# Ben io t'invenni/Salgo Gia Contest (One Round)



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

I'm not making it easy for you 

Julia Varady





Elena Souliotis





Maria Callas





Ghena Dimitrova


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I have listened a lot to both Dimitrova and Callas in this aria over the years. Dimitrova has an edge because she sounds bigger and more thrilling to me than Callas, though I am sure a lot of this is because the orchestra overwhelms Callas in this old mono recording. As it is I have listened many more times to Dimitrova than Callas in this aria. The others were new to me but didn't sway me.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I like all of the singers here, but it’s no contest for me - Callas!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

MAS said:


> I like all of the singers here


I thought it was more fair to do it all in one round, since I only selected very good singers, and it seems out of place to lose in the first round when you might have been the second best and just been unlucky enough to run into the tournament winner before anyone else (real tournaments tend to give people rankings or "seeds" based on previous performance to prevent this, it's a somewhat complicated process, but it cuts down on a lot of those scenarios).



> but it's no contest for me - Callas!


In the late 40s/early 50s, her voice was so agile it could dodge bullets in The Matrix.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> I like all of the singers here, but it's no contest for me - Callas!


Yup.

(Shortest review ever. After spending almost three-quarters of an hour with this I need to get on with my life.)


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

A long listen, but a very easy choice.

I actually left Callas till last, but I doubt I'll ever hear this aria so brilliantly realised. If you follow along with the score. the accuracy of he singing, the way she articulates all the fioriture is incredible. She also sings the _cavatina_ with a Bellinian grace none of the others can quite manage, affording a wonderful contrast to the demonic force of the _cabaletta_, which again she renders with stunning accuracy (that rising set of trills is amazing - Dimitrova doens't even attempt them). Even through the vagaries of the recorded sound, Callas stands supreme.

If I were to put the rest in any order, it would probably go
Souliotis
Varady
Dimitrova


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> I'm not making it easy for you
> 
> Julia Varady
> 
> ...


I was the only dissenter in a well run contest. I should explain my choice better. I did a Youtube/ Toastmaster presentation on Nabucco and the Dimitrova video from the opera performance worked best and I must have listened to it well over a dozen times, so it is a sentimental favorite of mine, although Callas is supreme in her bad recording of this. Some of the limited recordings of her early years don't bother me so, but here her voice gets lost in the orchestral accompaniment. I can see why everyone voted for Callas. I am one of the few on our forum who is a fan of Dimitrova for some reason, although I am pretty certain Callas only sang the role once and it was a mainstay of Dimitrova's career. I venture to say she was one of the few singers, and possibly the only one, who could sing a lot of performances of this role and not have it damage her voice. I love her huge high notes with that fast, exciting vibrato. Cheap thrills can move me.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I am one of the few on our forum who is a fan of Dimitrova for some reason


She is a first rate singer imo. I think she gets less attention because she is never the best, but consistently makes between the 2nd and 5th best rendition of almost everything she touches (which, if you think about it, is actually even MORE impressive).



> although I am pretty certain Callas only sang the role once and it was a mainstay of Dimitrova's career. I love her huge high notes with that fast, exciting vibrato. Cheap thrills can move me.


uh...nothing cheap about it my friend. This role is HARD! (the original singer, Verdi's wife Giuseppina Streponi) permanently wrecked her voice during the first round of performances.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I was the only dissenter in a well run contest. I should explain my choice better. I did a Youtube/ Toastmaster presentation on Nabucco and the Dimitrova video from the opera performance worked best and I must have listened to it well over a dozen times, so it is a sentimental favorite of mine, although Callas is supreme in her bad recording of this. Some of the limited recordings of her early years don't bother me so, but here her voice gets lost in the orchestral accompaniment. I can see why everyone voted for Callas. I am one of the few on our forum who is a fan of Dimitrova for some reason, although I am pretty certain Callas only sang the role once and it was a mainstay of Dimitrova's career. I venture to say she was one of the few singers, and possibly the only one, who could sing a lot of performances of this role and not have it damage her voice. I love her huge high notes with that fast, exciting vibrato. Cheap thrills can move me.


True, Callas sang Abigaille in _one production _ in Naples in 1949, but she sang three performances.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I was the only dissenter in a well run contest. I should explain my choice better. I did a Youtube/ Toastmaster presentation on Nabucco and the Dimitrova video from the opera performance worked best and I must have listened to it well over a dozen times, so it is a sentimental favorite of mine, although Callas is supreme in her bad recording of this. Some of the limited recordings of her early years don't bother me so, but here her voice gets lost in the orchestral accompaniment. I can see why everyone voted for Callas. I am one of the few on our forum who is a fan of Dimitrova for some reason, although I am pretty certain Callas only sang the role once and it was a mainstay of Dimitrova's career. I venture to say she was one of the few singers, and possibly the only one, who could sing a lot of performances of this role and not have it damage her voice. I love her huge high notes with that fast, exciting vibrato. Cheap thrills can move me.


As MAS stated, just the one series of performances and it seems it was a conscious decision not to sing it again. Callas called the role a voice wrecker. When Caballé told her she was considering singing it, Callas said,

"It would be like putting a precious Baccarat glass in a wooden box and shaking it. It would shatter. Remember, Montserrat, it's not for you."

Caballé heeded the advice and never sang it.

After all, as Balaika Boy said, its creator Giuseppina Strepponi wrecked her voice singing it and was sung out by the time she was 30. Souliotis made her career out of it and was sung out in just a few years. Dimitrova must have had a voice of steel. It has to be admitted, though, that technically, she doesn't have the agility and smudges or simplifies all the coloratura. It's a near impossible role to bring off.


