Strange as it may sound, it was, in large measure, Mirella Freni's singing that convinced me, back in the Sixties when I was an undergraduate at Columbia University, just a short subway ride from the Met, that I just had to come to live in Italy. And here I am now, resident in Milan, where I have lived ever since 1980. She was always very kind to me. I particularly treasure the memory of an evening when, having just sung Mimì in Philadelphia, she gave me a lift back to Manhattan in her chauffeured limousine. We talked all the way; she in Italian and I in what was, back then, my rather rudimentary Italian (a language that I had begun studying largely because of her). A lovely person and a wonderful singer!
David Steven Tabbat That is a wonderful story! Are you still living in Italy ? I am thinking about moving there as I am an opera singer needing to polish my Italian! Am unsure where to settle there..Naples , Verona or Palermo..
@@birdlover7776 For reasons having to do with crime and corruption, I would advise you to avoid Naples and Palermo and to choose -- out of the three cities you have named -- Verona, a lovely and livable city.
@@birdlover7776 Among the three cities you have named, I would avoid (for reasons of inefficiency, crime and corruption) Naples and Palermo, and would recommend Verona, a lovely and livable city.
The magnificent Mirella Freni. NYC and the Metropolitan opera adored her.. She was my favorite soprano. Listen to that ovation. She had an amazing career with a phenomenal voice. RIP my dear Freni.
I’m just now learning of Freni’s passing. Very sad. I’ve spent countless hours over the years basking in the beauty of her voice. I saw her live only once, as Alice Ford in Falstaff at the Met. I believe it was in 2002. She was the oldest in the cast by many years, but she still outsang everyone.
Amazing! What a voice, what a loss. Thank you, TH-cam for preserving this for people who've never seen or heard her, and for those of us who can't get enough.
I didn't realize until I was reading through the comments, she just passed a few days ago, what a tragic loss to the opera world!! RIP dear woman, your voice was so absolutely beautiful!
Freni could spin magic from thin air. I saw her onstage as Mimi, and in the final phrase of Addio senza rancor, she held and caressed that phrase like she was stroking with her hand the curves of the most beautiful antique furniture. It was amazing.
Mirella was very cleverly in her career, in her prime , she sung bell canto, then romanticism and finally verismo. Her Adriana is unforgettable 🌹🌷🍀🌺☘️❤️
Una gran soprano lírica de gran potencia, y de larga carrera…muy inteligente, que supo escoger su repertorio y cantar hasta los 70 años , para luego ser maestra y jurado en muchos lugares del mundo.
As I always say....The past was always better.... No point of comparison with singers from this generation. Such perfection doesn t exist on them. Present singer will not never achieve it. Today' singers "must" learn from these marvellous artists.... Brava Mirella!!!!!!!
Mirella Freni is an amazing singer, and no one would argue that fact. The only argument that bothers me in most of these comments is the disparagement of the current crop of young singers. You simply can't compare a twenty one-year-old singer fresh out of an undergraduate degree to a singer with decades of craft under her belt. Don't blame the singers for the current trend of "younger and prettier". That is a global issue. The wise young singers will, with proper guidance, chose suitable rep that will allow them to develop into great artists. Please don't blame your aesthetic issues on the fact that "young singers don't work hard". That's neither fair nor true. Have a little faith, and, if you are capable, support the programs and schools that allow promising young singers to grow into the great artists that this essential art form needs to thrive for generations to come.
wbs partially agree with you on this! The young generation is no way comparable with the great singers of golden era, which is deadly solid truth! The main reason is that young singers today are either rising to fame too quickly or give it up soon! Opera singers career is highly risky and need a long time experience and extremely careful choosing and organising the roles in right order. The opera market today doesn't allow a RIGHT And SLOW growing period for young singers! And what's more, opera is a way more complex making and designing today ,like the producing a motion picture. The STAR singer might not is as important as before. Image that you would just listened to Di Stefano or Callas fifty yrs back no matter what opera he/she was in. Tims changed now. Today an important opera performance requires a famous director or producer!
