough air). The circle formed in her right hand with a thumb and pointing finger is a cancellation signal: Disregard other signals. One thing that made Harnoncourt such a great conductor was his ability to keep track of everything - without looking confused. Especially with someone like Bartoli that takes charge and flits around on stage like a wide reciever in a football game. Melchior was another type that didn't mind NOT being on stage if he did not have to sing - he would be across the street in a bar having refreshment - in full costume including redicilous Wagnerian headgear - a new interpretation of counting bars. There is the old story about Callas being asked her opinion about Tebaldi. And she remarked: "You can't compare Coca-Cola with champagne." Tebaldi replied: No champagne turns sour when it gets OLD! As any sensible man knows: When bitches are fighting and fur is flying - don't interfere - or they will both turn on him.
Hi Anna, On the matter of the "white" ship. At that time military ships were painted white during peacetime to demonstrate that the ship or fleet was at peace and not on a war footing, hence not a threat to other ships. At the beginning of the Spanish American War in 1898, when news of the destruction of the USS Maine in Havana harbor reached Commodore Dewey he had the fleet immediately repainted a wartime gray before sailing from Hong Kong to Manila where he defeated the Spanish fleet there. His flagship, the USS Olympia, which can be visited at Philadelphia, today wears a coat of white paint on it's hull and has a tan superstructure. And, as you correctly point out, when Theodore Roosevelt sent the American fleet on a world cruise to make official visits at foreign ports, it wore a coat of white to again indicate that it was not a hostile fleet. In an age where communications around the globe were still extremely slow (the speed at which a ship could travel from one location to another) it made good sense as foreign ports far from a home country wouldn't have any way to know whether their country had declared war with an approaching warship or fleet. It was a very practical solution to the problem in an age of communication limited by the lack of an ability to have remote communications (no radios, etc.). I enjoyed some of your insights on Un Bel Di Vedremo. Thanks
@@operaanna thanks for your reply. One thing I notice I forgot to mention is the custom of warship’s crews standing along the deck railings as the ship enters port. That’s another old tradition that had a purpose. It was to show to those in harbor that your crew was not below decks manning their guns in readiness to fire on the port it was entering. Seamanship still has quaint but interesting traditions that are still quite nice even if their meaning no longer applies. Best wishes.
listening to Renata gives you goose bumps! here's another soprano, Roxana Briban in the same aria - unfortunately she committed suicide too: th-cam.com/video/alO8JstvYpc/w-d-xo.html
May I congratulate you on yet another captivating video. Cho-Cho San's story is sad and moving, but apparently, it was not at all uncommon back then. Just one note about the lyrics: "olezzo di verbena" means "scent of vervain", not "orange blossom".
Great posting. Am not a super admirer of La Tebaldi’s Butterfly at least the acting part. Prefer Scotto, Jaho or the new sensation, Grigorian. Thank you any way for a most interesting and very well done analysis.
Re the ship’s color. US ships were in gray but the pre-war Victorian livery is much better looking with white hulls up to the main deck, tan upper works and black gun barrels. Theodore Roosevelt sent out a famous Great White Fleet that toured the world (1907) shortly after Butterfly’s premiere to impress and intimidate.
So... M*A*S^H took inspiration from more than BF. Character: Benjamin "Hawkeye" Franklin Pierce And I'm sorry but have to dip before the actual analysis starts. Once I recognized the song I knew I would get a headache from it. This one hurts my head every time and I haven't figured out why.
Since Madama Butterfly is my favorite Puccini opera, I nearly forget that I'm watching an opera. I can hardly tell you how much empathy I feel for Cio-cio San, i.e., Butterfly. I almost wish I could hug her and beg her to cancel the wedding because Pinkerton is dishonest and promiscuous. Here's one of my favorite performance of the Opera's finale. So I'd appreciate our expert's thoughts about it. th-cam.com/video/4WWIWxnDbtU/w-d-xo.html
Yeah. I noticed the gestures straight away and did ponder on the significance - thanks for that explanation. My first thought was that they worked well.
Funnily MrsM and I went to see Butterfly only last Tuesday. Ukraine National Opera’s tour of the UK, bringing opera joy (ok, not joy, but you get me) to provincial places. Thank you, them! 🇺🇦 It’s affected me deeply. I knew the plot, I knew a lot of the music, but it was the first time I've seen it as an opera. Talk about plumbing the depths of the human condition in music and drama!! I suppose one might comment on Cio Cio San's naiveté, but she was only 15. Pinkerton, what an absolute louse! And a paedophile! Aren't men b*stards! “Un bel di, vedremo” is clearly the most famous aria, and sung in recitals out of its dramatic context. But in its context 💥 wow! “This isn’t going to end well” we think. But we don’t yet know just quite how badly 😱 All in all a profoundly moving experience, and a life lesson on humanity in an Arts medium for more potent than the printed word or 'on the telly'. Viva opera! Recordings wise, I love Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price, and Renata Scotto. I’ll also vote for Callas, for me her naturally dark add to the sense of irony.