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## JanacekTheGreat (Feb 26, 2021)

Tsaraslondon said:


> As MAS stated, just the one series of performances and it seems it was a conscious decision not to sing it again. Callas called the role a voice wrecker. When Caballé told her she was considering singing it, Callas said,
> 
> "It would be like putting a precious Baccarat glass in a wooden box and shaking it. It would shatter. Remember, Montserrat, it's not for you."
> 
> ...


Nothing is too difficult for our diva Netrebko.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> As MAS stated, just the one series of performances and it seems it was a conscious decision not to sing it again. Callas called the role a voice wrecker. When Caballé told her she was considering singing it, Callas said,
> 
> "It would be like putting a precious Baccarat glass in a wooden box and shaking it. It would shatter. Remember, Montserrat, it's not for you."
> 
> ...


The way Callas sang the role, with such savagery, it sure would've wrecked her voice - "Abigaille has to shout," she said. She was an artist who couldn't hold back, and she sang it with body and soul. That high E-flat in the confrontation with Nabucco is staggering in its attack and intensity.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

JanacekTheGreat said:


> Nothing is too difficult for our diva Netrebko.


She does have balls!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

...really? ONE other people voted for someone other than Callas? I thought I chose good competitors


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> ...really? ONE other people voted for someone other than Callas? I thought I chose good competitors


What can I say? While other singers are good, Callas is great !


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> A long listen, but a very easy choice.
> 
> I actually left Callas till last, but I doubt I'll ever hear this aria so brilliantly realised. If you follow along with the score. the accuracy of he singing, the way she articulates all the fioriture is incredible. She also sings the _cavatina_ with a Bellinian grace none of the others can quite manage, affording a wonderful contrast to the demonic force of the _cabaletta_, which again she renders with stunning accuracy (that rising set of trills is amazing - Dimitrova doens't even attempt them). Even through the vagaries of the recorded sound, Callas stands supreme.
> 
> ...


I agree with this. The main thing that struck me this time in listening to Callas recording of this was how much the recitative actually meant something for once. It truly is recited. All four were very good renditions of the aria (and that is even more remarkable when you consider that Varady's voice is somewhat on the light side for the role).

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> I agree with this. The main thing that struck me this time in listening to Callas recording of this was how much the recitative actually meant something for once. It truly is recited. All four were very good renditions of the aria (and that is even more remarkable when you consider that Varady's voice is somewhat on the light side for the role).
> 
> N.


Maybe because I've heard her only infrequently, and never in this rep, Varady came as a pleasant surprise. A superb singer and musician. No wonder Fischer-D. married her.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> ...really? ONE other people voted for someone other than Callas? I thought I chose good competitors


Well, it's not that they're bad. In fact they all acquit themselves very well. It's just that Callas is better.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

A very tight contest indeed! Varady is one huge surprise for me - never would expect her to handle this monster of an aria so well. It's not only about the aria proper, you'd expect most soprano singers to get out of breath and with no voice left by the end of the recitative! What was Verdi thinking... 
In the Suliotis - Dimitrova pairing I would probably have choosen the former despite the fact performing such heavy roles so early in the career has took the toll on her voice and it's not a very pleasant thought.
Dimitrova is of course the force of nature (which I witnessed live in Turandot) - extremely powerful yet somewhat lacking in other departments - for example, some of her leaps between registers come out a bit clumsy... but let's not forget we have the last contestant...
Callas! This one recording is a jaw-dropping experience and I only can applaud Callas who knew on that the roles such as Abigaille should be avoided that early in the career no matter how successful were those few performances. Still, it's a valuable gem and a reminder that voices that could do anything really existed. Now if we have the system in place able to recognize such voices in the future... is another question...



BalalaikaBoy said:


> ...really? ONE other people voted for someone other than Callas? I thought I chose good competitors


With the three contestants (sans Maria) you'd probably have a very different outcome! I would agree to those placing Suliotis 2nd, Varady 3rd and Dimitrova 4th - but remember! there is indeed a very tight space between the 2nd and the 4th places here in my opinion!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Azol said:


> A very tight contest indeed! Varady is one huge surprise for me - never would expect her to handle this monster of an aria so well. It's not only about the aria proper, you'd expect most soprano singers to get out of breath and with no voice left by the end of the recitative! What was Verdi thinking...
> In the Suliotis - Dimitrova pairing I would probably have choosen the former despite the fact performing such heavy roles so early in the career has took the toll on her voice and it's not a very pleasant thought.
> Dimitrova is of course the force of nature (which I witnessed live in Turandot) - extremely powerful yet somewhat lacking in other departments - for example, some of her leaps between registers come out a bit clumsy... but let's not forget we have the last contestant...
> Callas! This one recording is a jaw-dropping experience and I only can applaud Callas who knew on that the roles such as Abigaille should be avoided that early in the career no matter how successful were those few performances. Still, it's a valuable gem and a reminder that voices that could do anything really existed. Now if we have the system in place able to recognize such voices in the future... is another question...
> ...


Ya know, I'm gonna have to make another thread for that haha


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Like certain sounds I hear in voices like Gheorghiu, Zeani and Steber (to name just 3 examples), I am also taken with that incomparable Callas sound. It just gets to my gut. It isn't the prettiest vioice, it just has something in it that is extremely attractive to me. And believe me I am not one of those many Callas groupies on this particular website. I just hear what I hear, and it affects me or it doesn't. Callas' voice just stands out as incredibly appealing to me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> And believe me I am not one of those many Callas groupies on this particular website.


Heaven forfend.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> And believe me I am not one of those many Callas groupies on this particular website.


And yet, your chosen moniker would belie that!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

MAS said:


> And yet, your chosen moniker would belie that!


Point taken.
(And my hooded sweat shirt with her face on it.) I guess in a way I plead guilty.


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