It’s not just bel canto, it’s bel canto on steroids. Verdi didn’t hold back on his sopranos during the early part of his career. This role would destroy the ordinary soprano, but Maria Callas isn’t ordinary. She is the pinnacle.
@@mariaruskova6054 Ghena wasn't destroyed, but what good is longevity if you're merely skimming the role and stumbling through the coloratura, skipping the trills, and at times even dubious at best on the C6s? Lol
@@CASantos Actually the one lacks longevity is Dimitrova, not Callas. Dimitrova became extremely throaty in the 70s and she was still very young at that time.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Comparing Dimitrova to Callas is like comparing chocolate covered in golden paper(Dimitrova) to actual solid pure gold(Callas). Don’t waste your time with this delusional.
Forty odd years ago, my music teacher (not voice) told me that she'd been to a Callas performance and that Callas was like nothing she'd ever experienced.
Maria agli esordi della sua carriera, cannone in petto e potenza di fuoco da paura. Unica, irripetibile, inarrivabile. Era già Divina prima che la critica se ne accorgesse. Fraseggio, dizione, controllo del respiro, diaframma d'acciaio, legato sublime e scale in su e in giù come solo lei sapeva e poteva fare. Recitava con la sola voce, tutto il resto è bravura che ha fatto storia. Brillerà per sempre, in cima al firmamento della lirica ❤️🙏
What other soprano on earth can or could sing this very difficult aria so well? Only Maria Callas had the voice and intelligence to sing this. Oh it's marvelous. The one and only La Divina. Thank you so much for posting this fantastic piece of history. It will be listened to for decades and decades to come. Brava Maria.
No one, because nobody normal would sing Tosca at the age of 18 like her. Nobody will repeat the career of Maria Callas because it was unique. Both as a singer and as a personality. Today, singers want to sing and earn as long as possible. None will risk a career and no agent let them to do it. Today the agents control operatic world so they want to sell their golden eggs as long as possible.
I admit that Gena Dimitrova could sing this aria but always with that hard edge to her voice. Maria Callas just had the ability to let everything sound a little rounder less edgy.
@@ian.marais1202 Gena Dimitrova is the ultimate Abigaile, but I see no point in arguing with a die-hard Callas fan who see nothing but Callas while the world is full of many more beautiful voices!
I can't comprehend how difficult this is to do the way she does it and how easily she achieves it. The way she frequently employs chest voice up to an A (middle of staff) during dramatic moments and yet being able to switch back to middle voice in lyrical sections. Even going from head to chest seamlessly on the same word! The precision of the coloratura and that downward scale with the orchestra!! All tossed off like not a big deal.
Abigaille è un ruolo tecnicamente letale (il più difficile di Verdi assieme a Lady Macbeth) e la Callas ha interpretato questo ruolo in modo impeccabile! Divina! 💘😻💖💞💗
Callas era perfecta en cualquier rol. En este de Abigail es inigualable, ninguna otra soprano ha podido con este papel; así como de Elena de Vísperas, Leonora de il Trovatore, Lady, Violeta era perfecta y además considero que es la única intérprete de Aida que hace dramático y creíble un rol lineal y aburrido, lástima no cantara Ernani, Duo Foscari o la Batalla de Legnamo, incluso Luisa. Callas perfecta en todo y es la verá regna del bel canto.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 well I really don’t think she had a BIG voice of a soprano drammatico. Her sound (before 1954) was sufficiently large, very penetrating but not like other dramatic sopranos. Listen even during her “fat” period when she sang unison notes with mezzo like Barbieri, Stignani, Nikolai, Simionato. Their sound always cover hers….
@@stefanodepeppo it's just ridiculous to compare unison notes of soprano and a mezzo. Of course the mezzo's would sound deeper, especially in the middle. For me Callas is a dramatic coloratura. She had amazing top notes of a coloratura soprano, but more powerful, and such a dark middle and low register. What else she could be?
I have not heard this in a long time but Maria Maria such is the true range of vocal beauty and bel canto with an aria but such truly real bel canto. Truly the standard Abagille. Thanks
Da notare che, al minuto 9:03, "ben saprà", la Callas usa il registro di petto (registro modale) per eseguire i due la, "ben" e "sa", che sono degli A4 (440 Hz): il risultato drammatico è meraviglioso! 🤩🤩🤩
Qui siamo su Marte. Finalmente un recitativo distinto da un aria . Profondamente dentro la musica.offre tutto quello che ha.per forza e’ durata poco.un Genio.
I can’t enjoy other sopranos’ renditions of this aria after I listened to this recording! I mean, Cerquetti, de Osma and Mancini have nice voices but Callas has more beautiful timbre and better musicality.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 I think Dimitrova is not bad but she is only half the level of Callas. I can’t *listen* to other sopranos’ renditions of Abigaille.