Because of the wise husbanding of her voice, Mirella Freni managed to have one of the longest careers of any soprano, but more importantly, the quality of the voice became better and better over time and didn't diminish until the very end which came about ten years after this video. The only thing one cannot appreciate from this clip is the bloom of sound as she rose up the scale. You can get the gist of this sound in the last line of the above video...Che al novo di morrà ... on the" di" , listen to how the sound swells and multiply by ten. The note is a G# i think. How wonderful.
Sadly I did not appreciate her earlier work when I first started listening to opera. I preferred big, rich voices. As I got older and she started performing bigger roles, I then began to listen to her earlier works and started to understand the true beauty of her voice. What an amazing artist
Само совершенство, спасибо, что Вы были с нами, Мирелла Френи, мы вас слушаем и будем слушать, как образец высочайшего,настоящего качественного оперного пения ...
I heard her live twice, the first time as Aida and the second as Fedora. Both times I knew there would never be a more beautiful soprano voice than that of Mirella Freni.
Fantástica Freni y mejor aún en los últimos minutos. El vídeo mejoraría con estos datos en el texto: Opera "Adriana Lecouvreur" (aria "lo son l'umile ancella")
Strange as it may sound, it was, in large measure, Mirella Freni's singing that convinced me, back in the Sixties when I was an undergraduate at Columbia University, just a short subway ride from the Met, that I just had to come to live in Italy. And here I am now, resident in Milan, where I have lived ever since 1980. She was always very kind to me. I particularly treasure the memory of an evening when, having just sung Mimì in Philadelphia, she gave me a lift back to Manhattan in her chauffeured limousine. We talked all the way; she in Italian and I in what was, back then, my rather rudimentary Italian (a language that I had begun studying largely because of her). A lovely person and a wonderful singer!
what a marvelous story! Amazing.
David Steven Tabbat That is a wonderful story! Are you still living in Italy ? I am thinking about moving there as I am an opera singer needing to polish my Italian! Am unsure where to settle there..Naples , Verona or Palermo..
@@birdlover7776 For reasons having to do with crime and corruption, I would advise you to avoid Naples and Palermo and to choose -- out of the three cities you have named -- Verona, a lovely and livable city.
@@birdlover7776 Among the three cities you have named, I would avoid (for reasons of inefficiency, crime and corruption) Naples and Palermo, and would recommend Verona, a lovely and livable city.
David Steven Tabbat Thank you for your response. Verona sounds lovely. Are you still in Italy or have you chosen elsewhere
I cannot stop weeping.... this is a fifetime live performance... Mirella you'll be a milestone, a benchmark for any opera singer for decades to come!!
No tricks, no put-on gestures, just perfect singing.
I have never heard the aria sung better, with such simplicity, simply beautiful, brava Mirella.
She could sing the dictionary and I would still marvel at this outstanding soprano. Sheer delight to listen to anything she performs.
Loved your comment :D
Thank you for that nice reply!
Brian Allen grazie a dio che sei nata
Cuteo05 ho visto alla scal l'ultima Adriana, signora Freni, signora Cossotto, maestro Gavazzeni. meravigliosa meraviglia
you are so right
Freni's voice was enticing bordering in fervor. One of the last great voices of Italy. May she rest in peace.
The magnificent Mirella Freni. NYC and the Metropolitan opera adored her.. She was my favorite soprano. Listen to that ovation. She had an amazing career with a phenomenal voice. RIP my dear Freni.
She sang from the heart and her interpretation struck a cord in the heart of every listener.
So sad to hear she’s gone! Beautiful woman with a beautiful voice! Requiescat in pace, Mirella!
I always come back to this performance. What a sublime presence and voice!!! #RIP
Me too❤
The entire operatic world is in mourning today. Fortunately there are some excellent recordings of her magnificent voice. Requiescat in pace, Madama.
Still today, this performance gives me lovely chills. Absolutely beautiful!
Così desidero ricordarti, circondanta dall'ammirazione, dall'affetto che la tua splendida arte, generava in tutti noi. Grazie.
Ciao Mirella grandissima!!! Posa in pace! Feb 9, 2020. 💔💔💔😭🌹🎭
She is simply PERFECT !❤
She is now singing with the angels, RIP Mirella.
Her voice got nice and robust in the upper register...I love that!
???????
I’m just now learning of Freni’s passing. Very sad. I’ve spent countless hours over the years basking in the beauty of her voice. I saw her live only once, as Alice Ford in Falstaff at the Met. I believe it was in 2002. She was the oldest in the cast by many years, but she still outsang everyone.