Un Bel Di is a wonder. The best one I ever heard was an old (older than what you have linked) recording by Renata Scotto. I'm 76 and heard it when I was in graduate school so we are talking old recording. I am not sure, but I think Pinkerton was sung by Pavarotti on that recording. This was before he hooked up big time with Southerland for recordings. Anyway, I still remember being shaken after listening to it. That was the most heartbreakingly beautiful Un Bel Di I've ever heard. You could hear the tragedy about to unfold weaving through that entire aria. As an aside, as a Mezzo, can you give me some advice on who I should be listening to in the way of a coloratura Mezzo; especially one who likes decoration and ornamentation? DiDonato is certainly one of the better mezzos singing today but does not ornament her singing very much, Bartoli has the technique but I don't really like her voice for some reason. I think Garanca is probably my favorite coloratura mezzo singing today, but is not in the same ballpark as Marilyn Horne in my estimation. Berganza was top notch, but didn't have the chest voice Horne had and her bottom end was not as low nor as smoothly and easily entered and exited as Hornes. I also don't think her coloratura technique was on quite the same level as Hornes. Some of the recordings of Horne singing Rossini pantaloon roles opposite Caballe are show pieces of coloratura singing. Can you think of anyone else I ought to be looking for/listening to whether singing today or available as recordings?
I really struggled to decide whether I should show Tebaldi or Scotto here in this aria, and perhaps I should have just shown both! As for the mezzo's one of my fave at the moment is Agnes Baltsa, her coloratura is amazing and has fantastic low notes. Bartoli is my favorite of all time, so I can't really be of any help there. Anne Sofie von Otter is also unreal in Händel and the like.
Thank you so much. I appreciate your taking time to reply and for giving me some names to check out. I'll start looking for and listening to Agnes Baltsa first. You make her sound like exactly the sort of voice I enjoy most in the operas/arias that I spend a lot of time listening to. Again, thank you so much for sharing both your time and your knowledge.@@operaanna
Thanks! I thoroughly enjoyed this. Two thoughts: 1. Does Butterfly genuinely have faith Pinkerton is going to come back, or is she desperately hoping? I always think of this following lines from later on in the opera: "Non son più quella! / Troppi sospiri la bocca mandò, / e l'occhio riguardò / nel lontan troppo fiso." -- "How changed he'll find me! / Drawn weary mouth from over-much sighing / And poor tired eyes from over-much crying!" 2. How much does it matter that the performer portraying Butterfly sound young (and look petite)? I go back and forth on this. If you consider the character Butterfly's biography seriously, then she is supposed to sound young, and fragile at that. So someone like Tebaldi sounds (and looks at 5'10) too big. (Glorious though.) Yet the part is heavy. And every single Japanese person I've talked to about this opera has been perplexed by Butterfly's behaviour. Once I suggest that Butterfly is actually Italian, they all go "Ohh, that makes sense!" 3. I think O mio babbino caro is fair game for a young college student who is singing healthily, although I can see how the repeated Ab's would be challenging. Most of the other Puccini arias (even Liu's) are probably too heavy unless the student naturally has a heavier voice.
Interesting! It's of course hard not to project my own misgivings onto Butterfly in the case of your first point. I would think it impossible for someone to be so cruel and therefore not be able to believe it...The embarrassment she must be trying to protect herself from by refusing to believe it is just compounded over and over and the only way she can save herself from what happens is by taking herself out of the equation, as it were. She can't NOT have misgivings, though. Any rational person would. May that's the question.... To your second point: ehhhh what do i care? Ill probably be 500 ft away anyway. I want to hear glorious singing, not look at someone who might be fit the part but can't sing it. Can I ask what they're perplexed by? That she refuses to admit it that he might not come back? I'm sure it's a very romanticized version of the original story and of how modern Japanese women actually act. 3. The octave jumps in O mio babbino caro are just BEGGING to be sung off the voice. Entering conservatory sopranos are more often than not pushed into high rep without developing a middle voice and end up being inaudible below C5. I'm by no means a voice builder, but I just think there are simpler pieces that can build a better voice for a beginner. If you're singing healthily and can develop your top better with the aria, then by all means.
@@operaanna They’re perplexed by how extroverted and dramatic she is with her emotions, especially when someone like Tebaldi with a huge voice sings it. Women particularly back then but even now to an extent are expected to be reserved and docile. I wouldn’t say that the culture is introverted, but it’s definitely not a ‘wear your emotions on your sleeves’ culture. People talk softly, there is not much talking with hands, etc. I honestly think that if Puccini were Japanese, Butterfly would be a soubrette. To the looks thing, actually if you look at the pictures and video of Callas as Butterfly, she is clearly hunching her shoulders and bending down in order to seem smaller. Might also be because her Pinkerton was Di Stefano, who was short. It’s kinda hilarious and totally wrong. I see what you’re saying about O mio babbino caro. Probably one of the Zerlina arias would be a better place to start, after some of that Caro mio ben stuff of course.
I saw this at the old NYCO with a wonderful staging. then at the Met, which has no sets, the puppet which annoys me(if I want to see Muppets I will watch their show), and an idiotic dance by the bonze that is right out of a "B" movie Biblical epic(I can't remember which, I think Samson and Delilah, but I don't watch them often so not certain).
