# Single Bonus Round: In Questa Reggia:Roselle, Borkh and Scacciati



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Viva wanted me to enter Anne Roselle into the In Questa Reggia contest but I didn't have anyone to go with her. Then my only opera buddy suggested Inge Borkh, who blew me away. Shaafee Shameem suggested Scacciati, who is really wonderful. I think you will have a hard time choosing. If you want me to do an extra round with the winner of the Nilsson /Cigna round let me know.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Made a mistake. So happy I was able to post this. Maybe things are better.


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Made a mistake. So happy I was able to post this. Maybe things are better.


The Borkh video is unavailable


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Shaafee Shameem said:


> The Borkh video is unavailable


 You can play it in the US. Try this.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Although I've probably had enough of this aria lately to last me the rest of my life, these three ladies, all excellent, have been worth the endurance test. It's hard to choose a winner when the qualities of the three recordings are so different, so I won't try. I just want to report a feeling of genuine depression over the fact that of all the sopranos we've been hearing, the only ones still living are deservedly bringing up the rear in this horse race. When we keep on discovering superb singers of the ever-more-distant past, a clear picture of our own operatic plight emerges, and it isn't pretty. Nina Stemme, anyone? (Hey, it's just an attempt at humor...)


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

^^ If you really want humour, think Anna Netrebko as Turandot


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Becca said:


> ^^ If you really want humour, think Anna Netrebko as Turandot


I wouldn't want to have to choose between them, but Stemme is wobblier.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Although I've probably had enough of this aria lately to last me the rest of my life, these three ladies, all excellent, have been worth the endurance test. It's hard to choose a winner when the qualities of the three recordings are so different, so I won't try. I just want to report a feeling of genuine depression over the fact that of all the sopranos we've been hearing, the only ones still living are deservedly bringing up the rear in this horse race. When we keep on discovering superb singers of the ever-more-distant past, a clear picture of our own operatic plight emerges, and it isn't pretty. Nina Stemme, anyone? (Hey, it's just an attempt at humor...)


Wait till you hear my next contest. Some more wonderful oldies!!!! I should have waited a couple of weeks for this extra round. Sorry.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Gosh! I enjoyed all three and I really can't decide which I prefer. On this showing the Borkh recording (I assume this is taken from the complete set) would be worth investigating. This is also in the best sound, but I don't want the sound to influence my decision, nor the fact that Rochelle's version is with piano only.

I've tried them all again, and am giving it to Scacciati, but only by a very small margin. All three are in a different league from anyone attempting Turandot now.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Gosh! I enjoyed all three and I really can't decide which I prefer. On this showing the Borkh recording (I assume this is taken from the complete set) would be worth investigating. This is also in the best sound, but I don't want the sound to influence my decision, nor the fact that Rochelle's version is with piano only.
> 
> I've tried them all again, and am giving it to Scacciati, but only by a very small margin. All three are in a different league from anyone attempting Turandot now.


My friend LOVED the Borkh complete recording. Calaf is a great role for Del Monaco I would think. These ladies are an embarrassment of riches, which is why I thought we needed an extra round. I'm glad you really got into them, friend!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

NOTE ABOUT FUTURE CONTESTS: This Turandot contest has given me the idea that on big contests like this and the next one, that it is good to cleanse the palate as it were and break up the rounds with different music so your ears remain fresh. I will tell you in my notes if I am going to break up a contest. I know some beloved listeners can get tired of hearing a piece. Let me know if you object to this.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I can't see how it's possibe for anyone to vote for poor Roselle. Such a basic delivery with a piano accompaniment while the others get an orchestra. Her poor voice sounds weak even if it probably is really not. If I were she I would be pretty upset.
Between Borkh and Scacciati there is no doubt. Borkh sounds too tame.
Of course all three are the second stringers and I wonder why even bother when the voice of Nilsson rings through my head with comparison. Some singers "own" certain arias. This one is Birgit's!!


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Roselle: I've already commented on her performance elsewhere, but again the most notable thing for me is the combination of warmth and squillo in her voice, especially the top. It's amazing that she sang the gamut of lyric roles, and debuted as Musetta and often sang Mimi. She's a lot like Kirsten in that her voice is bright and clear, but always warm, and seemingly indestructible. I don't think Kirsten could have quite pulled of Turandot, but she certainly could sing Minnie, which is almost as challenging. In comparison to other singers we've heard so far, Roselle outshines most of them. I much prefer her to Nilsson, for example.

Borkh: I've always liked this complete set of Turandot. Borkh and Tebaldi make a good contrast as Turandot and Liu, though Tebaldi's Liu sounds much less fragile that you may be used to. Like Cigna, Borkh has a little trouble with the tessitura, but in the middle she's excellent, and she adds a lot of venom to the "o principe che a lunghe carovane" section.

Scacciati: An interesting voice that isn't ostentatiously big totally fulfills the needs of the role. Scacciati has a fiery temperament, and I like the passion with which she sings the aria and the hint of chest she uses at the bottom. Her phrasing isn't as controlled as Roselle's, but her high notes are just as good. A really wonderful performance.