@@NGTO-zt9qe Yeah... I don’t like her Turandot either. But she is still better than Sutherland who I can never enjoy because she is woofy and boring. As for Abigaille, I like Souliotis very much, she is better than Dimitrova but not as good as Callas.
Along with the '52 London "Norma" and the '53 Florence "Medea," this is one of those desert-island collaborations with Gui, one of the most underrated conductors of the last century.
It is not just only about the vocal prowess in in the emission and agility (that voice is like a large Toyota truck moving like a Ferrari) but the comand over the music and the text. With Callas this music makes so much sense, the voice pours out, to paraphrase Sutherland "In the way Flagstad's did, into architecturally precise melodic lines of great beauty always designed to serve Verdi, his music and the libretto.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Well, they had very different voices and temperaments. Tessitura is just one of many distinct aspects of Callas' voice, while it was a dramatic instrument by nature she could almost always sing a great high E; Flagstad's voice sat much lower than that and was not always in full trust on the high C. Their styles also differed greatly, while not because of their background (Callas was a great wagnerian in her own right) but their very different takes on the music they sang: Callas was almost always fiery and dramatic, while Flagstad's voice remained, in a way, quite lyrical. I think that Callas' aural lineage goes back to Ponselle (who was indeed often compared to Flagstad, and along with Renata Tebaldi form the trinity of the most beautiful soprano voices of the last century) Muzio and the less evident Lili Lehmann, not really Flagstad. It is hard to think of a voice sister to La Divina, who had the very high dramatic instrument, plus the steely voice, plus the coloratura, plus the baritonal low notes? some people think of Sutherland while others think of the Horne/Bartoli kind of mezzo, I think both comparissons are not well thought. After years of conversation with a a dear lady who was blessed to have seen some of the greatest singers of the last century in their prime (naturally including Callas) I have been repeatedly told that in the high area of the voice (Bb, B, C, DB, D, EB, E) Callas (pre vibrato issues) sounded a lot like Nilsson (a deeper soprano than Callas but considerably higher than Traubel, Flagstad or Ponselle) while the rest of the voice was very unique and more "italianate" in the Ponselle tradition. What do you think about that?
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 About Callas' acting, yes, she was chamaleonic! Even within one same composer, would you guess her Lady M is just like her Violeta? Not at all, she was masterful in her interpretation.
@@juliovic.silvaar.2949 A chorister who sang with Callas in I Vespri Siciliani said that Callas’ voice is almost as deep as the mezzo soprano Cloe Elmo, yet she could hit the high E. I think that is true because Callas has better chest voice than some mezzo sopranos and she did sound like a mezzo soprano in some lower passages (like in mia man from Norma). And we can easily hear the similarities between Callas and Ponselle, both have very good sense of musicality and their interpretation is very similar. But I believe that Callas’ instrument is as large as Flagstad (larger than Nilsson for sure). The main difference between Flagstad and Callas is that Flagstad is a German-school soprano, she sang a lot of Wagner but Callas is more of a Italian-school soprano, most roles in her repertoire are in Italian (she even sang Isolde and Kundry in Italian). And Callas learned the bel canto technique with the legendary coloratura soprano Elvira de Hidalgo, that’s why she could sing the roles like Norma, Bolena and Lucia very well. I don’t think Callas sounds like Nilsson at all, she has much more beautiful voice than Nilsson (IMHO Callas has the most beautiful Italian-school soprano voice along with Tebaldi, Ponselle, Muzio, Bruna Rasa, Destinn, Scacciati, Gencer and Zeani).
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Callas voice had huge scuro, this is evident in her earlier recordings, although the great 59' Medea and 57' Bolena also show it, I'm told that even some of those very old recordings don't really show the the whole magnitude of her voice, something that happened with almost all large voices (including Farrell, Flagstad, Nilsson and Tebaldi). The comparisson with Elmo is perfectly fair, same with Simionato and Nicolai. Callas had precisely that kind of cavernous sound, she is after all the natural heir of Ponselle. As I have told you before, my main reference of how these singers sounded in house is my grandmother, who only heard Flagstad in the forties and fifties when she was not in her prime (although in great voice still) but heard Callas from times before her greatest known recordings. Callas voice was that of the italian dramatic soprano, while Nilsson and Flagstad were very Germanic and their main (volume) difference was in their use of different sizes in different parts of the voice, Callas could break your ears with her high notes (and extremely powerful middle) in a way similar to Nilsson while Flagstad had an oceanic middle voice and her low notes, just like Nilsson were not as explosive as Callas' who had very "wide" chest voice, rather than the more head voice dominant sound that German repertoire favours. In the end wondering about differences in size and volume between this kind of singers is mainly pettifogging, they had far more interesting things thab the sheer (although huge) size of their voices.
