# Round One: Trovatore-Miserere d' un'alma: Tebaldi and Sutherland



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

While this aria is close to D'amor sull'ali rosee in the scene it is worlds away in what it calls for from the soprano. It is technically a duet but any good tenor can sing their part in this aria easily whereas the same cannot be said for sopranos as it lies quite low. Let's only CONSIDER THE SOPRANO in this aria then. Six contestants and winners against Callas.




Verdi: Il Trovatore / Act 4 - "Miserere d'un'alma" · Renata Tebaldi · Mario del Monaco · Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino · L'Orchestre du Grand Théâtre de Genève · Alberto Erede




Verdi: Il Trovatore / Act 4 - "Miserere d'un'alma" · Joan Sutherland · Luciano Pavarotti · The London Opera Chorus · National Philharmonic Orchestra · Richard Bonynge


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

At nearly 60 Sutherland's voice had acquired the size in general and strength specifically down low to do this aria justice. At the climax of this aria her voice was simply enormous. I really like Tebaldi a lot in this.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Of course I am wrong, but that did not sound like Pavarotti. I thought I knew his sounds quite well but I would have flunked this time. Of course it was partly offstage and perhaps harder to distinguish.
As for La Stupenda, her voice comes up quite deep and she sounds old to me.
I am not normally a del Monaco fan but from the little I heard I clearly preferred his voice to that of Pav's.
Same is true of Tebaldi who sang beautifully, if a bit slower than normal, but then she has a tendency to do that with much of her material.

Addendum: I just went back to llisten to Pav once again and this time I did hear some of the old Pav sounds that make up that fabulous voice. (I feel better already.) 
There is something he does with the letter "A". For example, in Leonor "aaa" as in apple rather than Leonor "ah" as in ave maria, which makes his voice more distinguishable to me.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

At last Sutherland has found some words and her chest register! I would’ve never cast her in *Il trovatore*, but she sang it in the latter part of her career (I think even at the Metropolitan Opera), which led her to explore some interesting repertoire. She plumbs the depth of her lower register, but I don’t really like the sound of it. The voice is still too soft grained for me.

Similarly, Tebaldi is exploiting unusual depths, but sounding, to me, more suited to Leonora, or a voice that I prefer in that repertoire than Sutherland’s.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> At last Sutherland has found some words and her chest register! I would’ve never cast her in *Il trovatore*, but she sang it in the latter part of her career (I think even at the Metropolitan Opera), which led her to explore some interesting repertoire. She plumbs the depth of her lower register, but I don’t really like the sound of it. The voice is still too soft grained for me.
> 
> Similarly, Tebaldi is exploiting unusual depths, but sounding, to me, more suited to Leonora, or a voice that I prefer in that repertoire than Sutherland’s.


"Soft-grained." I was searching my old brain for the right word. Thanks.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Fun combination and I will follow the instructions in voting but....forego them in discussion   !!!

Tebaldi is never, to me, as satisfying in Verdi as she is in Puccini but she's certainly got the stuff. I'm guessing that when I read the others I will hear about her chest voice being much more satisfactory than Sutherlands and if I don't, then I guess I'm still not there! But all factors sounded much more like what I expect and want from Trovatore on her recording...Franco alone could sound more like the mournful Manrico in his prison than Mario. HOWEVER...the unexpected force of Tebaldi's declamation ended up being a drawback to me. I love to hear her throwing herself into it but the dire dilemna she is in and the vulnerability of her plight and - I believe at this point ,already considered sacrifice - call to me for something ....just more vulnerable and here she was uncommonly strong.

This is the period when Joany did alot of things better than she did before. She certainly feels present moment by moment and I get the words and she has much of the vulnerability that I wanted in Tebaldi. But the extremes of the voice don't sound great and after hearing Renata's great low voice Sutherland's paled. The chorus was fun if more suited to an English Cathedral than Di Luna's hangout in Biscay and I'd have to say, probably not really striking the right note for Trovatore. And speaking of which, Luciano came out with a sound that made me wonder if it was enhanced and I found out...NO! Because he was needing as much as he could muster to support that sound as he ascended. Small wonder he dropped the part like a hot potato. Luciano always knew where the bottom line was! 

If its just Leonora....Joanie's interp vs Renata's voice?????....I'll go with Caruso, ya need the four greatest voices in the world! Renata!!!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

ScottK said:


> Fun combination and I will follow the instructions in voting but....forego them in discussion   !!!
> 
> Tebaldi is never, to me, as satisfying in Verdi as she is in Puccini but she's certainly got the stuff. I'm guessing that when I read the others I will hear about her chest voice being much more satisfactory than Sutherlands and if I don't, then I guess I'm still not there! But all factors sounded much more like what I expect and want from Trovatore on her recording...Franco alone could sound more like the mournful Manrico in his prison than Mario. HOWEVER...the unexpected force of Tebaldi's declamation ended up being a drawback to me. I love to hear her throwing herself into it but the dire dilemna she is in and the vulnerability of her plight and - I believe at this point ,already considered sacrifice - call to me for something ....just more vulnerable and here she was uncommonly strong.
> 
> ...


This is why I missed you when work was keeping you from us. You really throw yourself into a critique with all guns blazing.
Tebaldi always had a great chest voice. Sutherland never used much of a chest voice till late in her career accept perhaps in Pleureuz mez yeux and from her mid fifties on I state that to me her low voice for once is not a strike against her singing but is perfectly acceptable in terms of volume and blending in with the rest of the voice. Callas she ain't but for once it is perfectly fine and is actually there. She never forced the low voice but allowed it to develop as her voice got bigger and bigger with time, never losing her amazing coloratura along the way. The benefit of this was her steady improvements in the sound of her high notes till her early 60's, an astonishing achievement. I know of no other singer who could boast of such an achievement and along the way she became better and better at bringing out the character in her roles as she grew in confidence and experience.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Seattleoperafan said:


> This is why I missed you when work was keeping you from us. You really throw yourself into a critique with all guns blazing.


You are the best!!!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Tebaldi never sang Leonora on stage as most of the role probably lay too high for her. However the _miserere _exploits the sopranos lower register and she certainly sounds more comfortable down there than Sutherand does. That said, I agree with Scott, and would like a bit more vulerability. She almost sounds like an Azucena here and it's all a bit relentless.

As an interpretation I actually prefer Sutherland, but she doesn't really convince me, even at this late stage in her career, that she was right for the role. Her diction is quite good and she does use chest voice, but it often sounds colourless. I don't like the interpolated high notes either.

I'll vote for Tebaldi, but I don't really like her.

I know we're not considering the tenors, but Del Monaco is much better than Pavarotti here.


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