Like _Tristan_, I just can't listen to an inadequate performance of this opera. The music is so demanding that if the singer is not Golden Age, it's just screaming. As others have remarked, the sopranos here are able to do the music justice in a way that the more recent singers cannot. I defy anyone to say that audiences today actually would prefer to hear Stemme wobble and scream her way through this piece rather than hear Roselle. Roselle was the premiere Turandot in Germany. How much more authentic does it get? The only reason for not singing this like she does is that nobody can, and nobody can figure out how to train a singer so that she can.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Roselle: I've already commented on her performance elsewhere, but again the most notable thing for me is the combination of warmth and squillo in her voice, especially the top. It's amazing that she sang the gamut of lyric roles, and debuted as Musetta and often sang Mimi. She's a lot like Kirsten in that her voice is bright and clear, but always warm, and seemingly indestructible. I don't think Kirsten could have quite pulled of Turandot, but she certainly could sing Minnie, which is almost as challenging. In comparison to other singers we've heard so far, Roselle outshines most of them. I much prefer her to Nilsson, for example.
> 
> Borkh: I've always liked this complete set of Turandot. Borkh and Tebaldi make a good contrast as Turandot and Liu, though Tebaldi's Liu sounds much less fragile that you may be used to. Like Cigna, Borkh has a little trouble with the tessitura, but in the middle she's excellent, and she adds a lot of venom to the "o principe che a lunghe carovane" section.
> 
> ...


I am so happy you saw this and commented!!!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Roselle, unfortunately, sounds mediocre; I like Borkh generally, but Scacciati at a slower tempo handles everything more impressively to my ears.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Roselle displays way too uncomfortable register passages so I rule her out.
Inge Borkh is very well-known performance, definitely one of my top choices.
However, Scacciati gives even more impressive run, I like the glimpses of sound of her chest register and the way she manages to build the tension at this slow pace. Her diction is also exemplary. Very impressive indeed!


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

All 3 great Turandots, 2 of them creators, Roselle in Germany and Scacciati in England. I prefer all 3 to the contenders from the previous round.
Of the three, Borkh is the least effective in articulating the different moods of the aria, although her vengeful interpretation is intense. She also has some issues with both the lowermost and uppermost phrases in the aria.
Roselle has the most lyrical interpretation with a vibrant top. The tessitura doesn’t seem high for her, and she does a lovely portamento on the “Principessa Lou Ling” section. However, she too, like Borkh is quite weak in the lower notes. We should remember though that she is 57 here. Her German recordings catch her in her youthful prime, and the scales may have tipped in her favour had those recordings been used. Nevertheless, hers is the most tender, noble Turandot of all perhaps.
Stacciati is the best here. Hers is a more passionate Turandot than Roselle, and the opening is most impressive. She lightens the tone and sings tenderly for the “Principessa Lou Ling section” though, and crescendoes on the following declamatory phrases. The top is also perfectly controlled, and unlike the others her low notes are strong, and makes her “la sua fresca voce” and “mai, nessun, nessun m’avra” very powerful. Hence, she earns my vote.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

I voted for Roselle but didn't like this piano accompanied version too much. The much earlier version with orchestral accompaniment at the beginning of this video is far superior.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Op.123 said:


> I voted for Roselle but didn't like this piano accompanied version too much. The much earlier version with orchestral accompaniment at the beginning of this video is far superior.


Youtube search is so inadequate.


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

Op.123 said:


> I voted for Roselle but didn't like this piano accompanied version too much. The much earlier version with orchestral accompaniment at the beginning of this video is far superior.


I might have voted for Roselle, had that recording been used.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Here's the other Roselle version.




It's in German.

Honestly, I just don't hear what others do in her later recording. She sounds great to me. The bottom is a little patchy, but the middle and top are stupendous. Her phrasing is far superior to any rendition I've ever heard by Nilsson, she's miles ahead of LIndstrom, she makes Marton sound like a screamer, Sutherland is woofy in comparison, and Callas harsh and wobbly. Borkh is better competition, though Roselle even at 54 has a more secure, more brilliant top. Obviously, she's younger and fresher in the more noisily recorded studio version from 1927.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Here's the other Roselle version.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I liked Rochelle and thought she sounded superb, though I preferred Scacciati.

On the other hand, this doesn't sound harsh or wobbly to me.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> I can't see how it's possibe for anyone to vote for poor Roselle. Such a basic delivery with a piano accompaniment while the others get an orchestra. Her poor voice sounds weak even if it probably is really not. If I were she I would be pretty upset.
> Between Borkh and Scacciati there is no doubt. Borkh sounds too tame.
> Of course all three are the second stringers and I wonder why even bother when the voice of Nilsson rings through my head with comparison. Some singers "own" certain arias. This one is Birgit's!!


Second stringers? Really? Light years ahead of anyone singing today or even in the last ten years. Second stringers indeed. Words almost fail me. Roselle, even with a basic piano accompaniment, would be a godsend today. Borkh ( too tame?) is divine as is Scacciati. We are indeed picking at nits if we find any of these singers less than adequate.


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