I am so relived to know she was directed by a Japanese because the gestures even her head movements and facial expressions are VERY Japanese, especially reminiscent of actual geisha. The direction and talent of her performance is un questionable.
I don't think the story is problematic, it simply reflects the historical milieu. it isn't unique to teh USA, Great Britain had it's own issues(the Opium Wars, South Africa), Belgium in the Congo, France in North Africa and Southeast Asia. I am reading the Amelia Peabody Mysteries by Elizabeth Peters(an Egyptologist from the Univ. of Chicago) really reflects "the white man's burden" attitude of the 19th and early 20th century.
NOW RENATA IS MY FAVORITE BEYOND BEYOND!!!! AND FOR GOOD REASON! KABAIVANSKA CHANGED MY LIFE WITH ONE PERFORMANCE OF BUTTERFLY WHICH I WITNESSED IN LUCCA TEATRO DEL CIGLIO CIRCA EARLY 80'S.....I COULD WRITE YOU A BOOK ON WHY IT WAS SO FANTASTIC......I INNOCENTLY BOUGHT A TICKET HAVING NEVER HEARD OF ANY OF THE SINGERS...SO I FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY YOU LOVE KABAIVANSKA IN ANYTHING...BUT ESPECCIALLY IN BUTTERFLY WHERE SHE LIVES FOREVER IN MY HEART.
@@operaanna Ooh if I may, I’d love to mention I do prefer this one th-cam.com/video/LzG9pnwkS48/w-d-xo.html. The points in favor of the other video suggested are that it is in costume, and has the right orchestra sound (the orchestra in the one I linked sounds, well, more suited to 60’s pop music or something-not a problem, but it could be a disadvantage when reacting to an opera aria properly). Still, I think Birgit slays it even more in my suggested one. So, choices for sure!
"obvious?" maybe "precious" in the sense of "behaving in a very formal and unnatural way by giving too much attention to details that are not important and trying too hard to be perfect"
@@operaanna A 30 year old trained opera soprano sounds MUCH older than a 30 year old pop singer. It may be technical reasons opera singers do not use their natural voice but a contrived unnatural technique with a depressed larynx among other details.
@@yogajedi3337 I think that REALLY depends on the singer and the type of voice. The technique is completely different but it's not based on a depressed larynx. If the larynx is depressed it will create an artificially dark color but as an almost 30 year old singer I promise you I don't sound 50.
@@operaanna It's obvious opera singers place their larynx lower than natural just check their larynx, they do. And its' unquestionable trained opera singers sounds much older than a pop singer the same age, in general. Perhaps there are a few very high tessituras that don't. Also the over all rigid, over bloaty singing style, like the singing extension of a military commander and their shouting, adds to the effect.
@@yogajedi3337 a depressed larynx and a low larynx used in opera are not the same thing. Saying that they sound older than pop singers is like saying an acoustic guitar sounds older than an electric. It's a totally different use of a similar instrument. Some singers have bad technique and it is admittedly not nice to listen to. I agree with nothing else that you've written. If you don't like opera, that's fine. You will never convince me not to like it.
the 1st opera that I found that the MET tarnished. I don't care for the puppet for the child but I can't figure out the bonz with the ribbon dance, I swear it is lifted from a 1950s B movie biblical epic. it isn't The Story of Ruth, maybe Samson and Delilah? I wish I had written it down, I was surfing and MGMHD or SONYHD channel had it on. I saw it at the old NYC Opera and it was wonderful. but I guess I am too conservative to appreciate the dross the MET is producing
I didn't understand the puppet child thing either and thought it was really creepy! But i only snippets so maybe the concept was lost... The met makes questionable decisions a lot tbh 🤭😅
Aber Sie müssen verstehen, dass wenn ich ein Video mache auf TH-cam, darf ich nicht zu viel hören lassen wegen Copyright. Es geht um die Musik, natürlich, aber wir müssen uns anpassen auf der Plattform, so zu sagen. Ich sage es immer, wenn Sie die ganze Video hören wollen, steht der Link in der Beschreibung darunter.
What are you talking about? lol There are def. a lot of white ships. I mean, even if you haven't seen one, google is your friend. Also, I can believe you would even think that singing this Opera today is somehow problematic. Especially coming from an Opera singer. Shall we cancel Shakespeare too? You know, Giulietta was 15 yrs old, if not younger. Stop with this nonsense already. It has become insufferable and already a parody.
I addressed my lack of knowledge on the ships in my pinned comment. Of course there are white ships in the world but I was referring to specific military ships of which I've seen all of 0 white ones in my life 😅 When did I give you that impression, much less say it out loud? because I'm absolutely not of the opinion that we shouldn't perform Madame Butterfly anymore even if the themes are somewhat controversial (that's what art is about). I'm literally showing it to people on the internet, so that they can appreciate and understand it better.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey opera lovers!!
Teddy Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour sort of to let the world know the US had arrived
I was an Army officer in the Italian Army. I would have painted them Olive green. It was the only paint we had. Also, Pinkerton outranked me but I would have kicked his ass anyway.
I don’t know if I wrote this before, but I am convinced Madama Butterfly saved my wife’s life and most certainly our marriage.
