# Single Round. Italian Verismo Song: Amuri Amuri. Ponselle,dal Monte, Koshetz



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

This is one of my favorite songs but I'm not sure of it's reception here. It is definitely not a typical song. One thing you can say is all three versions are very very different. At the beginning of Ponselle's version she will tell what the song is about in her baritone voice.




Rosa Ponselle sings Amuri Amuri




Toti del Monte




Amuri, Amuri (Recorded 1940) · Nina Koshetz · Sicilian Song


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I love that photo of Ponselle as you can see how astonishingly wide the mask of her face was which likely helped her to have a voice just a hair less in volume than Flagstad. I love the way Ponselle throws herself into this slice of Italian country life and the amazing things she does with her chest voice. She could "let her hair down" when the music called for it and you cannot say she was not emotionally involved with the music!!!!!. The other two singers were new to me and also did very individual and wonderful takes on this odd song.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

That is surely a cigarette and whiskey voice! The _tessitura _of the song sounds a tide high for Ponselle at the beginning, but the chiding is surely _Napuletano, _and the trills pure Ponselle.

Ugh! For dal Monte - the recoding makes the voice too sharp. She reminds me of Lila Kedrova in “Zorba the Greek.”

Koshetz to me sounds like a second-rate voice, at least in this recording, though she does a good job.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

That is surely a cigarette and whiskey voice! The _tessitura _of the sound sounds a tide high for Ponselle at the beginning, but the chiding is surely _Napuletano, _and the trills pure Ponselle.

Ugh! For dal Monte - the recording makes the voice too sharp. She reminds me of Lila Kedrova in “Zorba the Greek.”

Koshetz to me sounds like a second-rate voice, at least in this recording, though she does a good job, especially the dynamics.

Ponselle for the voice and artistry.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Duplicate post!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> That is surely a cigarette and whiskey voice! The _tessitura _of the sound sounds a tide high for Ponselle at the beginning, but the chiding is surely _Napuletano, _and the trills pure Ponselle.
> 
> Ugh! For dal Monte - the recoding makes the voice too sharp. She reminds me of Lila Kedrova in “Zorba the Greek.”
> 
> ...


Mas, what do you mean my recoding? Cleaning it up for CD sound?


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Mas, what do you mean my recoding? Cleaning it up for CD sound?


Nope, there’s an “r” missing: recording.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> Nope, there’s an “r” missing: recording.


THAT is the only grammar mistake you have EVER made 😂 I cannot say the same, friend. Thanks for all the times you caught my mistakes in the past.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> THAT is the only grammar mistake you have EVER made 😂 I cannot say the same, friend. Thanks for all the times you caught my mistakes in the past. There was another since corrected.


Thanks, but I make many mistakes, especially typographical ones, but most often catch them before anyone else does. Alas, not this time! LOL.

Sometimes, when I re-read old posts, I catch some mistakes I made years ago. Thankfully, this iteration of the software allows one to go into a post and make corrections.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> Thanks, but I make many mistakes, especially typographical ones, but most often catch them before anyone else does. Alas, not this time! LOL.
> 
> Sometimes, when I re-read old posts, I catch some mistakes I made years ago. Thankfully, this iteration of the software allows one to go into a post and make corrections.


Spelling is not so good with me but my mother was an English teacher and thus my grammar sense is very good and I never ever say " me and him" or " it was alright with her and I". These types of errors in grammar are the norm in English. My mother shudders in her grave.


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## PaulFranz (May 7, 2019)

Enzo's wife takes this one. Rosa sounds like she's dying. I'd have voted for her in her prime.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

A Sicilian dialect ? OK, found the reasonable translation of the part of it here: Amuri, Amuri/O Love! O Love! - Italian Folk Songs - Italiansrus.com


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

This seems relevant to my thread about songs which achieved a folk song status. The site I linked above doesn't bother mentioning the composer. Which is a woman, unusual for the past. Geni Sadero, true name Eugenia Scarpa, Italian soprano, pianist, and composer, 1886 - 1961.

Also, the dialect makes it appear folksy.

I like the deep voice of Rosa Ponselle. I voted for her. I just object to the tearfulness of it. Even people who are happily enamored might get distracted from doing their Rosary ;-)


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

The name of Nina Koshetz resembled to me the name of Slovak town Košice ( ˈkɔʃitsɛ ) , so I checked where she came from. Wikipedia says she was a Russian-Ukrainian, later American opera soprano. Eastern Slovakia borders with Ukraine, so it makes sense. Or, alternatively, maybe some of her ancestors was making baskets.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I know this song from Ponselle's version (and I think Gobbi's). I look forward to hearing other versions. 

Ponselle's voice doesn't sound anywhere as rich and beautiful as when she was in her prime and her intonation is frustratingly off in places. However, her trill works and she does the spoken parts well. I doubt I will vote for this though due to its shortcomings.

Dal Monte fares somewhat better than Ponselle when it comes to intonation, but her Neapolitan isn't great. This is nice, but I'm not taken.

Koshetz also has intonation problems! (Or is this an atonal bit of music and I never realised it!?)

I'm not sure I really like any of these. More go to version of this would be the one with Gobbi and so I'm not voting.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I know this song from Ponselle's version (and I think Gobbi's). I look forward to hearing other versions.
> 
> Ponselle's voice doesn't sound anywhere as rich and beautiful as when she was in her prime and her intonation is frustratingly off in places. However, her trill works and she does the spoken parts well. I doubt I will vote for this though due to its shortcomings.
> 
> ...


(Or is this an atonal bit of music and I never realised it!?) O.. M.. GGG 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Hilarious! Ponselle's glory days are behind her here but she turns it all out in a very emotional performance. I love those low notes that are both chest and head at the same time it sounds like. Gobbi did not turn up in a search for this aria. Darn it. I don't think this one merits a second round. You made my morning.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> (Or is this an atonal bit of music and I never realised it!?) O.. M.. GGG 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Hilarious! Ponselle's glory days are behind her here but she turns it all out in a very emotional performance. I love those low notes that are both chest and head at the same time it sounds like. Gobbi did not turn up in a search for this aria. Darn it. I don't think this one merits a second round. You made my morning.


Don't bother with a second round. (I'm not sure there are any worthy versions other than the Gobbi and I'm always happy to please.)

N.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

My search shows Renato Capecchi. Was he a star ?


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Renato Capecchi was a well known baritone when I was going to the opera in my youth.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

That Ponselle is past her prime doesn't bother me. She puts the song across with a naturalism that doesn't say "opera singer." The others sound like opera singers slumming.


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