The 10 minutes of these scene are an absolute beast to sing. Bordering on cruel but I do love hearing all the different sopranos that have done it. It is wonderful to have them all in one presentation like this. And for the record, it is not lost on me on the time it took to put this together. Thank you for this upload Tee Jay.....
Elena Souliotis is by far the most exciting. Remarkable how she produced those low notes after reaching that pitch. I remember in my youth preferring Renata Scotto in this role (don't ask me why), but as I matured and understood the character better, would only listen to Souliotis. I also love the live recording with Julia Varady. Now I have to research Anna Tomowa-Sintow. Love the way she tosses that high note at the end of the phrase. Thank for sharing.
she's one of my favorites, in the underrated bunch.... if you havent heard it already she sings Surta E La Notte…Ernani! Ernani, Involami at the met Centennial I think... cant remember the event... but she has a purple dress on,
What a fascinating collection. Tomowa Sintov does well , very even and I didn't know that she sang this part. Deutekom does a rallentando on the upward phrase and still has breath for the low notes , impressive. Souliotis is thrilling and reckless. I don't think this was particularly a Leyla Gencer role - she was very great in other operas. Dimitrova has the phrase well intergrated from top to bottom in her voice. Callas was brilliant, even if she changed the order of the words . Perhaps Elizabeth Vaughan is missing here ? A major singer of this role for some years. I think Sylvie Valayre and Mara Zampieri also tackled it.
Not the most well-sustained top note from Dimitrova here--she was better in Verona and in her studio recording for DG. A few of the sopranos break up the phrase at the plunge from top note to chest voice--i.e., Deutekom and Guleghina--which I think is cheating. Another cheater is Gulin who switches to staccato--screeched at that. Varady appears a bit rushed, imo, as does Gencer--as if to say let's hurry up and get through this perilous phrase. I would have expected a better top note from Nilsson but she too seems to rush through it. I think sopranos must feel a lot of trepidation about this phrase. Bumbry starts out okay but then it quickly becomes a mess with an inserted tear to the voice at the descent. Rysanek's heavy Germanic quality is not ideal for Verdi, and the transition from the top note plunge to the chest is clumsy. Monastyrska does well except for the odd intonation at the chest descent. Tomowa-Sintow, Suliotis, and Callas offer the cleanest ascents to the top note and then manage the plunge to the chest the best. However, as good as Callas is, one can't help but feel there's a sense of instability to the voice--the sense that she was pushing it to its limits and the pressure was starting to show up in a lack of steadiness. She's not rock solid as some of the others are.
For many, many reasons Callas is the best! Thank you so much for posting such a nice video. ❤
The 10 minutes of these scene are an absolute beast to sing. Bordering on cruel but I do love hearing all the different sopranos that have done it. It is wonderful to have them all in one presentation like this. And for the record, it is not lost on me on the time it took to put this together. Thank you for this upload Tee Jay.....
Those sopranos who manage to sing the leap legato manage best.
A crazy vocal line.
Callas = Abigaille
Birgit Nilsson, Maria Callas, Leonie Rysanek, and Elena Souliotis are my personal favorites.
Thank you for sure a great comparaison test! This is such fun for an opera buff and those who like the voice.
Elena Souliotis is by far the most exciting. Remarkable how she produced those low notes after reaching that pitch. I remember in my youth preferring Renata Scotto in this role (don't ask me why), but as I matured and understood the character better, would only listen to Souliotis.
I also love the live recording with Julia Varady. Now I have to research Anna Tomowa-Sintow. Love the way she tosses that high note at the end of the phrase. Thank for sharing.
she's one of my favorites, in the underrated bunch.... if you havent heard it already she sings Surta E La Notte…Ernani! Ernani, Involami at the met Centennial I think... cant remember the event... but she has a purple dress on,
Hello Tee Jay.What do you say about this Abigail? Thank you.
th-cam.com/video/TCvKzqQk2F0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=AooDwSoKI-YKZzQW
I'd have included the 1949 Callas. That leap was the best ever recorded imo.
Rysanek’s high notes were as strong as her low ones often were weak.
It's a very hard passage indeed. 😬 And some make it very uninteresting and unexciting.
What a fascinating collection. Tomowa Sintov does well , very even and I didn't know that she sang this part. Deutekom does a rallentando on the upward phrase and still has breath for the low notes , impressive. Souliotis is thrilling and reckless. I don't think this was particularly a Leyla Gencer role - she was very great in other operas. Dimitrova has the phrase well intergrated from top to bottom in her voice. Callas was brilliant, even if she changed the order of the words . Perhaps Elizabeth Vaughan is missing here ? A major singer of this role for some years. I think Sylvie Valayre and Mara Zampieri also tackled it.
Tomowa-Sintow was a studio right?
Callas low note was not as strong as some she has recorded.
Valayre was good with her amazing top.
Need to add Rita Hunter to this comparison, for she, Suliotis and Callas are incomparable.
Callas and Suliotis
This is crazy. Those sopranos with less technical confidence realy struggles. Some sounds just bad.
Hernandez should be included
Suliotis no contest.
Not the most well-sustained top note from Dimitrova here--she was better in Verona and in her studio recording for DG. A few of the sopranos break up the phrase at the plunge from top note to chest voice--i.e., Deutekom and Guleghina--which I think is cheating. Another cheater is Gulin who switches to staccato--screeched at that. Varady appears a bit rushed, imo, as does Gencer--as if to say let's hurry up and get through this perilous phrase. I would have expected a better top note from Nilsson but she too seems to rush through it. I think sopranos must feel a lot of trepidation about this phrase. Bumbry starts out okay but then it quickly becomes a mess with an inserted tear to the voice at the descent. Rysanek's heavy Germanic quality is not ideal for Verdi, and the transition from the top note plunge to the chest is clumsy. Monastyrska does well except for the odd intonation at the chest descent. Tomowa-Sintow, Suliotis, and Callas offer the cleanest ascents to the top note and then manage the plunge to the chest the best. However, as good as Callas is, one can't help but feel there's a sense of instability to the voice--the sense that she was pushing it to its limits and the pressure was starting to show up in a lack of steadiness. She's not rock solid as some of the others are.