Well, finally there is a score animation for this aria with Callas's interpretaion... there is already a score animation of this aria but they used Guleghina's rendition of this aria. This one is really great! Viva La Divina Callas!
There used to be many score animations for Callas arias and I good size clear print but that channel was deleted for some reason. I used it to start learning some music before my condition got bad.
Ho sentito l'Abigaille della Saioa Hernadez e mi pare di poter dire che ha preso come esempio la lezione della Callas ! Davvero promettente questo soprano spagnolo, sentitelo...
Mi piace come Norma e Leonora del Trovatore. Spero non si rovini la voce con un repertorio troppo vasto e troppo presto perché attualmente è forse l'unica speranza.
Thank you very much barone! Wow! Callas is the best Abigail. I wish modern technology was available for her to record; this recording is a bit noisy. I also like Deutekom and Hernandez in this role
In my opinion Lady Macbeth is the hardest Verdi's soprano role. But the hardest aria in dramatic soprano repertoire is in my opinion "Suicidio" from Ponchielli's "La Gioconda". That aria is a true suicide for soprano ;)
tullio serafin coniò l'aggettivo perfetto per descrivere la callas " UNA GRANDE VOCIACCIA" grande indubbiamente potente e incredibilmente espressiva, duttile come nessuno ne prima ne dopo di lei, ma rimane una voce piena di mille difetti, bassi tubati acuti striduli ecc ...in questo ruolo la migliore è stata la souliotis, senza ombra di dubbio
La suliotis mi pare migliore Infatti ho il disco e devo dire che la voce è più bella La Callas mi sembra forzata ed assolutamente sgraziata in molti versi .
It s hard to say that she couldn t do something before 1955. Everything that written was delivered. But - only Renata Tebaldi. Everyone say that she has only beautiful voice, but I suppose that producing of a tone - it is a work too. I just don t feel that Callas did the same that Nilsson and Tebaldi did. Well they couldn t show a great coloratura.
It's better to say that Tebaldi and Nilsson didn't have any coloratura at all. They didn't have any idea of what the old school of bel canto meant. If you follow the Verdi's partitions listening to Nilsson, it's hard to believe the number of notes that she omits ! Tebaldi was unable to sing the smallest "trillo".
@@ginopietracupa4305 I have only be studying, singing and teaching the bel canto during fourty years; it's certainly not enough because we learn every day. But if you think that you can be a bel canto singer omitting all the virtuosity, you are wrong. As Callas said: "You can't imagine a great violonist or a pianist saying: I can't do those notes or this part". You must read, if don't already have, the vocal treatises of Caccini, Tosi, Garcia, Mancini, Celletti... and so on. And then, come to explain me that a bel canto singer can avoid the trillos, scales, passagi, appoggiaturas, messe di voce... which are the basis to express the affetti of the musical text.
@@ginopietracupa4305 Callas is a dramatic soprano of agility (Between Dramatic Soprano and Dramatic Coloratura Soprano), due the her bad caring of voice, we never heard her in full might (this voices gets mature only after 35 years)
@@mariofilippeschi4855 No, because she has a dramatic voice. Callas sang a lot of extremely heavy roles before 1950, like Abigaille, Tosca, Turandot, Gioconda, Brunnhilde and Isolde. Callas and Flagstad have the LARGEST instruments in history, but Callas was trained by de Hidalgo, who taught her the bel canto technique including the chest voice and coloratura.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Woah. I know Hidalgo i've watched her describe how unique and gifted Callas was as her student, truly amazing treasure. Hidalgo just chilling with cigarette.
@@mariofilippeschi4855 Hidalgo is A REAL LEGENDARY COLORATURA (not the one on OMW’s channel Lol), she knows how to develop the voice, how to interpret music and how to act. She taught Callas everything, including the acting, and she is proud of Callas. Tebaldi and many other verismo-style sopranos mastered the chest voice very well, they can sing the high notes in head voice with a lot of chest voice participation; but Callas is different: Callas is more of a “sul fiato” soprano, her voice is floated in between two strong columns of breath, as Corelli said: “like a Ping Pong floating on water”. But Callas could also sing high notes with a lot of chest voice participation, like her “Questo è il bacio di Tosca”.
Nah….it’s a big beast, but it aint the hardest one. It looks fancy but it’s written so that those runs and intervals are facilitated. Vespri Siciliani, O piagge di Sicilia beats this one hands down - shorter but much much meaner. You have to actually BE a soprano to know what is a really hard soprano aria😁
Amazing, however she should have never sung this opera and a specially at such young age. This is super special recipe reason to lose your voice at very young age which affect did happen to Callas. Can’t sing bell canto music Lucia, Gilda, Amina and Abigail same time.