We were in a terrible accident in Portland that screwed up her neck badly, I started playing her my (at the time meager) opera collection and it seemed to make her feel better.
She told me this aria specifically brought her out of her depression and despair.
Also, for the Americans here, Italians do not understand the words either. Especially when soprano sing. Tenors is about 50%, baritones and bass in a bit more.
I have Tosca memorized (I was born across the river from where Tosca jumps to her death), I know most of M.butterfly, but the other operas I have to read the subtitles like everybody else.
Speaking of which, who wrote the subtitles for this aria. I’d say google translate if it wasn’t for how old the recording is.
In my opinion, Renata Tebaldi sang the most sumptuously beautiful butterfly that I’ve ever heard. Now that being said, I like Victoria Del los Angeles, Maria Callas, Ana Moffo, Leontyne Price, Renata Scotto.
Wow! I learned a lot, despite having seen the opera and loving (and crying) to this aria several times. Thanks for another fun and informative video!
It is a sad one! Cho Cho San's death is one of the most tragic in Opera history. I was actually shaking when it ended.
Spero davvero che la passione con cui crei questi stupendi video venga un giorno apprezzata da tutti. Si vede che ami quello che fai da come ti si illumina lo sguardo ogni volta che comincia il video che commenterai. Con l’eccitazione di una bimba che non vede l’ora di rivelarci un piccolo segreto, “a guilty pleasure”.
Davvero davvero brava e divertente oltre che informativa. Spero che la community aumenti sempre più: te lo meriti.
È proprio così!
I love this post. Besides the value of Puccini and Madame Butterfly. I am an opera curious at age 59. But you lady have done a wonderful job. It isn't true that TH-cam is rotten. You and the alike dignify this medium!
What an amazing comment to wake up to! Thank you so much for your support, I'm so glad you enjoyed the video 🙏
Madama B made me know opera, i can sing it by heart (not a singer so you can imagine) , as always a great video, very interesting and explicative, and i always get goose bumps hearing this opera
Tebaldi does an amazing job in this aria, and it's a pleasure to get to listen to it over and over again. I'd love to look at the aria from different singers as well .. thinking of doing a sort of aria through the ages video
@@operaanna that´s a great idea, i like to hear an aria from diferent singers, it´s allways amazing to see how each singer brings something diferent into the interpretation
Superb explanation as ever - I always learn something new. Thank you Anna.
Apart from the exceptional blend of chest and head voice and that gorgeous timbre, her phrasing, the perfect diction and the accents on the right syllables make Tebaldi's singing spellbinding. I keep returning to her performances not just for the beauty but also this unique storytelling.
Couldn't agree more!
Yay 👏 👏 👏 another video from Anna! Please do try and post more, darling, your content is so great: fun and informative at the same time. In the meantime, take care and be happy! Ciao 👋
Tebaldi was the best Butterfly, in my humble opinion. Her voice is pure gold :X Also, those who say Tebaldi doesn't act well should definitely watch this performance!!
Period!
She absolutely was . This is probably the most beautiful recording version I’ve heard of in bel di vedremo and with Renata Tebaldi .
Tebaldi was one of the greats!!!
imho the best soprano aria ever written and the most tragic
Puccini saw this play in London, based on an American book making Butterfly the joke and butt of the joke and blame for her demise. Still being 15. And Pinkerton being 20+ years her senior. The actress was made to speak in an accent to elicit offence from the British audience. He was enraged at the obvious wrong of this, and decided to correct this. The writer sent ppl to his opening to ruin it. But his talent actual talent would surpass this with his revisions and correct the very wrong narrative.
I didn't know this!! I love the extra insight
Ti ho odiato profondamente per ogni interruzione, anche perché ho lasciato cadere più di qualche lacrima. Mi hai allungato il dolore. Tebaldi per sempre! Viva Puccini!
Sing for me, sing for me softly...
I so appreciated the analysis of the aria and, in particular, this performance. Tebaldi inspired me to pursue a career in opera (as a stage director) - there simply was no other voice like hers. Although she was not a natural stage actress, she was able to create through voice and expressive use of the text, the absolute sense that she was the character she was playing. In this case, Un bel di, she captures the feeling of the teenage Cio-cio-san as she relates to Suzuki the minute by minute experience she anticipates having when Pinkerton returns. Tebaldi also captures the intensity of feeling Cio-cio-san experiences when she says that she will hide from Pinkerton, in part to tease him but also out of fear that her emotions will overwhelm her. That is the moment in the aria that gets me the most. At the end of the aria she turns to Suzuki with defiance and says "I will wait for him"
Thank yo so much for this! What did you see her in that inspired you?
I first heard Tebaldi on recording, as Mimi. There was some aspect to her voice that touched me in a singular way, I'm not sure that I can define it. It was so personal and so connected to the character's emotional state that I was transported into Mimi's situation immediately and could not let go of it until she had passed. I have heard many fine Mimi since then, but none that touched me so indelibly. If you want to get a sense of it, please listen to the first Boheme recording she made. The Rodolfo is Prandelli and the Musetta the excellent Hilde Gueden. Prepare to be blown away!
New video, great! That'll make my Monday.