That is so cool
She was all perfection. RIP beloved Diva Mirella Freni.
Amazing! What a voice, what a loss. Thank you, TH-cam for preserving this for people who've never seen or heard her, and for those of us who can't get enough.
She is unparalleled. An artist like no other!
grande Freni... mi favorita entre todas sin compararla con nadie ni mejor ni peor, mi favorita. Grazie Mirella per la tua bellissima voce
I didn't realize until I was reading through the comments, she just passed a few days ago, what a tragic loss to the opera world!! RIP dear woman, your voice was so absolutely beautiful!
Is it possible to sing this aria better? It's not possible at all! Outstanding performance
Freni could spin magic from thin air. I saw her onstage as Mimi, and in the final phrase of Addio senza rancor, she held and caressed that phrase like she was stroking with her hand the curves of the most beautiful antique furniture. It was amazing.
Dave Glo Wish I was there !
A most beautiful pure voice. And she gave us opera fans a lot of pleasure RIP MsFreni
It should be illegal to sing that beautifully! Incredible!
ç
A lo más profundo del alma. Un milagro.
Pretty much the definitive interpretation of this aria. So beautiful.
La plus grande adriana lecouvreur merci à vous de ne pas nous la faire oublier une pépite d´or ....
My late wife and I were there. Memorable.
Just as beautiful as her performance in Milan, 1968!!!!!!
I can't believe she's gone! Rest in peace, beautiful soul.
www.findagrave.com/memorial/206965867/mirella-freni#view-photo=199306825
th-cam.com/video/OYeuItzKpxY/w-d-xo.html
Maravillosa descansa en paz queridisima Mirella que tu voz se oiga eternamente en los cielos
Bravíssima, Mirela. A great singer.
Mirella was very cleverly in her career, in her prime , she sung bell canto, then romanticism and finally verismo.
Her Adriana is unforgettable
🌹🌷🍀🌺☘️❤️
Freni, Tebaldi and Caballe own this music. Each one is unique in vocal terms. They all 'act' with their voices. La Freni is just superb. Bravissima.
She's simply amazing.
God bless her soul and that of her family.
Una gran soprano lírica de gran potencia, y de larga carrera…muy inteligente, que supo escoger su repertorio y cantar hasta los 70 años , para luego ser maestra y jurado en muchos lugares del mundo.
As I always say....The past was always better.... No point of comparison with singers from this generation. Such perfection doesn t exist on them. Present singer will not never achieve it. Today' singers "must" learn from these marvellous artists.... Brava Mirella!!!!!!!
Grande e umile ancella del Signore! ❤️ R.I.P. MIRELLA
Grandeur of soul. Thank you Mirella!
Mirella Freni is an amazing singer, and no one would argue that fact. The only argument that bothers me in most of these comments is the disparagement of the current crop of young singers. You simply can't compare a twenty one-year-old singer fresh out of an undergraduate degree to a singer with decades of craft under her belt. Don't blame the singers for the current trend of "younger and prettier". That is a global issue. The wise young singers will, with proper guidance, chose suitable rep that will allow them to develop into great artists. Please don't blame your aesthetic issues on the fact that "young singers don't work hard". That's neither fair nor true. Have a little faith, and, if you are capable, support the programs and schools that allow promising young singers to grow into the great artists that this essential art form needs to thrive for generations to come.
wbs partially agree with you on this! The young generation is no way comparable with the great singers of golden era, which is deadly solid truth!
The main reason is that young singers today are either rising to fame too quickly or give it up soon! Opera singers career is highly risky and need a long time experience and extremely careful choosing and organising the roles in right order. The opera market today doesn't allow a RIGHT And SLOW growing period for young singers! And what's more, opera is a way more complex making and designing today ,like the producing a motion picture. The STAR singer might not is as important as before. Image that you would just listened to Di Stefano or Callas fifty yrs back no matter what opera he/she was in. Tims changed now. Today an important opera performance requires a famous director or producer!