She could sing this in different times, with rest. Without smoking and drinking a lot (she do this especially after Onassis), she could preserve more her instrument. I think that Maria Callas´s singing is so heavy (in question of stamina and muscular force) that even Wagner roles looks like a lullabye near this. Is unhumanly killer of her voice. Her musicianship and artistry can be superhuman, but no her body (i think that if she sing this only mature, it will be less dangerous, but still demanding. I agree with you)
Her diction unclear, her high register is shrill, quite often the orchestra covers her and she is barely heard, and her voice is uneven, besides being unpleasant.. Sometimes she suddenly roars and then sinks again... And her high notes are horrible!!!!! Especially the last one...drowning..... This is by far not the "hardest" aria, and this is a very mediocre interpretation at best. Listen to Cristina Deutekom, for example, and you'll hear a beautiful even voice, generous vibrato, marvelous high notes, and the words "L'humil' sciava a suplicar", which here are completely swallowed...
Deutekom? Not even close. I like her as Queen of the night but she didn't have the vocal weight for Abigaille. And Callas' high notes are much bigger than Deutekom's.
Comparing a gargling banana like Deutekom to a genius like Callas who secured her name in the history of music is plain dumb and stupid. This is the best execution fo this part that has ever been recorded, she didnt only delivery EVERYTHING written, but also gave extra just because she could. This is a LIVE recording from 1949, did you expect digital quality? Just dumbness on top of dumbness, but I guess some ppl like you just happen to have 10 butt holes on the tip of ever finger.
In the fullness of time, there will never be one who can stand against her. She IS music.
Callas IS Art.
Yes, she was great, but drop the clichés.
It’s not just bel canto, it’s bel canto on steroids. Verdi didn’t hold back on his sopranos during the early part of his career. This role would destroy the ordinary soprano, but Maria Callas isn’t ordinary. She is the pinnacle.
And yet she was destroyed. Actually destroyed herself. I prefer Ghena Dimitrova 10 times before that.
@@mariaruskova6054 Ghena wasn't destroyed, but what good is longevity if you're merely skimming the role and stumbling through the coloratura, skipping the trills, and at times even dubious at best on the C6s? Lol
@@CASantos Actually the one lacks longevity is Dimitrova, not Callas. Dimitrova became extremely throaty in the 70s and she was still very young at that time.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Comparing Dimitrova to Callas is like comparing chocolate covered in golden paper(Dimitrova) to actual solid pure gold(Callas). Don’t waste your time with this delusional.
She built different
Forty odd years ago, my music teacher (not voice) told me that she'd been to a Callas performance and that Callas was like nothing she'd ever experienced.
I know some people who heard Callas live in 1950s, and they told me that Callas' performances are much more exciting than any other soprano's.
Maria agli esordi della sua carriera, cannone in petto e potenza di fuoco da paura. Unica, irripetibile, inarrivabile. Era già Divina prima che la critica se ne accorgesse. Fraseggio, dizione, controllo del respiro, diaframma d'acciaio, legato sublime e scale in su e in giù come solo lei sapeva e poteva fare. Recitava con la sola voce, tutto il resto è bravura che ha fatto storia. Brillerà per sempre, in cima al firmamento della lirica ❤️🙏
What other soprano on earth can or could sing this very difficult aria so well? Only Maria Callas had the voice and intelligence to sing this. Oh it's marvelous. The one and only La Divina. Thank you so much for posting this fantastic piece of history. It will be listened to for decades and decades to come. Brava Maria.
No one, because nobody normal would sing Tosca at the age of 18 like her. Nobody will repeat the career of Maria Callas because it was unique. Both as a singer and as a personality. Today, singers want to sing and earn as long as possible. None will risk a career and no agent let them to do it. Today the agents control operatic world so they want to sell their golden eggs as long as possible.
Ghena Dimitrova could.
I admit that Gena Dimitrova could sing this aria but always with that hard edge to her voice. Maria Callas just had the ability to let everything sound a little rounder less edgy.
@@ian.marais1202 Gena Dimitrova is the ultimate Abigaile, but I see no point in arguing with a die-hard Callas fan who see nothing but Callas while the world is full of many more beautiful voices!
There is one other. Julia Varady. Listen to her Paris performance in 1995. Spectacular!
Callas, the best ever!
Unique, merveilleuse. María for ever.
So many intervals Abigaile sings. Several one octave jumps and the last with two octaves followed by a second. Crazy intelligent writing from Verdi.
I can't comprehend how difficult this is to do the way she does it and how easily she achieves it. The way she frequently employs chest voice up to an A (middle of staff) during dramatic moments and yet being able to switch back to middle voice in lyrical sections. Even going from head to chest seamlessly on the same word! The precision of the coloratura and that downward scale with the orchestra!! All tossed off like not a big deal.
