Astonishing breath control for a woman of 56 with almost 40 years of singing behind her! The voice is perfectly beautiful, not a hint of a beat or loose vibrato. I especially admire the way she approaches the top voice, with the attack straight on the pitch rather than lifting from below. A great singer and a historic vocal endowment - two gifts that don't often go together. She ranks with Ponselle, Nilsson and Sutherland in the last century among the women, and Caruso and Bjoerling among the men.
I don't think i've ever saw a more beautiful rendition of Semirade than Sutherland's one. Sutherland's coloratura technique is also one of the best ever
@Noack Somewhere Funny you mention that, because BOTH Flagstad and Nilsson were admirers of Sutherland. Nilsson even wrote in her biography that Sutherland was one the most extraordinary singers and that she could sing coloratura and bel canto like no one else. Horne mentions in an interview, available on YT, that Nilsson asked her about how stressful was to sing with Sutherland. Lastly, for sure you are entitled not to like Sutherland, but to say that she wasn't an extraordinary singer has no sense.
Always a joy. Interestingly, I think she sounds quite a bit more lyric than even a year later in the studio recording. Lyric isn't the right word, but people probably know what I mean -- more tender and less 'massive,' even more youthful perhaps. In any case, she's always the gold standard in this.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Remarkable. She could have probably sung another performance immediately right after this one, and she had been singing this rep for close to 20 years. All with zero wear and tear. Talk about knowing what one is doing.
10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1
I know beans about Opera; and yet, I am more than moved..!!
With regard to what one might call "sheer voice," one must rank Flagstad, Nilsson, Ponselle, and Melba in a class of their own among women. Others, great singers, some with superb technique, such as Sutherland, Horne, Callas, Tetrazzini, Galli-Curci, I would not say fit the "sheer voice" category. Not that sheer voice excludes technique, phrasing, or style; however, its presence is rare.
It’s pitched up, and it isn’t even a D6 with the increased pitch (it’s a D-flat). The actual note she would have been hitting would have been the standard C6, probably a little sharp but no where close to a D-flat or D.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 you mean that the note written in score is C6 but she hits D flat in her performances in reality and not C6? (without pitched up audio video).I found many performances of this and she almost always sings a D-flat and almost never a C6 (sometimes it's flat D-flat though). Like here th-cam.com/video/PhypodtM9ts/w-d-xo.html
@@judygarland7186 I'm not intimately familiar with Nilsson's chronology to comment on how often she went sharp on this note but the second excerpt you linked is definitely not correctly pitched either. You can tell by the notes prior to the C. They are all a semitone too high (the high-note before the C should be a B-flat not a B for example). It is quite common for tapes of this era to be ~30 cents higher than reality. I would recommend looking for "Re-pitched" or "Pitch-corrected" recordings if you want a more genuine view. Here is a repitched version where she hits a clear C: th-cam.com/video/0lHILDH1FP0/w-d-xo.html.
Her voice contains the sun within it.
Kirsten Flagstad, ladies and gentlemen.
Kirsten Flagstad.
Listen how her voice sits above the orchestra effortlessly.
Astonishing breath control for a woman of 56 with almost 40 years of singing behind her! The voice is perfectly beautiful, not a hint of a beat or loose vibrato. I especially admire the way she approaches the top voice, with the attack straight on the pitch rather than lifting from below. A great singer and a historic vocal endowment - two gifts that don't often go together. She ranks with Ponselle, Nilsson and Sutherland in the last century among the women, and Caruso and Bjoerling among the men.
@Noack Somewhere Sutherland, certainly yes. A vocal miracle.
@Noack Somewhere Well obviously it's my opinion - I don't expect everyone to agree.
I don't think i've ever saw a more beautiful rendition of Semirade than Sutherland's one. Sutherland's coloratura technique is also one of the best ever
@Noack Somewhere Funny you mention that, because BOTH Flagstad and Nilsson were admirers of Sutherland.
Nilsson even wrote in her biography that Sutherland was one the most extraordinary singers and that she could sing coloratura and bel canto like no one else.
Horne mentions in an interview, available on YT, that Nilsson asked her about how stressful was to sing with Sutherland.
Lastly, for sure you are entitled not to like Sutherland, but to say that she wasn't an extraordinary singer has no sense.
@@Wotan123456789 I once encountered someone who said that Sutherland wasn't really a coloratura. One just shakes one's head in wonder . . .
That magnificient sound just pours out of her so easily 🤯
Always a joy. Interestingly, I think she sounds quite a bit more lyric than even a year later in the studio recording. Lyric isn't the right word, but people probably know what I mean -- more tender and less 'massive,' even more youthful perhaps. In any case, she's always the gold standard in this.
Can you believe it is from the same performance where she sang this? th-cam.com/video/D-jE46nEYJM/w-d-xo.html
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Remarkable. She could have probably sung another performance immediately right after this one, and she had been singing this rep for close to 20 years. All with zero wear and tear. Talk about knowing what one is doing.
I know beans about Opera; and yet, I am
more than moved..!!
0:55 massive voice alert
With regard to what one might call "sheer voice," one must rank Flagstad, Nilsson, Ponselle, and Melba in a class of their own among women. Others, great singers, some with superb technique, such as Sutherland, Horne, Callas, Tetrazzini, Galli-Curci, I would not say fit the "sheer voice" category. Not that sheer voice excludes technique, phrasing, or style; however, its presence is rare.
does nilsson hit a D6 here of it's a pitched up video? th-cam.com/video/pzFaeNoBvtk/w-d-xo.html
It’s pitched up, and it isn’t even a D6 with the increased pitch (it’s a D-flat). The actual note she would have been hitting would have been the standard C6, probably a little sharp but no where close to a D-flat or D.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 you mean that the note written in score is C6 but she hits D flat in her performances in reality and not C6? (without pitched up audio video).I found many performances of this and she almost always sings a D-flat and almost never a C6 (sometimes it's flat D-flat though). Like here
th-cam.com/video/PhypodtM9ts/w-d-xo.html
@@judygarland7186 I'm not intimately familiar with Nilsson's chronology to comment on how often she went sharp on this note but the second excerpt you linked is definitely not correctly pitched either. You can tell by the notes prior to the C. They are all a semitone too high (the high-note before the C should be a B-flat not a B for example).
It is quite common for tapes of this era to be ~30 cents higher than reality. I would recommend looking for "Re-pitched" or "Pitch-corrected" recordings if you want a more genuine view.
Here is a repitched version where she hits a clear C: th-cam.com/video/0lHILDH1FP0/w-d-xo.html.