I was in the chorus when she sang this MACBETH and also LUCIA around the same time in Newark and Trenton. She was unique and unforgettable but also a very down to earth person with a good since of humor. She had us laughing during a rehearsal of the banquet scene. Her way with certain phrases will live in my ear forever. So great to hear her again.
It’s fascinating that at virtually the same time in the 1980’s Renata Scotto was trying on Norma and Donna Macbeth at the MET. To challenging and rather mixed reviews. And yet here in NEWARK New Jersey the local mostly Italian community then, came out to Deutekom and her glorious healthy dramatic coloratura soprano in this opera and no doubt other roles. Yet this diva was not at the MET then. Fascinating and hilarious. It just goes to show you.
This is a Lady Macbeth who can stand proudly next to the Lady Macbeth's of Callas, Verrett and Rysanek. After hearing the horrible live from the Met Lady Macbeth yesterday, hearing Cristina Deutekom's letter scene is a welcome relief. BRAVA CRISTINA!!!!
Hoy es un gran día. Me he encontrado con varios vídeos nuevos y todos sensacionales. Muchas gracias a quien los ha enviado. Sois gloriosos. La voz de Cristina Deutekom es tan mágica que no me canso de escucharla. Todo lo que canta lo convierte en oro.
I was in this performance - the Macbeth was Sherill Milnes and the conductor was Silipigni. Deutekom had just learned the role so these were her first Lady's. This is a role that a soprano needs to sing nine or ten times at least before she knows exactly how to pace herself. It is like Abigaille, but also completely different. The instrumentation is different, darker and denser and places much more strain on the lower octave of the voice. Still, who sings it like this nowadays??!!!
@tetrazzinifan To be fair, it was her very first Lady M.; she had just learned it. But you are absolutely right abt. Abigaille and Lady M. People always lump them together, but they are very different.They lie differently. Lady M. is longer and hammers away more at the middle and lower middle voice, then all of a sudden goes way up. Also the orchestration is much denser with a greater emphasis on the lower strings and woodwinds. The color of the voice has to be different from Abigaille.
@assindiastignani I was wondering about any singer who was still able to sing Lady Macbeth after "nine or ten times" and then sing anything else. I think to sing this role "twice" is enough to make a major achievement.
She is Dutch!! We hve never heard Callas sing in Dutch, or rather in German,.... Didn't dare, did she? She did the Liebestod in Italian!!!........ And so, nobody can mock her diction. However, there are so many other items to mention about her. But you are right, Deutekom is amazing!! I personally can't stand Callas. I love sonorous crystal clear voices with good upper registers, also Nilsson, she does this scene very well, though there you can pick on her coloraturas...Nobody is perfect!! Right??
@lallanzinho The great Lady Macbeths - Birgit Nilsson, Ghena Dimitrova, Mara Zampieri, Leonie Rysanek, Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, et.al. sang it even more often than that.
assindiastignani You left out Elisabeth Höngen, a magnificent portrayal captured in the 1943 recording conducted by Karl Böhm and featuring Mathieu Ahlersmayer in the title role. In his diary, Böhm called Höngen one of the greatest living tragedians.
@Dober Dawg I'm sorry, but this is NOT a Lady Macbeth that is the equal of Callas'. There is no trill, the low notes aren't sufficiently sonorous, the fioritura isn't precise enough etc. But I don't doubt that this is Heaven compared to who sings Lady Macbeth nowadays (especially the atrocious Netrebko).