I love R.T. and I can appreciate one artisan admiring another one showing the mastery of their craft. Yes, conveying emotions by “coloring” their voices is what great singers do for us. That said.
I can hear how R.T makes me feel what she is saying, the joyful and anxious anticipation and hope.
And yet; I am certain - as much as one can be certain talking about a character in an opera))while Cio-Cio-Sun is trying to convince Suzuki aand also herself “…(One day we’ll see… A thin smoke in the distance, and then the white ship. A man climbs the hill… He will call me ..” - deep inside she knows.
So, there is a terrifying mix of hope and despair, joyful anticipation, and dread. To my ear there is only one singer who can do it in such a way that we can’t help but hear it, feel it. Becose she is not singing she is (what a terrible cliché!, sorry) becoming Cio-Cio-Sun. And it is not R.T. But that’s me. You certainly can hear and feel differently))
Up for debate! I think that's the beauty of the role and the aria in a way...
Wait so who is your fave??
@@operaanna Or, perhaps, it is too subjective for a debate? My favorite Cio-Cio-Sun is - yes, Maria. Not just because I love her singing (I do!), or think “she is better” - I am not qualified to judge- but because I have strong pre-conceived notions as to how she (C-C-S) really feels, and to my untrained ear only M.C. conveys those exact feelings. Perhaps, because she (M.C.) doesn’t really “perform” the role but rather ? That’s why when she sings what I hear is exactly how I imagine C-C-S. Yes, she is only 15 (or 16 already?) but her feelings are no longer “girlish”. Not cute. Not … etc. (and Don’t get me started on other roles, male and female characters 😊)
But that’s me; you - a singer herself - hear much more, much better, I am sure.
@@operaanna
On a separate note - many thanks for posting Yuja playing “Gretchen am spinnrade”. I liked it performed by many others, but this is different - magic, sorcery, witchcraft. The first time I listened to her, I went to sleep, woke up, listened again - and could no longer fall asleep that night. She is a witch )))
i love love love your videos❤️❤️
Amazing Anna.❤
Goodness!
Teddy Roosevelt sent the US Fleet around the world 1907-1909 and it was nicknamed "The Great White Fleet"
Many great sopranos refuse to sing the role. Not only because it is one of the most difficult and longest Puccini roles for a soprano( Madama B. is on stage all the time) but because it is so emotional that is it hard to keep emotions not affect singing. Many pushed and ruined the voice because of this role...I am happy to say that we have a great soprano in our country Sabina Cvilak who is a world-class Madama B. th-cam.com/video/-n0nOtArYxA/w-d-xo.html.
It was the American Great White Fleet undee Commodore Mathew Perry that sailed into Tokyo Harbour, forcing open Japan, and ending the Tokugawa Shogunate. That is what Puccini is probably referencing.
There is a fundamental problem - especially for the high voices - that they portray carachters that are very young - and it takes so long to get the technique and expression right that the premise is contradicted that it becomes absurd. Wagner is particularly redicilous in that. Wagners roles demand such stamina, that you really has to be a stout 40 year old. Just remember Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nielsson.
The other problem is that most roles are tailored to a specific singer and voice.
If you take the role of Susanna: If you listen to the role performed by Cecilia Bartoli and Diana Damrau: They are two completely different women.
As to the hand gestures: Well, Tebaldi wants to show of her gracefull hand with long slender fingers. At the same time: Hand gestures are a signal to the conductor - as long as the hand is open and flat the singer is good (having enough air). The circle formed in her right hand with a thumb and pointing finger is a cancellation signal: Disregard other signals. One thing that made Harnoncourt such a great conductor was his ability to keep track of everything - without looking confused. Especially with someone like Bartoli that takes charge and flits around on stage like a wide reciever in a football game.
Melchior was another type that didn't mind NOT being on stage if he did not have to sing - he would be across the street in a bar having refreshment - in full costume including redicilous Wagnerian headgear - a new interpretation of counting bars.
There is the old story about Callas being asked her opinion about Tebaldi. And she remarked: "You can't compare Coca-Cola with champagne."
Tebaldi replied: No champagne turns sour when it gets OLD!
As any sensible man knows: When bitches are fighting and fur is flying - don't interfere - or they will both turn on him.
Hi Anna, On the matter of the "white" ship. At that time military ships were painted white during peacetime to demonstrate that the ship or fleet was at peace and not on a war footing, hence not a threat to other ships. At the beginning of the Spanish American War in 1898, when news of the destruction of the USS Maine in Havana harbor reached Commodore Dewey he had the fleet immediately repainted a wartime gray before sailing from Hong Kong to Manila where he defeated the Spanish fleet there. His flagship, the USS Olympia, which can be visited at Philadelphia, today wears a coat of white paint on it's hull and has a tan superstructure. And, as you correctly point out, when Theodore Roosevelt sent the American fleet on a world cruise to make official visits at foreign ports, it wore a coat of white to again indicate that it was not a hostile fleet. In an age where communications around the globe were still extremely slow (the speed at which a ship could travel from one location to another) it made good sense as foreign ports far from a home country wouldn't have any way to know whether their country had declared war with an approaching warship or fleet. It was a very practical solution to the problem in an age of communication limited by the lack of an ability to have remote communications (no radios, etc.). I enjoyed some of your insights on Un Bel Di Vedremo. Thanks
Thank you for the insight into this!!
