# Caro Nome poll



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Which of these four Caro Nome interpretations do you prefer?

Diana Damrau:






Anna Mofo:






Maria Callas:






Joan Sutherland:


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Hard to choose. Anna has a lovely roundness and fullness to her voice. Joan is as light and airy as a feather. Maria made me cry, but the sound is not so beautiful. Diana is an also-ran in this company.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Very close but Anna Moffo for me.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Poor innocent Gilda getting duped by the Duke......and crooning about his false indenity Gualtier Malde

You are asking the guy who bought the deluxe Callas studio boxset who does that best? 

I will give the edge to Callas still in prime voice in 1956, so emotional with her heart on her sleeve yet very powerful and dramatic like a boiling cauldron of emotion, others are technically beautiful voices but lack the innate thrill and soaring style delivered by Callas


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> Poor innocent Gilda getting duped by the Duke......and crooning about his false indenity Gualtier Malde
> 
> You are asking the guy who bought the deluxe Callas studio boxset who does that best?
> 
> I will give the edge to Callas still in prime voice in 1956, so emotional with her heart on her sleeve yet very powerful and dramatic like a boiling cauldron of emotion, others are technically beautiful voices but lack the innate thrill and soaring style delivered by Callas


I agree. She got my vote too. She scores the most in the emotions front, it's so touching! What an artist!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Maria made me cry, but the sound is not so beautiful.


Yes, but this is why I voted for her. Ultimately she is the one who carries the true spirit of opera.


> Diana is an also-ran in this company.


I know, but I wanted to include at least one contemporary singer. It goes to show once more that singing is not the same these days, even when we look at our top current ladies.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> Yes, but this is why I voted for her. Ultimately she is the one who carries the true spirit of opera.


Personally I find Moffo's version just as moving. But I always find a voice as beautiful as hers moving in itself. I've always had a bit of a 'love-hate' relationship with Callas' singing. She was a genius, but on the other hand the "she's acting" argument has never been enough of an excuse for me to make up for the sometimes ugly singing. That doesn't apply here though because I like her Caro Nome (and Gilda) very much.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Diva land...........

Callas and Sutherland enjoying good times


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Here's one for the history books. 1968: After years of intense rivalry Tebaldi and Callas let bygones be bygones and give each other a big hug. Everyone present was moved by the sight of it and some had to fight back tears.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> Here's one for the history books. 1968: After years of intense rivalry Tebaldi and Callas let bygones be bygones and give each other a big hug. Everyone present was moved by the sight of it and some had to fight back tears.


Wasn't the supposed rivalry something constructed by the media rather than something really felt by the two sopranos? I've read statements in support of the latter in biographies.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> Wasn't the supposed rivalry something constructed by the media rather than something really felt by the two sopranos? I've read statements in support of the latter in biographies.


It all started in 1950 or 1951 in Rio de Janeiro. La Scala was there for a benefit concert that would include performances of both Callas and Tebaldi. Both artists - so said Maria - had agreed that neither one of them would sing any encores after their segment. Tebaldi however sang two encores after hers. Renata later said that there had been no such agreement and that Callas could have done the same thing anyway since she sang AFTER Tebaldi's segment.

Later at dinner there was an incident when Callas - talking in a loud voice to make sure that everyone could hear it told Tebaldi what she thought was wrong with her Violetta and that she shouldn't be singing the role at all. Callas stayed in Rio to sing Tosca while Tebaldi sang Maddalena in Andrea Chenier in Sao Paolo. Callas had a vocal mishap and the audience reacted noisily. The impresario called Tebaldi asking that she return to Rio to sing the remaining Toscas. Upon hearing about this Callas verbally and physically attacked the impressario giving him a knee kick to the stomach. She returned to Italy saying (and probably really believing) that the whole thing had been planned for a long time. But Tebaldi had of course no idea what had happened.

Needless to say that the media (especially in Italy) loved everything about it and did their best to put gasoline to the fire. Fans of both sopranos got involved as well - trying to ruin their fave's rival's performances with booeing, throwing stuff on stage and so on. Tebaldi hated having to work in such an atmosphere and ledt La Scala for the Met. Callas mercylessly attacked Tebaldi in an interview with Time magazine making her infamous "comparing me with Tebaldi is like comparing Champagne with Coca Cola" remark. She also attacked Renata's vulnerability as a woman saying "the poor thing lacks a good husband." And she said that Renata had left La Scala to avoid a confrontation with her "because Tebaldi is a woman without a backbone." The only thing that Tebaldi said in return was, "It could be, but I have something that she doesn't have: a heart."

In fact, Tebaldi rarely said anything negative about Callas to the press and seldom replied to Callas' comments. As the years went by Maria calmed down a bit and even started to make some nice comments about Tebaldi's artistry. In 1968 Tebaldi sang Adriana Lecouvreur at the Met for a wildly enthusiastic audience. Callas was there and joined the standing ovation for Renata. She came backstage and asked Rudolf Bing to ask Renata if she could meet her. "Sure" said Renata. Upon seeing Tebaldi Maria said, "I wish you a thousand of these successes and much happiness." The two divas then gave each other a big hug and everyone in the room had tears in their eyes.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> It all started in 1950 or 1951 in Rio de Janeiro. La Scala was there for a benefit concert that would include performances of both Callas and Tebaldi. Both artists - so said Maria - had agreed that neither one of them would sing any encores after their segment. Tebaldi however sang two encores after hers. Renata later said that there had been no such agreement and that Callas could have done the same thing anyway since she sang AFTER Tebaldi's segment.
> 
> Later at dinner there was an incident when Callas - talking in a loud voice to make sure that everyone could hear it told Tebaldi what she thought was wrong with her Violetta and that she shouldn't be singing the role at all. Callas stayed in Rio to sing Tosca while Tebaldi sang Maddalena in Andrea Chenier in Sao Paolo. Callas had a vocal mishap and the audience reacted noisily. The impresario called Tebaldi asking that she return to Rio to sing the remaining Toscas. Upon hearing about this Callas verbally and physically attacked the impressario giving him a knee kick to the stomach. She returned to Italy saying (and probably really believing) that the whole thing had been planned for a long time. But Tebaldi had of course no idea what had happened.
> 
> ...