Abigaille è un ruolo tecnicamente letale (il più difficile di Verdi assieme a Lady Macbeth) e la Callas ha interpretato questo ruolo in modo impeccabile! Divina! 💘😻💖💞💗
1 - Abigaille
2 - Lady Macbeth
3 - Leonora in Trovatore
E la Callas è la migliore in tutti questi tre ruoli.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Sono d'accordo 🤩 La Callas è formidabile! Riuscire a cantare ruoli così difficili tutti così bene è sovrumano!
@@esterbruno8604 La Cerquetti, la de Osma e la Mancini sono grandi ma la Callas è ancora meglio!
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Tutte e tre ottimi soprani. Ma la Callas è ovviamente il TOP 🔝😻
@@esterbruno8604 Ora abbiamo solo i soprani dal suono debole come Abigaille (tranne la Hernandez ovviamente) ...
The unparalleled, the unique, the best of all times, the diva Maria Callas.
The greatest ever
Without a doubt!
Callas era perfecta en cualquier rol. En este de Abigail es inigualable, ninguna otra soprano ha podido con este papel; así como de Elena de Vísperas, Leonora de il Trovatore, Lady, Violeta era perfecta y además considero que es la única intérprete de Aida que hace dramático y creíble un rol lineal y aburrido, lástima no cantara Ernani, Duo Foscari o la Batalla de Legnamo, incluso Luisa. Callas perfecta en todo y es la verá regna del bel canto.
Parole sante. Callas è diventato ogni ruolo che ha cantato.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 la piu grande soprano. Veramente incredibile.
@@natanaelgorrin9473 La Callas, la Cebotari e Lilli Lehmann sono i tre soprani che possono cantare dai ruoli più leggeri a quelli più pesanti.
N’oubliez pas Julia Varady dans ce même rôle à Paris
Это голос из 19 века. Тогда умели петь и Каллас умела.
The final note just pierced right through the full-force orchestra
Some people still think Callas is a lyric soprano...
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 well I really don’t think she had a BIG voice of a soprano drammatico. Her sound (before 1954) was sufficiently large, very penetrating but not like other dramatic sopranos. Listen even during her “fat” period when she sang unison notes with mezzo like Barbieri, Stignani, Nikolai, Simionato. Their sound always cover hers….
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 She wasn’t a lyric. But she wasn’t dramatic either. The voice is far more complex than just a few simple classifications.
@@stefanodepeppo it's just ridiculous to compare unison notes of soprano and a mezzo. Of course the mezzo's would sound deeper, especially in the middle. For me Callas is a dramatic coloratura. She had amazing top notes of a coloratura soprano, but more powerful, and such a dark middle and low register. What else she could be?
@@stefanodepeppo oh really? Can u listen to her aida? She's completely overpowered Oralia, a dramatic mezzo.
I have not heard this in a long time but Maria Maria such is the true range of vocal beauty and bel canto with an aria but such truly real bel canto. Truly the standard Abagille. Thanks
The one and only Abigaille!
La más grande Abigaille de la Historia : María Callas .
Ευχαριστώ που υπάρχει η παρτιτούρα και μπορώ να παρακολουθώ, η Κάλλας είναι μοναδική, η φωνή της ξεχύνεται αβίαστα και καθαρά σαν χείμαρρος
Divina...Unica
Da notare che, al minuto 9:03, "ben saprà", la Callas usa il registro di petto (registro modale) per eseguire i due la, "ben" e "sa", che sono degli A4 (440 Hz): il risultato drammatico è meraviglioso! 🤩🤩🤩
Qui siamo su Marte. Finalmente un recitativo distinto da un aria . Profondamente dentro la musica.offre tutto quello che ha.per forza e’ durata poco.un Genio.
Maria Callas non è solo una cantante lirica, ma anche una narratrice!
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Yes!
Superhuman Callas !!!
I’ve been a Callas fan since I listened to this recording!
I can’t enjoy other sopranos’ renditions of this aria after I listened to this recording! I mean, Cerquetti, de Osma and Mancini have nice voices but Callas has more beautiful timbre and better musicality.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 I think Dimitrova is not bad but she is only half the level of Callas. I can’t *listen* to other sopranos’ renditions of Abigaille.
@@NGTO-zt9qe Yeah... I don’t like her Turandot either. But she is still better than Sutherland who I can never enjoy because she is woofy and boring. As for Abigaille, I like Souliotis very much, she is better than Dimitrova but not as good as Callas.
@@NGTO-zt9qe Yes, Gencer is great! I think it would be fantastic if Rosa Ponselle recorded Abigaille.
@@operaclassicalmusiclover3437 I like Sutherland’s early recordings, but not her Turandot with Caballe and Pavarotti.
Merci pour ce magnifique post !
This could be my theme song!
Along with the '52 London "Norma" and the '53 Florence "Medea," this is one of those desert-island collaborations with Gui, one of the most underrated conductors of the last century.