Steve FOX b
Try this and see if you still disparage young singers.
th-cam.com/video/ErN8JDGjrHQ/w-d-xo.html
Because of the wise husbanding of her voice, Mirella Freni managed to have one of the longest careers of any soprano, but more importantly, the quality of the voice became better and better over time and didn't diminish until the very end which came about ten years after this video. The only thing one cannot appreciate from this clip is the bloom of sound as she rose up the scale. You can get the gist of this sound in the last line of the above video...Che al novo di morrà ... on the" di" , listen to how the sound swells and multiply by ten. The note is a G# i think. How wonderful.
Now You can sing with the angels. R.i.p.dear mirella. February 9th.2020
Miralla Freni es única, este aria es una joya, es de una perfección y una sensibilidad absolutas....
Her voice is just so gorgeous, it goes beyond hearing. You can see it! Don't you know?!?
My favourite soprano!
A true inspiration!! I love you forever and ever my dear! May you rest in eternal peace 💕💕💕💕
Espectacular. ..qué belleza...perfección. ..
Simply beautiful
The end of an era. Brava, Freni. La Studpenda!
Absolutely the best❤
Прекрасная вокалиста, настоящая прима !!!
Sadly I did not appreciate her earlier work when I first started listening to opera. I preferred big, rich voices. As I got older and she started performing bigger roles, I then began to listen to her earlier works and started to understand the true beauty of her voice. What an amazing artist
Ms. Freni's magnificent vocal was solidly backed by the superb Met orchestra under the baton of James Levine.
Maravilhosa!!!!!!!! 😍
Grande, maravillosa, no necesitó show para brindar lo mejor con sus interpretaciones
UNICA!!!!!!!!!!! CUANTA BELLEZA EN SU VOZ!!!
Wonderful Mirella ❤️
Whenever I listen to Freni I wonder if it is a woman or an angel singing.
Bravo mirela et merci de ne pas l´oublier 🙏🙏💐🍀🎼
Само совершенство, спасибо, что Вы были с нами, Мирелла Френи, мы вас слушаем и будем слушать, как образец высочайшего,настоящего качественного оперного пения ...
Una scuola di canto !! ❤️
Que grandísima soprano! En este repertorio era única.
Completely flawless in every way. Brava.
Edit: except the conductor
assolutamente straordinaria la Mirella Freni!
sublime ♥
😱😱😱. QUESTA È. ARTE. GRANDISSIMA FRENI. 😱😱😱
MAGNIFICAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Ciao Mirella, per sempre in cielo con Luciano, le voci degli angeli
Orgoglio Italiano! Italian Pride!
Pure class
Favolosa, meravigliosa anche stupenda Mirella bravissima❤
Vocal Goddess.
Sono fiera di essere italiana. Voce sublime.❤
I heard her live twice, the first time as Aida and the second as Fedora. Both times I knew there would never be a more beautiful soprano voice than that of Mirella Freni.
Was her voice massive in the house?
@@mugrad25 I wouldn't say massive but she easily filled the house. Sounded just like she does on record.
Nadie, absolutamente nadie en ésta aria como la gran Magda Olivero
Requiescat in pace, Mirella.
Mirella Freni had the voice of an angel !!!
Rest in peace wonderful Mirella ❤️
No gimmicks, just perfect, natural singing, and no shaking jaw or waggling tongue on sustained tones.
Legend.
Magical.
Beautiful Brava Mirella
Brava!!!!!!!!
R.I.P. Mirella Freni
And that's how THAT goes! Brava diva!!
I love her voice here!
I like how they were basically storming the stage before she even sang
la più grande
So beautiful. Do you by chance have the whole concert to upload? That would be beyond fantastic!
Now when does anyone every applaud before the aria is over these days? Brava Mirella!
After that unbelievable performance, I was just too stunned to even move. Let alone, clap or shout out.
RIP. Grandissima Soprano.
Living up to the adage that dynamite comes in small packages. 03:25 sweeping goosebumps.
fantastica, mirella aveva tecnica di canto molto buona, mi piace molto, la voce Brillante!
Optima Forma R.I.P Dear Mirella Freni❤🙏
El más alto nivel!!!!!!
RIP Mirella.
Magic
Meraviglia assolutamente
Fantástica Freni y mejor aún en los últimos minutos. El vídeo mejoraría con estos datos en el texto: Opera "Adriana Lecouvreur" (aria "lo son l'umile ancella")