@@operaanna thanks for your reply. One thing I notice I forgot to mention is the custom of warship’s crews standing along the deck railings as the ship enters port. That’s another old tradition that had a purpose. It was to show to those in harbor that your crew was not below decks manning their guns in readiness to fire on the port it was entering. Seamanship still has quaint but interesting traditions that are still quite nice even if their meaning no longer applies. Best wishes.
listening to Renata gives you goose bumps! here's another soprano, Roxana Briban in the same aria - unfortunately she committed suicide too: th-cam.com/video/alO8JstvYpc/w-d-xo.html
May I congratulate you on yet another captivating video. Cho-Cho San's story is sad and moving, but apparently, it was not at all uncommon back then. Just one note about the lyrics: "olezzo di verbena" means "scent of vervain", not "orange blossom".
I hope Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton looked better than the other Benjamin Franklin. Otherwise he wasn't worth the drama.
preach.
Apparently the other Benjamin Franklin was quite the ladies’ man though!
😂😂😂
Great posting. Am not a super admirer of La Tebaldi’s Butterfly at least the acting part. Prefer Scotto, Jaho or the new sensation, Grigorian. Thank you any way for a most interesting and very well done analysis.
Thank you! It took me forever to decide between Tebaldi and Scotto 😅
Re the ship’s color. US ships were in gray but the pre-war Victorian livery is much better looking with white hulls up to the main deck, tan upper works and black gun barrels. Theodore Roosevelt sent out a famous Great White Fleet that toured the world (1907) shortly after Butterfly’s premiere to impress and intimidate.
Today there is a butterfly that stands out compared to the greatest performers of the past.
A. Grigorian
So... M*A*S^H took inspiration from more than BF. Character: Benjamin "Hawkeye" Franklin Pierce
And I'm sorry but have to dip before the actual analysis starts. Once I recognized the song I knew I would get a headache from it. This one hurts my head every time and I haven't figured out why.
Oh no! Every time it comes on??
So far. It must be some freak confluence of frequencies or something. Especially on recordings this can happen for me
Since Madama Butterfly is my favorite Puccini opera, I nearly forget that I'm watching an opera. I can hardly tell you how much empathy I feel for Cio-cio San, i.e., Butterfly. I almost wish I could hug her and beg her to cancel the wedding because Pinkerton is dishonest and promiscuous.
Here's one of my favorite performance of the Opera's finale. So I'd appreciate our expert's thoughts about it.
th-cam.com/video/4WWIWxnDbtU/w-d-xo.html
Have you heard Monserrat Cavalle version?
You made me snort at Ye Olde Truste Falle edit.
A SNORT, forsooth!😅
😂
U S Battleships were painted white at this time.
Yeah. I noticed the gestures straight away and did ponder on the significance - thanks for that explanation. My first thought was that they worked well.
I also like them!
Funnily MrsM and I went to see Butterfly only last Tuesday. Ukraine National Opera’s tour of the UK, bringing opera joy (ok, not joy, but you get me) to provincial places. Thank you, them! 🇺🇦
It’s affected me deeply. I knew the plot, I knew a lot of the music, but it was the first time I've seen it as an opera. Talk about plumbing the depths of the human condition in music and drama!!
I suppose one might comment on Cio Cio San's naiveté, but she was only 15. Pinkerton, what an absolute louse! And a paedophile! Aren't men b*stards!
“Un bel di, vedremo” is clearly the most famous aria, and sung in recitals out of its dramatic context. But in its context 💥 wow! “This isn’t going to end well” we think. But we don’t yet know just quite how badly 😱
All in all a profoundly moving experience, and a life lesson on humanity in an Arts medium for more potent than the printed word or 'on the telly'.
Viva opera!
Recordings wise, I love Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price, and Renata Scotto. I’ll also vote for Callas, for me her naturally dark add to the sense of irony.
Un Bel Di is a wonder. The best one I ever heard was an old (older than what you have linked) recording by Renata Scotto. I'm 76 and heard it when I was in graduate school so we are talking old recording. I am not sure, but I think Pinkerton was sung by Pavarotti on that recording. This was before he hooked up big time with Southerland for recordings. Anyway, I still remember being shaken after listening to it. That was the most heartbreakingly beautiful Un Bel Di I've ever heard. You could hear the tragedy about to unfold weaving through that entire aria.
As an aside, as a Mezzo, can you give me some advice on who I should be listening to in the way of a coloratura Mezzo; especially one who likes decoration and ornamentation? DiDonato is certainly one of the better mezzos singing today but does not ornament her singing very much, Bartoli has the technique but I don't really like her voice for some reason. I think Garanca is probably my favorite coloratura mezzo singing today, but is not in the same ballpark as Marilyn Horne in my estimation. Berganza was top notch, but didn't have the chest voice Horne had and her bottom end was not as low nor as smoothly and easily entered and exited as Hornes. I also don't think her coloratura technique was on quite the same level as Hornes. Some of the recordings of Horne singing Rossini pantaloon roles opposite Caballe are show pieces of coloratura singing. Can you think of anyone else I ought to be looking for/listening to whether singing today or available as recordings?