BRAVISSIMA!!!🎶
Un capolavoro unico e vero della DIVINA!!
Parole sante.
It is not just only about the vocal prowess in in the emission and agility (that voice is like a large Toyota truck moving like a Ferrari) but the comand over the music and the text. With Callas this music makes so much sense, the voice pours out, to paraphrase Sutherland "In the way Flagstad's did, into architecturally precise melodic lines of great beauty always designed to serve Verdi, his music and the libretto.
Callas = Flagstad with higher tessiura and better coloratura.
When Callas sang a role, she became that role.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Well, they had very different voices and temperaments. Tessitura is just one of many distinct aspects of Callas' voice, while it was a dramatic instrument by nature she could almost always sing a great high E; Flagstad's voice sat much lower than that and was not always in full trust on the high C. Their styles also differed greatly, while not because of their background (Callas was a great wagnerian in her own right) but their very different takes on the music they sang: Callas was almost always fiery and dramatic, while Flagstad's voice remained, in a way, quite lyrical. I think that Callas' aural lineage goes back to Ponselle (who was indeed often compared to Flagstad, and along with Renata Tebaldi form the trinity of the most beautiful soprano voices of the last century) Muzio and the less evident Lili Lehmann, not really Flagstad. It is hard to think of a voice sister to La Divina, who had the very high dramatic instrument, plus the steely voice, plus the coloratura, plus the baritonal low notes? some people think of Sutherland while others think of the Horne/Bartoli kind of mezzo, I think both comparissons are not well thought. After years of conversation with a a dear lady who was blessed to have seen some of the greatest singers of the last century in their prime (naturally including Callas) I have been repeatedly told that in the high area of the voice (Bb, B, C, DB, D, EB, E) Callas (pre vibrato issues) sounded a lot like Nilsson (a deeper soprano than Callas but considerably higher than Traubel, Flagstad or Ponselle) while the rest of the voice was very unique and more "italianate" in the Ponselle tradition. What do you think about that?
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 About Callas' acting, yes, she was chamaleonic! Even within one same composer, would you guess her Lady M is just like her Violeta? Not at all, she was masterful in her interpretation.
@@juliovic.silvaar.2949 A chorister who sang with Callas in I Vespri Siciliani said that Callas’ voice is almost as deep as the mezzo soprano Cloe Elmo, yet she could hit the high E. I think that is true because Callas has better chest voice than some mezzo sopranos and she did sound like a mezzo soprano in some lower passages (like in mia man from Norma). And we can easily hear the similarities between Callas and Ponselle, both have very good sense of musicality and their interpretation is very similar. But I believe that Callas’ instrument is as large as Flagstad (larger than Nilsson for sure). The main difference between Flagstad and Callas is that Flagstad is a German-school soprano, she sang a lot of Wagner but Callas is more of a Italian-school soprano, most roles in her repertoire are in Italian (she even sang Isolde and Kundry in Italian). And Callas learned the bel canto technique with the legendary coloratura soprano Elvira de Hidalgo, that’s why she could sing the roles like Norma, Bolena and Lucia very well. I don’t think Callas sounds like Nilsson at all, she has much more beautiful voice than Nilsson (IMHO Callas has the most beautiful Italian-school soprano voice along with Tebaldi, Ponselle, Muzio, Bruna Rasa, Destinn, Scacciati, Gencer and Zeani).
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Callas voice had huge scuro, this is evident in her earlier recordings, although the great 59' Medea and 57' Bolena also show it, I'm told that even some of those very old recordings don't really show the the whole magnitude of her voice, something that happened with almost all large voices (including Farrell, Flagstad, Nilsson and Tebaldi). The comparisson with Elmo is perfectly fair, same with Simionato and Nicolai. Callas had precisely that kind of cavernous sound, she is after all the natural heir of Ponselle. As I have told you before, my main reference of how these singers sounded in house is my grandmother, who only heard Flagstad in the forties and fifties when she was not in her prime (although in great voice still) but heard Callas from times before her greatest known recordings. Callas voice was that of the italian dramatic soprano, while Nilsson and Flagstad were very Germanic and their main (volume) difference was in their use of different sizes in different parts of the voice, Callas could break your ears with her high notes (and extremely powerful middle) in a way similar to Nilsson while Flagstad had an oceanic middle voice and her low notes, just like Nilsson were not as explosive as Callas' who had very "wide" chest voice, rather than the more head voice dominant sound that German repertoire favours. In the end wondering about differences in size and volume between this kind of singers is mainly pettifogging, they had far more interesting things thab the sheer (although huge) size of their voices.
Impressive...Thanks for the score.😀
Maria Callas = la perfezione.