I'm afraid many make the mistake of supposing that a villain/ess also has to be aggressive with a dark ugly voice. No! A murderess can have a ringing bright beautiful voice, that's just the point! She must be enticing, otherwise she wouldn't persuade anybody to obey her. If bad people were just ugly, disgusting, hoarse, this world would look much better.... They would be caught right away!! The greatest viilain of them all, Satan, was originally Luicfer, the angel of light. The drama, the conflict - they lie in the intriguing combination of beauty and evil. Maybe Callas was a great singer, but I don't enjoy listening to her aggressive roaring, and her wobbling upper region is really repulsive. For me "the king is naked", it's not enough to be a great musician, and Callas was only that. Her voice wasn't beautiful even when she was young, fat and strong, but it eventually became its own caricature. Mrs. Deutekom, on the other hand, was too modest to become famous due to scandals, deserting performances, quarreling with rivals such as the wonderful Tebaldi, living with a man who had made his fortune selling drugs and so on. But her voice is always beautiful, her interpretations are always convincing, and I don't care if she was a good actress or not because I don't see her anyway. And so for me, she is a greater singer than Callas and most of the others. Only Nilsson can compete with her beauty of voice, and luckily their repertoires complement each other. Nilsson also sang this aria, her voice was fabulous but her coloraturas.... Well, nobody is perfect. i admit that Deutekom swallowed some of the lower notes here. But this precious recording is really bad....So thank you for this gem!!!!!!!
@@evelynkatz1301 I agree with you, and it makes me laugh as they say 'her chest voice is not dark enough'. WTF what do you want? A lion? A baritone? Nilsson doesn't even use her chest voice, and Deutekom does it here brilliantly 7:07. it's strange that she didn't trill, since she could trill easily. Maybe she did, and the recording doesn't allow listening to them. Besides Deutekom, I think Callas is the only soprano who has managed to trill in "io ti daró valore" (2:53)
If Verdi hadn't wanted a light Lady he would have written the role for a mezzo and not for a coloratura soprano. This contrast is wonderful! If she had been dark, everything would have been only too obvious. But a nice lady with a dark heart is more exciting, I think. Less dogmatic. Not all the witches are dark...On the contrary, the Loreleis are blond, and I refrain from mentioning history.....
I was in the chorus when she sang this MACBETH and also LUCIA around the same time in Newark and Trenton. She was unique and unforgettable but also a very down to earth person with a good since of humor. She had us laughing during a rehearsal of the banquet scene. Her way with certain phrases will live in my ear forever. So great to hear her again.
It’s fascinating that at virtually the same time in the 1980’s Renata Scotto was trying on Norma and Donna Macbeth at the MET. To challenging and rather mixed reviews. And yet here in NEWARK New Jersey the local mostly Italian community then, came out to Deutekom and her glorious healthy dramatic coloratura soprano in this opera and no doubt other roles. Yet this diva was not at the MET then. Fascinating and hilarious. It just goes to show you.
Absolutely fascinating how she switched from talking mode to singing mode, that volume change when she actually sings, wow
9:08 omg I love that effect with the voice/orchestra. That's perfect sync at "qual petto percota"
Bravissima Primadonna assoluta
Wow - wonderful performance. What a finish!!!!! Brava
This is a Lady Macbeth who can stand proudly next to the Lady Macbeth's of Callas, Verrett and Rysanek. After hearing the horrible live from the Met Lady Macbeth yesterday, hearing Cristina Deutekom's letter scene is a welcome relief. BRAVA CRISTINA!!!!
Hoy es un gran día. Me he encontrado con varios vídeos nuevos y todos sensacionales. Muchas gracias a quien los ha enviado. Sois gloriosos. La voz de Cristina Deutekom es tan mágica que no me canso de escucharla. Todo lo que canta lo convierte en oro.
great.
wish I could hear her in 'traviata'...
I was in this performance - the Macbeth was Sherill Milnes and the conductor was Silipigni. Deutekom had just learned the role so these were her first Lady's. This is a role that a soprano needs to sing nine or ten times at least before she knows exactly how to pace herself. It is like Abigaille, but also completely different. The instrumentation is different, darker and denser and places much more strain on the lower octave of the voice. Still, who sings it like this nowadays??!!!
@tetrazzinifan To be fair, it was her very first Lady M.; she had just learned it. But you are absolutely right abt. Abigaille and Lady M. People always lump them together, but they are very different.They lie differently. Lady M. is longer and hammers away more at the middle and lower middle voice, then all of a sudden goes way up. Also the orchestration is much denser with a greater emphasis on the lower strings and woodwinds. The color of the voice has to be different from Abigaille.
@assindiastignani I was wondering about any singer who was still able to sing Lady Macbeth after "nine or ten times" and then sing anything else. I think to sing this role "twice" is enough to make a major achievement.