I really struggled to decide whether I should show Tebaldi or Scotto here in this aria, and perhaps I should have just shown both! As for the mezzo's one of my fave at the moment is Agnes Baltsa, her coloratura is amazing and has fantastic low notes. Bartoli is my favorite of all time, so I can't really be of any help there. Anne Sofie von Otter is also unreal in Händel and the like.
Thank you so much. I appreciate your taking time to reply and for giving me some names to check out. I'll start looking for and listening to Agnes Baltsa first. You make her sound like exactly the sort of voice I enjoy most in the operas/arias that I spend a lot of time listening to. Again, thank you so much for sharing both your time and your knowledge.@@operaanna
Thanks! I thoroughly enjoyed this. Two thoughts:
1. Does Butterfly genuinely have faith Pinkerton is going to come back, or is she desperately hoping? I always think of this following lines from later on in the opera: "Non son più quella! / Troppi sospiri la bocca mandò, / e l'occhio riguardò / nel lontan troppo fiso." -- "How changed he'll find me! / Drawn weary mouth from over-much sighing / And poor tired eyes from over-much crying!"
2. How much does it matter that the performer portraying Butterfly sound young (and look petite)? I go back and forth on this. If you consider the character Butterfly's biography seriously, then she is supposed to sound young, and fragile at that. So someone like Tebaldi sounds (and looks at 5'10) too big. (Glorious though.) Yet the part is heavy. And every single Japanese person I've talked to about this opera has been perplexed by Butterfly's behaviour. Once I suggest that Butterfly is actually Italian, they all go "Ohh, that makes sense!"
3. I think O mio babbino caro is fair game for a young college student who is singing healthily, although I can see how the repeated Ab's would be challenging. Most of the other Puccini arias (even Liu's) are probably too heavy unless the student naturally has a heavier voice.
Interesting! It's of course hard not to project my own misgivings onto Butterfly in the case of your first point. I would think it impossible for someone to be so cruel and therefore not be able to believe it...The embarrassment she must be trying to protect herself from by refusing to believe it is just compounded over and over and the only way she can save herself from what happens is by taking herself out of the equation, as it were. She can't NOT have misgivings, though. Any rational person would. May that's the question....
To your second point: ehhhh what do i care? Ill probably be 500 ft away anyway. I want to hear glorious singing, not look at someone who might be fit the part but can't sing it. Can I ask what they're perplexed by? That she refuses to admit it that he might not come back? I'm sure it's a very romanticized version of the original story and of how modern Japanese women actually act.
3. The octave jumps in O mio babbino caro are just BEGGING to be sung off the voice. Entering conservatory sopranos are more often than not pushed into high rep without developing a middle voice and end up being inaudible below C5. I'm by no means a voice builder, but I just think there are simpler pieces that can build a better voice for a beginner. If you're singing healthily and can develop your top better with the aria, then by all means.
@@operaanna They’re perplexed by how extroverted and dramatic she is with her emotions, especially when someone like Tebaldi with a huge voice sings it. Women particularly back then but even now to an extent are expected to be reserved and docile. I wouldn’t say that the culture is introverted, but it’s definitely not a ‘wear your emotions on your sleeves’ culture. People talk softly, there is not much talking with hands, etc. I honestly think that if Puccini were Japanese, Butterfly would be a soubrette.
To the looks thing, actually if you look at the pictures and video of Callas as Butterfly, she is clearly hunching her shoulders and bending down in order to seem smaller. Might also be because her Pinkerton was Di Stefano, who was short. It’s kinda hilarious and totally wrong.
I see what you’re saying about O mio babbino caro. Probably one of the Zerlina arias would be a better place to start, after some of that Caro mio ben stuff of course.
Tebaldi the greatest ever soprano to sing the Puccini repertoire . None come close
I saw this at the old NYCO with a wonderful staging. then at the Met, which has no sets, the puppet which annoys me(if I want to see Muppets I will watch their show), and an idiotic dance by the bonze that is right out of a "B" movie Biblical epic(I can't remember which, I think Samson and Delilah, but I don't watch them often so not certain).
Victoria de los Ángeles was another great Butterfly…
Love her!
@@operaanna she truly had an angelic voice.
I am so relived to know she was directed by a Japanese because the gestures even her head movements and facial expressions are VERY Japanese, especially reminiscent of actual geisha. The direction and talent of her performance is un questionable.
I don't think the story is problematic, it simply reflects the historical milieu. it isn't unique to teh USA, Great Britain had it's own issues(the Opium Wars, South Africa), Belgium in the Congo, France in North Africa and Southeast Asia. I am reading the Amelia Peabody Mysteries by Elizabeth Peters(an Egyptologist from the Univ. of Chicago) really reflects "the white man's burden" attitude of the 19th and early 20th century.
Renata Tebaldi fantastic voice, but for me Butterfly is Raina Kabaivanska.
NOW RENATA IS MY FAVORITE BEYOND BEYOND!!!! AND FOR GOOD REASON!