Man, Callas just casually swept this piece
Sólo Callas. Inmortal y pura esencia del Bel canto. ❤
Well, finally there is a score animation for this aria with Callas's interpretaion... there is already a score animation of this aria but they used Guleghina's rendition of this aria. This one is really great!
Viva La Divina Callas!
Guleghina is terrible!
1 Callas = 100 Guleghina
Yes, that is True!!
There used to be many score animations for Callas arias and I good size clear print but that channel was deleted for some reason. I used it to start learning some music before my condition got bad.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 she can't even stay on key the poor dear.
@@arnoldamaral7406 Guleghina = Netrebko
Pazzesco, io non ho parole : qualsiasi cosa cantava lei la trasformava in oro.
talento e studio, e ancora talento...
@@annaritamrn5673 Vero, talento e tanto studio : la Callas era la prima che arrivava alle prove ed era l'ultima che se ne andava
Ho sentito l'Abigaille della Saioa Hernadez e mi pare di poter dire che ha preso come esempio la lezione della Callas ! Davvero promettente questo soprano spagnolo, sentitelo...
Mi piace Saioa Hernandez. Adesso è la miglior soprano.
Mi piace come Norma e Leonora del Trovatore. Spero non si rovini la voce con un repertorio troppo vasto e troppo presto perché attualmente è forse l'unica speranza.
@@ritapapiri La voce della Callas non è stata rovinata! suonava benissimo anche durante il suo ultimo anno.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 parlavo della Hernandez.La Callas è Divina
@@ritapapiri Voglio sentire la Hernandez dal vivo
The sound here is fantastic. What is your source?
Armida D’amore al dolce impero has a great number of coloratura passages.
Perdonen , Callas es lo máximo , pero
quien canta Nabuco en forma espectacular es ELENA SULIOTIS
Thank you very much barone! Wow! Callas is the best Abigail. I wish modern technology was available for her to record; this recording is a bit noisy. I also like Deutekom and Hernandez in this role
I don't like Deutekom in this role. Hernandez is just so-so.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 why you don't like Deutekom here?
@@dinadossym3098 Too cold, unemotional, and her voice is too weak for this role. 1 Callas = at least 50 Deutekom as Abigaille
Yes, Deutekom is always a treat!
UNIQUE!!! FOREVER
Our Maya Regina
Sembra di vederla, chi meglio di lei? Nessuna
Esecuzione eccellente !!! Direi Epica...anche se a tratti l'orchestra è troppo forte...ma non pregiudica in alcun modo la performance!!!!!grazie
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In my opinion Lady Macbeth is the hardest Verdi's soprano role. But the hardest aria in dramatic soprano repertoire is in my opinion "Suicidio" from Ponchielli's "La Gioconda". That aria is a true suicide for soprano ;)
And Callas mastered all of them and owned all of them!
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 thats a fact !!!
La mejor versión de NABUCO es
Elena Suliotis con Tito Gobi
Escúchenla y se daran cuenta
If no trills, then forget it.
@@ms.chaewon9231No trills.
tullio serafin coniò l'aggettivo perfetto per descrivere la callas " UNA GRANDE VOCIACCIA" grande indubbiamente potente e incredibilmente espressiva, duttile come nessuno ne prima ne dopo di lei, ma rimane una voce piena di mille difetti, bassi tubati acuti striduli ecc ...in questo ruolo la migliore è stata la souliotis, senza ombra di dubbio
La suliotis mi pare migliore
Infatti ho il disco e devo dire che la voce è più bella
La Callas mi sembra forzata ed assolutamente sgraziata in molti versi .
Yah. But other sopranos cannot do what she does and if they do they fail.
Una voce veramente unica possente, piena. Come una luna piena. Canta meglio di un uomo😅
Chi sono la Urlanterova e la Scooperova ?
Why do sopranos often add "ah, si!" where it is not written?
Is it possible that Callas until 1954 had a bigger voice than Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson?
Kirsten has more volume, but Callas had bigger voice than Nillson. Callas always keep her voice on the light side...
Gui era un cane. La C. è Dio.
I could hear her not the orchestra
If that was true they would have had a disastrous balance problem! But of course it isnt.
She stopped every Performance with this aria.
It's tough but not the hardest.
It becomes hard when you hear her version
INSOPORTABLES LAS TOSES DE LA GENTE, CALLAS TE AMO
It s hard to say that she couldn t do something before 1955. Everything that written was delivered. But - only Renata Tebaldi. Everyone say that she has only beautiful voice, but I suppose that producing of a tone - it is a work too. I just don t feel that Callas did the same that Nilsson and Tebaldi did. Well they couldn t show a great coloratura.
