Patricia Wise - Mozart: MAGIC FLUTE, Queen of the Night arias, 1976, 5 High Fs

THE SONGBIRD: Patricia Wise was born in Kansas in 1943. She studied at the University of Kansas and made her debut as Susanna in Kansas City in 1966. She joined the New York City Opera in 1968 in Ginastera's "Bomarzo" and sang there every season until 1975 (Papagena, Blonde, Susanna, Despina, Queen of Shemakha, Rosina, Lucia, Gilda, and Sophie, as well as a few small roles). She began expanding her career in Europe with appearances in important opera houses such as Covent Garden in 1971 (Rosina) and Glyndebourne in 1972 (Zerbinetta). She became a principal soprano at the Vienna State Opera in 1976 and sang many roles there until 1991 (Queen of the Night was her debut role, followed by Strauss's Sophie -- which she sang there 87 times! -- and Oscar, Gilda, Nedda, Manon, Lucia, Norina, Rosina, Nannetta, Musetta, Pamina, Konstanze, Aminta, Zdenka, Zerbinetta, Micaela, and others). I heard her exquisite Susanna in Vienna in 1985 (with no less than Lucia Popp as the Countess!). Other key engagements were Nannetta at La Scala in 1980, Lulu in Geneva in 1985, and Gilda in Madrid in 1989. She was honored as a Kammersängerin of the Vienna State Opera in 1989.
THE MUSIC: "The Magic Flute" ("Die Zauberflöte") K. 620 premiered on September 30, 1791 in Vienna, just two months before Mozart's death. It was a success right out of the gate and has consistently been one of the most popular and produced operas in the world. The iconic role of the Queen of the Night was composed specifically for Josepha Hofer, Mozart's sister-in-law and a vocal virtuosa. It's a short role with only two arias and one ensemble, but the extreme vocal demands of the music have made it a defining role in the coloratura soprano repertoire. The Queen's first aria "O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn" introduces the character as empathetic and righteous; it concludes with swift, commanding, complex coloratura figures culminating in one short High F. The second aria is the well known "Der hölle rache kocht in meinem Herzen" where the character's extreme rage is uniquely expressed in the music, including a sequence of furious staccato figures topped with four High Fs.

[@Tenortalker]

What a fine Queen of the Night Patricia Wise was. We hear here a full toned lyrical voice with plenty of resonance to express the Queen's fury. Brava!

[@hayakou5]

So beautiful.　Seldom found.
I got to know her name for the first time in this video.

[@sirdicaudore]

Top singing!!!

[@artdanks4846]

Marvellous!!! I'm a VERY rough "critic" when it comes to Der Holle Rache in particular, and usually don't care for many of the Sopranos that perform it. I had heard of Patricia Wise before, but never heard her sing. I'm REALLY impressed with her Queen of the Night! Not that I'm anyone who matters at all, but it's so rare for me to find one I like (I don't even like Damrau's)! Thank you for posting! 😁👍

[@stevenkrage2412]

What do you think of Edda Moser?

[@lucasdebevec8581]

Ya las primeras frases subyugan. Un vibrato que hace destacar unos bellos armónicos de la voz. ¡Que buen uso de la cavidad de resonancias, es decir, la voz no es fija, sí bien ubicada, pero deja sentirse vibrar. Voz plena. Pareja en TODO su registro. Una impedancia perfecta. Los ataques, claros precisos. La articulación que se acerca a la perfección. La pronunciación controlada y justa. El tempo ajustado a la precisión exacta de sus capacidades vocales. Equilibrada. Una respiración apenas perceptible pero totalmente fácil y efectiva. Y una musicalidad llena de mínimas pinceladas que da el carácter de cada momento expresivo.
Una de las mejores reinas de la flauta mozartiana, sin lugar a dudas. De las mejores.
Sólo conocia su nombre, en algún sitio de mi memoria estaba. Pero no recordaba semejante sorpresa ante su arte. Es fantástico lo que se, escucha aquí, en vivo, con una precisión por parte de la cantante como si fuera de estudio. Brava, brava, brava.
Una real sorpresa. Gracias por este envío.