KABAIVANSKA CHANGED MY LIFE WITH ONE PERFORMANCE OF BUTTERFLY WHICH I WITNESSED IN LUCCA TEATRO DEL CIGLIO CIRCA EARLY 80'S.....I COULD WRITE YOU A BOOK ON WHY IT WAS SO FANTASTIC......I INNOCENTLY BOUGHT A TICKET HAVING NEVER HEARD OF ANY OF THE SINGERS...SO I FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY YOU LOVE KABAIVANSKA IN ANYTHING...BUT ESPECCIALLY IN BUTTERFLY WHERE SHE LIVES FOREVER IN MY HEART.
Can you do Nilsson's "In questa reggia" next? th-cam.com/video/S-GV5t5XLjg/w-d-xo.html
Yes!! I have a couple others ready to go that i need to do first but once i have Sopranos again I'll do In questa reggia from the queen herself 🙏🙏
@@operaanna Ooh if I may, I’d love to mention I do prefer this one th-cam.com/video/LzG9pnwkS48/w-d-xo.html. The points in favor of the other video suggested are that it is in costume, and has the right orchestra sound (the orchestra in the one I linked sounds, well, more suited to 60’s pop music or something-not a problem, but it could be a disadvantage when reacting to an opera aria properly). Still, I think Birgit slays it even more in my suggested one. So, choices for sure!
"obvious?" maybe "precious" in the sense of "behaving in a very formal and unnatural way by giving too much attention to details that are not important and trying too hard to be perfect"
Are you saying that the hand movements are precious?
@@operaanna you were in the search for a word to describe this hand movement, I thought this could have been the word :)
Why do opera singers sound premature old like they are +50 already when 25 ?
I don't know what you mean.
@@operaanna A 30 year old trained opera soprano sounds MUCH older than a 30 year old pop singer. It may be technical reasons opera singers do not use their natural voice but a contrived unnatural technique with a depressed larynx among other details.
@@yogajedi3337 I think that REALLY depends on the singer and the type of voice. The technique is completely different but it's not based on a depressed larynx. If the larynx is depressed it will create an artificially dark color but as an almost 30 year old singer I promise you I don't sound 50.
@@operaanna It's obvious opera singers place their larynx lower than natural just check their larynx, they do. And its' unquestionable trained opera singers sounds much older than a pop singer the same age, in general. Perhaps there are a few very high tessituras that don't.
Also the over all rigid, over bloaty singing style, like the singing extension of a military commander and their shouting, adds to the effect.
@@yogajedi3337 a depressed larynx and a low larynx used in opera are not the same thing. Saying that they sound older than pop singers is like saying an acoustic guitar sounds older than an electric. It's a totally different use of a similar instrument. Some singers have bad technique and it is admittedly not nice to listen to. I agree with nothing else that you've written. If you don't like opera, that's fine. You will never convince me not to like it.
the 1st opera that I found that the MET tarnished. I don't care for the puppet for the child but I can't figure out the bonz with the ribbon dance, I swear it is lifted from a 1950s B movie biblical epic. it isn't The Story of Ruth, maybe Samson and Delilah? I wish I had written it down, I was surfing and MGMHD or SONYHD channel had it on. I saw it at the old NYC Opera and it was wonderful. but I guess I am too conservative to appreciate the dross the MET is producing
I didn't understand the puppet child thing either and thought it was really creepy! But i only snippets so maybe the concept was lost... The met makes questionable decisions a lot tbh 🤭😅
This is why I am suddenly searching "Opera New Zealand" - sadly not too many 🙄
Lolol love ur show but the usn has had white ships
Hahah look i learned something too! Seems like a strange choice...
Pinkerton is probably the most despicable tenor character.
Geht es um Oper, oder um die Selbstdarstellung der Sprecherin? Wenn Tebaldi singt, sollte man ein paar Sekunden schweigen können!
Aber Sie müssen verstehen, dass wenn ich ein Video mache auf TH-cam, darf ich nicht zu viel hören lassen wegen Copyright. Es geht um die Musik, natürlich, aber wir müssen uns anpassen auf der Plattform, so zu sagen. Ich sage es immer, wenn Sie die ganze Video hören wollen, steht der Link in der Beschreibung darunter.
Hello Anna, so nice to see you on Dutch tv!😊 .2024.sept.01
Never expacted that...
Big surprise. Nicely done and good luck!
What are you talking about? lol There are def. a lot of white ships. I mean, even if you haven't seen one, google is your friend. Also, I can believe you would even think that singing this Opera today is somehow problematic. Especially coming from an Opera singer. Shall we cancel Shakespeare too? You know, Giulietta was 15 yrs old, if not younger. Stop with this nonsense already. It has become insufferable and already a parody.
I addressed my lack of knowledge on the ships in my pinned comment. Of course there are white ships in the world but I was referring to specific military ships of which I've seen all of 0 white ones in my life 😅
When did I give you that impression, much less say it out loud? because I'm absolutely not of the opinion that we shouldn't perform Madame Butterfly anymore even if the themes are somewhat controversial (that's what art is about). I'm literally showing it to people on the internet, so that they can appreciate and understand it better.