Callas has more beautiful timbre than Nilsson.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 czcams.com/video/J_sj0bNCda8/video.html
It is hard to imagine even now from recordings how she sounded in reality)
It's better to say that Tebaldi and Nilsson didn't have any coloratura at all. They didn't have any idea of what the old school of bel canto meant. If you follow the Verdi's partitions listening to Nilsson, it's hard to believe the number of notes that she omits ! Tebaldi was unable to sing the smallest "trillo".
@@ginopietracupa4305 I have only be studying, singing and teaching the bel canto during fourty years; it's certainly not enough because we learn every day. But if you think that you can be a bel canto singer omitting all the virtuosity, you are wrong. As Callas said: "You can't imagine a great violonist or a pianist saying: I can't do those notes or this part". You must read, if don't already have, the vocal treatises of Caccini, Tosi, Garcia, Mancini, Celletti... and so on. And then, come to explain me that a bel canto singer can avoid the trillos, scales, passagi, appoggiaturas, messe di voce... which are the basis to express the affetti of the musical text.
@@ginopietracupa4305 Callas is a dramatic soprano of agility (Between Dramatic Soprano and Dramatic Coloratura Soprano), due the her bad caring of voice, we never heard her in full might (this voices gets mature only after 35 years)
Her best tone .. don't you think?.
She was always great.
What age is Callas here?
26.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 is she quite early to sing dramatic roles?
@@mariofilippeschi4855 No, because she has a dramatic voice. Callas sang a lot of extremely heavy roles before 1950, like Abigaille, Tosca, Turandot, Gioconda, Brunnhilde and Isolde. Callas and Flagstad have the LARGEST instruments in history, but Callas was trained by de Hidalgo, who taught her the bel canto technique including the chest voice and coloratura.
@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Woah. I know Hidalgo i've watched her describe how unique and gifted Callas was as her student, truly amazing treasure. Hidalgo just chilling with cigarette.
@@mariofilippeschi4855 Hidalgo is A REAL LEGENDARY COLORATURA (not the one on OMW’s channel Lol), she knows how to develop the voice, how to interpret music and how to act. She taught Callas everything, including the acting, and she is proud of Callas. Tebaldi and many other verismo-style sopranos mastered the chest voice very well, they can sing the high notes in head voice with a lot of chest voice participation; but Callas is different: Callas is more of a “sul fiato” soprano, her voice is floated in between two strong columns of breath, as Corelli said: “like a Ping Pong floating on water”. But Callas could also sing high notes with a lot of chest voice participation, like her “Questo è il bacio di Tosca”.
Leyla Gencer is the best!
No
No
Nah….it’s a big beast, but it aint the hardest one. It looks fancy but it’s written so that those runs and intervals are facilitated. Vespri Siciliani, O piagge di Sicilia beats this one hands down - shorter but much much meaner. You have to actually BE a soprano to know what is a really hard soprano aria😁
Amazing, however she should have never sung this opera and a specially at such young age. This is super special recipe reason to lose your voice at very young age which affect did happen to Callas. Can’t sing bell canto music Lucia, Gilda, Amina and Abigail same time.
She could sing this in different times, with rest. Without smoking and drinking a lot (she do this especially after Onassis), she could preserve more her instrument. I think that Maria Callas´s singing is so heavy (in question of stamina and muscular force) that even Wagner roles looks like a lullabye near this. Is unhumanly killer of her voice. Her musicianship and artistry can be superhuman, but no her body (i think that if she sing this only mature, it will be less dangerous, but still demanding. I agree with you)
Her diction unclear, her high register is shrill, quite often the orchestra covers her and she is barely heard, and her voice is uneven, besides being unpleasant.. Sometimes she suddenly roars and then sinks again... And her high notes are horrible!!!!! Especially the last one...drowning.....
This is by far not the "hardest" aria, and this is a very mediocre interpretation at best.
Listen to Cristina Deutekom, for example, and you'll hear a beautiful even voice, generous vibrato, marvelous high notes, and the words "L'humil' sciava a suplicar", which here are completely swallowed...
Deutekom? Not even close. I like her as Queen of the night but she didn't have the vocal weight for Abigaille. And Callas' high notes are much bigger than Deutekom's.
That orchestra was very loud stupid... Are u deaf? Put a fair comparison. Even in Birgit Nillson's version, the orchestra wasn't too loud.
Comparing a gargling banana like Deutekom to a genius like Callas who secured her name in the history of music is plain dumb and stupid. This is the best execution fo this part that has ever been recorded, she didnt only delivery EVERYTHING written, but also gave extra just because she could. This is a LIVE recording from 1949, did you expect digital quality? Just dumbness on top of dumbness, but I guess some ppl like you just happen to have 10 butt holes on the tip of ever finger.
You can’t argue with stupid, so why bother, Deutekom indeed !
Deutekom? Really? Callas voice is like 1 trillion times heavier than Deutekom’s light lyric soprano voice.
Callas had a very big secret: she sang the notes as written. Imagine!