Wow, nice story...! Thanks!
From my humble standpoint (and I do have recordings and DVDs of both) I find Callas better than Tebaldi. Some of the Tebaldi performances for me seem too cold and passionless. Maybe I'm saying something stupid and if the fans still keep the rivalry at heart I'll need to watch out for rotten tomatoes and eggs thrown my way, but at least in the material that I have, I've always found Maria to be the more passionate, more colorful, better actress of the two, although with some vocal mishaps that Tebaldi didn't seem to have as often. While Maria's singing can be a mixed bag with some unpleasant shrills, and while her voice deteriorated a lot in late recordings, I think that her stage presence and uncanny ability to read the emotional content of a role and fully display it, vastly compensates for the vocal flaws.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Wow, nice story...! Thanks!
> From my humble standpoint (and I do have recordings and DVDs of both) I find Callas better than Tebaldi. Some of the Tebaldi performances for me seem too cold and passionless.


I recently got out a CD of arias by Tebaldi and this is what struck me too. I'll forgive Callas a lot for the way she makes me feel.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> Wow, nice story...! Thanks!
> From my humble standpoint (and I do have recordings and DVDs of both) I find Callas better than Tebaldi.


I don't. It's hard to compare them actually since their voices are so different and Tebaldi rarely (if ever) sang any belcanto. But for me both of them are giants with Tebaldi having the more beautiful voice of the two. Callas was the better actress, but I don't find Tebaldi's performances cold at all. There's an audio of Tebaldi singing Tosca on Met player that I listened to awhile ago and she's so intense that she rivals Callas on her famous recording.

Anyway - the Callas/Tebaldi rivalry with it's happy end makes for a nice little story.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Perhaps easier if I responded by saying which one I least enjoyed, if I may. Probably Joan Sutherland.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

my *favorite* caro nome remains without a doubt Gianna d'Angelo live rendition on the Gala Label highlights recording (also w/ Alfredo Kraus & Aldo Protti- and FM Pradelli in the pit; I believe in Trieste, 1961) She is *superb.* I believe the complete live recording may have once been available on the Melodram label, but I'm not 100% sure.

This live recording is not to be confused with her studio Philips Label Rigoletto recording (with Capecchi & Tucker & again Pradelli) , where she sounds lovely but decidedly uninvolved...


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I'll have to pass on this one since I prefer Cotrubas to all four of the others.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Was just browsing through some old threads and found this and wanted to comment on it -- sorry for necro'ing the thread! 
Anyway, this topic is particularly interesting to me because it's the very aria I wrote a long, involved email about to my mom to explain the concept of musicality, specifically with regards to the cadenza. While I used different versions for Damrau (choosing the live version), the Moffo, Sutherland and Callas versions listed were both in my email (though that Sutherland link is dead now), and I additionally had versions by Dessay, Caballe, Olga Pasichnyk, and Laura Claycomb.

In any event, for me this aria must be a reflection of an infatuated (as opposed to in love) teen girl. This means the color must be a bit lightened and be very clean and pure, and sung perhaps with a touch of ... say, giddy enthusiasm.

In any event, both my mom and I agreed that Dame Joan's version was the best, both interpretively and from a purely technical standpoint, and Caballe's easily the worst (tone far too weighty, too much emphasis on singing and not enough on interpretation). Dessay and Callas were tied for second for me -- both nailed the "young infatuated girl" aspect (listen to how Natalie sings the cadenza: 



 - the repeat of the first stanza is sung lighter and breathlessly), although Maria's tone is necessarily weightier than that of Natalie.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Well, I think that in technical terms, Maria Callas is the one that respects most the score. Just take a look at the fantastic scale sung as written by Verdi:

http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhr8278/large/sco10094.html#95

However, I do agree that, regardless of her artistry, she was not the right voice for Gilda. Neither was Sutherland, though she was closer. Overall, between the choices at hand, I'd say Sutherland.

In the role, I prefer Lina Pagliughi. Singing "Caro Nome", this is an intriguing performance, for a variety of reasons :


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

From the above choices, I'd say Callas...yet, my favorite Gilda is probably Gianna d'Angelo

This live recording (excerpts) of hers is terrific.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rigoletto-Verdi/dp/B000006O26

Her studio recording- no longer in the catalogue- sadly is not so good, as she sounds lovely but inconsequential. (I think it was a Philips pressing).


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

This was also the first recording of Kraus, as Ducca. A great opera evening.

Gianna d'Angelo had in her singing the purity (and frailty) of a piece of Venetian crystal. Her trills were angelic, and her rendition really moving. The volume regulations were very classy. The top notes were perhaps not as good as the rest of the performance.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

another (more recent) Gilda I loved was Maureen O'Flynn- when I heard her in 2001 at the Covent Garden Richard Tucker Gala- her Caro Nome was exquisite, poised, but not void of dramatic intent, and she deservedly won herself the loudest and longest ovation of the evening...if I recall correctly, she was a late replacement for another singer, who was unable to perform.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Here's my best Caro nome


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