WOW ! The best Queen of the Night can be officially declared the best Queen of Scotland !
@opera1dan2 Good point.
Strange Italian diction, however her phrasing with long breath especially at the end of cabaletta is amazing.
She is Dutch!! We hve never heard Callas sing in Dutch, or rather in German,.... Didn't dare, did she? She did the Liebestod in Italian!!!........ And so, nobody can mock her diction. However, there are so many other items to mention about her. But you are right, Deutekom is amazing!! I personally can't stand Callas. I love sonorous crystal clear voices with good upper registers, also Nilsson, she does this scene very well, though there you can pick on her coloraturas...Nobody is perfect!! Right??
@lallanzinho The great Lady Macbeths - Birgit Nilsson, Ghena Dimitrova, Mara Zampieri, Leonie Rysanek, Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, et.al. sang it even more often than that.
assindiastignani You left out Elisabeth Höngen, a magnificent portrayal captured in the 1943 recording conducted by Karl Böhm and featuring Mathieu Ahlersmayer in the title role. In his diary, Böhm called Höngen one of the greatest living tragedians.
Nilsson and Rysanek were not especially famous in that role.
The spoken part is kinda so-so
But it's awesomely sung
Brava Cristina!
@Dober Dawg I'm sorry, but this is NOT a Lady Macbeth that is the equal of Callas'. There is no trill, the low notes aren't sufficiently sonorous, the fioritura isn't precise enough etc. But I don't doubt that this is Heaven compared to who sings Lady Macbeth nowadays (especially the atrocious Netrebko).
It’s a terrible recording but her prowess on every level is undeniable. One of the great dramatic coloraturas of her time!
@@Paddy818 If not THE greatest. I agree with you. She was phenomenal.
I'm afraid many make the mistake of supposing that a villain/ess also has to be aggressive with a dark ugly voice. No! A murderess can have a ringing bright beautiful voice, that's just the point! She must be enticing, otherwise she wouldn't persuade anybody to obey her. If bad people were just ugly, disgusting, hoarse, this world would look much better.... They would be caught right away!! The greatest viilain of them all, Satan, was originally Luicfer, the angel of light. The drama, the conflict - they lie in the intriguing combination of beauty and evil. Maybe Callas was a great singer, but I don't enjoy listening to her aggressive roaring, and her wobbling upper region is really repulsive. For me "the king is naked", it's not enough to be a great musician, and Callas was only that. Her voice wasn't beautiful even when she was young, fat and strong, but it eventually became its own caricature. Mrs. Deutekom, on the other hand, was too modest to become famous due to scandals, deserting performances, quarreling with rivals such as the wonderful Tebaldi, living with a man who had made his fortune selling drugs and so on. But her voice is always beautiful, her interpretations are always convincing, and I don't care if she was a good actress or not because I don't see her anyway. And so for me, she is a greater singer than Callas and most of the others. Only Nilsson can compete with her beauty of voice, and luckily their repertoires complement each other. Nilsson also sang this aria, her voice was fabulous but her coloraturas.... Well, nobody is perfect. i admit that Deutekom swallowed some of the lower notes here. But this precious recording is really bad....So thank you for this gem!!!!!!!
@@evelynkatz1301 I agree with you, and it makes me laugh as they say 'her chest voice is not dark enough'. WTF what do you want? A lion? A baritone? Nilsson doesn't even use her chest voice, and Deutekom does it here brilliantly 7:07. it's strange that she didn't trill, since she could trill easily. Maybe she did, and the recording doesn't allow listening to them. Besides Deutekom, I think Callas is the only soprano who has managed to trill in "io ti daró valore" (2:53)
fantastic voice but i believe it is 'light" for lady macbeth
If Verdi hadn't wanted a light Lady he would have written the role for a mezzo and not for a coloratura soprano. This contrast is wonderful! If she had been dark, everything would have been only too obvious. But a nice lady with a dark heart is more exciting, I think. Less dogmatic. Not all the witches are dark...On the contrary, the Loreleis are blond, and I refrain from mentioning history.....
@@evelynkatz1301
It’s written for a dramatic with agility and true mezzos have as heavy voices as sopranos.
Now you know.